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The Book of Blood and Shadow

Robin Wasserman (Goodreads Author)

3.56 · Rating details · 5,243 ratings · 950 reviews

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up.

When the night began, Nora had two best friends and a boyfriend she adored. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands. Chris was dead. Adriane couldn’t speak. 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 everyon ...more

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Paperback, 440 pages

Published January 19th 2012 by Atom

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Jan 06, 2012 Giselle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, own

The claims of this being like a YA Da Vinci Code are not false; mysterious documents, coded messages, religion, murder - it easily reminded me of this well loved book by Dan Brown which is a favorite of mine. The Book of Blood and Shadow is cryptic and dangerous, with a phenomenal writing style - I loved every single minute of this novel!

It all starts with the Book. The Voynich manuscript to be exact. This book is, in fact, real, and deemed as the most mysterious book on earth that no one has of The claims of this being like a YA Da Vinci Code are not false; mysterious documents, coded messages, religion, murder - it easily reminded me of this well loved book by Dan Brown which is a favorite of mine. The Book of Blood and Shadow is cryptic and dangerous, with a phenomenal writing style - I loved every single minute of this novel!

It all starts with the Book. The Voynich manuscript to be exact. This book is, in fact, real, and deemed as the most mysterious book on earth that no one has of yet been able to decipher. This is their assignment. However, Nora is, instead and to her dismay, given 400 year old letters to translate which she doesn't believe is as important, or nearly as interesting as the manuscript. This is where her story begins. Some have mentioned how it took them a while to get into this book due to the slow pace at the start. I can easily see this being the case, but I was completely captivated from its very first sentence: "I should probably start with the blood." From then, I hung on to every word, to every page, to every chapter until I swallowed it whole. Where some may find it slow, I found it increasingly cryptic. It was clearly the beginning of something major. Something very mysterious, and full of peril. There are books that don't need to start with a bang, but rather a thud. This is one of them.

However, if you do have trouble getting into it, page 100 is where you can find the bang, and from then on it's a fast forward until the end. Believe me, you won't even know what hit you. You'll think the story is going one way, only to find yourself completely baffled by the sudden, unexpected turn of events. I could never foresee what was going to happen next, and, for this, I am undoubtedly impressed. Some may find that you have to suspend disbelief in the final chapters, but when it comes to faith and extremely old circumstances, I was definitely fine with it.

The writing: splendid! The narration is extremely intelligent. I was blown away by this girl's way of thinking. Nora's perceptions, analysis, her reflective chain of thought, it was all so smart and put together. I felt connected to her words in a way I've rarely felt before. She took me in her head and made me see who she really was, how SHE saw the world around her. Positively outstanding!

The Book of Blood and Shadow is not your typical YA novel. It's raw and it breaks rules, with an intense insanity that does not stop until you turn that last page. To say it simply: It's nothing short of brilliant!

--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads ...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Emily May rated it it was ok

Shelves: mystery-thriller, young-adult, 2012, arc

I imagine that The Book Of Blood And Shadow will impress most of my friends, it just so happens that this is one of those books that appears on occasion which is well-constructed, well-written, clever and absolutely nothing that I want to read. I've seen this before and will surely see it again in the future, thankfully I'm getting better at spotting them early on - the only reason I finished this book was because it was provided by UK book tours for review purposes.

The story is about Nora who tries to solve the mystery around her friend's death and prove her boyfriend's innocence by travelling to Prague and following the clues from centuries-old manuscripts that lead her into a world of secrets, lies and conspiracies. It's just a shame that, for me, this was nowhere near as exciting as it sounds.

Though the books are nothing alike, the reading experience I had with The Book Of Blood And Shadow was almost identical to the ones I had with The Book Thief and Feed. This could be a good indicator of whether or not you should read this book. If you liked those two I just mentioned - and I know most people did - then you may have more patience with a novel like The Book Of Blood And Shadow. It is equally long-winded and spends a lot of time with the characters and the world before any of the main plot gets going.

Did you enjoy those discussions about politics and occasionally medicine found in Feed? Did you like the numerous flashbacks and stories throughout The Book Thief? Or did you grow tired of them like me? You see, Mira Grant, Markus Zusak and Robin Wasserman are all great writers in the very technical sense but I think they lose something from the story in being so... well, that's just how I see it. It's easy to be drawn in by them at first because you immediately recognise that they are talented at writing, the characters are always well-developed from the start. I like the characters, I like the writing, and I wait and wait for the story to get interesting but I'm often bored.

