Review: The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

  Title: The Book of Blood and Shadow [Amazon|GoodReads]
  Author: Robin Wasserman [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
  Standing: Stand alone novel.
  Genre: Young/New Adult, Mystery
  Published: April 10th, 2012 by Random House Children’s Books
  Format: Kindle edition; 448 pages.
  Source: ARC from publisher received via NetGalley.

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.

The Book of Blood and Shadow was, for me, one of those reads that is almost but not quite right.  I enjoyed it as a read, but found myself far from blown away with a story that was more tepid than bone chilling.  The story starts with the gruesome murder of Nora’s best friend, Chris, but then backtracks to that fall in order to give us a greater scope on the scene.  Nora, Chris, and Chris’s freshman roommate, Max, are hired on as research assistants for a local scholar of old manuscripts, where they are set to translating from Latin.  Chris and Max are given the more prestigious task of attempting to translate and decode a manuscript that has been of interest to conspirators for centuries, while Nora is relegated to translating a pile of letters.  Nora, though put out by the belief that she has been assigned this ‘lesser’ task by virtue of being a high schooler or a girl, soon finds herself enraptured by the letter writer, Elizabeth’s, story.  Nora feels a certain kinship and understanding between herself and Elizabeth, feeling the need to keep her most private correspondence private, and understanding her words with more ease and depth over time.

While all of the characters were well-written, I found myself unable to connect with any of them or feel truly invested in their futures.  Chris, undoubtedly the most likable character, is announced dead before the story even gets going.  Nora’s relationship to Chris, and to Elizabeth, were the only relationships I really felt in the book.  Her romance with Max seemed very lukewarm to me, and as such I couldn’t really grasp her devotion and faith in him (I’ll admit it, I’m prejudice against boys who recite poetry to come across as ‘smart’ or ‘romantic’, to me it just reads lame).  Nora’s relationship with Adriane also seemed rather mild, but I did enjoy having Adriane around as she was the only character that seemed to bring any humor to the book.  I suppose in the end, I would have to state that The Book of Blood and Shadow, as a mystery, seeks to be both plot and character driven, but is lacking somewhat on both accounts.

The writing in The Book of Blood and Shadow is nearly poetic, a story that seems like it should be adrenaline filled is instead more quiet and subtle.  The mystery to be solved presents a fun and engrossing trail throughout the book, with various twists and turns to uncover.  I did, however, question the plausibility of the mystery itself.  The information uncovered from Elizabeth’s letters didn’t really seem that difficult to figure out.  I suppose the best reasoning one can come up with for previous scholars not having uncovered it is the supposed unimportance of Elizabeth’s letters.  This didn’t really line up for me though, given events and beliefs exposed later in the story.  

The setting of Prague always lends and air of mystery and intrigue to any story, and The Book of Blood and Shadow is no exception.  I found myself craving more detail of the city, like those we received in Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but as the character in that book lived in Prague, while the characters in this one are only visiting, it seems fair that we don’t get quite the same feel for the city.

The Book of Blood and Shadow, despite its faults, is a book worth reading for those who enjoy uncovering age-old mysteries.  I very much enjoyed that while this was a contemporary mystery, it had many elements of historical fiction in play.  The mystery, those involved, and even the city of Prague lended the perfect elements of a good historical fiction, while at the same time having the conveniences of a contemporary novel.  This book will appeal to those who enjoy conspiracies, and secret societies; with a more subtle Indiana Jones and the Arc of the Covenant feel, The Book of Blood and Shadow was intriguing and fun.  I will say that this book presented three very different but interesting views on faith and God, all of which presented a possible extreme; I do think that my inability to align with any of these extremes is part of the reason I felt disconnected from the story.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  I do still want to read Robin Wasserman’s Skinned series, but I won’t be prioritizing it based on my experience with The Book of Blood and Shadow.

Recommended for:  Fans of Indiana Jones and the Arc of the Covenant, Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco, or The Divinci Code by Dan Brown.  Basically those who enjoy mystery and adventure with religious themes.

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Review: I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Title: I Hunt Killers [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Barry Lyga [Website|Twitter]
Standing: Stand alone novel.
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller
Published: April 3rd, 2012 by Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover; 368 pages
Source: ARC copy provided as part of a tour hosted by The Midnight Garden (thank you!).

