The Divines is a debut, dark academia story. The story is told in two timelines. It started out strong and I was invested. The main character, Josephine’s present time is recent and she’s on her honeymoon with her husband and the past which was in the 1990’s when Josephine attended an English boarding school. The 1990’s timeline was way more interesting and I found the going back and forth didn’t always go smoothly. In the beginning the build up was pretty good. Josephine has flashbacks or is recollecting her time at the boarding school. There is a clear distinction between the haves and have nots and Josephine is upset when her roommate isn’t someone she wants to be roommates with. It doesn’t take long before you know that something has happened at the school, but you don’t know what. At first, I really liked this. I enjoyed the suspense. Where this didn’t come together for me was in the end. I think the ending could have been much more powerful and instead it fell flat for me. The writing is there though and I would be interested to see what else Ellie Eaton writes.

After reading this, all I can say is that I was hoping for more. More tension, more scandal, more backstabbing, more caddy school girl drama. That is what is described in the premise of the book, but unfortunately it falls short in what I was expecting. Just an ok read for me.

*Thank you @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for the audiobook and finished copy in exchange for an honest review. Review not posted to Amazon because less than 4 stars.*

The divines was pretty good, definitely well written, but there was something missing for me. I very much disliked the horrendous group of priveleged brats that it was centered around. I surely hope this was not based on any kind of true story bc it sort of made my stomach hurt. I liked the ending. 3.5 stars.

I love these types of stories but this one just didn’t draw me in. The ending also just felt Anticlimactic even though it was leading up to something that could’ve been so interesting.

This book was okay. I can't put my finger quite on the pulse of what I didn't like about it - I felt that Ellie painted a beautiful and moody picture of the world I was exploring, but it moved a little slowly for my taste. The narrator voiced the intentions behind the text well with small intonations here and there.

Overall, I felt this book was… meh. I just couldn’t get into it, but I did end up finishing it. The narrator was pleasant, but the overall pacing of the book felt slow. At the end, I asked myself, “What the heck did I just listen to?”.

<i>The Divines</i> was not my usual cup of tea, but overall, I did enjoy it.

I don’t often tip my toe into the land of literary fiction, mainly because it ends up depressing me more than I like. <i>The Divines</i> was definitely depressing, but it had enough to balance it out.

The story relies heavily on hints of A Very Bad Thing That Happened in the Past. Sometimes this method doesn’t work, but I felt <i>The Divines</i> pulled it off well. There was enough substance in the school-era timeline and Josephine’s current life that it didn’t feel like the story purely relied on suspense.

I added <i>The Divines</i> to our library collection, and it’s been popular so far!

<b>Audiobook Review:</b> The voice actor, Imogen Church, was amazing. She truly brought the story and characters to life and was pleasing to listen to! I look forward to listening to more of her work.

#The Divines is by # Ellie Eaton and narrated by # Imogen Church. A coming of age novel. The girls of St. John, experience betrayals, class structures, and tragedy. A very suspenseful novel......
Thank you for the advance copy,
#Netgalley, # Ellie Eaton, and # Harper Audio

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. Very slow story with nothing happening. Very explicit in parts to the point to where it was uncalled for.

My rating: DNF at 25%. It was okay, but just not for me.

The writing was good and I liked where the story was going, but wound up deciding it just wasn't the right story for me. Whether it was because of the pacing or my disinterest in the main character, I can't be sure, but it is less to do with the actual book than with me as an outsider of the target audience. I think this book will do well though, cause it gives me both Heathers and Mean Girls vibes and those stories always sell. I did, however, like the narrator of the audiobook and their portrayal of the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the narrator for the chance to read this book!

I really struggled with The Divines. I wouldn’t say it was a love-hate relationship because I didn’t feel like I really loved any part of the book, but there were definitely pieces I hated. First and foremost being the horrid fat-shaming and body image issues. It was truly sickening to me, and if I was the kind of person to DNF a book, I would have done that here. I also really struggled with the significant classism, bullying, and homophobia. There are ways to incorporate those types of things into a fictional story in a meaningful way, and if that’s not done well, it becomes a thin line to cross into problematic territory. The obsessive way that weight and body image leaked into every section of the book was honestly soul crushing. I hated it immensely.

But I also found the book to get increasingly underwhelming as it progressed. Too much time was spent on present-day Josephine with too little time spent with teenage Jo, and Josephine’s development was basically nonexistent compared to how I would’ve liked to see her growth. Maybe that’s just examination of the human condition though, so I’ll let it slide. And the whole “bad thing” that is being addressed from the get-go was revealed so boringly. Sigh, eye roll, etc. It really gripped me at the start of the book, but the trip to get there annoyed me.

I think my favorite part of the entire book was Lauren, and I felt her character was really mistreated. Let’s just say Lauren deserved more. And maybe it’s me just always connecting with the underdog, in this case the townies.

The only thing about this book that really redeemed all the things I hated was the ending of the book. It was satisfying and gave me a good little chuckle of vengeance.

Eaton’s writing was strong and full of potential, but the problems in this book fully outweighed the rest of the story.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 is Ellie Eaton’s debut novel, about a woman named Josephine who is still living in the past. She’s now in her thirties, but her adolescent years at a private British boarding school are haunting her ability to fully immerse into adulthood. To me, this one was just okay. I just didn’t really feel connected to the characters at all so I found myself getting frustrated. I wanted Josephine to just snap back to reality and stop obsessing over her teenage years. I will say, though, the narrator was fantastic! I probably would have DNF’d it if it wasn’t for her. Any audiobook narrated by Imogen Church will be put on my list.

I wanted to love this book as it was highly recommended by several friends, but I just couldn’t get into it. The strange cult-like prep school vibe was too much and Josephine just felt like a heroine I didn’t want to invest in. Sadly, DNF at 17%.

I enjoyed this coming of age novel. It was unexpected and surprising at times. I do love campus stories though I was expecting a bit more from this one.

I couldn’t stop listening to tis book! The Divines opens with a mystery - something very bad has happened at the school of St John the Divine, something bad enough to shut the school down, but it isn’t until our narrator Josephine is on her honeymoon and passes by the remains of her school, that we see how much it has haunted her. Eaton perfectly captures the awkwardness and savagery of high school politics and forces her readers to question whether we can ever really escape our past. Ultimately, it’s a thought-provoking read, with very cinematic storytelling. It will leave you thinking like only the best novels do.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an audio ARC of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

I was unfortunately unable to finish this book. I thought it sounded interesting, but I got part way through and just could not focus on it. I think in the end I just have a very hard time connecting with private school stories, and can't empathize with those characters at all. I know its my own issue as the writing was great, as well the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for giving me the opportunity to review this audiobook. I loved the story but had a hard time keeping up with characters through the audio. I will definitely go back and read the physical copy when I get the chance.

I've been wanting to read this one for so long. I've heard so many people talking about it and none of them had anything bad to say about it. I'm so happy I was able to get my hands on this one because it totally lived up to the hype!

Unfortunately this missed the mark for me. Perhaps my expectations were off. When I hear it compared to Normal People my ears perk up. Underwhelming for me but I do love the cover.

4/5 stars

🛍Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this audiobook-arc!

✨It took me a while to finish but I finally did! To be concise, it was a great novel. With it being a more character focused novel, it kept me invested and did its job well with surprising me with various twists. Though at the same time its weakness is its pacing with said twists and cliffhangers. They're either dragging too much or they go by so fast that I have to rewind the audio to fully grasp the situation. If you are reading this Ellie Eaton, I need to know what happened to Lauren and wouldn't mind an interview!!