If you're okay with long sentences, a little too much of the stuff that we don't really care about like translations - or maybe that's also just me? - and the kind of story that doesn't hit you like WOWSHAZAM but creeps in slowly and steadily until you realise "oh yeah, so something seems to be going on now..." then this is your kind of book. Sorry, I'm not selling it too well, am I? I probably shouldn't be too negative as I am confident many of my friends on goodreads will love this kind of story. It's just way too slow and hard-going for me. ...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Maja (The Nocturnal Library) rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, are-you-kidding-me, failed-to-impress, highly-anticipating-2012, huge-disappointment, incredibly-stupid-choices, totally-saw-that-coming, own-a-dtb, reviewed-in-2012, wake-me-up-next-year

After a promising start, The Book of Blood and Shadow turned out to be my biggest disappointment in 2012. I never expected to have to struggle to finish this book. In fact, when I ordered a copy, I was pretty certain it would find a place among my favorites, but the more I read, the more disappointed I became. I’ll start with the good…

Characters and relationships are Wasserman’s strong point. I loved getting to know Nora, Chris, Max and Adriane in the first part of the book, loved finding out ho After a promising start, The Book of Blood and Shadow turned out to be my biggest disappointment in 2012. I never expected to have to struggle to finish this book. In fact, when I ordered a copy, I was pretty certain it would find a place among my favorites, but the more I read, the more disappointed I became. I’ll start with the good…

Characters and relationships are Wasserman’s strong point. I loved getting to know Nora, Chris, Max and Adriane in the first part of the book, loved finding out how their friendship developed, adored reading about Max and Nora and those first months of their relationship. It was all incredibly convincing, the slow falling in love, the realization of differences between a best friend and a boyfriend, Nora’s constant questioning of herself and her place in the group, and that moment when she needed to choose whose number to dial in time of trouble. There were so many layers and complications between these four people, and all of them came from great understanding and experience.

It was easy for me to connect with Nora. She squealed when she got a Latin dictionary for her eleventh birthday; when she was sad or lost, she consoled herself with endless declinations and conjugations… in short, she was a linguist at heart, which made her all the more dear to mine. In addition, both our lives were divided into two periods by a huge event and I was able to recognize how, through Nora’s situation with her brother, Wasserman offered her astute understanding and portrayal of a family devastated by grief.

The premise itself is where it all went wrong. It was just too farfetched – the idea that two college boys and one high school girl could discover something a very determined secret society and hundreds of scholars couldn’t, that the said society was willing to kill for the knowledge, but not research all available texts, Elizabeth’s letters included. The codes were too easy to decipher, the riddles were something a child could solve, everything was just a Google search away and finding the pieces of this precious, mysterious machine proved to be almost effortless. I’m not sure if Wasserman couldn’t do better or if she simply dumbed it down for her targeted young adult audience, but either way, I felt almost insulted by the simplicity of it all.

If I were a Czech citizen, I would be unbelievably angry about the way Wasserman described Prague. What she wrote may very well be true about some god forsaken village in the middle of nowhere, where the communist mindset is indeed still very much alive and hygiene is not high on the list of priorities, but Prague is a beautiful city that combines centuries old culture and modern ways, a city that has moved forward considerably in the last twenty years, and her version of it is simply unfair, or at least outdated. If that’s how she sees Prague, I don’t even dare imagine how she would describe Zagreb, or heaven forbid, Sarajevo. Her words were both inaccurate and rude.

The writing suited me, she has a great feeling for rhythm and punctuation and a talent for using short sentences to emphasize her very dry sense of humor. I do hope that Robin Wasserman’s next project will be a nice contemporary YA (or better yet, New Adult), about growing up, falling in love and finding your place instead of another mystery-adventure-The-Da-Vinci-Code-wannabe novel that simply won’t work, just like this one didn’t. Characters and relationships is where her strengths lie, and everyone should just stick to what they do best.

