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A review by ethrone
The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman
5.0
um omg???? robin wasserman did it AGAIN although i'm not sure why i'm so surprised??? the cold awakening trilogy is hands down one of the best series i've ever read and i plan on reading all of robin's other novels as well. the book of blood and shadow definitely wasn't one i had heard of before last year and that doesn't surprise me because robin isn't as well known as i'd like her to be. it's totally unfair because she's SO SO SO AMAZING. i legitimately don't know why either – this book and the cold awakening trilogy are some of the most unique and well-written books ever.
this book had so many twists that i wasn't expecting. it broke my heart so many times, mostly concerning nora as a character. she's relatable, and as someone who recently lost a parent, i feel all of the pain that she felt every time she thought she lost someone (and when she actually did). the grief and trauma is no joke in this book. i've read many YA books that kind of skirt around all of the hard-to-talk-about moments after the main character loses someone that they love. there have been way too many fade-to-black on the grief moments in YA and i was so glad to see that robin didn't do that. the story was genuinely great and if i was forced to make a comparison, it reminded me a lot of the da vinci code (except better, because teenagers + middle ages letters + secret devices + secret romances?). if you like great writing, a relatable MC, and european cities, you should definitely read this book.
this book had so many twists that i wasn't expecting. it broke my heart so many times, mostly concerning nora as a character. she's relatable, and as someone who recently lost a parent, i feel all of the pain that she felt every time she thought she lost someone (and when she actually did). the grief and trauma is no joke in this book. i've read many YA books that kind of skirt around all of the hard-to-talk-about moments after the main character loses someone that they love. there have been way too many fade-to-black on the grief moments in YA and i was so glad to see that robin didn't do that. the story was genuinely great and if i was forced to make a comparison, it reminded me a lot of the da vinci code (except better, because teenagers + middle ages letters + secret devices + secret romances?). if you like great writing, a relatable MC, and european cities, you should definitely read this book.