Title: The Book Of Blood And Shadow
Author: Robin Wasserman
Release date: April 10, 2012
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Pages: 448
Source: Publisher
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.
The Book Of Blood And Shadow has been getting a ton of great reviews. I went into it expecting to add to the list of those reviews. Sadly I was disappointed with The Book Of Blood And Shadow.
The Book Of Blood And Shadow started off strong. The first 20 or 30 pages were intriguing and mysterious. The story seemed like it had a lot of potential and that it would be very gripping. Sadly that was not the case. The story dragged and there were times when I found myself wanting to skip to the end just to be done with it.
The writing however was my biggest problem. The Book Of Blood And Shadow is full of run-on sentences. Some paragraphs ended up being just one super long sentence. In the beginning it was relatively easy to ignore them and keep reading but as I got farther into the book I couldn’t help but get annoyed by them. I found myself paying more attention to them than what was going on in the book.
However this book did have some redeeming qualities. The setting was spectacular. The book starts off in New England and there isn’t really anything special about it. Things really take off though in Prague. The monuments, cemeteries, churches, even the hostels in Prague were fabulous. The setting was so wonderful that it was almost like being in Prague.
The history was another fabulous aspect. The letters from Elizabeth Weston, the Voynich manuscript, the Hledaci, everything was so interesting and detailed. Some might find the history to be a little much and a tad boring at times but I’m not one of them. The history was my favorite part of the book.
As for the characters I didn’t really like them all that much but I didn’t dislike them all that much either. My biggest issue was that Nora was so naive. She was unwilling to see things that were right in front of her face. There were times I just wanted to slap some sense into her. However she was very smart and quite easy to like. Chris, Adriana, Max, and Eli all could have used a bit more development but I didn’t have any complaints about them. Well no complaints I can voice without spoiling things.
Overall, I’m sure a lot of people will love The Book Of Blood And Shadow, I’m just not one of them. I would recommend checking this one out from the library if you’re interested.
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Naive? Ugh, that’s an annoying bit. I hate stupid characters.
I think those run-on sentence paragraphs will be all I can think about now. Let’s hope this story pulls me in more than enough, though. :/
Love historical aspects too.
Great review! Sorry you didn’t enjoy the book as much as you planned on. That’s the worst kind of disappointment. D:
~Riv Re
Riv Reads
Great review, Katie! I personally loved Book of Blood and Shadow, but I acknowledged that this would be a book you either like – or not. It certainly did have some issues, including the ones you mentioned, but I think the history geek in me was willing to overlook them for the sake of the story.
I do love the setting, though, and think the setting was the BEST character in the book 🙂
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this book!
I hate it when the writing is too distracting. It takes away from the story. It’s also bothersome when a book drags. I am intrigued by the setting though. I would love to read about Prague.
Ah! I’m glad to hear I wasn’t the only one who didn’t love this one. I agree with what you said about the run-on sentences…it was definitely something I noticed a lot. It’s funny—with the historical stuff and Elizabeth’s letters, it held my interest some of the time, but when the letters got to be 3 or 4 pages long, I got a bit bored. Great honest review! 😀
I’m disappointed to hear you didn’t like it. It looks fantastic. I’ll have to get it from my library. Thanks for your honesty!
Interesting review! I put the audiobook for this one on hold at the library and am picking it up on Wednesday … I’ll have to see how that one is. I’ve been reading really great things about the novel!
Thanks for being honest!
Hm… I honestly have no patience for mysteries for the most part. Sometimes I do, if it’s a good one. I guess I shouldn’t try this one.
I have seen this at my library, but I wasn’t sure about it. I enjoyed your review, and I’m sorry it just wasn’t a book for you..
Jenea @ Books Live Forever
I’ve heard alot about this one, maybe I will try it from the library sometime. Great review!
The history part is something I think I’ll enjoy, because I love books with stuff like that. Also the setting sound great, but what a shame that you didn’t really had feelings for the characters. The long sentences will be a problem, I think.. I think I’ll just go to the library to get this one 🙂 Thanks for you honesty!
Ugh, I was cautious of this book from the get-go. It seemed odd and a little creepy and I’m one of the first people to openly admit that I can’t handle creepy. But what I really hate is a naive character. We’re supposed to connect with them. After all, they’re our vessel through which we experience emotions and see the story play out within our minds. A naive character just proves to be frustrating and makes the less book enjoyable.
Thank you for the honest review!
I too loved the history and the adventures in Prague, but didn’t really connect with the characters.
Nora is too distant for my liking, she doesn’t sound like a teen, and I didn’t like the big reveal with Max at the end although I didn’t like him AT ALL from the very beginning.
I liked the other guy, Eli, I would’ve like a lot more from him and about his history.
Lovely review 🙂