Thursday 24 March 2016

DNF Review - Divah by Susannah Appelbaum




Title: Divah
Author: Susannah Appelbaum
Pages: 400
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Release date: 15th March 2016

Blurb from Goodreads: 

Eloise meets Rosemary's Baby in New York City’s very own Carlyle hotel.

Seventeen-year-old Itzy Nash is spending the summer at the exclusive Carlyle hotel in New York City. But the hotel harbors more than the rich and privileged; it is host to a gorgeous fallen angel, reclusive movie stars, and—Itzy soon learns—demons of the worst sort. When the Queen of the Damned checks in, all Hell breaks loose. Itzy is called upon to save herself—and all of humanity—from the ravages of the Underworld. There’s only one problem: Itzy’s possessed.

Part gothic thriller, part historical fiction, the novel straddles the Upper East Side and the lush trappings of the Carlyle hotel, and Paris during the Reign of Terror in 1789. Marie Antoinette is the Queen of the Damned. Marilyn Monroe is an expert demon hunter. To kill a demon, Hermès scarves, Evian water, and a guillotine are the weapons of choice.

For anyone who loved Daughter of Smoke and Bone, this has an epic battle between angels and demons with a doomed love story at its core. But it’s also darkly funny, for fans of Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, and more than anything it’s something original—dark, funny, clever, and glamorous.










My Review: 

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.*
 
DNF @ 26%


Divah sounded so promising - a fancy hotel, demons and possession.
I enjoyed it to start with but then I rapidly lost interest.
Everything seemed to merge together - events were skimmed over and it felt to me that things weren't clearly spaced/thought out.


As for the protagonist, well, I've written her a letter...


Dear Itzy Nash (I can't believe that's your name),

I'm just going to come out and say it - I don't like you. It's not personal. Or maybe it is but I guess you can't help the way you were written.

So one thing I don't get is why you didn't question things more. You just accept it when someone tells you that demons are real and that Marie Antoinette was one. You don't think 'oh they must be crazy'. No instead you just go with it. You're like a sheep or a stick floating in a river just going with the flow.

Why did you agree to go to the hotel basement even though you're afraid of the dark? Not that you seemed frightened. At all.

Why on Earth did you let a complete stranger kiss you? Heck, you kissed him right back. You knew nothing about the guy. You didn't even question him when he said that the hansom cab wasn't a hansom cab. Nope. You just went along with it like the good sheep/stick you are.

Why would your aunt invite you to her hotel when she doesn't like you? Did you think it was strange? No. You also didn't blink twice when you were told that your aunt had organised a governess for you. A governess!

I hope you have a happy ending but I also hope that I don't read about you ever again.
Jess.

P.S. What kind of name is Itzy Nash anyway?



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