Also posted at The Nocturnal Library ...more

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Sep 12, 2011 Jo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

“Never date a guy who can fit into your jeans- Adriane often warned me- failing to mention that it was because I might someday need him to save me from a secret society of murdering Renaissance Faire rejects.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Sigh…. And we were doing so well.
OK, up until about 80% this book would have been a 5 star book. I was happily ignoring the mental far-fetchedness of the plot because I loved the characters and the setting and the writing. But even I couldn’t suspend my disb ...more

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Jan 16, 2012 Catie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: for-review, historical, read-in-2012, ya, fantasy

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. It’s tense and exhilarating and I felt immediately drawn into the story. As it opens, the main character Nora is reeling in the aftermath of the gruesome murder of her best friend Chris. And then we are immediately thrown back into the past, where we get to see just how amazing and complicated Nora's relationship with Chris really was. Instant grief! Instant Intrigue!

There’s also a very nice romance between Nora and the quiet, nerdy Max that’s neither ...more

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May 06, 2012 Trina (Between Chapters) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, 2018, contemporary, trigger-abusive-romance, standalones, audiobooks

Hmmm... I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It's okay but in the end I feel unfulfilled? I never waned to DNF it though.

The boyfriend was a complete douchekabob. The plot was drawn out and honestly I didn't know what was happening a lot of the time. Audiobook narrator was good. A bit reminiscent of The Conspiracy of Us and The Da Vinci Code.

Not much rep (a couple of racially diverse side characters) and lots of triggers that I can't remember all of (death of sibling and friends are the main ...more

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Feb 18, 2012 ♥Rachel♥ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley-e-book

This was an exciting read with a murder mystery, suspense, romance, and betrayal.

Nora lives with her fractured family, still reeling over the loss of their son, Andy. Andy drank and then drove, killing him and one of the most popular students in their high-school. This in turn caused Nora to become a social leper in school. Nora was able to transfer to a more prestigious school, on a Latin scholarship. Her father was a teacher of Latin and instilled in his daughter a love of the language from a This was an exciting read with a murder mystery, suspense, romance, and betrayal.

Nora lives with her fractured family, still reeling over the loss of their son, Andy. Andy drank and then drove, killing him and one of the most popular students in their high-school. This in turn caused Nora to become a social leper in school. Nora was able to transfer to a more prestigious school, on a Latin scholarship. Her father was a teacher of Latin and instilled in his daughter a love of the language from an early age. The transfer is the best thing for Nora because she meets her best friend (crush, at first), Chris, and soon Adriane, Chris's girlfriend is added to their clique. Often Nora feels like the third wheel. This changes when Max, Chris's college roommate, enters into the equation. Nora is no longer a third wheel.

Max, Nora, and Chris start working as research assistants, to an eccentric and obsessed professor, trying to crack the code of ancient symbols in an old Latin manuscript. Nora is assigned to translate letters written by Elizabeth Weston, the daughter of a man the professor suspects solved the code of their manuscript. The more Nora translates and reads of these letters, the more Nora feels connected and parallel to the author, Elizabeth. Things take a violent turn as the professor is attacked, has a stroke, and the manuscript, along with all the letters are stolen. All letters, except for one Nora couldn't help but take. Nora is so nervous at taking this valuable letter that she confesses to Chris. This leads to disastrous events ending with Nora discovering Chris brutally murdered with Adriane sitting in his blood, catatonic. Add to that, Max is the prime suspect in the murder.

I had so much fun trying to figure out who was the murderer in this story, and solve the mystery of this manuscript, and why cracking its code was so important. There are many clues that leave you suspicious. You're led to believe one thing, and then something else happens that blows your theory out of the water. The relationships were also a puzzle to be solved. You'll end up going back to piece a few things together. I don't want to say too much because I think it's best to go into this without having prior conceptions. I will say my heart went out to Nora on several occasions. Read the book and get back to me. We can have some discussions. Trust me, you'll want to talk about a few things when you're done!

My only complaint about this story is that in the middle, the plot seems to be weighed down by some very wordy descriptions. I'm all for descriptions to set mood and atmosphere, but this was too much for me. I felt that it interrupted the pace of the story and slowed the plot down. Other than this small drawback, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I ended up staying up late because I had to finish this! (I paid the next day at work!)

