Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3) by Libba Bray - Restarting January 10th 2020

[Abby]

New York City.
1927.
Lights are bright.
Jazz is king.
Parties are wild.
And the dead are coming...

After battling a supernatural sleeping sickness that early claimed two of their own, the Diviners have had enough of lies. They're more determined than ever to uncover the mystery behind their extraordinary powers, even as they face off against an all-new terror. Out on Ward's Island, far from the city's bustle, sits a mental hospital haunted by the lost souls of people long forgotten--ghosts who have unusual and dangerous ties to the man in the stovepipe hat, also known as the King of Crows.

With terrible accounts of murder and possession flooding in from all over, and New York City on the verge of panic, the Diviners must band together and brave the sinister ghosts invading the asylum, a fight that will bring them fact-to-face with the King of Crows. But as the explosive secrets of the past come to light, loyalties and friendships will be tested, love will hang in the balance, and the Diviners will question all that they've ever known. All the while, malevolent forces gather from every corner in a battle for the very soul of a nation--a fight that could claim the Diviners themselves.

[Kai]

Looking forward to this—I really liked the first two books!

[Abby]

26% (Project Buffalo): (view spoiler)[Yep, Marlowe's definitely hiding something. (hide spoiler)]

[Abby]

51% (Dark Night of the Soul): (view spoiler)[That entire chapter was intense! And here comes the Crow King... (hide spoiler)]

[Abby]

68% (Missing Mass): (view spoiler)[Could James still be alive somewhere? (hide spoiler)]

[Abby]

Finished: (view spoiler)[I'm still in shock from that ending. Both Mabesie and Will had to die? Ugh, this is the worst! (hide spoiler)]

[Kai]

Abby wrote: "Finished: [spoilers removed]"

I know! I somehow thought this would be the last book, and instead...

[Abi]

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Reading from the 17th of January 2018

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[Michelle]

17%:

(view spoiler)[Is it me or is this book waaay creepier than the first two? And all that eugenics and Marlow crap is seriously messed up. I like it that we get to see different points of view on them, especially Mabel's & Ling's. (hide spoiler)]

18:

(view spoiler)[
Oh, poor Theta! She doesn't deserve this. (hide spoiler)]

[Michelle]

12%
(view spoiler)[
I bet it's Bill
(hide spoiler)]

43%
(view spoiler)[
Jake is disgusting! I usually find people that think their nation are superior to others annoying, but experimenting on your people and the people that choose your country over their own is plain evil.
(hide spoiler)]

45%
(view spoiler)[
I bet some of those people were experimented on by Marlow
(hide spoiler)]

53%
(view spoiler)[
Yeah I was just about to say that it all seemed too easy... Intrigued about what's to come considering this just barely halfway
(hide spoiler)]

58%
(view spoiler)[
DAMN
(hide spoiler)]

70%
(view spoiler)[
Could the king of crows be Roy?
(hide spoiler)]

76%
(view spoiler)[
Team Sam now more than ever 😠😠 (hide spoiler)]

80%
(view spoiler)[
🎵🎵If you're gonna be the death of me that's how I wanna goooo 🎵🎵
(It took forever to find this, but I think it's worth it xD)
(hide spoiler)]

82%
(view spoiler)[ Well, ****. (hide spoiler)]

86%
(view spoiler)[
Uuuugh, what (or how?) hypocrites!!
(hide spoiler)]

93%
(view spoiler)[
Is it wrong that I don't really care what happens to her anymore? (hide spoiler)]

94%
(view spoiler)[
Ok... Maybe I do care a bit (hide spoiler)]

End
(view spoiler)[
This book is pos-i-tute-ly jake (did I use that right? lol). I love how this is so much more than a ghost book. And the audiobooks are fantastic!!! Can't wait for the next book. (hide spoiler)]

[Abi]

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Reading from the 1st of March 2018

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[Dr. Andy]

22% All the Way (view spoiler)[ I don't know whether I can trust Bill. He seems sketchy. Also I don't trust Arthur at all. He's going to do something and people WILL get hurt I can just tell. Mabel should listen to her parents this time. Sigh. (hide spoiler)]

53% Part One finished/The Dead (view spoiler)[ Wow holy crap. This book is giving me super creeps!! Everything is freaky especially the King of Crows. It feels like so much has happened and the book is only halfway through!! Like Roy coming back, no that dick should be dead!! *Screams* I just want Theta to be protected. Also I have a bad feeling about Jericho working with Jake Marlowe, something is going to happen. And omfg that asylum is a terrifying place. I'm sad Connor was taken (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

Michelle wrote: "17%:

[spoilers removed] "

(view spoiler)[ I totally agree about all that eugenics crap. Ugh I hate it!! And I'm mad that Jake is helping the movement, truly disgusting. (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

68% A Punch in the Gut (view spoiler)[ Awwww Ling and Alma are so damn cute!!! I'm worried for Theta and Memphis, I don't want Roy to ruin what they had. I'm so glad Memphis's mom protects him even though she's dead. I'm so worried about everything. And I'm not sure whether they're doing the right thing with the ghosts. And Evie needs to talk to Will ugh girl stop being so stubborn. (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

