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rsarnelli's review
Read to page 158 before taking a break from this book...when I came back to it I only read about 20 pages before giving up, skimming the rest and reading the ending.
It's not that this is a bad book, I just couldn't really get into it. I really wanted to like it because of the unique premise but it just seemed like kind of a lackluster delivery.
It's not that this is a bad book, I just couldn't really get into it. I really wanted to like it because of the unique premise but it just seemed like kind of a lackluster delivery.
moniqueeditrix's review
4.0
Creepily fantastic. This book held my attention from the minute I read Roanoke Island. I loved the whole premise of the story. It's filled with intrigue.
proletariat's review
I DNF'd this book around seventy-percent through, as there were several elements that threw me off. Review to come closer to release.
jmartindf's review
3.0
This book was okay. It was written as a young adult book and read like one. It was an interesting idea for a book: what really happened to the Roanoke colonists? But the writing didn't impress and a lot of the conversation and descriptions clanged and sounded more like an overly earnest attempt at dramatic writing.
I wanted to be impressed, but the book underwhelmed me.
I wanted to be impressed, but the book underwhelmed me.
amandelirium's review
3.0
I didn't find either of the leads compelling and the plot didn't grip me. But the quality of the writing itself was good enough that I'd pick up another book by this author.
beckiejean's review against another edition
3.0
This was just my second electronic ARC from NetGalley so some of my confusion and unease about the book is likely due to the odd broken formatting.
I love the story of Roanoke. I have since I first read about it in middle school. The story revolves around contemporary Roanoke when 114 people suddenly go missing again, mirroring colonial disappearances. I was excited to start this book, and was sucked in by the characters early. Miranda and Phillips are intriguing and different than your normal protagonists.
However, as the book wore on, more of the character holes I'd seen failed to be filled or explained as I expected them to be. The connection between Phillips and Miranda comes out of nowhere, and while I know it was a fantasy book...I wanted more of that fleshed out. The plot itself had inconsistent speed. First we strolled leisurely through it, then it went to crisis mode at breakneck speed, and then toward the end when you'd expect everyone to be in panic mode...you find the Miranda and Phillips sitting on the back deck talking. Because we don't always know the rules of the alchemy world introduced I felt like I wasn't fearful for the characters at the right time and even as things resolved I had questions I wanted answered.
For a first book, it was a great attempt. I really do look forward to seeing more historical fantasy from Bond if that's the way she decides to go. Then again...I am a sucker for any attempt to explain the historically unexplainable!
I love the story of Roanoke. I have since I first read about it in middle school. The story revolves around contemporary Roanoke when 114 people suddenly go missing again, mirroring colonial disappearances. I was excited to start this book, and was sucked in by the characters early. Miranda and Phillips are intriguing and different than your normal protagonists.
However, as the book wore on, more of the character holes I'd seen failed to be filled or explained as I expected them to be. The connection between Phillips and Miranda comes out of nowhere, and while I know it was a fantasy book...I wanted more of that fleshed out. The plot itself had inconsistent speed. First we strolled leisurely through it, then it went to crisis mode at breakneck speed, and then toward the end when you'd expect everyone to be in panic mode...you find the Miranda and Phillips sitting on the back deck talking. Because we don't always know the rules of the alchemy world introduced I felt like I wasn't fearful for the characters at the right time and even as things resolved I had questions I wanted answered.
For a first book, it was a great attempt. I really do look forward to seeing more historical fantasy from Bond if that's the way she decides to go. Then again...I am a sucker for any attempt to explain the historically unexplainable!
cyber_spines's review
5.0
Blackwood was one of these Strange Chemistry titles that I very nearly didn’t bother to read. The cover didn’t draw me to the book: it seemed a little too aimed at girls for my liking, and I somehow had never taken in the synopsis of it in properly. If not for my avid reader of a brother, this book would have passed me by and it would have been a damned pity. As it turns out, Blackwood is a fierce contender for the spot as my favourite Strange Chemistry book (although I do have quite a few left to read!), and turned out to be a damned good read to end last year on.