Thank you to Netgalley and Alfred A. Knopf for allowing me to read this.
...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Jasprit rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, out-2012, arc-galley, favourites, ya, read-in-2012

4.5 stars

“Better to be slain by an arrow than
by the words of the one I most trusted”

When I received a galley for The Book of Blood and Shadow I was quite pumped as there had been some great reviews for it. But I was also quite worried as I only received the galley a few days prior to its publication date; I’m not the fastest reader and I had not been having much luck lately with books, a lot I found a struggle to get into or ended up being disappointments. But I’d hoped this would not be the ca ...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Jason rated it it was ok · review of another edition

The half of it set in Prague, where all the ostensible action takes place, kinda sucks. The protagonist loses her positive personality traits and the writing becomes far less clever and witty. The second quarter keeps interest alive by stalling/hinting at what’s to come and the protagonist isn’t on her way to irritating the ish out of me yet. I think what this book shows is that Wasserman can write with great wit about family, friendship, and loss – but not particularly well about romance, intri The half of it set in Prague, where all the ostensible action takes place, kinda sucks. The protagonist loses her positive personality traits and the writing becomes far less clever and witty. The second quarter keeps interest alive by stalling/hinting at what’s to come and the protagonist isn’t on her way to irritating the ish out of me yet. I think what this book shows is that Wasserman can write with great wit about family, friendship, and loss – but not particularly well about romance, intrigue, religion, or fully realized characters. I also cut the author some slack because of her barbs about pop culture – so knowing in the first part, while later they become gratuitous and kind of rote.
I'm religious, yet the constant religion talk bored me. The whole thing feels silly and inconsequential – it’s technically possible parody’s the point, but either way as a whole the reading isn’t that enjoyable. The riddles are meh – in The Da Vinci Code (It is entertaining, okay?) they felt right as you breathlessly followed along. I don’t like Adriane, and our heroine’s sappy lovesickness is annoying, and she becomes a lame, angry, bitter, unsympathetic shrew. The second half of the book is largely contrived, unengaging stupidity with an especially anticlimactic, inorganic ending.

*SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* Favorite Quotes:
Under the best of circumstances, middle school is a sixth-circle-of-hell situation, sandwiched somewhere between flaming tombs and flesh-eating harpies.
A right and wrong side of the tracks, although in this case, the tracks are a Walmart.
It would call for substantially more than luck to thrust me into one of those narratives where plain-Jane new girl catches the eye of inexplicably single Prince Charming, because somehow the new school has revealed her wild, irresistible beauty, of which she was never before aware.
A Shakespearean tragedy or at least—if you threw in a lonely stable boy or trustworthy prison guard—a trashy romance novel.
It helped to cultivate a linguistic superiority complex. Or maybe the language without a people just appealed to the girl without a home.
Every time you invite me over here, you give me your implied consent to bore you with the details of my mundane little life.
They somehow still didn’t understand what it meant to never have enough, and I was content leaving them in the dark, because I had no need for their understanding and no use for the pity that would accompany it.
“Look, I’m not the one always whining about not having a boyfriend,” she said.
“No, you’re the one always whining about me not having a boyfriend.”
reason is the last and best weapon of the powerless man. He taught me well the many uses of emotion, the blade that can so easily be turned against its wielder.
I have discovered what fills the vacuum left by love. It is called necessity, and it will not be denied.
“You know, if this were a movie,” Chris said, “we’d probably decide to ditch those ungrateful fools and start making out.” ...more

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Oct 03, 2011 Isamlq rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Wow!

I’d split this book in several parts and love each for different reasons. There’s the part with her laying down her history AND that ending (all on its own) that was awesome. The way things start one would think that one knows how thing turn up. You’d be wrong. That she took her time explaining who she was and who they were assured that I see her story through. And that ending? NOT BAD! I love how things went because it dealt with that long, twisted, complicated ride Nora had found herself Wow!

I’d split this book in several parts and love each for different reasons. There’s the part with her laying down her history AND that ending (all on its own) that was awesome. The way things start one would think that one knows how thing turn up. You’d be wrong. That she took her time explaining who she was and who they were assured that I see her story through. And that ending? NOT BAD! I love how things went because it dealt with that long, twisted, complicated ride Nora had found herself part of. If there be a fly anywhere in it, it’d be when things were beginning to click in to place. I just wondered would a wrapping up of things, a tying together of sorts be possible? Again, given the nature and number of things being included.

