I’m going to start by saying that:
A) this review is on Book One - The Diviners. These books are FAR too complex to cover in one go, and
B) I myself had to look up exactly what happened in Book Two, so that I could re-read Book Three, so that I can start Book Four!
With that out of the way, I want to add that this is a review of the audio book. A lot of the time, this makes no difference to the overall review, but the narrator for The Diviners Series, January LaVoy, is one of the most phenomenal audiobook readers I have ever come across, and I listen to audiobooks literally (no, seriously ask anyone who knows me) every day.
The Diviners is a creepy, mysterious, magical, decadent, historical novel set in the 1920’s in New York - home of speakeasies, Ziegfeld Girls, flappers and more. The story starts by following Evie O’Neill - a young girl who is sent to live with her uncle Will, the curator of the "Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult" in New York City. Evie is sent to stay with Will because her behaviour is unbecoming of a young lady, so her parents send her away in the hopes that a new location may help her to mature, away from her friends at home. Evie is hiding something, however. She has the power to ‘read’ objects - to see things about their owners, just like a real life psychic. WHat Evie doesn’t realise, until she gets to New York, is that she is not alone. We meet a wide cast of characters in the first book, and a number of them are also Diviners - people with special skills,
Characters. This book has a lot! So, briefly, I will separate the main players into categories:
Diviners
● Evie
● Memphis
● Theta
● Sam
● Blind Bill
● Henry
● Isaiah
● and a whole lot more!
Non-Diviners
● Will
● Mabel
● Jericho
● Naughty John
● and so, so many more
In the audiobooks, each character has a specific voice; one which reflects their background, race and social standing. Theta - a singer/dancer/actor from Kansas has a deep, throaty voice; Henry - a gay male from Louisiana and best friends with Theta, has a perfect southern drawl; and Memphis - a young black teen from Harlem, has a male-sounding, NYC accent. Honestly, hand on heart, you can come into the audiobook at any point and pick out which of the main characters is speaking.
As for the story...Don’t listen to it at night. It’s all about a dead serial killer called Naughty John… There’s a song… just… listen in the daytime, ok?
Content Warning: magic, LGBT+, creep factor 1000% (the song on audiobook…*shivers*), gore, death, ghosts, language may be strong, discussions of mental health
Overall Rating: 5 stars for the audio, 4.75 for paperback (it’s a very thick book)
Posted by Li
Catalogue link: The Diviners
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