Waiting on Wednesday (75)

This week, I'm waiting on...

The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman. Here's what Goodreads has to say: They called it the killing day. Twelve people dead, all in the space of a few hours. Five murderers: neighbors, relatives, friends. All of them so normal. All of them seemingly harmless. All of them now dead by their own hand . . . except one. And that one has no answers to offer the shattered town. She doesn't even know why she killed—or whether she'll do it again.

Something is waking in the sleepy town of Oleander's, Kansas—something dark and hungry that lives in the flat earth and the open sky, in the vengeful hearts of upstanding citizens. As the town begins its descent into blood and madness, five survivors of the killing day are the only ones who can stop Oleander from destroying itself. Jule, the outsider at war with the world; West, the golden boy at war with himself; Daniel, desperate for a different life; Cass, who's not sure she deserves a life at all; and Ellie, who believes in sacrifice, fate, and in evil. Ellie, who always goes too far. They have nothing in common. They have nothing left to lose. And they have no way out. Which means they have no choice but to stand and fight, to face the darkness in their town—and in themselves.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

The Book of Blood and Shadow: Review

Title: The Book of Blood and Shadow

Author: Robin Wasserman

Release Date: April 2012

Published By: Random House

Pages: 352

Goodreads Rating: 4.30 stars

Review: In one terrible night, Nora's best friend's boyfriend is dead and her own boyfriend has disappeared and is being accused of murder. Desperate to prove his innocence, she and Adriane follow his trail to the ancient streets of Prague, where age-old secrets lurk in a manuscript, the Lumen Dei, that holds the power of infinite knowledge and communication with the Divine. Only Nora has the key to unlock it... if she lives long enough.

One of the most notable aspects of THE BOOK OF BLOOD AND SHADOW is the incredibly original plot, which you can see just from reading the synopsis. I don't usually request books from NetGalley that I haven't heard of before, but the summary just pulled me in, and the novel lives up to its intriguing premise. A book like this is very rare in YA lit, and I thoroughly enjoyed the concept.

Of course, it wasn't just the concept that was good. The whole book was made up of twists and turns, some of which had me honestly surprised at the big reveal. Naturally, I won't reveal what they are to avoid spoilers, but the character and plot revelations came especially heavily towards to the end, which I felt worked pretty well.

Unfortunately, though, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted. I can't pinpoint a single reason why, but it just didn't hold my attention very well. I found myself drifting a lot while reading this, and had trouble focusing myself to the end. After about halfway through, I ended up counting pages, only stopping when certain intriguing twists occurred.

All in all, THE BOOK OF BLOOD AND SHADOW is a fantastic novel that just wasn't really for me. However, I'm sure that it'll be perfect for many other readers (and I don't say this lightly - it really just didn't work for me specifically). The premise is fascinating and the story is packed with suspense, as well as some major twists and turns. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes creepy or mysterious novels.


I received a free copy of this book for review. This in no way affected my review.