Look it’s a mystery, but while I was thoroughly engaged by that part and even had a couple “Oh no!” moments, it was the first third that made sure I’d finish this. She’s linguistically gifted and those she surrounds herself with likewise~ unlikely, but incredibly entertaining. HOWEVER, it’s her relationships with them that hooked me. How she described who she was to which one and who another was to her, read complicated. As with her and Chris, theirs was a friendship that went deep. As with her and Adrienne’s, theirs was one that was unlikely. As with her and Max… and I’m still not sure what to say on that aspect *O.o*

But again there’s a mystery to unravel, a couple in fact. And when several secret societies are thrown in, one might think that things got a bit over the top. But honestly? They all tie together. And when one thing leads to another, across oceans in fact, I had to follow. Even when there’s the too conveniently present helpful person or seemingly too -easily deciphered clue, things just all tied in nicely.

And of course there’s that vital part of Elizabeth and her letters whose life seems to be mirror for Nora’s own. That the same fact is seen as fanciful by one level headed charry but regarded (albeit hesitantly) as something more, just upped Book some more in my esteem. And color me surprised, even their discussions on faith were good. Oh Gosh, I need a copy of this this.

4/5
BIG, HUGE THANKS NETGALLEY!

...more

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Oct 24, 2019 Jay G rated it liked it · review of another edition

Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...

Nora, her bestfriend Chris and boyfriend Max, stumbled across some shocking discoveries while working as Professor Huffman's assistants searching through old letters and manuscripts from 500 years ago. Then Chris is murdered, sending Nora and Chris' girlfriend, Adriane, to Prague in search of answers revolving around a strange machine called the Lumen Dei in the hopes of proving Max's i ...more

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Sep 27, 2017 Carlos rated it really liked it · review of another edition

If you liked Indiana Jones when he goes to look for the ark of the covenant and he fights Nazis and religious nutcases then you will love this book. It is about 4 friends who along their teacher stumble upon a mystery hidden in a book that has been dormant for almost 500 years , it will destroy some of them and take the rest into a journey where the spiritual and violence love side by side , alongside with historical references to a mysterious poetess who through letters that were written 500 ye ...more

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Jan 26, 2012 Amy (Turn the Page) rated it really liked it

The Book of Blood and Shadow is not an easy read. It's complicated and intricately woven, perhaps even a little convoluted in places. It's not all action and takes its time. There are a lot of scenes where Nora is simply translating and decoding Latin manuscripts and a few parts I raised my eyebrows at. The old lady in me was quite distressed for the poor teachers who have three of their students run away during a school trip abroad. Several times I wondered why no one just went to the police. T The Book of Blood and Shadow is not an easy read. It's complicated and intricately woven, perhaps even a little convoluted in places. It's not all action and takes its time. There are a lot of scenes where Nora is simply translating and decoding Latin manuscripts and a few parts I raised my eyebrows at. The old lady in me was quite distressed for the poor teachers who have three of their students run away during a school trip abroad. Several times I wondered why no one just went to the police. Then there's the ending, which is little insane.

But I still enjoyed this book.

Nora, Max and Chris are earning extra credit by helping a grumpy, ill-humoured, professor translate a historically important manuscript, one that purportedly holds the secrets of the Lumen Dei, a device that is said to communicate directly with God. Nora has been saddled translating the less important, but nevertheless, fascinating, diary of a 16th Century girl, Elizabeth. As Nora begins to form an emotional connection to her, a girl who perhaps knows more about the Lumen Dei than anyone else, she starts to care more about keeping Elizabeth's secrets then sharing them. But there are dangerous people out there who will do anything to know the secrets of the Lumen Dei, and others still who would kill to keep it a mystery.

Wasserman develops her characters with a sophistication that is not often found in YA. After an opening chapter that begins with death and blood, The Book of Blood and Shadow jumps back in time and slows right down, as Wasserman takes the time to introduce her characters and carefully build up their messy, complicated, enviable relationships. I loved the centuries-old mystery, the atmosphere of the book, the setting, the sense of history, alchemy and religion, the conspiracies, secret societies with hidden agendas, the five hundred year old diary of Elizabeth Weston. But it was the characters that made this book for me That you were never quite certain who to trust, or who was lying, made the story all the more compelling.

Nora is exactly the type of heroine I love. Ordinary, down to earth, intelligent, funny. The raw pain over loosing Chris, even before we know and mourn the character ourselves, was on every page. Max, quiet and studious, was the perfect match for Nora, despite his (irritating) tendency to quote poetry and his sullen mood-swings. Their relationship is sweet and grounded, and nicely built up, so that we believe in his innocence, along with Nora. (view spoiler) And Chris! Even now, my heart aches a little whenever I think about him and what should have been. Chris is dead. It's his blood all over the walls and Nora's hands in the opening chapter. And yet, I loved him the most. I was devastated at his death, even though I knew it was coming.

