Series: Department 19, Book Two
Publisher: HarperCollins Children'sBooks
Format: ARC
Published: 29th March 2012
Number of Pages: 704
Book: For Review*
Genre: Action-Adventure, Paranormal, Urban-Fantasy, Science-Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Horror, Mystery, YA
Recommended
Age: 13+
Contains: Violence, Death, Swearing, Alcohol, Drugs and Smoking References
91 Days Till Zero Hour:
That’s 91 Days To Run
91 Days To Hide
Or 91 Days to Pray For Department 19 to save you…
After the terrifying attack on Lindisfarne, Jamie,
Larissa and Kate are recovering at Department 19 headquarters, waiting for news
of Dracula’s stolen ashes.
They won’t be waiting for long.
Vampire forces are gathering.
Old enemies are getting too close.
And Dracula… is rising.
Review:
Run, hide, pray, fight. Whatever you
do, you must know: Dracula has risen and Department 19 have just nine days to
track him down and kill him, before he grows too strong and wreaks his revenge
upon the world...
It's been seventeen weeks since Lindisfarne
and Jamie, Larissa and Kate are settling into life at Department 19.
Jamie's made a name for himself, having killed one of the oldest vampires
alive. Not, of course, that has made the other agents any fonder of
him.
But something is stirring. Vampires
are gathering, preparing.
Dracula is rising.
It's 91 days until Zero Hour.
Who knows what will happen...
I adored Department 19, so much so that once I'd finished if I simply had to read The Rising! And, boy, did it not let me down!
Action-packed, adrenaline-fuelled and utterly addictive, I read the
700-something paged book in a blur, hooked to every single word, as the days
until Zero Hour counted down. And oh my God, this was so, so much more
awesome than the first book! I simply cannot wait until the next one in the series!
I loved all of the characters to pieces:
Will Hill remains the master of making in-it-for-one-chapter characters that
jump off the page. And his main
characters are just so loveable it’s untrue.
Jamie is just the perfect
hero: sweet, brave, strong, brainy and so, so real. He may have been a
kickbutt boy agent, but he was also just that: a boy, only seventeen.
While he struggled with his emotions at times and occasionally lost his temper,
I adored the sweet, loving boy beneath the tough exterior. The fact he
isn’t perfect and makes mistakes just made me love him all the more: in fact, I
have a serious book-boy-crush on him. As
for Larissa: she is so awesome! Admittedly, super vamp powers and teen
hormones weren’t such a great mix,
but she was so caring and loving; I just loved the vampire girl to pieces. Kate was brilliant: strong, determined,
level-headed and so kind to everyone – especially the new vampires. I loved seeing how she’s grown. And Matt, who you may remember from Book One as
the boy who was attacked, woke up in the Loop and faked amnesia, was such an
awesome character. He was super clever,
like genius clever, as well as sweet,
determined, enthusiastic and just darn adorable! Valentine Rusmanov just has to be mentioned, ‘cause his dark sense of humour just killed
me. Plus, not an “immortal psychopath” like his brother Alexandru, so huge
improvement there! I liked him – I’m not
sure if I was meant to, but I
did.
Will Hill isn’t just amazing at characters,
though. His writing, plot-designing and
world-building is just as incredible.
His writing is action-packed, addictive and full of flashbacks, letting
us see into all the character’s minds, both in the present and the past. When describing science-based scenes, lots of
writers talk down to us, treating us like we can’t understand. Will Hill did not: we were told in a simple way, but he didn’t talk down to us,
not even once. That particularly struck
me about the writing. As for the action:
just whoa. From the very first page to
the very last, The Rising was
action-packed, addictive, a non-stop adrenaline rush that lasted 703
pages. Bloody, violent and amazingly kickbutt, I found the action
addictive, which obviously made the twisty, mysterious plot even more stunning
and amazing. And this plot, quite
literally, left me speechless. Multiple
times. I’ve never found a plot as marvellously
twisty and unpredictable as this: love
it! The mythology is stunning: utterly
new but traditional. I love that we now
know more about Dracula’s origins, but some parts are still left a total
mystery. I wanna join Department 19 so I
can know everything. It’s a serious plan. ‘Cause I love this world. As in: "Please, please, PLEASE let me be a Department 19
agent!!" kinda love. I love the science, the department, the people,
the weapons. My bags are packed.
I’m moving in as soon as possible.
Seriously.
With action, romance, suspense and bundles
of awesomeness, The Rising just blew
me away. I loved every single moment, unable to put the book down. Sure,
this is a horror-action book, but it has such strong family and friendship
themes, ones that are really sweet and believable and just make me smile. And the way Will Hill links all the different
stories together, twisting and twining them is just amazing, beautiful, perfect
and just so utterly unique. This is,
without a doubt, one of my favourite series ever!
Will Hill, I shall be anxiously awaiting your next book - I know it will be amazing!
James Bond with cooler weapons, kickbutt
teens and vampires! Forget 007 and give me Department 19 any day!
Star Rating:
5 Out of 5
5 Out of 5
Read this
book if you liked:
The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
Challenges
It's Taking Part In:
Happy Reading
Megan
* This
book was received from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review
