Book Review: Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3) by Libba Bray

Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray

Published: October 3, 2017

Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Fantasy

Pages: 552

Synopsis: 

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 claimed two of their own, the Diviners have had enough 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 face-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.

Thoughts: It's been about four years since I read the previous book in this series, which basically meant that it took me some time to reacquaint myself with all of the characters and get back into the story. I only have a partial memory of how things ended in the last book, but what I mostly remember is that I didn't like it nearly as much as I enjoyed the first book in the series. What about this one, you wonder? 

Though it did take me a little bit of time to get back into it, it felt like the story picked up pace a bit more in comparison to the previous book. I feel like the last one had some character introductions it had to focus on more than this one, which made this one flow a bit better for me. But nonetheless this book does have a lot of characters to keep up with - Evie, Sam, Jericho, Mabel, Memphis, Theta, Henry, Ling... Yeah. However I felt like Bray did a good job of focusing on the characters that needed focusing and had a nice balancing act between everyone. The story kept moving forward and it didn't feel like any person's individual story was doing anything but advancing it as well. 

This book also does a good job of making all of its characters very diverse. You have a whole range of different ethnicities, sexual orientations, religions, and more represented among our core group of Diviners. The story is also, sadly, still very relevant to what's happening in society today. It's set back in the '20s in New York, and delves a lot into racism, sexism, and the rise of eugenics and just the general idea that some people are better than others. You'd never guess all of that from the synopsis, but it all plays a pretty large role in how things connect and who the real "bad guys" are. But yeah, you can see how this is all still relevant, and sometimes that made me kind of angry to think how little has changed in some ways.

Some of the book can be quite spooky when dealing with angry ghosts and creepy men running experiments on people. I've decided to jump right into the last book in the series so I don't have to remember everything from this one down the line. I'm not sure what to think of the actual enemy of the series, this King of Crows dude/creature, but the next book is probably going to focus more on that. Hopefully it all comes to a satisfying end! 

Would I recommend this series to others? If you're into this sort of story, sure. There are some books I recommend regardless of taste preference, but this series I would say only if you're into this sort of thing to begin with.

Rating: 3.5/5

Buy on Amazon

What I'm Reading Next: The King of Crows by Libba Bray

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases from Amazon links in my posts.

Triple Citrus Bars

If you're a fan of Key Lime Pie, or even the lesser-known Sour Orange Pie, this is another dessert to add to your repertoire. This time around, we're mixing up all three of the most famous citrus fruits - oranges, lemons, and limes - into a very easy and delectable bar form. Sour and sweet, without being overly so for either category. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong.

The crust is made from animal crackers, which have a slightly different tang than the typical graham crackers that are used most often in pie-crusts. You could probably do it with graham crackers, too, but give it a whirl with the animal crackers. I used the organic Kirkland brand ones from Costco as they seem to have less preservatives than the typical Barnum's ones.

What's the hardest thing about this recipe? I guess all the zesting and juicing just because it takes some time. You can easily double this recipe to be made in a 13x9 inch pan rather than an 8x8 pan, but that IS twice as much zesting and juicing. I don't ever tend to double a recipe on my first try just to make sure I like it first. Also, can we just talk about how perfect those pieces of fruit look on the inside? Beautiful.

Now here's the real question - if I were to make these or the sour orange pie, which would I pick? They are admittedly very similar in their ingredients, these bars just have a bit more of a floral note to them thanks to the lime. I think personally I prefer the orange pie better, but I wouldn't say no to either one if set out in front of me, that's for sure.

Triple Citrus Bars
Author: Jen @ Fresh From The…
Servings: 16 2-inch bars
Prep time: 00:30

Cook time: 00:40

Total time: 04:40

Tart and sweet, a perfect and floral citrus flavor explosion in a simple, easy-to-make bar.

Ingredients:

Crust
• 5 ounces animal crackers
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar (light or dark)
• Pinch table salt
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Filling
• 2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime zest, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest, minced
• Pinch table salt
• 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 egg yolk
• 6 Tablespoons fresh lime juice, either Key lime or regular
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon fresh orange juice

Instructions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are going to want to take all of the bars out at once, cut about 12-inch length extra-wide heavy-duty foil; fold cut edges back to form 7 1/2-inch width. With folded sides facing down, fit foil securely into bottom and up sides of 8-inch-square baking pan, allowing excess to overhang pan sides. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray. If you're not going to take them all out at once, you don't need to use the foil, instead you can just spray your 8x8 pan with some cooking spray.
2. TO MAKE THE CRUST: In workbowl of food processor, pulse animal crackers until broken down, about ten 1-second pulses; process crumbs until evenly fine, about 10 seconds (you should have about 1 1/4 cups crumbs). Add brown sugar and salt; process to combine, ten to twelve 1-second pulses (if large sugar lumps remain, break them apart with fingers). Drizzle butter over crumbs and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened with butter, about ten 1-second pulses. Press crumbs evenly and firmly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack while making filling. Do not turn off oven.
3. TO MAKE THE FILLING: While crust cools, in medium bowl, stir cream cheese, zests, and salt with rubber spatula until softened, creamy, and thoroughly combined. Add sweetened condensed milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain; whisk in egg yolk. Add juices and whisk gently until incorporated (mixture will thicken slightly).
4. TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE: Pour filling into crust; spread to corners and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Bake until set and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours.
5. If you used foil, then loosen the edges with a paring knife and lift bars from baking pan using foil extensions; cut bars into 16 squares and serve. If you did not, you can just store the pan in the fridge covered with foil or saran wrap, and cut out pieces as you like.

Recipe from Cook's Country