The Book of Blood and Shadow is an intelligent, on the whole, well-crafted story by a skilled writer. It won't be for everyone. And it's not perfect. To enjoy this you'll have to suspend belief and look past the unlikelihood of no one discovering the (poorly) hidden pages in Elizabeth's diary before now, that a young school girl could decipher an ancient manuscript where scholars have failed, the ease in which Nora figures out the code, how important clues and artifacts have remained safely hidden and untouched throughout Prague over the centuries etc. The ending suddenly became a bit too Raiders of the Lost Ark for my liking, but the closing chapter was poignant and perfect.

For readers who love a rich setting, a historical feel and a centuries-old mystery, this is an interesting mixture of truth and fiction.

Things don't just fall apart. People break them.

~ page 1

*Many thanks to Atom and UK Book Tours for making this available for review* ...more

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Aug 19, 2011 Crystal rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

This book is essentially The Da Vinci Code for Young Adults. It has everything that you would expect, adventure, intrigue, puzzles, religion, and murder. Even though my brain is still trying to catch up, I really did enjoy the wild ride.
Nora is a high school senior and wanting to add something exciting to her college applications she agrees to work with her friends who are in college transcribing old letters. What she doesn’t expect is to have her senior year plagued with murder and overseas run ...more

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Mar 11, 2012 Em added it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, from-publisher, dnf

I honestly cannot bring myself to give this book a rating...out of fairness for not finishing or ability to express my disappointment.

I could not finish this book. The writing style grated my personal preference. The sentences were too long with too many commas and breaks. Some sentences were 10 lines long and had so many commas that I had to re-read many pages and paragraphs 3 times. I got lost in what the author was trying to say.

I think what has taken me so long is that the story line is stil ...more

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Mar 21, 2012 April rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, mystery, ereader, own, ya, for-review

I’m kind of ashamed to admit this, but I really liked The Da Vinci Code when it came out. So much so that I read Foucault’s Pendulum and Holy Blood, Holy Grail and even wrote a college paper on the Knights Templar. To say that I enjoy conspiracy theory is an understatement. You guys, I am SO glad that The Book Of Blood And Shadow by Robin Wasserman is published in 2012 and not 2003 because with how deftly Robin Wasserman handles secret societies, I would have inevitably been disappointed in the ...more

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Aug 21, 2011 Aleeeeeza rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-faves, 2011-read, arc-netgalley-galleygrab, 2012-release

*4.5 stars*

my face upon finishing this book:

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Suffice it to say, IT WAS FREAKING AMAZING! ...more

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May 03, 2012 Experiment BL626 rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, young-adult, thriller

CAUTION: Long Review.

I decided to read The Book of Blood and Shadow (TBBS) because reviews described it as the YA of The Da Vinci Code (TDVC). I really liked TDVC so I thought TBBS would be exciting too.

It wasn't.

TBBS and TDVC were similar. I could definitely see why the comparison was made. They both have:

+ a death in the beginning
+ characters framed for crimes
+ characters traveling across Europe for answers
+ characters who know esoteric things
+ a mystery from history to solve
+ secret organizat

...more

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Jul 29, 2013 Books are TARDIS rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: atmospheric, awful-parenting, book-about-books, mystery, globe-trotter, that-cover-though-urgh, paranormal, historical-fiction, mythology, questing-onward

“You don't even realize you're living in a before until you wake up one day and find yourself in an after.”

The Book of Blood and Shadow started off as a 5-star read for me. I was won over by our Latin-translating intrepid lead characters. I was equally won over by the mystery of the real-life Voynich Manuscript around which this fiction revolves. I was also in love with the collegiate feel of the first quarter of the story and the quirky friendships between the group.

Once the fantasy mystery ...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Jackie "the Librarian" rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: youngadult, magic, mysteries

This wants to be The Da Vinci Code*, full of thrills and chills and teenagers, but it flopped for me.
So, college students in NYC start deciphering old medieval letters, and then violence and a trip to Prague. And creepy hooded guys who know martial arts. (How they can get away with running around unremarked in those monk robes, doing mayhem on anyone getting close to their protected secret thingy, I don't know. You think they'd be less conspicuous in jeans.) And the golem... huh? Because of the ...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Tanja (Tanychy) added it

Shelves: my-little-library, half-read

DNF at page 198.

