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mels_reading_log's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Victoria was kidnapped when she was a small child, and forced to work as a jungle guide for a tour company. As a wildblood, she can use her magic to keep herself and tourists safe in the deadly and haunted jungle. Even though she is the most powerful of the wildbloods, she is forced to work under the leadership of her ex best friend who does not know what he is doing. As a strong woman, who is in touch with her surroundings she has to do what is necessary to protect those she loves as well as the jungle. I love how strong Victoria is and how she is so connected to the jungle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Death, Torture, Child abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Confinement, and Grief
Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Animal death, and Rape
Minor: Sexual content
libraryofdreaming's review against another edition
1.0
I loved Lauren Blackwood’s debut novel and Jane Eyre retelling WITHIN THESE WICKED WALLS so when I was offered a chance to read her second book, I was over the moon. Blackwood has always dealt with serious and dark subjects but WILDWOOD was an entirely different ball game that I wasn’t quite prepared for.
The book follows 18-year-old Victoria, a magic user known as a Wildblood, who was kidnapped at the age of 6 and forced into a brutal contract as a tour guide in the Jamaican jungle. Determined to free herself and her friends after traumatic incident, she takes on an expedition to bring a team of gold miners to the heart of the jungle and hopefully win a promotion. But with her abusive ex taking over as team leader, a too charming gold miner giving her butterflies, and the jungle fighting back, Victoria has her work cut out for her to confront past trauma and figure out her future.
As the author’s helpful content warnings indicate, WILDBLOOD is primarily a story about Victoria dealing with past and present abuse. I can see how some people might enjoy this story and find empowering, but I just found it bleak and disturbing. I kind of understood the exploration of how abused person could become an abuser as well as the downfalls of revenge, but the way it worked out left a lot to be desired.
I had issues with the plot developments and the romance just didn’t work for me. Victoria’s love interest is portrayed as almost too good to be true, but I still felt like he didn’t respect her and their development was too sudden for my taste.
The ending was satisfying in some ways and unsatisfying in others. I appreciate that the author crafted several twisted villains, but I simply didn’t want to read about them. One of my last significant issue with the book involved a side character and the issue of consent that involves major spoilers.
The setting and magic was one of the more compelling aspects and I wish we had gotten to see more of them. I think this might be someone’s ideal book but was not my cup of tea.
Please be aware of the trigger/content warnings the author has provided but I would also underscore that although the technically occurs before the story begins, it is revisited in very vivid flashbacks.
The book follows 18-year-old Victoria, a magic user known as a Wildblood, who was kidnapped at the age of 6 and forced into a brutal contract as a tour guide in the Jamaican jungle. Determined to free herself and her friends after traumatic incident, she takes on an expedition to bring a team of gold miners to the heart of the jungle and hopefully win a promotion. But with her abusive ex taking over as team leader, a too charming gold miner giving her butterflies, and the jungle fighting back, Victoria has her work cut out for her to confront past trauma and figure out her future.
As the author’s helpful content warnings indicate, WILDBLOOD is primarily a story about Victoria dealing with past and present abuse. I can see how some people might enjoy this story and find empowering, but I just found it bleak and disturbing. I kind of understood the exploration of how abused person could become an abuser as well as the downfalls of revenge, but the way it worked out left a lot to be desired.
I had issues with the plot developments and the romance just didn’t work for me. Victoria’s love interest is portrayed as almost too good to be true, but I still felt like he didn’t respect her and their development was too sudden for my taste.
Spoiler
If a man is attracted to you but still doesn't take you seriously when you tell him something is very, very wrong, is that really love? I found it hard to believe they fell in love so quickly even with these kinds of barriers. The fact that Victoria essentially used sex as numbing while going through grief/a complete breakdown also made me very, very uncomfortable. Considering this book is aimed at teens and young adults I'm even more nervous that the audience won't be able to identify how problematic and questionable this is.The ending was satisfying in some ways and unsatisfying in others. I appreciate that the author crafted several twisted villains, but I simply didn’t want to read about them.
