Italy, 1453. Seventeen-year-old Luca Vero is brilliant, gorgeous—and accused of heresy. Cast out of his religious order for using the new science to question old superstitious beliefs, Luca is recruited into a secret sect: The Order of the Dragon, commissioned by Pope Nicholas V to investigate evil and danger in its many forms, and strange occurrences across Europe, in this year—the end of days. Isolde is a seventeen-year-old girl shut up in a nunnery so she can’t inherit any of her father’s estate. As the nuns walk in their sleep and see strange visions, Isolde is accused of witchcraft—and Luca is sent to investigate her, but finds himself plotting her escape.
Despite their vows, despite themselves, love grows between Luca and Isolde as they travel across Europe with their faithful companions, Freize and Ishraq. The four young people encounter werewolves, alchemists, witches, and death-dancers as they head toward a real-life historical figure who holds the boundaries of Christendom and the secrets of the Order of the Dragon.
Note to self: Read reviews before reading books. This book was such a let down and, in my opinion, false advertising at it's best. Where are the witches and werewolves snad death-dancers that I was promised. I wanted a semi-religious book about witches and the dark things that lurk in castles and things that go bump in a night. Surely that isn't too much to ask from a book in a series called The Order of Darkness.
Well yeah, apparently it is. I don't even know how I finished this book to be honest, I think I was laying in wait for all of the big scary paranormal beings to jump out and for everything to suddenly pick up in pace and they never did. I will not be reading the second book in this series, not a chance!
The characters in this book were some of the most boring characters I have ever come across. Isolde was so flat and unbearably stupid, surely she couldn't have figured out at the start that her brother was lying, then she just sits there and takes everyone's crap. She was just so wet. Luca was no better either, he was boring as hell and though he's supposed to be clever his amazing maths abilities are never explored. There was an inkling of romance between these two and frankly they deserve each other, they are just so wet and boring and just cardboard cutouts with no real dimensions to them. The only characters that could have been good were Frieze and Ishraq, their companions but even they are so stupidly stereotypical. I don't even want to get into that. GAH!
The plot was nonexistant, I was rarely taken aback by anything. Everything was boring and this book was just one pile of absolute and utter mess. The fact that I finished it is a miracle in itself.
Now maybe I'm being biased, this book sounds to me like a paranormal and I was so excited to read this, and maybe I'm just throwing a tantrum because JADE NEEDS HER DEATH-DANCERS! but this book was a mess and I would recommend it, ever. If the world froze over this would be the first book I burned to stay warm, even before Twilight.
Overall Rating: E-
Book released May 24th 2012 by Simon Pulse
Book bought for me by my father
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