Blackwood tells the story of Miranda, who lives on Roanoke Island—a place of mystery where 114 people went missing with no trace in the incident known as the Lost Colony—alone with her drunkard of her father and her faithful dog. Miranda has heard all her life people calling her father—and herself—cursed, and has long since learnt to live with the way other people look at her and the belief that she cannot leave the island. Miranda’s life has always been fairly boring and she sought escape through TV series and movies, trying to find a place where she didn’t feel so much like she didn’t belong, and worked at night with the theatre company that re-enacted the story of the Lost Colony for tourists and locals alike.
It is at work one night that Miranda sees something that will change her life: a black, ghostly ship glides above the land, and no one but Miranda seems to be able to see it and the mysterious symbols that cover it. Miranda returns home only to find that 114 people have gone missing and that her father has been found dead, believed to be murdered.
Enter Philips. A young man the same age as Miranda and the son of the police chief, Philips hasn’t lived on the island for a few years, having done all he could so that his parents would send him to boarding school far away. But Philips didn’t turn bad boy out of choice, more so necessity: whilst on the island, Philips can hear the voices of the dead, talking and whispering to him, hardly giving him enough thinking space of his own. But when people go missing, his father calls him back to the island, hoping that he could help. But it is for Miranda—a girl the voices warn him is cursed—that Philips returns after he sees her on the TV.
From this point onwards, Philips and Miranda are forced to join forces in an attempt to unravel the truth behind what happened to the Lost Colony and find a way to put an end to what is going on around them. But with the weight of history weighing on both of their shoulders and people expecting them to stand on opposite sides of the equation instead of together, they will have to use all of their wits if they are to survive and save the people they care for. They will have to battle things worse than what either of them could have imagined as friends turn foe and history threatens to not only repeat itself, but transform everything that Philips and Miranda know.
Bond flawlessly skips from Miranda to Philips’ POV and each have their distinctive voices that carry the story forwards easily. The mystery of Roanoke Island is unravelled slowly through the book and the reader stands as much of a chance at guessing the truth behind it all as the characters do. What I particularly liked about the story was that Bond did not shy away from the supernatural elements of the story: she did not try to rationalise what happened, to root it in a logical explanation where magic had no place. Instead, she runs with it and keeps the pace of both the story and the supernatural happening going at a quick, efficient pace.
As with most Strange Chemistry books, Blackwood isn’t your average YA book, with your average YA main characters. The lead of the story might be female but Miranda isn’t the usual girly girl going all week at the knees in front of her male sidekick, and although the romance in between her and Philips is an inherent part of the story, Bond handles it with a deft, realistic hand. Miranda might like Philips, but that doesn’t mean she is about to let her emotions rule her life. As for Philips, he isn’t the typical macho boy that some stories outside the YA genre like to portray: behind the bad boy façade, Philips has a heart of gold and will do anything to protect Miranda, whether she is asking for his help or not.
Blackwood was a good urban fantasy book that knew how to mix romance and adventure in the perfect way. The pace is good and maintained throughout the book and leads to do a satisfying end of the story (although I felt as though it was a little lacklustre compared to the rest of the book…). All in all, Blackwood is more than worth a read!
Blackwood tells the story of Miranda, who lives on Roanoke Island—a place of mystery where 114 people went missing with no trace in the incident known as the Lost Colony—alone with her drunkard of her father and her faithful dog. Miranda has heard all her life people calling her father—and herself—cursed, and has long since learnt to live with the way other people look at her and the belief that she cannot leave the island. Miranda’s life has always been fairly boring and she sought escape through TV series and movies, trying to find a place where she didn’t feel so much like she didn’t belong, and worked at night with the theatre company that re-enacted the story of the Lost Colony for tourists and locals alike.
It is at work one night that Miranda sees something that will change her life: a black, ghostly ship glides above the land, and no one but Miranda seems to be able to see it and the mysterious symbols that cover it. Miranda returns home only to find that 114 people have gone missing and that her father has been found dead, believed to be murdered.