Jazz was afraid of two things in the world, and two things only.  One of them was that people thought that his upbringing meant that he was cursed by nature, nurture, and predestination to be a serial killer like his father.

The second thing...was that they were right.

As long as he can remember, Jazz’s dad has been killing people.  With a body count of 123 (124?), Billy Dent has become the world’s most notorious serial killer.  A new brand of sociopath.  And he spent years grooming Jazz to take up his throne when he was gone.  Now, four years after Billy was finally caught and put away, Jazz struggles to live life as a normal teen.  Lies and manipulation come as easy to him as breathing, and Jazz’s biggest fear is that he’s more like his dad than anyone knows.  When a body shows up in a field outside Lobo’s Nod, Jazz knows instantly what the cops don’t want to believe--that another serial killer is on the loose.  Jazz is certain he’s right, and that he can help the cops to catch their man.  After all, he’s the only one of them who really knows how to think like a serial killer.

When I first heard of I Hunt Killers, it was self-described as “Dexter meets Silence of the Lambs for teens”.  I always hate these types of descriptions which makes my mind just think things like ‘Serial killers...you know, for kids!”

But at the same time, it certainly got my attention.  And while I’d say I Hunt Killers is perfect for any fan of thrillers, particularly of the serial killer variety, I’ll also say that it was more original than I expected.  Now, while I’ve watched a fair amount of these types of movies, the only other book I’ve read in this vein is Darkly Dreaming Dexter.  I liked Darkly Dreaming Dexter, but it was honestly pretty boring after having already watched the Showtime adaptation.  I am happy to report that I Hunt Killers wasn’t about a serial-killer-killing serial killer (Dexter was awesome, but it’s been done), it was its own uniquely nauseating story of the child of a serial killer grappling with his own nature and frighteningly adept understanding of a sociopathic killer mentality.

Jazz is one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever seen behind.  He’s struggling with trying to be a normal teen, while completely aware that he is anything but.  He’s continually reminding himself that people are real, that people matter, while fighting the fact that he has an absence of feelings for other human beings he can only explain away by admitting to himself that he’s a sociopath.  Jazz wants so badly to be not be like his father, that the desire is probably the only thing that stands between them.  He has so many of his father’s characteristics.  He’s handsome and charming, he knows how to work people, he’s incredibly intelligent, but he also has a fascination with the ease with which he could destroy people.  Jazz is acutely aware of how close he is to slipping, how sometimes he thinks he might want to hurt people.  

I really wasn’t sure what we’re supposed to think of Jazz’s mental state, as he clearly didn’t know what he thought himself.  He’s so convinced he’s a sociopath--he has memories he can’t breach where he worries he’s done terrible things.  Honestly, I was pretty convinced he was a sociopath as well.  After all, not all sociopaths kill people, some of them are just business CEOs.  Jazz’s thought process was frightening to behold, and I loved it.

The story of I Hunt Killers never let up.  It starts with a dead body found naked in a field, and there is never a dull moment.  Jazz’s relationships with his friend, girlfriend, grandmother, and the cops have surprising depth and believability.  For me, what made I Hunt Killers unique as a thriller was that it was character driven.  Most often, I find that these types of books are so on the edge and plot driven, that the characters are only there to move things along.  Not so with I Hunt Killers.  It was entirely character driven, while simultaneously having a fast-paced and completely engrossing plot.  

Certainly one of my favorite reads this year, I Hunt Killers was a fantastic reminder that our decisions matter--they make us who we are more than our genetics and more than our upbringing.  Barry Lyga captures a mentality so vastly different from the average person’s that it is captivating, and frightening; like a train wreck, impossible to look away.  

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  Oh goodness yes!  I’ve had some of Barry Lyga’s other books on my TBR already (like Mangaman), and I certainly plan to get to them.  

Recommended for:  Anyone who likes thrillers.  Because this one is YA, it’s less gruesome than an adult novel might be, though it is gruesome in parts.  I dug it, but many may not.  You can read the first 10 chapters of I Hunt Killers for free on Kindleand Nook.  And check out the awesome trailer here:

Real life repercussions of reading this book: I totally learned a better way to stop a nosebleed!  I used to get completely scary nosebleeds, but I Hunt Killers taught me that if you put pressure on the vein above your gums by shoving tissue under your upper lip it’ll help stem the flow.  Good to know even if I don’t get the totally freaky ones anymore.

