lecrockett's review against another edition
4.0
On the night Nora’s boyfriend disappears, her best friend is murdered, and his girlfriend is sent to an institution, she realizes the Latin translations of letters and manuscripts they worked on was not their crazy professor’s idea of torture but his truly sane quest to attempt to uncover an ancient, world-changing secret. Nora takes it upon herself to flee to Prague to exact revenge, but soon discovers she is key to centuries-old secrets, lies, and conspiracies.
Deeply intelligent and immensely witty, Nora is quite the protagonist to follow and a pleasure to read. Already a wounded character from the start — dead older brother, workaholic mother, and recluse father — she shares the slow-building and enriching friendship she forges with Chris, Adriane, and Max. They work together to translate Latin manuscripts their strange, presumably insane, professor claims will change the world, and constantly reminds them that someone is watching their progress. None of them believe it till the night all four are ripped apart.
Having been to Prague, I loved the descriptions of Old Town, and the wild history the city endured for centuries. The quest spent there was full of surprises, and it was difficult to know who to trust in this thriller. With two secret societies warring one another over an ancient machine that could potentially speak to God, Nora is dragged into making the discovery and destroying it. I had to remind myself there are no good guys in this story. One society aims to create the machine to speak to God, to know there is a Creator and we can communicate with Him; the other society aims to destroy the machine, to prove that God’s existence is in faith in Him, not in proof. In this sense, the book is quite realistic: there is no way to tell who is good and who is bad, and the decisions to be made have dire consequences either way.
Wasserman’s writing style is artistic, with long descriptive sentences that have the potential to become run-ons till she loops it back to the subject. In these descriptions, we learn Nora’s thoughts and feelings, what she sees and hears, what brings back memories and what can link us to a clue into the future. While overabundant, and some sections unnecessary, it was easy to get pulled into the descriptions and the vast historical references, and fall into the story, making this book incredibly difficult to put down.
Deeply intelligent and immensely witty, Nora is quite the protagonist to follow and a pleasure to read. Already a wounded character from the start — dead older brother, workaholic mother, and recluse father — she shares the slow-building and enriching friendship she forges with Chris, Adriane, and Max. They work together to translate Latin manuscripts their strange, presumably insane, professor claims will change the world, and constantly reminds them that someone is watching their progress. None of them believe it till the night all four are ripped apart.
Having been to Prague, I loved the descriptions of Old Town, and the wild history the city endured for centuries. The quest spent there was full of surprises, and it was difficult to know who to trust in this thriller. With two secret societies warring one another over an ancient machine that could potentially speak to God, Nora is dragged into making the discovery and destroying it. I had to remind myself there are no good guys in this story. One society aims to create the machine to speak to God, to know there is a Creator and we can communicate with Him; the other society aims to destroy the machine, to prove that God’s existence is in faith in Him, not in proof. In this sense, the book is quite realistic: there is no way to tell who is good and who is bad, and the decisions to be made have dire consequences either way.
Wasserman’s writing style is artistic, with long descriptive sentences that have the potential to become run-ons till she loops it back to the subject. In these descriptions, we learn Nora’s thoughts and feelings, what she sees and hears, what brings back memories and what can link us to a clue into the future. While overabundant, and some sections unnecessary, it was easy to get pulled into the descriptions and the vast historical references, and fall into the story, making this book incredibly difficult to put down.
valhecka's review against another edition
5.0
FFUUUUUUUUUU.
I loved this but basically all I can think about right now is how I want to have Nora over so we can watch really dumb movies and talk about how much boys suck.
I loved this but basically all I can think about right now is how I want to have Nora over so we can watch really dumb movies and talk about how much boys suck.
kylielynelle's review against another edition
4.0
This is a worthy addition to the young adult mystery genre. Nora is a lovable character to which the reader will instantly relate. She has a sassy, almost sarcastic voice, and tells her story in a very compelling manor. The plot is engaging, and leaves the reader desperate to begin the next chapter. It is quite complex, and delivers juicy twists and turns throughout. There was quite a bit of Latin throughout the book, but it is almost always translated into English. The story feels like it gets a little tedious and long in the second half of the book, but that is by no means a deal breaker with this one. Despite the length, readers will be anxious to finish this one, and discover the secret behind the Lumen Dei.
For Use in the Library:
Recommend this text to a reader who is interested in languages. The main character’s love of language is obvious, and will likely be inspiring to young readers. Nora is easy to relate to, and will make the study of language seem mysterious and exciting.
For Use in the Library:
Recommend this text to a reader who is interested in languages. The main character’s love of language is obvious, and will likely be inspiring to young readers. Nora is easy to relate to, and will make the study of language seem mysterious and exciting.
michalice's review
2.0
It all started with a group of students researching a book that is 700 years old. They get hold of a copy of it and work together to study and learn more about it, in the hopes they make a great discovery. One thing leads to another and peoples lives are lost, and what Nora thought was the truth turns out to be a lie, things can only get better from now on can't they???
When you start a book with the words 'I should probably start with the blood' then you have my attention immediately. By the time I had reached the bottom of the first page I was hooked and wanted this to continue throughout the book. Admittedly, throughout the first third of The Book of Blood and Shadow I was hooked and found it hard to put it down, but by the time it got to the middle I was struggling to keep focused and continue reading. Just as I was about to give up The Book of Blood and Shadow did a complete turn around and I found myself engrossed once again.
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the mystery and intrigue in this book and all the way through continued guessing as to what was going to happen next. During the main parts of the storyline, the history of the Luminis Dei and the ancient letters, I found myself losing interest in what was wrote down, and I think this is really just a personal opinion, I am more of an action, mystery person rather than a person who enjoys reading about the history of certain things.
Even though this is not one of my favourite reads, I would still recommend it to others to read.
When you start a book with the words 'I should probably start with the blood' then you have my attention immediately. By the time I had reached the bottom of the first page I was hooked and wanted this to continue throughout the book. Admittedly, throughout the first third of The Book of Blood and Shadow I was hooked and found it hard to put it down, but by the time it got to the middle I was struggling to keep focused and continue reading. Just as I was about to give up The Book of Blood and Shadow did a complete turn around and I found myself engrossed once again.
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the mystery and intrigue in this book and all the way through continued guessing as to what was going to happen next. During the main parts of the storyline, the history of the Luminis Dei and the ancient letters, I found myself losing interest in what was wrote down, and I think this is really just a personal opinion, I am more of an action, mystery person rather than a person who enjoys reading about the history of certain things.
Even though this is not one of my favourite reads, I would still recommend it to others to read.
laur312's review against another edition
5.0
That was a wild ride from start to finish honestly. I started out really invested in Elizabeth's letters but they got boring eventually. The story leads you in circles and you never know who you can trust--except Nora, who I really loved as a protagonist. I loved her mental voice and her strength and her loyalty. If for nothing else, I would probably give this book 5 stars just for Nora because I loved her so much. I'm surprised by how much I liked this book. I didn't really expect to.
nmainardiauthor's review
4.0
Despite the slow beginning, I'm surprised by how much I loved this! Full review closer to release date.
swampgoblin97's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
3.75