The Book of Blood and Shadow
by Robin Wasserman
- Percentage of approved critics who have given this book a positive review.
Critic Rating
60%
Critic Reviews: 38
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- User rating from iDreamBooks & iTunes
Reader Rating
77%
Reader Ratings: 80
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Synopsis
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,... more
About Robin Wasserman
Published: April 10, 2012 by Random House
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult. Fiction. 448 pages
- All Critics: 38
- Positive: 29
- Negative: 9
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Kirkus Reviews | 10 Jan 2012
Here's something refreshing: a religious-historical thriller with a nifty Mobius strip of a plot—think Nancy Werlin channeling Dan Brown—serving up shivery suspense, sans fangs or fur.
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Dear Author | 1 May 2012
While I enjoyed the prose and most of the relationship aspects and portrayals, I thought The Book of Blood and Shadow had some serious flaws. I think its elements were trying to come together to tell us about life, death, and faith but the unevenness of the novels’ second half failed to deliver the thematic resonance.
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Reading Rants | 15 Apr 2012
Beat a path to your nearest library, bookstore or e-reader and lay your hot little hands on a copy now!
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Electrifying Reviews | 10 Apr 2012
The Book of Blood and Shadow is rich and vivid and emotional and is so many things. Though its pace isn’t lightning fast, it is still a book I would highly recommend.
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Small Review | 4 May 2012
There was so much potential, but the overall package just does not work with me.
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Ladybug Storytime | 14 May 2012
Even though The Book of Blood and Shadow didn't work so much for me, there are so many others who are calling this book their favorite read of 2012, so definitely still give it a shot!
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Diary of a Bookworm | 17 Apr 2012
Wasserman launches you on a disturbing adventure pluming the depths of history and religion in a very Da Vinci's Code-esque style where vying secret cults and historical myths crash together in surprising and exciting ways.
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The Compulsive Reader | 16 May 2012
Rob Wasserman's latest novel is an engaging mix of history, romance, and mystery. Dark secrets, crumbling documents and relics, and shady secret societies abound in this meticulously written story.
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Turn the Page | 19 Jan 2012
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.
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Elementary, My Dear Reader | 14 May 2012
The plot was great, the mystery was delightfully tantalizing, and it’s absolutely worth reading. I would like to see more of this from YA authors in the future.
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Parental Book Reviews | 10 Apr 2012
It was just too much (too much detail, too much history, too many slow parts).
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The Young Folks | 30 Apr 2012
The Book of Blood and Shadow definitely gets you thinking. The ending is just so distinctly Nora, and I find it a bit rare when an ending reflects the main character so well.
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365 Days of Reading | 5 Apr 2012
If you’re looking for a mystery-thriller, The Book of Blood and Shadow is a great choice. It’s smart, complex, and interesting—especially if you’re into history (like me).
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Good Books and Good Wine | 16 Apr 2012
I straight up loved The Book Of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman. I loved the device of Weston’s letters. I love the conspiracy and how everything connected.
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Tripping Over Books | 27 Apr 2012
The ending was BOSS, and the whole story just pushed a BUNCH of my inner secret society/religious scandal nerd buttons. Really enjoyed this one, guys.
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whatchYAreading | 10 Apr 2012
If you like thrillers or the books that take place in other countries, enriched with pieces from the past, or even a good mystery, I would recommend this book for you.
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Coffee Table Reviews | 30 Mar 2012
This book definitely needs to be added to your wishlist. The Book of Blood and Shadow has everything that a book could want to entertain and literally left me breathless.
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Random Pabulum | 2 Apr 2012
I never knew what to expect with this book. When I thought I had it all figured out, the story takes a left turn, and it’s not what I thought it would be.
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Dark Faerie Tales | 8 Apr 2012
The writing was wonderful. I absolutely loved the way the narration was broken up, the fact that the sections, in lieu of chapters, were all varied in length. Nora is an intelligent, perceptive teenager who has been thrust into a mystery that people have died trying to solve.
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Xpresso Reads | 7 Apr 2012
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!
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Bookish Comforts | 7 May 2012
Oddly enough, I found myself more enticed by the afterword and acknowledgements - no lie! Going into The Book of Blood and Shadow, I was excited to start reading, but as it turns out, I was even more excited to finish it.
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Locus Mag | 18 May 2012
Wasserman has delivered a remarkably involving page turner that has important things to say about the mysteries of the universe and the destructive force of belief. It may be in conversation with those books and others, but it’s also completely, satisfyingly itself.
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Alamosa Books | 1 May 2012
The Book of Blood and Shadow is the history of this richly dark and unique creature that broods on the banks of the Vltava River.
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JJ Reads | 16 Apr 2012
This book has earned itself a reputation of being the YA "Davinci Code", and rightly so.
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Bookish.Nu | 18 Apr 2012
This book is simply fun. In my opinion, it has a similar feel to Dan Brown’s novels.It also reminds me – and this may be a strange comparison – of some of Clive Cussler’s novels, if Dirk Pitt was a seventeen year old girl with a talent for getting into trouble.
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YAkety YAks | 27 Apr 2012
Heads up, Robin: I’m kind of obsessed with you now and need you to write another travelogue/thriller asap.
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A Reader's Adventure | 10 Apr 2012
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.
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Hooked to Books | 28 Mar 2012
Robin Wasserman's book reads like a young adult version of The Da Vinci Code with a few notable exceptions: One, it's written well. Two, she does not rely on cheap gimmicks to keep you turning the page.
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Tez Says | 10 Apr 2012
It didn’t work for me. Conspiracy theories, creepy religious sects, historical letters, dead languages – they just don’t work for me. And did I mention that the narrator is “the chosen”? I really despise that trope. In short, the novel is okay, but not great.
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Bibliomantics | 4 May 2012
I didn’t find any of the reveals particularly shocking or exciting. The time in Prague clue-hunting felt long. I also found the conversations about whether they think god exists or not extremely uninteresting.
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Not Enough Bookshelves | 24 Apr 2012
The last quarter of the book does descend into Indiana Jones territory. The writing remained addictive, keeping me up till gone midnight, but I did have to fling my disbelief aside, and just go with it.
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Pure Imagination | 23 Apr 2012
It’s like nothing you have ever read before. Ancient mysteries, secret societies, Prague, a scavenger hunt that your life depends on?
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Publishers Weekly | 13 Feb 2012
Wasserman (the Cold Awakening trilogy) has written an intricate and tense tale that combines code breaking, a well-realized and genuinely creepy Czech background, and plenty of believable action and tragic turns.
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Fluttering Butterflies | 1 Jan 2012
This book really is like no other YA book I've read before! I'm so excited for everyone else to read it and love it as much as I did.
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Chasing Ray | 21 May 2012
The Da Vinci Code was a thriller while what Robin Wasserman has written is a book about growing up. That difference is what makes her book so much better and why I think it will resonate with thoughtful readers of any age.
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Verve Girl | 25 Apr 2012
I love this book! It had a lot of intrigue with just the right amount of sleuthing by the main characters to earn a four star rating.
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Beyond Books | 27 May 2012
In a sea of seemingly similar YA books these days, The Book of Blood and Shadow stands out with it's Outside of the Paranormal Box-ness.
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A Cupcake and a Latte | 5 Apr 2012
The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman promises suspense, mystery, romance, history, and fantasy. Readers who love all of the above will find themselves adoring The Book of Blood and Shadow.
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