Divine Vices by Melissa Parkin

                I'm back again with my thoughts on another book.  Divine Vices by Melissa Parkin was not originally on my TBR list, not because it didn’t sound interesting or anything but I had never heard of it.  There are so many great books out there that are not huge releases and as such may get overlooked.  I'm glad I was contacted about this book and able to check it out because I really enjoyed it.

                The story is a thriller/mystery/suspense type that follows around high school junior Cassie Foster.  She has been in New Haven, Maine for the last seven months and is still the new girl and is happy in her life with her best friends Gwen and Ian.  She is taking everything well and trying to be normal, well as normal as one can be in high school.  Then comes the new guy, Jackson, who takes over the new kid role.  He is sexy, arrogant, sarcastic, and cocky which is not her type at all.  When they get thrown together and their bond intensifies it is hard to ignore even with the craziness that is happening in town.  The unexplainable events, a string of disappearances, and cult related murder, lead to many questions and coincidence of timing with Jacksons arrival in town and mysterious past.

                This book was very interesting and I like the cloak and dagger of it all.  One thing I find amazing is that it was listed as having a paranormal/supernatural/fantasy aspect to it but I forgot all about that as I read.  It wasn't until the last part of the book when I was on the edge of my seat trying to fight the rational part of my brain that said I needed to sleep before work the next day that it came about.  That can work for those who are just starting to get into a supernatural type of story.  I've had people ask me about books that I think they would enjoy but without too much 'way out there fantasy'.  Finding those based more in reality with a slight twist is always a good place to begin and dip your feet in.  And this one fits the bill because I believe it can be easily enjoyed by anyone. 

                Cassie is a girl who is trying to get over a tragedy.  She has found comfort in two friends and she just wants to finish high school and have as normal an experience as possible.  Her attraction to the new guy is a whole other story, she doesn't want to like him.  She battles with herself constantly.  She doesn't want to like him and she wants to strangle him sometimes but then as things happen her views shift but she still doesn't know what to rust.  And as she starts to open up and trust, he becomes her best friends prime suspect given his questionable past.

                The best friends Gwen and Ian are also very relatable.  They are people I remember going to high school with.  I think everyone knew that one people who knew everything.  The person that could tell you what was happening with everyone in school and even the news around town because they had the hook up.  If you wanted info you went to them to get it.  And the eccentric person who dressed to their own beat and seemed a bit out there and even took pride in being the different one.  I admit I was not that person.  I'm all about comfort and common sense.  I'm clumsy and trip on flat surfaces unhindered and I'm 5'7.  I don’t need to wear 4-6 inch heels every day.  That is a safety hazard.  Do I own them and like to dress up on occasion where I might care more about the outfit than my 100% comfort?  Yes.  I was friends with people at school who dressed like that though and I admired their courage to wear it when I knew others would joke about it. 

 

                The mystery of Jackson and what is happening around school all flows together seamlessly.  It' impossible not to question it and get caught up in the mystery even when it scares you.    Can you figure out what is going on before the characters do?  Is it going to work out the way you think?  I admit I didn’t get this one figured out, which is pretty big for me.  I normally have it all clued in before the first half.  So enjoy the mystery and see if you're smarter than the characters.

                I don’t want to give too much of the story away so I think I will close it up saying simply that I give this book 5 Stars.  Once I started I didn’t want to stop.  And it stops at a very unfriendly place let me warn you.  I almost dropped my poor kindle trying to make more appear but it said book complete at the bottom and that was it for now.  I am eager to read book 2 and see where the story goes and will make an update when I learn anything about the next book.