Spoiler
I get that it was important for Victoria to choose forgiveness in the end, but many of Dean's actions especially on the journey seemed pretty unforgivable to me. Setting aside his original crime, he repeatedly physically abuses Victoria and his violence has a sexual connotation. For example, he kisses her against her will in front of the group, he hits her in the stomach and abdomen, and touches her without her consent many times. Considering he knows (aka witnessed and enabled) the assault she experienced before the book began and knows how wounded she is, his actions seem extremely calculated to cause the most trauma for Victoria. I think it would be one thing if Victoria forgave him at the end because he was abused too, but the way they started joking around made me very uncomfortable.Spoiler
After Victoria's friend Samson dies, she takes him to the river spirit (River Mumma) to be revived. River Mumma implies he's a "present" and that she will make him her mate. He wakes with no memories, goes off with River Mumma, and is implied to become her husband. Literally just a few days later when they meet again, Samson says he loves River Mumma and, when Victoria questions that love, Samson says he still argues with River Mumma and she doesn't control him. Therefore apparently they have a happy marriage? Despite the fact that he has no memories, no way to leave the river, and River Mumma is an all-powerful being? And it's been all of like 3 days?? This made me SO uncomfortable especially since the author portrays it as an okay situation. For a book that deals so explicitly with sexual assault I don't understand why this dubious consent wasn't interrogated or simply removed.The setting and magic was one of the more compelling aspects and I wish we had gotten to see more of them. I think this might be someone’s ideal book but was not my cup of tea.
Please be aware of the trigger/content warnings the author has provided but I would also underscore that although the
Spoiler
rape/sexual assaultsrmilesauthor's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
As is characteristic of the author, this is a magic system that is very unique and I recommend the audiobook to hear the lyricism of the words in a carribbean mouth.
It's Young Adult, but reads up quite a bit given the time period. Strong sexual themes and trigger warning for assault.
It's Young Adult, but reads up quite a bit given the time period. Strong sexual themes and trigger warning for assault.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, and Child abuse
mariamj's review against another edition
There was a trigger warning for death, sexual and physical assault, sexual and physical violence. I didn't feel comfortable reading the book after that
thebookishaustin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
3.0
mitzee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Likes: jungle setting, blood magic, female protagonist, mild love story
Dislikes: some aspects of the story felt very half-hearted. While the story was fine, some of the plot lines didn’t feel fully fleshed out. Wish the author has spent more time taking about Wildblood powers to give an understanding of what’s possible, who has them and who doesn’t, etc. Personally I was more interested in the magic aspect than the interaction with the antagonist.
Summary for my own reference:
There are songs sung in the audiobook and I had to skip past all of that. It just had some irksome effects on me at 1.75x speed.
The story is about Victoria who is a wildblood and she works for a jungle tour company from what I gather - it’s not explicitly said. But when a group of tourists hire them to go on a tour of the deep jungle, this is a problem, for some reason. It isn’t very clearly explained why tour guides and wildbloods need to be paired but I assume it’s for safety - but then they still don’t go into dangerous areas like the deep jungle, so what’s the safety for? Maybe against other people? It’s not clear in the story.
She seems to be an ensalved person working for this tour company. At the end of the book it’s clear that the point of the story is she is fighting for her freedom but the payoff isn’t there because it was never made clear what she has to suffer to get there. It’s slowly revealed over the course of the book that she was raped by her boss/enslaver - the person who runs the tour company - while her ex boyfriend turned enemy, Dean, (also an abused and enslaved wildblood) stood by and watched. That in itself is a good enough reason to celebrate at the end when The Boss gets his face smashed (like, to death) in by Dean, and Dean is hanging onto life by a thread. I guess put in those words it seems like the freedom should be enough but it would have been helpful to hear more about what life was like prior to going on the jungle tour - since most of the book they are out in the jungle and there are other threats more pressing than lack of freedom.
Dislikes: some aspects of the story felt very half-hearted. While the story was fine, some of the plot lines didn’t feel fully fleshed out. Wish the author has spent more time taking about Wildblood powers to give an understanding of what’s possible, who has them and who doesn’t, etc. Personally I was more interested in the magic aspect than the interaction with the antagonist.
Summary for my own reference:
There are songs sung in the audiobook and I had to skip past all of that. It just had some irksome effects on me at 1.75x speed.
The story is about Victoria who is a wildblood and she works for a jungle tour company from what I gather - it’s not explicitly said. But when a group of tourists hire them to go on a tour of the deep jungle, this is a problem, for some reason. It isn’t very clearly explained why tour guides and wildbloods need to be paired but I assume it’s for safety - but then they still don’t go into dangerous areas like the deep jungle, so what’s the safety for? Maybe against other people? It’s not clear in the story.
