Book Review: BLACKWOOD

It's time for a book review! Today's review is on Gwenda Bond's Blackwood. (I'm sorry it took so long to finish this book. I got on a huge knitting kick and let's face it, it's practically impossible to knit while also trying to turn the pages of a book.)

(I love the snake. And the actual cover feels all silky and soft. Just saying.)

Here's the summary from Goodreads:

On Roanoke Island, the legend of the 114 people who mysteriously vanished from the Lost Colony hundreds of years ago is just an outdoor drama for the tourists, a story people tell. But when the island faces the sudden disappearance of 114 people now, an unlikely pair of 17-year-olds may be the only hope of bringing them back.

Miranda, a misfit girl from the island’s most infamous family, and Phillips, an exiled teen criminal who hears the voices of the dead, must dodge everyone from federal agents to long-dead alchemists as they work to uncover the secrets of the new Lost Colony. The one thing they can’t dodge is each other.

Blackwood is a dark, witty coming of age story that combines America’s oldest mystery with a thoroughly contemporary romance.

  

I really enjoyed Blackwood. It was a lot of fun to read and I thought the concept was neat and original. The story follows Miranda Blackwood and Phillips Rawling-- two teenagers forced to deal with crazy undead alchemists and ancient curses when 114 people go missing on modern-day Roanoke Island.

Miranda was a great main character. Her life kind of sucked, but she never fell into self-pity. Instead of whining about how awful everything was, she moved on with her life and dealt with her problems. (Often with the help of nerdy television shows). She was a very likeable, geeky teenage girl-- the kind of person I'd like to be friends with.

As for the other main character, what can I say about Phillips Rawling besides HE'S WONDERFUL AND I LOVE HIM AND YOU SHOULD LOVE HIM TOO. He and Miranda were both weird in all the best ways, and I think YA needs some more love interests like him-- guys who know who Elena Gilbert is but who can also break out of jail.

I've seen a couple of people talking about how the insta-love between Miranda and Phillips annoyed them. But honestly, as someone who wants to claw her eyes out at the thought of insta-love, I didn't see much of it. I think it's because even though their relationship developed quite quickly, it was never presented as true love. They were simply two compatible people with a connection who end up crushing on each other. And sometimes that kind of thing happens pretty fast in real life. I thought it was kind of refreshing that I wasn't reading about a couple who's true love was better than all true loves that came before it.

The plot moves along at a very quick pace. Bond keeps the action going, but never lets it feel episodic. However, my one complaint is that I think the plot could have been a little more well-developed. The book, while coming in at 325 pages, feels a little short. I know this will sound weird, but I think it could have used a little more info-dumping. (Whoa...I can't believe I just said that.) I don't mean Bond needs to throw tons of information at the reader, I just think the story never slowed down enough to offer a solid explanation. While I liked the book, and the storyline, I still can't tell you why everything happened.

So, in short, Blackwood was a fun and fast read (well, fast if you aren't trying to knit at the same time). The main characters were quirky and interesting to read about. Their relationship has become one of my favourites in YA (I'm telling you, Miranda and Phillips are frakking adorable.) And plus, the book is filled to the brim with nerdy pop-culture references! What more could you ask for! So go pick up a copy!

Verdict: 3 Stars

Weekly Writerly Rambles

I would like to announce that I have officially done nothing productive all day. I have literally sat at my computer reading fanfiction and stalking the internet. That's it.

Well, I have written a book review and I wrote a thousand words of WIP, but I haven't done anything that screams, "PRODUCTIVITY IS MY LIFE WOO-HOO". No, it was more a whimper of, "I tried."

In other news, I finished Hush, Hush this week and started Gwenda Bond's Blackwood. So far it's quite good, I'm about halfway done with it. And can I just say that I am utterly in love with the MC's love interest? Phillips Rawling-- you're funny, you're sweet and a little bit mischevious. Where can I get a boy like you? Wal-Mart? Target? The world of fanfiction? Narnia?

So yes, review of that to come probably sometime next week.

And now I'm off to go watch ABC's Once Upon a Time because of reasons. Mainly reasons that have to do with shipping Snow White and Charming together because they are adorable.

How is everyone else out on the interwebs?

A Trip to the Wonderful World of Barnes & Noble

(Scroll to end of post for random crack-filled gifs of fun)

I'm procrastinating.  I'm just gonna come right out and say it: I don't want to do homework, so instead I'm going to pretend that blogging counts as productive.  Please be nice, and don't shatter my blissful state of denial.

I went to the bookstore today.  It was wonderful.  And, as usual, I came out with more books than I planned.  Originally I was just going to buy a copy of Girl of Nightmares, seeing as it just came out and I've been wanting to read it for AGES.  Then somehow I ended up with a copy of Hush Hush and the recently released Blackwood.  Goodbye, self-control.

I've heard some really great things about Gwenda Bond's Blackwood so I'm ridiculously hyper and excited to read it.  The cover art is gorgeous and everyone should go check it out on goodreads.  I've read the first couple of pages, and so far I really like the writing style.

And then there is Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush Hush.  Dear lord, what have I gotten myself into?

I recently re-read Twilight, for no reason other than fun.  Cleolinda Jones's recaps are hilarious and made me want to read it again, so don't judge.  I've gotten to the point where I can read that book in a state of permanent hilarity.  Everything is funny to me; it's like bubblegum and sparkles are flowing through my veins and making me jump and scream and cry and I love it forever.  I expected Hush to be similar. I was wrong.

There are some similarities, of course.  Take the writing style, for instance-- it's that weirdly vague but overly descriptive and bland prose that I see in a lot of books lately *cough* Fifty Shades of Grey *cough*.  It starts out with the boring, and smart protagonist meeting the sexy and mysterious love interest in a biology class, blah blah blah.  But I don't see any sparkles yet.  Where is my twinkie made of rainbows?  Where is my snort-worthy ridiculousness?  WHERE ARE MY SPARKLES?????

It seems that Hush is going to be the kind of book where I have to lower my IQ to a previously undiscovered level to enjoy.  I think it's just below the level of craziness that Twilight was, so my mind subconsciously still expects it to be serious while the rest of me wants a bunch of sparkly vampires and pink fluff.  I'm going to have to suppress parts of my brain in order to be able to find this funny.  I hope I don't implode in the process.

Anyway, this is the longest I can stretch out this post.  I guess it's time to go read some more of dear-old St. Augustine.  Wish me luck.

Also, to prolong the blogging experience a little bit longer, have some gifs: