The Procrastinators Book Club discussion

Welcome to The Diviners Buddy Read Discussion thread! This thread officially opens on July 12th and anyone can join at any time. Please keep in mind that spoilers are allowed in this thread but only up to the group's current reading place. Do not spoil the book if you've read further than the group. Any extra days can be used to catch up!

Each week we will be reading by chapters. The suggested Buddy Read discussion schedule is as follows:

Week of 7/12
July 12: Chapters 1-6
July 13: Chapters 7-12
July 14: Chapters 13-18
July 15: Chapters 19-24
July 16: Chapters 25-30
July 17: Chapters 31-36
July 18: Chapters 37-42

Week of 7/18
July 18: Chapter 43-48
July 19: Chapter 49-54
July 20: Chapter 55-60
July 21: Chapter 61-63 + epilogue


PARTICIPANTS
~ Selina
~ Jen K
~ Emily
~ Sky
~ Hannah
~ Kristina
~ Michelle
~ Elena

I want t join too!!

Michelle wrote: "I want t join too!!"

Of course! Added!

13 minutes past midnight. I'm starting this even though I haven't even slept yet lol :D I've been wanting to start it all week but I had to remember we arranged a BR. I'm just so excited 😅

I'm probably going to listen to one chapter, go to sleep, and continue later when I wake up :)

I've got this book recently, may I join too?

Elena wrote: "I've got this book recently, may I join too?"

Yep!

I finished this recently so I will be stalking you all to see what you guys are thinking about it🤣🤣

Oh man, I didn't realize there aren't actual chapter numbers in the book. I was waiting on the audiobook to "finish the chapter" so that I could hear where I was in the book and now it's the end of the day and I finally checked up on what the heck is happening and why it felt like the chapter I was reading was just this massively long one 😅 So I ended up reading a bit more than was needed for today. I've just completed the chapter titled, "Evie's Dream"

(view spoiler)[
I'm really enjoying this so far! I LOVE Evie's personality so far lmao. And @Dolinka, I understand what you mean now when you told me that this reminds you of Stalking Jack the Ripper. I 1000% agree except I enjoy Evie a bit more than I did Audrey Rose (not that it's a competition or anything) just bc Evie is a lot more out there. Idk what to think of other characters just yet so I'm just gonna leave that for now.

So far, I'm really digging the paranormal aspect to this mystery and there's like this really subtle (so far) creep factor that is sending me. Like Isaiah waking up in the middle of the night to say the words that Naughty John said in the beginning and Memphis obviously not realizing the significance of it? *chef's kiss* Creepy houses and creepy birds? *chef's kiss* Actually reading small scenes of the bad things happening instead of just finding out about them after they've already happened? *chef's kiss"
(hide spoiler)]

I read the first chapter and will continue later tonight. I am intrigued. How can you not with a character named Naughty John. LOL

The audiobook is soooo good! I love how the narrator does the voices and and it really adds to the setting and atmosphere. Kinda wish I had the physical copy so I can annotate it. 😅

Starting today, I've been looking forward to this one.

selina ☾ wrote: "Oh man, I didn't realize there aren't actual chapter numbers in the book. I was waiting on the audiobook to "finish the chapter" so that I could hear where I was in the book and now it's the end of..."

I can’t wait to see how the characters will react to Naughty John given the tidbits of creepiness Libba Bray sprinkles throughout with Naughty John. Listening to the audiobook makes hims all the more scarier. (view spoiler)[ I got to the part with the whole murder mystery aspect and I agree that their is the Stalking Jack the Ripper vibes. But this story so far is what I wanted the last book to be. (hide spoiler)]

Also I was pretty surprised with the amount of religious allusions present in the story. I mean I knew that we were dealing with the occult but they were still surprising.

Reading this at night in winter is probably the best time cause I’m having peak reading atmosphere for this book.

I finally started this yesterday and somehow ended up reading over half. It is hard to gauge with no numbers on the chapters and it reads so well in nice tidbits. I like characters and I'm excited to see how this all works out but I also keeping remember that it is the start of a series and not a standalone.

Question for those listening on audio, do they actually sing or play the music for the Naughty John song? I think it would freak me out.

The hard cover is massive but at least I'm not going anywhere.

Jen K wrote: "I finally started this yesterday and somehow ended up reading over half. It is hard to gauge with no numbers on the chapters and it reads so well in nice tidbits. I like characters and I'm excited ..."

There is a tune to it. And it’s creepy. All of the songs from other characters also have tunes to them. Though sometimes it sounds a bit weird but it’s probably because I’m listening on 2x speed.

