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sfezoa's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
cora_dibell's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
scam_likely's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
pezzo's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
panduh04's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I literally would not have read this without someone personally telling me it's the only series they've ever read and they loved it.
I can definitely see the appeal and now I'm in a vampire mood.
I can definitely see the appeal and now I'm in a vampire mood.
tannithreece's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
thebookaddictedgirl's review
5.0
4½ Out of 5
"Lux E Tenebris: Light Out Of Darkness"
One night Jamie Carpenter's dad Julian came home early. That night there was something outside - that Jamie knew. What... he had no clue…
That same night Julian was shot dead by the police, after pulling a gun on them...
He told Jamie nothing, only to take care of his mother.
The next day, they were informed Julian was a terrorist, a traitor, and their life hasn't been the same since.
Two years later, Jamie's mum is taken; by the same things Julian was so scared of all those years ago... Jamie is desperate to find his mum, but he has no idea how.
Until Department 19 break through his door. Department 19, the reason the world is still living, the ones who battle the vast army of undead.
But something even they cannot deal with is threatening to rise. Can Jamie save his mother in time, or will the whole world die first...?
I love a good action novel, especially if it includes butt-kicking lead characters! Department 19? Ah-maz-ing! With non-stop action, the most amazing mythology and a gadget-packed, super-secret agency whose job was killing vampires, this was a book I fell in love with from the word go. I raced through it, eating it all up. And y'know what? I wanna be a Department 19 agent! Failing that, give me lots, lots, lots more books in this series please, Mr Hill!
I loved all the characters, our hero Jamie in particular. He was curious and sweet and brave and determined, and just felt so much like a real teen boy. A teen boy I loved absolutely to pieces! Another one I loved was Larissa, who was a vampire and a character who caught my interest from the moment we first met her. I loved learning more about her past and how funny she was, teasing Jamie! She was really strong and sweet and brave, and not at all a monster! But I think my favourite may just be Colonel Victor Frankenstein, AKA Frankenstein’s Monster. He was a little scary at first, but when you got to see how sweet and cheerful and caring he was, when you got to see into his past and how he became who he is you just can’t help loving him! And man our villain was terrifying! Alexandru Rusmanov, a vampire – a scary vampire. Animalistic, violent and pure evil, he really gave the super-scary-heebie-jeebies. He was, literally, an "immortal psychopath"!
And Larissa and Jamie's relationship was brilliant. Admittedly, it didn’t start of great, what with Larissa trying to kill Jamie and all, but slowly trust – and more – developed. It was really sweet and really real.
I just loved the writing, how I got to see into the past and into Department 19 – especially how it was created. Seeing it all from Jamie's POV let us see this world in a new and amazing light - we were discovering it all right along with him. And all the other action we got to see, all the other characters, were so well thought out, so real. This was amazing and unprecedented for me - I've never met such amazing in-it-for-one-chapter characters! And the plot was just incredible! Full of twists and turns and just non-stop action, Department 19 had me constantly on the edge of my seat. Full of twists and one heckuva conspiracy, it was just so darn addictive! Although I had suspicions about where everything was going, I was still hooked and was constantly surprised. As for the ending? Oh. My. God. I, quite frankly, had to read Book Two the second I finished!!
I loved the vampire mythology! It was brilliant! And I loved how the Dracula story tied in, the legend. It was awesome and new, yet traditional. And it wasn't just vamps either, something that made me super excited! Overall? Awesome and so rich! And it was all so believable in a totally supernatural way. Or maybe that's 'cause I'm weird and just want it to be real 'cause I WANNA BE IN DEPARTMENT 19!! Or maybe it's just the rich backstory and history, the utterly believable characters, the oh-so convincing spy-ish-ness of the Department. Oh well. Whatever it was, I loved EVERY SINGLE SECOND!