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Review: Slide by Jill Hathaway

Title: Slide [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Jill Hathaway [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: Book one in a new series.
Genre: Young Adult, Speculative Fiction, Mystery
Published: March 27th, 2012 by Balzer & Bray for HarperCollins
Format: Kindle edition.
Source: ARC from publisher via NetGalley.
Challenge: Debut Author Challenge

...it’s wrong that death is a loss.  It’s something you gain.  Death is always there, whispering in your ear.  It’s in the spaces between your fingers.  In your memories.  In everything you think and say and feel and wish.  It’s always there.

Everyone knows Vee has a problem, they just don’t really know what it is.  Diagnosed as narcoleptic, Vee passess out on an increasingly regular basis.  What everyone doesn’t know, is that when she’s unconscious, she slides.  Vee finds herself looking through the eyes of other people, an unwilling passenger to their lives, unable to look away.  When her little sister’s best friend supposedly commits suicide, Vee’s the only witness who knows the truth--Sophie didn’t kill herself, she was murdered.  Now, Vee is forced to remain silent for fear of being labeled crazy, but she is compelled to solve Sophie’s murder and stop the killer before more harm can come to her sister.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Guy and girl are best friends, but their friendship is on the brink of unraveling because it’s pretty clear that one (or both) of them has feelings for the other beyond friendship, but they’re too wound up to actually talk about it and instead start pushing each other away.  New guy comes to town and sees said girl as ‘special’, and is totally into her even though she’s probably not hot/popular/his type enough for him and her life is completely screwed up right now, but he sees beyond all that to the unique flower that is her.

Sound familiar?  If so, you might find aspects of Slide as tedious and wrote as I did.  But (yes, there is a BUT), I will tell you that luckily, this played out love triangle is a considerably minor part of the plot.  For me, there was plenty more to Vee and the mystery and suspense of Slide to keep me turning pages at top speed until I reached the end, leaving me liking Jill Hathaway’s debut much more than I was expecting to when I was about ⅓ of the way through.

Thankfully, Vee Bell isn’t just about the boys in her life.  Vee is quite possibly one of the best big sisters I’ve encountered in recent YA.  She doesn’t smother her sister, she lets her make her own mistakes (though let’s face it, I did have that scene from 10 Things I Hate About You where Kat tells Bianca why she ‘quit’ being popular running through my head...they have just about the same dynamic), and yet she has her back and makes taking care of her when she’s down her top priority.  Of course, Vee doesn’t see that she has a choice.  Her mother has passed away, and her father is largely absent due to his job as a surgeon.  Vee has pretty much shouldered the emotional responsibility of an adult twice her age, which is common for the oldest children in this type of family, but the fact remains that she does have the option not to take care of everyone around her.  She’s strong and she does, despite her own cavalcade of problems, and this makes her a winning lead.

Of course, there’s also the mystery.  Slide was a fairly fast paced and thrilling read; Vee’s affliction in which she passes out and ‘slides’ into others was both unique and terrifying.  Vee is drawn into other’s bodies through an empathetic connection made when she is touching an object with emotional significance to another person.  This means she’s basically become OCD, avoiding other people’s belongings and used items (like books) with due care.  When she does slide, she is stuck in that person’s mind.  She cannot read thoughts, control anything, or look away.  As a result, Vee finds herself the only witness to a murder, and knows that if she ever tells she’ll be labeled ‘crazy’ instantly.  In order to appease her fears, Vee must learn to use her curse as a gift.

Slide, for me, brought up some interesting privacy issues.  Vee cannot really control when she slides, and despite her efforts to control who, often seems to overlook items that might direct her.  She realizes the secrets she knows about people because of her affliction are a horrible invasion of privacy, and yet, she also begins to feel that it is okay to invade someone's privacy if you have good intentions.  I had a hard time with this sentiment, although I could see the logic that brought her to this conclusion.  As someone who values our privacy and freedom with the utmost dedication, I found it hard to stomach the notion that this type of ‘spying’ might be justifiable in order to make someone feel better. It does help to solve the mystery, but it's also no surprise that it blows up in Vee's face as well.

I appreciated Slide’s nauseating typeface on the cover, but will say that I was disappointed in the story’s end.  It just seemed too convenient to me.  All in all, a take it or leave it kind of read.  It went very quickly, and I enjoyed it, but I didn’t have to have this book in my life. The concept for me was cooler than the actual story.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  Eh, not sure.  Upon finishing Slide, I remarked that I actually ended up liking it more than I thought I was going to, but at the same time I don’t really see the need to make this a series.  Not sure I’ll be reading the next installment, but who knows, maybe I will.