✨Emily | Procrastinating • Bibliophile wrote: "Jen K wrote: "I finally started this yesterday and somehow ended up reading over half. It is hard to gauge with no numbers on the chapters and it reads so well in nice tidbits. I like characters an..."

So cool, now I'm totally tempted to find the audio to just listen to the songs.

@Emily same! the 2x speed really makes it sound weird so I slowed back down to my usual 1.8 lol.

I really don't know how where to stop myself from reading in this book bc of the lack of chapter numbers. So I've just finished the chapter titled "Smoke and Mirrors". AND OMG GUYS I AM LOVING THIS BOOK SO MUCH.

I love the characters A LOT. But I think I love Libba Bray's dialogue the most and I kind of half attribute that to the narrator of the audiobook as well bc the she is so good. The banter between certain characters are *CHEF'S KISS* (view spoiler)[Sam and Evie could banter all day long and I wouldn't complain (hide spoiler)] and the way those scenes are sending me are balanced by the way the creepiness factor is sending me. It's not a lot as of yet. It feels very subtle, and it's just little hints here and there but I am hooked!

To tell the truth, I can't want to complete this book and move to the rest of the series. Not to be that person (and certainly not this early on) but I think this is what I wanted the "Stalking Jack the Ripper" series to be. Not that I hated that series; I just realized that it wasn't exactly what I wanted now that I've got this book to compare.

Also loving the language in the book, it's too fun! I have no idea where I am in the book but close to page 400. I started to slow down not wanting it to end but also scared of the final creepiness.

@Selina - you're not the only one in feeling that way when comparing it to Stalking Jack the Ripper.

@Jen Woah! you're just flying by. How scary is the story getting?

It is an easy one to fly through! The story ramps up the scary a bit but I managed with all the lights on. :) I so want to know what is next for everyone in the book though!!

Im so excited you guys are loving it as much as I do!!

It is a weird book! I am still waiting to see how everything comes together. 25% completed. On chapter titled Omens! It is getting creepy not scary though. Evie is an interesting character.

So I think I'm getting ahead of the schedule and it's getting creepier.

Spoilers for 50-75%:
(view spoiler)[ Memphis and Theta who would've known. And I also sense a love triangle forming between Evie, Sam and Jericho (poor Mabel). Personally I prefer Evie and Sam because of their banter and they have more chemistry to me.

In the chapter titles "The Angel Gabriel" I think most of us saw Gabe's death coming with that title but it gave me the chills especially since Isaiah warned him about it. I felt so bad for Gabe since he had so much talent. Though the religious reference and his name was smart.

Also I hate when people just do something stupid like explore a haunted house. And of course Evie left something in the haunted house. (hide spoiler)]

The supernatural is definitely picking up now.

I finished the book and... (view spoiler)[ Ummm.... Evie and Jericho??? I know the bad boy interest is a trope overdone but I love their banter. Also since I've been comparing this book to Stalking Jack the Ripper, the framing of Uncle Will is the same as Uncle Jonathan because of their weird obsessions/professions. And Evie's confrontation in the basement was sort of reminiscent of the last book in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series but more sinister and supernatural.

The chapters with Miss Addie and Lillian remind me so much of Miss Spink and Miss Forcible from Coraline. The way they're divining the future, the weird mess of their apartment, the animals, their glory days and even the reading of tea leaves.

Also Blind Bill can apparently steal powers? In some way? Also was it mentioned that he was a victim of Project Buffalo. Which was surprising and not that Will was a part of that. I'm wondering if the man in the stovepipe hat was also an experiment-gone-wrong case and if could potentially be Evie's brother. And it's scary to that he can apparently rise/listen to the dead. (hide spoiler)]

And the ending... I wanna read the second book soon.

I am behind schedule and on the Chapter called The Eternal Recurrence. The vibe feels like there should be scary music playing in the background while I read.

That's okay Kristina! :D

I finished this a while ago and I keep on forgetting to update the thread but I can definitely say that I love the creepiness of it all. But what I lovveeee the most are the characters. Evie in particular is so chaotic, I love her so much lmao. Mix that with the chaotic mess that is Sam... I dig that banter so much!

@ Selina OMG I love Evie!!! She is so snarky! Love the banter so much!!!

I finished the book today! The characters are very interesting. The ending makes me want to pick up the next book. The elderly sisters creeped me out lol.

Kristina wrote: "I finished the book today! The characters are very interesting. The ending makes me want to pick up the next book. The elderly sisters creeped me out lol."

The Proctor sisters just get even creepier in the second book.