The Book of Blood and Shadow
- Pub. Date: April 10, 2012
- Publisher: Random House Children's Books
- Pages: 448
" It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up. When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark.
But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead. His girlfriend Adriane, Nora's best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora's sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.
Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life."
But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead. His girlfriend Adriane, Nora's best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora's sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.
Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life."
Review: I really wanted to love this book, it had mystery, intrigue and some serious betrayal. But alas it just wasn't for me. In the beginning I was hooked within the first few chapters. I was really interested in Nora's character but mid-way I started losing interest and found myself bored. It's not until the last few chapters that my interest kicked up into high gear and I was pulled back into the story full of curiosity.
The Da Vinci Code is what this reminded me of. A young adult version of it at least. Nora is trying to prove that Max didn't kill her best friend Chris and so she travels all the way to Prague decoding letters and clues trying to find the one thing that will supposedly help clear his name and meanwhile she has run-ins with secret societies and conspirators who are all after her.
Like I said there were some very exciting parts to the book but at the same time there was so much historical information being thrown around and the writing felt a little choppy. Not to mention at times the letters by Elizabeth just grew too long for me that I found myself skimming it. I wanted to connect with this book since it sounded so exciting of a read but in the end it just wasn't for me.
Overall even though I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to, I still recommend picking it up if you like a good murder mystery and have a liking for lots of historical facts in the book your reading.
Awh. Sorry you didn't like this! This book sounds awesome and my previous experience with Robin Wasserman was a pleasant one. I'm still going to give it a shot, but great review!
ReplyDeleteGo for it:) Honestly I think this book is based on preference i'm sure if I had a thing for historical facts I would have enjoyed it more since the mystery was done very well.
DeleteLove the title, creeped out by the cover, excited by your review. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteregards,
grace (Help Me Sleep Better)