The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

Title: The Book of Blood and Shadow

Author: Robin Wasserman

Publisher: Random House

Release Date: April 10, 2012
Received From: Publisher via NetGalley

Summary:

I feel like the summary is spoilery so don’t read it if you want to be completely surprised.

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.

Review:

I do not think I can express to you how good this book was. but I am going to try to.

Spellbinding, beautifully written and completely transporting is the way I would describe it.

I had read Robin Wasserman’s other books and I enjoyed them, but when I heard about her newest book The Book of Blood and Shadow I knew I had to pick it up.

I am the biggest fan of mysteries and this is an epic one that spans centuries and continents. It all begins with the book of blood and shadow and letters written by a girl named Elizabeth. Only Nora can see that Elizabeth’s letters may actually be important and eventually life-changing.

 'I should probably start with the blood.' is the first line of this book. Are you kidding me? I was drawn in from the first page and brought along on this whirlwind of a journey through Prague and essentially through time.

Let me tell you, I never knew who to trust! Once, like Nora, I thought I knew what was going on something would happen that would throw me for a loop. And then that perception would get changed, it was so much fun.

I loved learning about Elizabeth and her story, learning what happened to her and how she got tangled up in all of this was so exciting. Even though we only got to see Elizabeth’s actions through the letters that Nora translates I really felt as if Elizabeth was another main character who was brought to life in such an interesting and different way.

Nora was awesome, I loved her drive and her yearning to find the truth. I also really appreciated that all of her friends helped figure things out. I hate when the main character is the only one who can figure things out. It is so unrealistic. But thankfully that was not the case.

PRAGUE! Prague was almost a character in of itself. It was so richly written that I felt like I was there, it also made me need to go there someday.  Also secret societies.

The Book of Blood and Shadow was more than I ever could have imagined. It left me more than satisfied and hooked the entire time I was reading it. It is a must read and the perfect example of what I mean by A Reader’s Adventure.

Also don't forget to check out my interview with Robin Wasserman!