Enter Philips. A young man the same age as Miranda and the son of the police chief, Philips hasn’t lived on the island for a few years, having done all he could so that his parents would send him to boarding school far away. But Philips didn’t turn bad boy out of choice, more so necessity: whilst on the island, Philips can hear the voices of the dead, talking and whispering to him, hardly giving him enough thinking space of his own. But when people go missing, his father calls him back to the island, hoping that he could help. But it is for Miranda—a girl the voices warn him is cursed—that Philips returns after he sees her on the TV.
From this point onwards, Philips and Miranda are forced to join forces in an attempt to unravel the truth behind what happened to the Lost Colony and find a way to put an end to what is going on around them. But with the weight of history weighing on both of their shoulders and people expecting them to stand on opposite sides of the equation instead of together, they will have to use all of their wits if they are to survive and save the people they care for. They will have to battle things worse than what either of them could have imagined as friends turn foe and history threatens to not only repeat itself, but transform everything that Philips and Miranda know.
Bond flawlessly skips from Miranda to Philips’ POV and each have their distinctive voices that carry the story forwards easily. The mystery of Roanoke Island is unravelled slowly through the book and the reader stands as much of a chance at guessing the truth behind it all as the characters do. What I particularly liked about the story was that Bond did not shy away from the supernatural elements of the story: she did not try to rationalise what happened, to root it in a logical explanation where magic had no place. Instead, she runs with it and keeps the pace of both the story and the supernatural happening going at a quick, efficient pace.
As with most Strange Chemistry books, Blackwood isn’t your average YA book, with your average YA main characters. The lead of the story might be female but Miranda isn’t the usual girly girl going all week at the knees in front of her male sidekick, and although the romance in between her and Philips is an inherent part of the story, Bond handles it with a deft, realistic hand. Miranda might like Philips, but that doesn’t mean she is about to let her emotions rule her life. As for Philips, he isn’t the typical macho boy that some stories outside the YA genre like to portray: behind the bad boy façade, Philips has a heart of gold and will do anything to protect Miranda, whether she is asking for his help or not.
Blackwood was a good urban fantasy book that knew how to mix romance and adventure in the perfect way. The pace is good and maintained throughout the book and leads to do a satisfying end of the story (although I felt as though it was a little lacklustre compared to the rest of the book…). All in all, Blackwood is more than worth a read!
couillac's review against another edition
3.0
This one has such a great hook with the premise of the real historical mystery of the Roanoke Colony - that's why I picked it up, that's definitely how I booktalk it, and it always inspires interest. It's an easy, fluid read with engaging main characters, and I think it will appeal to a broad audience with its fairly independent and capable female protagonist, an edgy outsider male companion, and the requisite romance. I didn't finish it, so I can't speak to how the story plays out, but the first quarter of it kept me engaged, and while it seems a bit predictable in some ways, I doubt that fans of paranormal fiction who are looking for something a bit outside of the angel/demon/werewolf/vampire genre will have a problem with it.
aprilbooksandwine's review against another edition
3.0
Being a complete and total history nerd, I was that kid in class who would totally sit up straight and pay attention during the interesting things like The Salem Witch Trials, the Inquisition, and yes, the whole Roanoke mystery. Which okay, basically what happened is, these very early settlers were chilling out on Roanoke Island and were kind of isolated, right? So, this guy John White leaves the island to go hang out in England for a little bit. Then three years later he comes back and EVERYONE DISAPPEARS! All he can find is a tree with Croatoan carved into it. Blackwood by debut author Gwenda Bond takes on that part of history, but puts it in a modern day setting, like the whole book takes place in modern day Roanoke and y’all, all I can say is I am freakin’ pumped a YA author has FINALLY taken on the Roanoke mystery, that noise is FASCINATING.
Read the rest of my review here link goes live 11/2/12
Read the rest of my review here link goes live 11/2/12