With a top secret government agency, vampires everywhere and one boy caught in it all, Department 19 was action-packed, addictive and just all round amazing. 007 and MI5 are no longer cool: give me Department 19 and Colonel Frankenstein any day! I simply cannot wait to read The Rising.
"Lux E Tenebris: Light Out Of Darkness"
One night Jamie Carpenter's dad Julian came home early. That night there was something outside - that Jamie knew. What... he had no clue…
That same night Julian was shot dead by the police, after pulling a gun on them...
He told Jamie nothing, only to take care of his mother.
The next day, they were informed Julian was a terrorist, a traitor, and their life hasn't been the same since.
Two years later, Jamie's mum is taken; by the same things Julian was so scared of all those years ago... Jamie is desperate to find his mum, but he has no idea how.
Until Department 19 break through his door. Department 19, the reason the world is still living, the ones who battle the vast army of undead.
But something even they cannot deal with is threatening to rise. Can Jamie save his mother in time, or will the whole world die first...?
I love a good action novel, especially if it includes butt-kicking lead characters! Department 19? Ah-maz-ing! With non-stop action, the most amazing mythology and a gadget-packed, super-secret agency whose job was killing vampires, this was a book I fell in love with from the word go. I raced through it, eating it all up. And y'know what? I wanna be a Department 19 agent! Failing that, give me lots, lots, lots more books in this series please, Mr Hill!
I loved all the characters, our hero Jamie in particular. He was curious and sweet and brave and determined, and just felt so much like a real teen boy. A teen boy I loved absolutely to pieces! Another one I loved was Larissa, who was a vampire and a character who caught my interest from the moment we first met her. I loved learning more about her past and how funny she was, teasing Jamie! She was really strong and sweet and brave, and not at all a monster! But I think my favourite may just be Colonel Victor Frankenstein, AKA Frankenstein’s Monster. He was a little scary at first, but when you got to see how sweet and cheerful and caring he was, when you got to see into his past and how he became who he is you just can’t help loving him! And man our villain was terrifying! Alexandru Rusmanov, a vampire – a scary vampire. Animalistic, violent and pure evil, he really gave the super-scary-heebie-jeebies. He was, literally, an "immortal psychopath"!
And Larissa and Jamie's relationship was brilliant. Admittedly, it didn’t start of great, what with Larissa trying to kill Jamie and all, but slowly trust – and more – developed. It was really sweet and really real.
I just loved the writing, how I got to see into the past and into Department 19 – especially how it was created. Seeing it all from Jamie's POV let us see this world in a new and amazing light - we were discovering it all right along with him. And all the other action we got to see, all the other characters, were so well thought out, so real. This was amazing and unprecedented for me - I've never met such amazing in-it-for-one-chapter characters! And the plot was just incredible! Full of twists and turns and just non-stop action, Department 19 had me constantly on the edge of my seat. Full of twists and one heckuva conspiracy, it was just so darn addictive! Although I had suspicions about where everything was going, I was still hooked and was constantly surprised. As for the ending? Oh. My. God. I, quite frankly, had to read Book Two the second I finished!!
I loved the vampire mythology! It was brilliant! And I loved how the Dracula story tied in, the legend. It was awesome and new, yet traditional. And it wasn't just vamps either, something that made me super excited! Overall? Awesome and so rich! And it was all so believable in a totally supernatural way. Or maybe that's 'cause I'm weird and just want it to be real 'cause I WANNA BE IN DEPARTMENT 19!! Or maybe it's just the rich backstory and history, the utterly believable characters, the oh-so convincing spy-ish-ness of the Department. Oh well. Whatever it was, I loved EVERY SINGLE SECOND!
With a top secret government agency, vampires everywhere and one boy caught in it all, Department 19 was action-packed, addictive and just all round amazing. 007 and MI5 are no longer cool: give me Department 19 and Colonel Frankenstein any day! I simply cannot wait to read The Rising.
escapeebee's review
4.0
Full review also posted here on TotalTeenFiction
This was another book I bought before Leakycon as Will Hill was going to be speaking there. I read a free short story set in this world and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to dive into this one. Department 19 follows Jamie Carpenter as he is suddenly swept into the secret world of a government department set up to control vampires.