Recommended for:  People looking for mystery and suspense, but only if you’re willing to overlook some overplayed tropes to get it.  The book it reminded me most of ‘feel’ wise was Fracture by Megan Miranda.

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  For the love of all that is good, I cannot even think the title of this book without getting the Goo Goo Dolls in my head.  

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Review: Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale

Title: Midnight in Austenland [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Shannon Hale [Website|Twitter|Facebook] 
Standing: Stand alone, companion novel to Austenland.
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Romance
Published: January 31st, 2012 by Bloomsbury USA
Format: Kindle edition.
Source: ARC from publisher via NetGalley.

It turns out that it’s not always safe to think things alone to oneself, even at midnight.

Charlotte is an overbearing mother of two, a divorcee, and hopelessly in need of a getaway.  When she is reminded of a goal to read Austen, she picks up the books, and finds herself yearning to escape into the Regency world.  After too many blind dates, she determines she owes herself a break.  Charlotte sets up a vacation at Pembrook Park, leaves her kids with their unfaithful father, and heads to England to immerse herself in Austenland.  Pembrook Park offers more than she expected, however, when mysteries begin rippling to the surface.  What is a part of the game, and what is real?  Who is real?

If you pick up Midnight in Austenland because you read and loved Austenland, and are hoping for another taste, you’re picking it up for the wrong reason.  And you’re probably going to be disappointed.  Luckily, I am here to prepare you (as this review at Janicu’s Book Blog prepared me) so that you can get through Midnight in Austenland with a smile on your face and a song in your heart (or something marginally less cheesy that equates to actual enjoyment of this book).

If Pride and Prejudice was the main inspiration for Austenland, Midnight in Austenland was inspired by darker Gothic tales like Rebecca, The Haunting of Hill House, Jane Eyre, Agatha Christie, and of course, Northanger Abbey.  I actually appreciate that Hale decided to highlight one of Austen’s works that gets far less attention.  Sure, Northanger Abbey isn’t everyone’s favorite, it certainly isn’t mine, but Midnight in Austenland helps to remind us that there are very different women out there, with different interests, personalities, and life experiences that mold them.

I had a difficult time identifying with Charlotte, but I do believe many women out there will feel a bond with her.  Charlotte is in her mid-30s, and while she is a successful and savvy business woman, her personal life is a wreck.  Her husband, the father of her two children, has left her for some trollup named ‘Justice’ (seriously people, if you don’t want your kids to be a self-fulfilling prophecy/hypocrisy, don’t give them a quality as a name), and she can’t help but butt into her children’s lives inappropriately for worry of them.  Her confidence is crushed.  Like too many women who get treated poorly by the men they love, Charlotte blames herself, certain she is defective in some way and afraid to open up to anyone.  Where Jane, our heroine in Austenland, knew the etiquette and was able to present herself with an earnest wit and ease, Charlotte is constantly self-conscious and stumbling, screaming at her inner self to be better in some way.  Let’s put it this way: Charlotte is so sensitive and self conscious that she made it a point to never go to the same gynecologist twice.  If that doesn’t tell you something about this woman, I don’t know what will.

Like its predecessor, Midnight in Austenland is more about the growth of the main character than about the plot.  While Austenland was primarily a romance, this new offering holds more mystery and intrigue (but yes, there is some romance too!).  Like any good mystery, there are multiple questions and story lines that must be tied up and answered.  Due to the setting, it becomes necessary to try to separate the fiction from the reality, and as such I found Midnight in Austenland to be much less predictable than I would have surmised.

All in all, I thought Midnight in Austenland was a charming and true coming of middle-age story.  After all:

Jane Austen had created six heroines, each quite different, and that gave Charlotte courage.  There wasn’t just one kind of woman to be.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  I’ve started in on Hale’s works for younger readers now (listening to The Princess Academy), but I would love suggestions of good modernized Austen retellings or Austen-esque books!  

Recommended for:  Northanger Abbey fans, those who enjoy Agatha Christie, or a little mystery with their romance.

Real life repercussions of reading this book: I totally read like Eddie!  I literally will cover a page with my hands to avoid reading ahead at critical moments.  What about you?