I should probably start with a lie.
If you look at the synopsis it promises you a Prince Charming, aka Max. But he is all but that.

I should probably end with truth.
This book is full of nonsense if you ask me. They are teens and they are left to their own devices. Parents are absent in general. Police is also there, but like it is not. Adriane is a bit crazy, I mean that girl barley survived, her boyfriend was killed and next thing she does is go to Paris?!? Like really?
Then t ...more

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Mar 08, 2016 monica kim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5 - This was a fun standalone mystery. Basically, a YA Da Vinci code (except I didn't like The Da Vinci Code and actually enjoyed this). I kept thinking I knew how things would play out, but then it'd throw me for a loop. The author also does a good job of making it reasonable that Nora and co would be the ones to be cracking these codes instead of utilizing the Amazing Teen Genius/Savior trope, which I appreciated. I do wish the ending had been more fleshed out. ...more

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Oct 07, 2010 Erin Downing rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I have my hands on this manuscript, and it is gooooood!

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Oct 23, 2010 Lauren rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalleybooks

I am going to admit right from the start that I am never going to be able to give this book enough justice in this review, because it was just that spectacular. The Book of Blood and Shadow BLEW me away from start to finish. It had so many good things going for it: descriptive settings, fully developed characters, a mystery that ceaselessly twisted and turned, and smart, talented writing that puts nearly any other book to shame.

One of the things I loved about this book was how it was slow build I am going to admit right from the start that I am never going to be able to give this book enough justice in this review, because it was just that spectacular. The Book of Blood and Shadow BLEW me away from start to finish. It had so many good things going for it: descriptive settings, fully developed characters, a mystery that ceaselessly twisted and turned, and smart, talented writing that puts nearly any other book to shame.

One of the things I loved about this book was how it was slow building. Normally, when a book is slow to start, I become a little put off, but Robin Wasserman made it work perfectly with the story, because not only did she take that time to truly build the characters up, but also even in the beginning the mystery was being strung together, the reader nor the characters just didn’t realize it yet. This leads me to the plot.

The plot in this was kick-a##, no lie. It contained so many twists and turns and surprises that I had no idea where the book was going to end, which made me love it even more. I especially enjoyed how well developed everything was. From the mystery behind the book to the letters Nora translated to the romance she had with Max to the friendship she had with Eli, everything was just perfect to the point where I do not even want to talk about any specific point; because this is one you book you just need to experience on your own. Trust me.

The characters in this were another high point. Nora managed to win me over from the start. She was smart and quiet, yet she was daring and relentless. I loved how dedicated she was to her work with the letters as well as to her friends. Best of all, I loved how seemingly ordinary she appeared throughout, because it truly allowed me to sink even more into the story. In addition, to her character a variety of other ones were introduced a well: Chris, Eli, Max, and Adriane. The former two of the four I loved to pieces. Chris was oblivious in ways that I will not mention, and while they made me angry at times, I still adored his character. Eli was wild to tell the truth. I never knew where his character was going, but I did know one thing: he adored Nora. In addition, it did not hurt that him and Nora had great chemistry as well as tension. Max and Adriane, however, where characters I wavered between liking and not liking. They were secretive and always manipulative, but they still managed to bring a lot to the book.

Lastly, I have to say: Robin Wasserman is an INCREDIBLE author! Prior to this, I have never had the chance of reading anything by her, but boy, if her other books are anything like this one, I need to read them ASAP. I loved how descriptive her writing as, and how it managed to pull me into the settings as well as the characters heads. I especially adored how everything in this book was necessary. They were no fill even with the 400 plus pages, which was just awesome, in my opinion.

The only aspect I did not like about the book was the ending, but it was selfish on my part, because I only didn’t like it because I wanted more. However, from the ending, I have a small feeling there will be more. Hopefully book #2 is on its way.

Brilliant as well as well written, The Book of Blood and Shadow was truly magnificent. It’s one book I can’t suggest highly enough, and come its release, I’ll definitely be talking it up at every chance I get.

Grade: A+ ...more

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Oct 25, 2010 Nafiza rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2011, source-net-galley

So, to begin this review, let me restate the synopsis: Nora, her best friend and his friend are all working with a professor to break the code and decipher the Voynich Manuscript. Then the professor is attacked, her best friend killed and things go south from there. There is a journey to Europe, hopping from city to city, midnight rendezvous, hooded people and lots of scrumptious danger. Throw in betrayal and heartbreak and you’ve got the marvelously addictive The Book of Blood and Shadow.