I read a lot of vampire novels so when I find something with a unique twist it makes me happy and Department 19 definitely had that! I love anything to do with spies and government agencies that give you plenty of action and this is what this book delivered by the bucketload.
Department 19 starts off with a great prologue where we glimpse the incident which killed Jamie's dad. From then on we learnt that Jamie has been moved around a lot because of his dad's reputation and the fact he was accused of leaking government secrets. I immediately liked Jamie and had a lot of respect and sympathy for him, because he clearly wants to clear his father's name.
What was great is that throughout Department 19 you get chapters which go back to the 1800s where you see the origins of this secret government department. I love those little flashbacks and how the whole history of the world was developed so brilliantly. You aren't just told about them, you get to actually see what happened which is way more exciting. The book doesn't stick to Jamie's POV so we get to see what's happening with other characters which was great.
During the course of the book we meet female vampire Larissa who was one of my favourite characters because she's just so intriguing! There's a real connection between her and Jamie which I liked. She listens to him when the other people around Jamie have a tendency to talk down to him and patronise him. I loved that we really get to delve into Larissa's backstory as well, because thete's a lot more to her than meets the eye and she's not just your typical baddie.
I think the coolest part of Department 19 is how it takes ideas of vampires that already exist in literature and integrates them into the story and the world. So Dracula and Frankenstein are real characters who had a place in the history of the department. And seriously, Frankenstein was my one of my favourite characters which seems like a weird thing to say!
It's quite a long book so it took a while to get to the build up, but the ending was fast paced and crazy and a bit more emotional than I was expecting! I really loved the unique world and I'm excited for the next book (even if it is even longer!).
Find more books like this at TotalTeenFiction!
This was another book I bought before Leakycon as Will Hill was going to be speaking there. I read a free short story set in this world and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to dive into this one. Department 19 follows Jamie Carpenter as he is suddenly swept into the secret world of a government department set up to control vampires.
I read a lot of vampire novels so when I find something with a unique twist it makes me happy and Department 19 definitely had that! I love anything to do with spies and government agencies that give you plenty of action and this is what this book delivered by the bucketload.
Department 19 starts off with a great prologue where we glimpse the incident which killed Jamie's dad. From then on we learnt that Jamie has been moved around a lot because of his dad's reputation and the fact he was accused of leaking government secrets. I immediately liked Jamie and had a lot of respect and sympathy for him, because he clearly wants to clear his father's name.
What was great is that throughout Department 19 you get chapters which go back to the 1800s where you see the origins of this secret government department. I love those little flashbacks and how the whole history of the world was developed so brilliantly. You aren't just told about them, you get to actually see what happened which is way more exciting. The book doesn't stick to Jamie's POV so we get to see what's happening with other characters which was great.
During the course of the book we meet female vampire Larissa who was one of my favourite characters because she's just so intriguing! There's a real connection between her and Jamie which I liked. She listens to him when the other people around Jamie have a tendency to talk down to him and patronise him. I loved that we really get to delve into Larissa's backstory as well, because thete's a lot more to her than meets the eye and she's not just your typical baddie.
I think the coolest part of Department 19 is how it takes ideas of vampires that already exist in literature and integrates them into the story and the world. So Dracula and Frankenstein are real characters who had a place in the history of the department. And seriously, Frankenstein was my one of my favourite characters which seems like a weird thing to say!
It's quite a long book so it took a while to get to the build up, but the ending was fast paced and crazy and a bit more emotional than I was expecting! I really loved the unique world and I'm excited for the next book (even if it is even longer!).
Find more books like this at TotalTeenFiction!
echthroi's review
2.0
Unlikeable main character, unnecessary POV changes, and too many "gotcha!" moments.