“What about you, Eddie?” Charlotte asked.  “Do you take a peek to the last page?”  

“Never.  I cover the right page while I read the left, lest I accidentally read ahead.  I am a slave to the story.  So long as a book is not trying to be useful or pontificate at me tirelessly, I am its willing servant.”

Review: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Title: The Name of the Star [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Maureen Johnson [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: Book one in the Shades of London series.
Genre: New/Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery
Published: September 29th, 2011 by Putnam Juvenile
Format: Kindle edition.  
Source: Borrowed from my local library.

If Torchwood were more like Ghostbusters it would be:

1. Significantly better.
2. Shades of London.

Rory’s grown up in small town Louisiana, her parents are lawyers who also teach, and they have decided to spend a year teaching in Bristol.  Given the choice of where to spend her year, Rory decides to spend it at the Wexford Academy boarding school, in London’s East End.  She hardly expected that her arrival would be marked by a serial killer reenacting the violent murders of Jack the Ripper.  While London is gripped with Rippermania, Rory finds herself the only witness able to identify the murderer.  She must deal with the disbelief and doubts of her friends, the police, and her own sanity while coming to grips with some shocking new knowledge and the reality that the Ripper seems to have chosen her as his prime victim.  

The Name of the Star was my first Maureen Johnson.  Now there’s a couple of ways to get me to read a book:  One, set it in a boarding school, I have a thing for them.  When I was young, I was dying to go to boarding school.  I begged, I cried, I never went, and am living vicariously through teen lit to this day.  See, a friend of mine left our small town to live with her family at a boarding school in Africa where her parents would teach the kids of missionaries.  I was obscenely jealous.  My mom had attended boarding school for high school, so I thought, “Perfect, send me there!”, but she hadn’t loved it as much as I was sure I would, and they said no.  Of course now I understand that your kids are only young once and I would never send my own away and miss that part of their lives, but I couldn’t see that at the time.  Two, set your book in London.  I’m a wee bit of an Anglophile.  Maureen Johnson did both, pretty much guaranteeing I would check this book out.

I wasn’t sure about Rory at first, she seemed nice enough, but she also talked.  A lot.  Personally, I’m usually annoyed by those who are overly loquacious, and Rory felt some southern need to entertain with numerous tangential stories of her crazy relatives back home.  Luckily, we only hear her voice a story and a bit before she quite literally chokes on her words.  Thereafter, her stories are told mostly in text, and I actually quite enjoyed her weird comparisons and connections between her past and the ongoing events.

Rory is strong, smart, and definitely a girl to root for.  I loved her relationships with the others in the book, as they reflected a very real teenage personality.  In particular, I loved her relationship with Jerome because it’s essentially no big deal.  It’s a real teenage relationship.  They crush, they flirt, they let their hormones rage, they do not pledge their undying love forever and ever after five minutes because they are seventeen freaking years old.  I appreciated this greatly, and it let me really like Jerome while simultaneously thinking Rory will be able to move on to other relationships (YES I have someone particular in mind) in the future without a ton of drama or heartache.  I liked the girlfriends, Jazzy and Boo (though those names...really?  I mean one sure, but both of them?), I even like the nemesis, Charlotte...though that’s probably largely because she goes to a costume party dressed as Amy Pond.

Maureen Johnson has very cleverly constructed a situation in which it is feasible to have very young characters doing very badass jobs (see above comment about Torchwood/Ghostbusters).  The Name of the Star is incredibly fast paced, in a unique way that allows for both the characters and the story to unfold and develop equally. Jack the Ripper provided both a terrifying and gripping plot laid over the invention of a new world with countless opportunities for further development.  I personally felt the story unwrapped itself layer by layer to reveal something much more complicated than suggested at first glance.  Besides people, it’s Jack the Ripper!  Who hasn’t been terrified by this man at some point?  The Name of the Star provides an excellent and fresh twist on the Ripper story, while creating its own unique tale.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more: The Madness Underneath is set to release later this year and I cannot wait!  

Recommended for: Fans of Jack the Ripper, those who like paranormal mysteries ala Odd Thomas, people into somewhat ridiculous but awesome off-the-books agencies.

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  I was torn between the morbid curiosity of wanting to look up Ripper info (and pics!) and not wanting to have to sleep with a night light on and check behind the shower curtain when I pee.  The pics won out.