Got th ...more

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Jan 19, 2014 AH rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dark, magic, young-adult, thrillers, new-adult, secret-society, audio-book, zzread-feb-2014

3.5 stars

This is a review of the audio book which I enjoyed over a two week period.

This book would definitely appeal to young adult fans of Dan Brown's DaVinci Code or Angels and Demons. It has a similar premise of a mysterious manuscript, secret societies, and some sort of religious doomsday machine called the Lumen Dei. It also takes place in Prague and the city as a backdrop to the story really adds to the intrigue. Picture young Americans abroad for the first time in a foreign country and i ...more

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Feb 27, 2012 I am Bastet rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, historical-fiction

If you liked The Da Vinci Code or National Treasure, you might like this book. It has a lot of the same kind of searching through history to unlock some tantalizing, buried secret. A bit of that journey relies on heavy coincidences (even heavier than in The Da Vinci Code) and a couple of pretty ridiculous paths filled with clues, but once the mystery gets going, it's not a bad one.

Unfortunately, that historical mystery was the only thing I enjoyed about this book. The beginning was long and fail If you liked The Da Vinci Code or National Treasure, you might like this book. It has a lot of the same kind of searching through history to unlock some tantalizing, buried secret. A bit of that journey relies on heavy coincidences (even heavier than in The Da Vinci Code) and a couple of pretty ridiculous paths filled with clues, but once the mystery gets going, it's not a bad one.

Unfortunately, that historical mystery was the only thing I enjoyed about this book. The beginning was long and failed to engage me. It took roughly 200 pages for me to really become interested in the plot. The writing style was good in some parts, and Wasserman used some neat vocab words, but it was marred by pointlessly long sentences, and I do mean long. Some of them took up entire paragraphs.

The main character, Nora, was inconsistent for me. She was supposed to be emotionally closed off because of her brother's death, which she was. However, for someone that emotionally closed off, she sure did trust people easily. I didn't understand her interactions with people, either, especially not with her friend Adriane. I didn't dislike Nora, but I didn't like her either. Overall I was lukewarm about her, and I didn't much care what happened to her by the end of the novel. While certain betrayals made me a little bit angry on her behalf, I felt the trust that allowed them to be possible in the first place made no sense, so I saw these betrayals as more results of her inconsistent character.

Chris was the only interesting supporting character, but as the back of the book says, he's dead for most of the story. I did like how Elizabeth was made into a character, even though she's dead and we know her through Nora translating her letters. Elizabeth was interesting to learn about, and for the kind of character she was, she was developed very well.

These are only my thoughts. I think others will enjoy this more than I did, people who will probably have an easier time connecting with Nora as a narrator. This isn't a book that I would discourage people from picking up just because I wasn't fond of it. ...more

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Jul 14, 2015 Kerryn (RatherBeReading) rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars

This book was definitely intriguing!

I really enjoy stories where we are told that an event has taken place, in this case the murder of Chris, and then we go back and we see the events leading up to the crime. And I do appreciate when this is done all in one part of the story without constant time jumps as that can sometimes be confusing for the reader.

I will say though that this story, for me, did get a little bit long winded in parts and also a little bit confusing. I was definitely in ...more

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Aug 12, 2016 Ken rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I discovered Robin Wasserman by accident (with the Cold Awakening trilogy) a couple of years ago, when looking for Scott Westerfeld's books. I haven't read anything by her since then, so I'd forgotten what a fantastic writer she is.

Part of my attraction to this book was the setting. I'm fascinated by Prague, and it's near the top of my list for cities I'd visit if I were independently wealthy and could spend my days traveling. Wasserman certainly does the setting justice: the dual storyline, wit ...more

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Aug 16, 2011 Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker Queen of the Undead rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

ABSOLUTELY fantastic. Review coming soon (I'm not going to read another book all weekend until I catch up on my reviews) ...more

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About Robin Wasserman

Robin Wasserman

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Robin Wasserman is the author of the novels MOTHER DAUGHTER WIDOW WIFE (June 2020) and GIRLS ON FIRE. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Tin House, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and several short story anthologies. A recent MacDowell Colony fellow, she is also the New York Times bestselling author of more than ten novels for young adults and teaches in the low-residency MFA program ...more