She seems to be an ensalved person working for this tour company. At the end of the book it’s clear that the point of the story is she is fighting for her freedom but the payoff isn’t there because it was never made clear what she has to suffer to get there. It’s slowly revealed over the course of the book that she was raped by her boss/enslaver - the person who runs the tour company - while her ex boyfriend turned enemy, Dean, (also an abused and enslaved wildblood) stood by and watched. That in itself is a good enough reason to celebrate at the end when The Boss gets his face smashed (like, to death) in by Dean, and Dean is hanging onto life by a thread. I guess put in those words it seems like the freedom should be enough but it would have been helpful to hear more about what life was like prior to going on the jungle tour - since most of the book they are out in the jungle and there are other threats more pressing than lack of freedom.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Animal death
Moderate: Rape, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Gun violence
nmrobi's review against another edition
Lost interest. Very repetitive teenage worship of love interest seemed taken out of character and distracted from storytelling
jinmichae's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I loved a lot of things about this book, but the plot felt messy to me. Strong start, compelling main character, and a challenge that seems insurmountable all for me interested from the start.
Unfortunately, for me it got muddled up with the romance factor. I think it would have worked better with a longer "will they/won't they" phase, or if there were more stakes for them to have to consider their feelings. I hate misunderstandings that come from something the characters could just have talked about, but even that would have created more tension:if Thorn thought that Victoria was actually committed to her other "lovers" and was more subtle with his desires.
I wanted to know more about the jungle and the dangers present there, but the feeling of constant present danger wasn't there as the got farther off the trail. They had no Wildbloods watching at night?It was mere coincidence that Victoria noticed the soul eater: if she hadn't been awake, the whole camp could have been killed.
I think mostly this could have done with some tightening up. I felt there were too many scenes basically hashing out the same conversation between Thorn and Victoria, and it killed the tension and pacing. They, and the reader, forget they're in a dangerous jungle.And I hate that Thorn doesn't really agree that the jungle and the gold belong to no one but the jungle. I feel that should have been a bigger sticking point for Victoria.
Finally, the scene in the orchard was quite anticlimactic. Victoria alludes to not knowing what's actually there, why there are "man eaters" if there's no men there. But it's just trees with gold sap? And we only really see it in a glance as she tries to help Thorn. I also didn't understand why she didn't just stay in the jungle: why return to the boss at all? Especially with how it ends?
In some ways this felt like a first draft, which is frustrating because I really enjoyed the writing, the glimpses we saw of the jungle's beauty and danger, and the different characters. I think the plot just got muddied up in the middle, and the tone became less consistent, which lost the danger and immediacy of the early chapters.
All that said, I loved Biggs. I think he was my favorite part of the book. I almost yelled with how happy I was that he loved Victoria just like the rest of the jungle.
Unfortunately, for me it got muddled up with the romance factor. I think it would have worked better with a longer "will they/won't they" phase, or if there were more stakes for them to have to consider their feelings. I hate misunderstandings that come from something the characters could just have talked about, but even that would have created more tension:
I wanted to know more about the jungle and the dangers present there, but the feeling of constant present danger wasn't there as the got farther off the trail. They had no Wildbloods watching at night?
I think mostly this could have done with some tightening up. I felt there were too many scenes basically hashing out the same conversation between Thorn and Victoria, and it killed the tension and pacing. They, and the reader, forget they're in a dangerous jungle.
In some ways this felt like a first draft, which is frustrating because I really enjoyed the writing, the glimpses we saw of the jungle's beauty and danger, and the different characters. I think the plot just got muddied up in the middle, and the tone became less consistent, which lost the danger and immediacy of the early chapters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Colonisation, Grief, Slavery, Trafficking, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Bullying, Murder, Racism, Torture, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual harassment
cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
The cover and the synopsis are a great indication of the kind of story you're in for. This book was a whirlwind of an adventure with some of the great worldbuilding. It was so easy to go through and author also did an excellent job at including meaningful details about the setting that made the work immersive and lush. If you love young adult fantasy, this is absolutely a book you’ll want to read.
A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
I really enjoyed this book! i loved the jungle setting and the magic system. the characters were really interesting, and the book somewhat reminded me of Jungle Cruise and Tarzan. The ending, of course left me heartbroken but it was bittersweet.
I really enjoyed this book! i loved the jungle setting and the magic system. the characters were really interesting, and the book somewhat reminded me of Jungle Cruise and Tarzan. The ending, of course left me heartbroken but it was bittersweet.