The Book Addicted Girl: Department 19 by Will Hill

Series: Department 19, Book One

Publisher: HarperCollins

Format: Paperback

Published: 1^st September 2011

Number of Pages: 496

Book: Bought

Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Science-Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Horror, Action-Adventure, Mystery, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Death, Swearing, Destruction Scenes Caused By a Psychopathic Vampire

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Blog: Will Hill

Department 6 is the army.

Department 13 is MI5.

Department 19 is the reason you’re alive.

When Jamie Carpenter’s mother is kidnapped by strange creatures, he finds himself dragged into Department 19, the government’s most secret agency.

Fortunately for Jamie, Department 19 can provide the tools he needs to find his mother, and to kill the vampires who want him dead. But unfortunately for everyone, something much older is stirring, something even Department 19 can’t stand up against…

Department Nineteen (Department Nineteen, #1)

Review:

"Lux E Tenebris: Light Out Of Darkness"

One night Jamie Carpenter's dad Julian came home early. That night there was something outside - that Jamie knew. What... he had no clue…

That same night Julian was shot dead by the police, after pulling a gun on them...
He told Jamie nothing, only to take care of his mother.

The next day, they were informed Julian was a terrorist, a traitor, and their life hasn't been the same since.

Two years later, Jamie's mum is taken; by the same things Julian was so scared of all those years ago... Jamie is desperate to find his mum, but he has no idea how.

Until Department 19 break through his door. Department 19, the reason the world is still living, the ones who battle the vast army of undead.

But something even they cannot deal with is threatening to rise. Can Jamie save his mother in time, or will the whole world die first...?

I love a good action novel, especially if it includes butt-kicking lead characters! Department 19? Ah-maz-ing! With non-stop action, the most amazing mythology and a gadget-packed, super-secret agency whose job was killing vampires, this was a book I fell in love with from the word go. I raced through it, eating it all up. And y'know what? I wanna be a Department 19 agent! Failing that, give me lots, lots, lots more books in this series please, Mr Hill!

I loved all the characters, our hero Jamie in particular. He was curious and sweet and brave and determined, and just felt so much like a real teen boy. A teen boy I loved absolutely to pieces! Another one I loved was Larissa, who was a vampire and a character who caught my interest from the moment we first met her. I loved learning more about her past and how funny she was, teasing Jamie! She was really strong and sweet and brave, and not at all a monster! But I think my favourite may just be Colonel Victor Frankenstein, AKA Frankenstein’s Monster. He was a little scary at first, but when you got to see how sweet and cheerful and caring he was, when you got to see into his past and how he became who he is you just can’t help loving him! And man our villain was terrifying! Alexandru Rusmanov, a vampire – a scary vampire. Animalistic, violent and pure evil, he really gave the super-scary-heebie-jeebies. He was, literally, an "immortal psychopath"!

And Larissa and Jamie's relationship was brilliant. Admittedly, it didn’t start of great, what with Larissa trying to kill Jamie and all, but slowly trust – and more – developed. It was really sweet and really real.

I just loved the writing, how I got to see into the past and into Department 19 – especially how it was created. Seeing it all from Jamie's POV let us see this world in a new and amazing light - we were discovering it all right along with him. And all the other action we got to see, all the other characters, were so well thought out, so real. This was amazing and unprecedented for me - I've never met such amazing in-it-for-one-chapter characters! And the plot was just incredible! Full of twists and turns and just non-stop action, Department 19 had me constantly on the edge of my seat. Full of twists and one heckuva conspiracy, it was just so darn addictive! Although I had suspicions about where everything was going, I was still hooked and was constantly surprised. As for the ending? Oh. My. God. I, quite frankly, had to read Book Two the second I finished!!

I loved the vampire mythology! It was brilliant! And I loved how the Dracula story tied in, the legend. It was awesome and new, yet traditional. And it wasn't just vamps either, something that made me super excited! Overall? Awesome and so rich! And it was all so believable in a totally supernatural way. Or maybe that's 'cause I'm weird and just want it to be real 'cause I WANNA BE IN DEPARTMENT 19!! Or maybe it's just the rich backstory and history, the utterly believable characters, the oh-so convincing spy-ish-ness of the Department. Oh well. Whatever it was, I loved EVERY SINGLE SECOND!

With a top secret government agency, vampires everywhere and one boy caught in it all, Department 19 was action-packed, addictive and just all round amazing. 007 and MI5 are no longer cool: give me Department 19 and Colonel Frankenstein any day! I simply cannot wait to read The Rising.

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5