Publication: April 10, 2012Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Stand Alone Novel
Young Adult
Pages: 352
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Suspense, Thriller
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.*Galley provided by publisher for an honest review*
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.
In perspective of what type of reader I am--fast or slow-- I know that when I really enjoy a book, I take the utmost time to sit, relax, and glide through the pages with ease. Having read previous books of Robin Wasserman and enjoying them, I knew that I would grow to love The Book of Blood and Shadow and let me tell you that I was not let down. A slow beginning that ultimately expands upon interesting plot twists and cliff hangers. Character development was wonderfully displayed (Eli was one definite piece of eye-candy and professor of snarky remarks) and the divergence between Nora's vanish point and Elizabeth's letters happened to be my favorite of the whole novel.Nora, a intellect when it comes to translating Latin and a profound girl whose curiosity takes her into the world of an ancient woman whose secrets divulge sinister plans. With her best friend killed, his girlfriend in a catatonic state soon to awaken with a hole in a certain part of her memory needed to fill in the title of "That person did it!" and Nora's boyfriend MIA with the notorious caption of murder over his head. Visiting her brother's grave and finding an encrypted note from Max for a meeting in Prague, Nora, Adriane, and Chris's cousin Eli set off to find out what they are truly up against.As I said before, the notes of Elizabeth Weston happened to be my favorite thing about this entire novel. Not that Nora's story wasn't grand, because it was, but the mystical and ancient past of Elizabeth and the whole regard to the Lumen Dei was fantastic and captivating beyond words. I am a history buff and enjoy learning about myths and different cultures, so reading about the adventures and hardships that Elizabeth went through just blew every inch of me away.But I always happen to ask myself: What's so great about Prague? I've read a few novels based upon it or talked about it. If anyone can answer the interesting value of Prague I'm all ears and would love to learn!This book had everything I needed to qualm the anticipation for a novel containing a succulent mystery, cliff hangers that made me attack pages hungrily needing to know what happened next or read more into the story of Elizabeth, the eye-candy Eli was definitely a contributing factor for my lust towards this book. I recommend this to anyone seeking a thrill and a satisfaction with hanging off the edge of your seat as you indulge yourself deeper into the mystery that Robin Wasserman maps out for you.First Line: I should probably start with the blood.Story: SCover: B