83% Fight Fire with Fire (view spoiler)[ Holy hell, this shit is just getting crazier!! Okay first Jake marlowe is clearly trying to contact the King of Crows and bring him into the real world. He thinks he can control him but man is he so wrong about that. I feel bad for Jericho, but him attacking Evie is almost unforgivable! So mad about that, but I think I'm more mad about stupid damn Mabel! Yeah she's trying to make things better, but the secret six is making it worse and Arthur is going to get them all killed. Also who the hell does mabel think she is, I'm so mad at her for how she thinks about Evie. Bitch you don't even know! (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

Finished (view spoiler)[ WHY DID SHE HAVE TO KILL WILL IM CRYING! I hope the other Diviners take down the shadow men!!!! And where the hell did Jericho go??? (hide spoiler)]

[Carolina]

7%

(view spoiler)[

It's terrible what this old geezer is doing to Isaiah. For three books in a row.

And Mabel and Arthur? I already like him. And I really like Mabel.



(hide spoiler)]

[Carolina]

27%

(view spoiler)[

They're knowing more about themselves. Does their abilities really come from experiments? I'm really liking this book. Way more than the second one. Maybe because everyone is together.



(hide spoiler)]

[Carolina]

40%

(view spoiler)[

Roy is alive?????? Oh, poor Theta.



Also, I hate that Jericho isn't with everybody.

(hide spoiler)]

[Carolina]

45%

(view spoiler)[

Oh God! They're stuck in the asylum!!!!!!



(hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

Carolina wrote: "45% [spoilers removed]"

I love your gifs!

[Carolina]

Andrea wrote: "I love your gifs!"

Thank you :)

[Carolina]

55%

(view spoiler)[

It was amazing! Amazing! The ghosts, the King of Crows, everyone together... I'm loving this book!!!!!!!



(hide spoiler)]

[Carolina]

63%

(view spoiler)[

Finally Memphis knows about Blind Bill. Thank God! And Memphis healed Bill! So nice! He suffered so much! I was angry at him, at first, but he's not that bad.



(hide spoiler)]

[Carolina]

71%

(view spoiler)[
Mabel and Evie are friends again. Thank God!



And now they're not friends again.



And Ling feels attracted to Alma, but doesn't have sexual attraction. Is she asexual? That would be interesting. But her being a lesbian would be great too.



And Theta is finally trying to control her powers and stop crying! Come on! She could destroy Roy if he tried anything. Finally she realized that she's a bad ass!



(hide spoiler)]

[Carolina]

76%

(view spoiler)[
God! That thing with Jericho and Evie was scary! First it was sexy. Then Sam saw them. And after he received the serum, he was like an animal and was going to rape her...



I'm sorry for him though. Poor Jericho...
(hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

Carolina wrote: "76% [spoilers removed].."

(view spoiler)[ I know that was crazy!! I never thought Jericho would do something like that :/ (hide spoiler)]

[✨ jami ✨]

beginning (view spoiler)[ so far I love the setting and the slang they use. It's so unique and definitely gives the book more atmosphere and makes it more unique (hide spoiler)]

[✨ jami ✨]

65% (view spoiler)[YALL this book is so scary?? I listening to the audiobook and the narrator legit has the creepiest voice. Everytime there's a murder I actually get shivers

also rip Gabe (hide spoiler)]

[Carolina]

I finished reading this book 3 days ago (February 9th) and forgot to put here my impressions of sometimes. I wrote them on a notebook, but I forgot to update it here. I'll do that now.

[Carolina]

80%

(view spoiler)[
Theta and Memphis are finally together again. Roy is pissed. And Bill helping them was amazing!



(hide spoiler)]

[Carolina]

87%

(view spoiler)[
God! Everyone was having sex!-Even Evie and Sam! Oh God! Poor Jericho...



But I like Evie and Sam. And I like Evie and Jericho... OMG! I don't know who to ship!!!
(hide spoiler)]

[Carolina]

94%

(view spoiler)[
OMG!!!!!!!! They shot Mabel!!!!!!!!



The bomb exploded!!!! They died!!! Mabel and Arthur died!!!



(hide spoiler)]

[Carolina]

100%

(view spoiler)[
This book was amazing! The best of the series so far! Everyone is together and thwe writer took some great risks here. A LOT of people die, they're not together anymore, the world hates them... OMG! I have to recover from all the feels!



(hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

Carolina wrote: "100%


This book was amazing! The best of the series so far! ..."

I agree!!! Can't wait to see how this series will end :O

[Jacquelyn]

Starting this book today. I always dread the length of these books lol.

[Jacquelyn]

Actually, no I’m not. I’ve read two fantasy books in a row, I need to give myself a break with a different genre.

[Ozcose]

Hey! I already started reading it so whenever you come back to it we can sync up. It's pretty good so far, my one complaint is there are too many character's/pov's. I'd like to stick with one character for more than a few pages.

