The Temple of Paris
by
Laura DeBruce
Publication
Date: February 5th 2016
Publisher:
Quicksilver Legacy Books
Source: Blog Tour
Source: Blog Tour
Find
This Book: The Temple of Paris
Rating:
5/5
Summary:
An adventure through Paris.
American teenagers, Hana and Alex, travel to Paris on a mission to save the people they love. They have to decode an obscure message to find the only woman on earth who can help them. They soon discover unexpected allies — a quirky detective with a crystal dowser, and two young Italians studying in the City of Light. When a mysterious dwarf stalks Alex, and sinister characters from the past reappear, Hana questions the truth about their newfound friends.
The first lives Hana and Alex need to save may be their own.
Review
So my first introduction to this series was by giving the author my
opinion of book 2’s cover options a couple years ago. I was then given a copy
of book one, The Riddle of Prague which I reviewed here. I have been eagerly awaiting book two’s release ever since!
This series is very well researched with history, culture, architecture and
museums being referenced, which I extremely
enjoyed. For me, the best part about literature is when an author can take the strange, such as Hana and Alex’s quest for
Valentina and the elixir, and make it seem like a realistic adventure! I didn’t
know much about Prague, the setting of the first book, but I’ve had to do some
extensive research on the city of Paris back in the days of my French Language
classes and I was pleasantly reminded of everything that I had learned. Paris
is so beautiful and has such a long and rich history that I was glad to see it
come through in this novel. It felt like I could really be there myself experiencing
some of these scenes set in Paris!
I relished how the story and the characters were
expanded upon in more detail in book two, something I lightly criticized in my
review of book one. The Immortals have lived for hundreds of years and
therefore must have complicated and long histories, and boy did Laura DeBruce
come through for me. Nadja, an important character in The Riddle of Prague
never fails to impress me and hold me in awe. I absolutely loved getting to
hear her backstory with the Fortune Teller and the Nurse and thought it’s slow
reveal was the perfect pace to keep feeding me information while also letting
me come to my own conclusions (though some of them were a bit off). Just like
last book there are secrets upon secrets, and I don’t think Hana will ever get
to the bottom of it. Just maybe she’ll learn enough to save her mother in the
end of the trilogy.
The Italian Brunelli family, who are introduced as
a friends of Hana in book one get introduced in greater detail with some unexpected
twists as the plot unfolds. It was interesting to meet a character that Hana
knew more about than the reader, because for once we just have to take Hana’s
opinion for granted, unlike in book one when the reader knew everything that
Hana did and more. For the most part, the reader could discover and learn
alongside Hana instead of Hana telling the reader information she already
knows. Hana came to her conclusions, and I came to mine. When it came to the
characters Gio and Roberta Brunelli I had to consider whether I should take
Hana’s assumption of them at face value or not. They certainly kept me on my
toes! While I was mentally debating whether everything was as it seemed, I
really enjoyed them as characters, especially Gio’s charming personality and
dedication to his camerawork.
Another aspect of the book that I adored was Alex
and Hana together again! He left so abruptly at the end of book one, I wasn’t
sure how quickly they would be able to find each other again or how it would
happen. Watching Alex and Hana’s relationship develop further as they go
through such testy and traumatic experiences together was exactly what the doctor
ordered. Their strong will and the love for their families is truly admirable
and the circumstances they find themselves in create a constant page-turner of
a book. My favorite character, David, got a bit less page-time this time around
as well as spunky little Talia which was sad; but obviously not everything can
be fit into one book and while I missed them very much their presence wouldn’t
have made much sense plot-wise. Hopefully they’ll be there for the finale!
The plot of this book is that Hana with help from Alex, the immortal
David, a hired investigator of Alex’s dad, and two friend’s of Hana’s from the
Brunelli family are looking for the famous yet elusive Valentina who is the
only one who can help save Hana’s mom and Alex’s sister from an early grave.
After the fun historical riddle in book one, this book was more like a
scavenger hunt with the only clues being a “Pantheon” and a “Temple of Glory”.
There are such fascinating connections between the characters that it became a
much more complex web than I originally imagined. Making all of the connections
in my head and looking to see if I was right really made this a really
enjoyable read. The Temple of Paris was a fantastic fantasy history mystery
book that I couldn’t put down, but at the same time I didn’t want it to be
over! My 3 year wait was totally worth it and I sit in anticipation of the
third and final book The Fountain of Ragusa!
Book Trailer for The Riddle of Prague:
About
the Author
To learn more please visit www.theriddleofprague.com
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