The Book of Blood and Shadow

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

SOLICITED ARC REVIEW

Published- 10th April 2012
Publisher- Random House Children's Books
Pages- 434 pages (E-book ARC Version)

The novel is based on the main female character Nora Kane. She is a shy girl with 2 best friends called Adriane and Chris. Adriane and Chris are a couple and Nora becomes a couple with Max (Chris's room mate). However, their worlds are changed when Chris is murdered, Adriane is left in a mental institution (she was at the murder scene when her boyfriend was murdered) and Nora goes in search of answers from the book, also to find out who murdered Chris. The murder was blamed on Max, but did he really do it? The book leads Nora in search of a device called the Lumen Dei, but what is this ancient device and what does it do?

This novel is broken down into 4 different parts each with their own different amount of chapters. It took me a while to read as I was really busy and didn't have much time to read. However, the novel did contain action, mystery, some parts romance and murder. Some of this novel was written in Czech as the main characters had to travel to Prague to find answers to the mystery. Other parts of the novel were letters written by Elizabeth Weston (one of the main people the mysterious book is about). The mystery contained throughout this whole novel didn't start until the characters got to Prague.

Nora was a good female character because she started off a shy person, but soon found her voice and became a couragious female character. She fought for what is right and wanted to find the answers about the book she was so desparately seeking. Eli was a good main character because you didn't know exactly who he was. Was he a good guy or a bad guy. He was also the guy with all the combat fighting moves. Luckily for Nora he was always there when she needed protecting from their main enemy. Max was the guy you were supposed to like and think he was being framed for Chris's murder, but what is the truth behind Max's story. Adriane was supposed to be the nice best friend, but also a bit of a mean person sometimes. However, was she always telling Nora the truth about what was going on her life after her time in the mental institution?

Overall, this was a good novel, but it was slow in some parts. It was hard at times to read some of it as it was written in Czech, but I gave it a go. Luckily the parts in Czech had English translations written after them. It helps teach you a new language in some parts of this novel. Overall, I give this novels 3/5 stars. This novel hasn't yet been released, but once it is I think that people should read this novel if they like mystery novels and novels which contain murder/who done it.

            Rating 3/5
  

Sirenz

Sirenz by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman

SOLICITED ARC REVIEW

Published- 8th June 2011
Publisher- Flux
Pages- 280 pages (Paperback)

The main characters in this novel are Meg and Shar. As an overview of what this novel is about is that Meg and Shar get recruited by Hades (leader of the Underworld) to become his new sirens. They have a mission to lure their celebrity target to the door of the Underworld. Shar is the girly girl who loves anything pink, whereas Meg is the tomboy who loves anything which is black. With this book I received 2 phone charms which are to do with this story. The phone charms were of kitty cats, one was pink (Shar) and the other was black (Meg). They represented each of the characters and you find out why they are a part of this novel if you give it a read.

Meg and Shar are brilliant female characters because they don't get along all the time. They are just like lots of other groups of friends who have their arguments. The girls are always disagreeing about what their plan should be to try and get their target to the door of the Underworld. Nothing ever goes right when there are people who want you to fail your task. What the girls don't know when they agree to work for Hades is that each time they use their siren powers the more they turn into a bird. Meg's power is to lure people by talking to them. Shar's power is to lure people by looking at them. However, their powers only work on men and not women.

Within this novel I would consider the main male characters as Jeremy, Mr Romanov and Hades. Jeremy is the person who starts the whole Surenz cycle. However, Hades is the one who employs the girls to become his new Sirenz. Jeremy is described as a gorgeous guy who has an eye for Meg, but does Meg feel the same way for him? The main way to describe Hades is devious, a trickster and menacing. Jeremy I will describe as the perfect teenage gentleman, good looking and charming.

If you love novels about hell and the underworld then this is definitely the novel for you. Hades is a devil who always has tricks up his sleeve. He is always trying to get one of the girls to be with him. I can't tell you who, however, as this would be considered a spoiler. The characters of the underworld are all really good as they each bring something different to the story line of the novel.

This is a brilliant novel which I believe everyone needs to check out. It is the debut team novel by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman (not each authors first novel, but first team novel). My overall rating for this novel is 4/5 stars. If you love stories about hell, the underworld and supernatural beings then this is a novel for you. Check it out as soon as you lay your hands on a copy.

                   Rating 4/5