New York Times bestselling author Tosca Lee brings a modern twist to an ancient mystery surrounding Elizabeth Bathory, the most notorious female serial killer of all time.Emily Jacobs is the descendant of a serial killer. Now, she’s become the hunted. She’s on a quest that will take her to the secret underground of Europe and the inner circles of three ancient orders—one determined to kill her, … orders—one determined to kill her, one devoted to keeping her alive, and one she must ultimately save.
Filled with adrenaline, romance, and reversals, The Progeny is the present-day saga of a 400-year-old war between the uncanny descendants of “Blood Countess” Elizabeth Bathory, the most prolific female serial killer of all time, and a secret society dedicated to erasing every one of her descendants. It is a story about the search for self filled with centuries-old intrigues against the backdrop of atrocity and hope.
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The Progeny, I knew it would be a great read, because of course, all of Tosca Lee’s books are awesome!
Seriously, the feeling of being carried away with the character of Emily/Audra and the in-depth struggle to restore the memories she went to great lengths to suppress catches you away with surprise.
I so enjoyed the interweaving history of the ‘Blood Countess Elizabeth of Bathory’, her descendants and current day progeny. The excitement of eluding the Hunters and age old secret societies with powerful agendas.
I could almost see the ornate old buildings, churches, and windows through the authors almost poetic descriptions. The words from Audra’s mother about how she loved the rain, as it relates to the feeling Audra has as she understands clues in a church window.
I could almost feel the beat and see the colorful lights of the underground culture of the court.
It is refreshing to feel the overall theme of Living Now, Being Alive in the current time, Be Alive, and to Live! This story is filled with emotions: wonder, fear, love, hate, forgiveness, friendship, and the mind battle of indecision.
After the last sentence of the story…I felt bereft! The true success of a storyteller, leave your readers wanting More!
Romance, intrigue, a centuries-old mystery, plot twists galore, all the stuff I love in one little package. And there’s a sequel too!
Okay, TBH, I was semi-stuck at the last third of this book for a while because I was just not in a place to process a high-paced thriller as a personal read. Nope.
But when I finally did, the author 100% delivered the way I thought she would–and more than that, she delivered hope.
This book has some of my favorite tropes:
-amnesia trope (DUDE I love an amnesia trope)
-MC that everyone wants to kill or use in some way, but who just wants to be chill already
-gentle-kind badass love interest (the world needs more of these please)
-much politics and mystery and evil organizations
-brain-smart superpowers that have side effects
-clues and puzzles
So yes, much recommend! And I’ll be picking up book two.
I did not care for this book. It seemed very violent to me, perhaps it was because the author did such a good job at description
Really enjoyed the writing of this author! Will definitely follow!
A page-turner making it a fast read. It was enjoyable and I was invested in knowing how it all turned out, but it does move a little too fast sometimes. And some things are left unexplained, like how this particular group of people are “gifted”, what is the source of their powers/talents/gifts. The book could stand to be longer so it could take more time explaining and letting the characters and their relationships develop.
I can’t wait to see where this series goes! It was a quick read but full of action and suspense.
The only reason I didn’t give this book a 5 star rating is that it’s a first-in-series with a cliffhanger ending and I didn’t know! I don’t do first-in-series books for exactly this reason – the book is not a standalone. If you are prepared to buy the whole series, based on book 1, I’d say you’re going to be delighted. The story was interesting and original, it was truly hard to put down, but about 2/3 of the way through, I realized that this plot wasn’t going to resolve itself in the space remaining and looked hard at the fine print on the cover. Yep. Book 1. Shock & Horror!!!! If you’re looking for an interesting and original series, Don’t Miss This One. If you want a standalone read…. move on.
I admit to a morbid fascination with historic monsters like Elizabeth Bathory so this thriller, following her descendants is right up my ally. Part Dan Brown and part Robert Ludlum– fun stuff.
