The Book of Blood and Shadow
5 Stars: Keeper
Publication: April 10, 2012 (Hardback)
Pages: 448
Author: Website | Facebook | Twitter
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depository
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.
From the opening line, Wasserman captivated me with Nora’s voice and her story–and with the power of the words themselves, the way Wasserman chooses to present events to us, the readers. It is mysterious and enthralling. There is no need for the story to start with a bang; instead, it builds up for the first hundred or so pages before diving into heart-pounding action.
Nora is intelligence with humor, and her friends are just as engaging. Nora is highly perceptive and acute. Her reflections over events give good insight into what’s going on around her without distancing her from the reader. On the contrary, she pulls the reader into her mind and shows them how she perceives the world.
Wasserman kept me guessing and puzzling throughout the entire book. The plot is complex, filled with surprises at every turn. The plot may seem to start out slow, but if you think this way it will hit you before you know it. This has been a brilliantly unique read. I highly recommend getting a copy. You do not want to miss out on it!
Check out the chapter sampler!
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher. No payment was received in return for a review. The receipt of the book had no influence on the opinions expressed in my review.
Author: Crystal
A story girl at heart, Crystal is a bibliophile who can easily spend the day immersed in a good read. She writes under the name Kristy Wang. You can follow her writing adventures on X and Instagram @_kristywang.
Fall Into Books says
I'm glad you enjoyed this book. I really didn't like it that much. I kept getting bored. I skimmed over most of the last half because I was so bored with it. Either way, great review! 😀
Rachael-Madison ^__^ says
I've heard this book was a "YA version of the Da Vinci Code"! It certainly seems like it from the reviews I've been seeing. Thanks for the review 😀 I definitely have to pick up this book sometime!
Anonymous says
I totally loved this one, for the same reasons you noted. Just as I thought I had everything nicely figured out, Wasserman would throw me off again. Crazy good.
My Review