Department 19 (Department 19, #1) (Department Nineteen)

by Will Hill

[Amber]

3.5 stars/Enjoyable. Took me a long time to read because I've been so busy, but it was a great book!

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Review here: http://www.booksofamber.com/2012/04/department-19-by-will-hill.html

This book wasn't entirely what I was expecting. I was looking forward to an Alex Rider type novel with vampires, but this was completely different. It is a HUGE book, and is very intimidating. As a result, it took me a while to read it due to the size, and it also took me a while to get into because I kept stopping and starting.

While I feel that things were just a bit too easy for the protagonist (can we see Jamie struggle a bit more, please?), I did really liked him, especially towards the end. My favourite character has to be the antagonist, who has kidnapped Jamie's mother and is planning on killing Jamie too.

The other vampires in this novel were also - mostly - awesome. I love that while there were some good ones, they didn't come across as boring, teddy bear types. They were still pretty scary!

Some of the flashbacks were a bit off putting, as they often felt out of place between two present day chapters. However, I do love the insight that the flashbacks gave us into several characters and into the history of the vampires and the Department.

Overall, while this lagged a bit, it was still a fun read with an awesome antagonist. I'm definitely going to be reading the sequel because I want to know what happens to the characters that I loved (like Frankenstein!)