Phenomenal story. Riveting keeping you on the edge of your seat
Once again Tosca brings her unique fast paced character driven stories to life. In a very timely book about a pandemic that hits the world. Tosca tells the story of Winter Roth who escapes a cult in time for a pandemic outbreak to hit the world. Tosca takes us through this rollercoaster ride of fear, uncertainty, and adventure by the end of the story (book 2 A Single Light) hope, faith and love ultimately overcome. Line between is a wonderful book to read if you’re ready to go on a great adventure.
Prepare for a story full of thrill, suspense, love, friendship and family.
This book is captivating. Read it, love it, read it again.
Wow is all I can say. This book is amazing. I would have to say that it sets you up to jump right into book two! I absolutely love all the twists and turns of the characters. The historical landmarks and cities are all accurate! This book is amazing for people who love history, suspense, and even sci-fi! This book has something for everyone and I am so excited to read what happens next! Tosca has a way of just leaving you craving more! I highly recommend this book!
Want a quick page turning thriller with strong, intriguing, and quirky characters, mysterious historical places, beautiful scenery, romance, plus some high-action car chases through Eastern European countries? Travel across the globe with Emily as she tries to solve what she was trying to forget & why, in Tosca Lee’s well written suspense novel The Progeny.
If I could give more than 5 stars, I would! Much like Frodo and his quest, the characters and their mission from the Progeny remain with you as new friends and a world that you would like to explore over and over again.
http://godsdanceralwayz.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-review-progeny-by-tosca-lee.html
I DEVOURED Tosca Lee’s newest novel The Progeny (Howard Books) in just about 2 days! This novel is fast paced and completely riveting.
Emily pays to have her mind erased to forget her past and ends up in the run of her life to save herself. With her memory gone she does not know who to trust. She however does find out that she is a descendent of the worlds most notorious female serial killer, and because of her blood she is now being hunted. The action does not stop as she traverses the world to unravel the secret she has hidden from even herself. The information she held had to be of major importance if she was willing to erase everything she knew from her memory for it.
I have not read a book that has sparked my imagination like this one has in quite some time. Tosca Lee is a brilliant storyteller. I found myself googling Elizabeth Bathory just to try to find out how much of the story was truly imagined. Lee does a phenomenal job at blurring those lines. I CANNOT recommend this book enough! RUN to your local bookstore in May and pick it up; better yet just preorder it now!
The Progeny will be released May 24, 2016.
A copy of this book was provided to me for review by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This thriller caused an extreme adrenaline rush!
This thriller caused an extreme adrenaline rush!
The characters are incredibly well developed. There is an amazing variety among them and some of them have very unusual quirks.
The plot is very intricately woven. I was definitely kept guessing as to where the danger was coming from. Another huge question was what would put an end to the danger. Audra was easy to connect with and from the beginning I was rooting for her to figure things out. I really wanted her to reach a safe place and had no idea where that might be.
There are references to Audra and Luka sharing a bed at times. There are no descriptions of intimate behavior beyond sharing a bed though.
Intense, unpredictable, and extremely fast-paced thriller with the added element of a speculative twist: the main character is one of the “Progeny”–descendants of a woman who went down in history (real history) as possibly the most infamous female serial killer of all time. Though, in the story, she was falsely framed because of her strange ability to “persuade” people–i.e. make people do things by WILLING them to happen. She passed that superpower (that’s basically what it is) to all her progeny. Hence the name. There’s also a line of people immune to that “persuasion” power, who have been hunting the descendants of Ms. Not-really-a-Serial-Killer for years. That faction calls themselves Scions, or hunters. Political twisty-turnies, double and triple-agents, and mind-boggling plot revelations make this an unguessable, intriguing thriller.
I love Tosca Lee’s writing. Very discriptive imagery.
Masterfully written. Beautiful. Twisty. Gasp! Another plot twist. This changes everything. Created from legend, woven through history with beautiful detail. So vividly told that you can see every moment in your mind’s eye. This is another must read from Tosca Lee. I cannot wait to have the 2nd book in my hands.