[Maddie]

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Date changed. Restarting November 28th 2019. Happy Reading ☺

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[Claire]

Starting this today! :D

[Farren]

I started the audiobook last night since it's so long and there is someone waiting to check it out. Even on the speed I have it set it's still 13 hours! I think this book is going to be my favorite of the series

[Claire]

I'm so excited to be back in the world of this story, the prologue was so freaking spooky!

I'm reading the paperback and the font is tiny omg.

[Farren]

20%: All the Way

I'm really excited that this is a ghost story. I didn't read the synopsis before starting it and got so hyped up when I found out that a haunted asylum will be a main setting. Maybe I played too much Silent Hill when I was younger? But these types of stories are always the creepiest. One of the only horror novels that's ever given me actual chills was Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper. The title is cheesy, but it was so spooky when I was reading it at 3 am and they were searching an abandoned asylum. Plus the kindle book is free and free is always nice.

(view spoiler)[ Definitely loving the tone of this one so far. The ghosts are pretty creepy. And the fact that the citizens of New York are starting to panic and distrust the Diviners is creating tension that isn't romance related. I don't like the love triangle, I don't like Sam, and I don't believe that anyone reading these books thinks they could possibly end up together. And the Project Buffalo storyline just isn't all that interesting to me. Fortunately, the secrets about Uncle Bill and Theta are getting pretty juicy and distracting me from that 🙃 (hide spoiler)]

[Farren]

Claire wrote: "I'm so excited to be back in the world of this story, the prologue was so freaking spooky!

I'm reading the paperback and the font is tiny omg."

It would have to be if it's only 550 page book with a 21 hour long audiobook!

[Claire]

I'm a Silent Hill fan too so I was also super excited when this book started with a creepy asylum! Ghost Trapper sounds really interesting, I'll check it out! :D

[Claire]

15%
(view spoiler)[The whole socialist/political activism plotline is actually every bit as interesting as the ghost thing to me, which is really impressive because I'm usually not a fan of that sort of thing. I absolutely love how Libba Bray writes ideological conflict in this series, it feels so realistic!

This is maybe a bit personal, but I'm especially impressed with Ling's characterisation, since I am also ethnically Chinese and born and raised in a western country by first generation immigrant parents. Her conflict with Mabel was very familiar to me, it's a situation I've found myself in many times. Even growing up in the same country, we often end up with very different values from those who have been in the country for more generations. (hide spoiler)]

[Claire]

Farren wrote: "20%: All the Way

I'm really excited that this is a ghost story. I didn't read the synopsis before starting it and got so hyped up when I found out that a haunted asylum will be a main setting. May..."

(view spoiler)[I actually really like Sam and Evie's banter but realistically speaking I don't think they make a very good couple, I wouldn't be mad if they ended up together though. I know this is a YA series so we're going to get an official couple in the end, but if I had it my way Evie wouldn't end up in any sort of serious relationship at the age of 17-18, it feels like it goes against her characterisation completely, even with the excuse of 'character growth'.

(I'm biased here though, I really don't like the whole 'maturity = settling down' thing, that sort of life isn't for everyone and I'm gonna be really sad then Evie inevitably changes her mind in the final book because YA heroines aren't allowed to end a series without being in a committed relationship.)

One of my favourite quotes from the 2nd book: “The truth was, she was afraid that when she fell hard for a boy, she’d lose herself along the way. She’d seen it happen to lots of girls. They’d go from drinking gin, driving fast cars, and boldly shimmying in speakeasies to these passive creatures who couldn’t make a move without asking their beaus if it would be okay. Evie had no intention of fading behind any man. She didn’t want to slide into ordinary and wake up to find that she’d become a housewife in Ohio with a bitter face and an embalmed spirit."

Sorry that got kinda rant-y, I have very strong opinions on this subject :D (hide spoiler)]

[Claire]

27%
(view spoiler)["But from what I heard, the experiment didn't take for most of the kids. It even made some kids come out wrong."

... Uh oh. Was Jericho one of the failed experiments? Is that why is was so sick as a child?

I love that finally, we get a series when there's actually an in-universe justification for why the 'chosen ones' are all the same age! (hide spoiler)]

[Claire]

40%
(view spoiler)[What the heck? WHY IS ROY ALIVE??? Can we just set him on fire again please? Theta and Memphis have enough to deal with without this :<

I find the running gag of Woodhouse's note taking really funny for some reason :D (hide spoiler)]

[Claire]

55%
(view spoiler)[That whole asylum thing was so creepy, like a scene out of The Evil Within! And I can't believe they finally got to meet the King of Crows! The whole supernatural storyline is really confusing to me though, I have no idea what's going on, although to be fair it is supposed to be mysterious and stuff.

I'm pretty sad and disappointed that Uncle Will was involved with the experiments and has been hiding so much this whole time, even if he does mean well. He was one of my favourite characters in the first book and I want to trust him :< (hide spoiler)]