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A review by nannahnannah
Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Firstly, I need to express my adoration for this book's cover. The design and the artwork are stunning. This has to be one of my all-time favorite covers. I also loved Lauren Blackwood's first book, Within These Wicked Walls, so I was extremely eager to get my hands on this one.
Representation:
- about half the characters are Jamaican
- the love interest is a Black American
- a secondary character is biracial, Jamaican and Chinese
At the age of six, Victoria was kidnapped from her home in the jungle of Jamaica by a tourist company who uses people like her, Wildbloods who can shape their blood into objects, to protect tourists as they travel through the jungle road to cross the island. Now eighteen years old, Victoria is the most powerful of all the Wildbloods in the company, and she is determined to earn a promotion to save enough money to buy her brother's freedom. But she has just been assigned to a new client who is hell-bent on traveling off the safe road and into the heart of the jungle itself, which abounds with dangerous monsters and spirits—and although she quickly falls for the new client, she knows entering the jungle is too risky. They might not make it back alive, and the longer she stays in the jungle, the more she questions who she is and what she really wants.
The plot at first sounds fairly straightforward and uninteresting: Victoria is helping rich foreign businessmen find gold in the jungle. It's uninteresting, though, because that's not the real plot. It's actually about a young woman held in conditions comparable to slavery who fights to get her and her loved ones free, and to figure out where she belongs.
I have to talk about what I liked first: besides that cover, the entire design of the book is exquisite. I am in love with the bug pattern on the inside pages, and I'm especially in love with the engraving of Victoria's hand holding her thurible. Whoever designed this book is fantastic.
Blackwood's descriptions of the sentient jungle are similarly gorgeous and lush, seeming just as detailed and filled with life as the design of the book itself. Although I think the author shines when it comes to dialogue and witty back-and-forth, in this novel, I think her descriptions of the jungle become the star.
What primarily hindered my enjoyment of this book had to be the romance between Victoria and Thorn. I think it's understandable why Victoria latched onto him like she did, but their dynamic from the middle section to the end became nothing but fluff and "beloveds", which got to be too much for me. And I understand that's a me problem, especially since the author straight-up says that she writes romance-heavy fantasy in her bio.
There was also some strange issues regarding consent, too, like when the admittedly awesome River Mumma brought a character back to life for the sole purpose of being her mate, but knowing what we know about the jungle, I think we're meant to understand this as these spirits not having the same morality as humans do. This Mumma certainly isn't a particularly benevolent spirit.
I'm also confused as to why the Wildbloods' magic isn't just called "magic" instead of "science", which always seemed a bit out of place and took me out of the story when I read it. It never seemed very scientific, even after it was explained (and I don't think I truly ever understood the magic/magic system entirely, if I'm being honest).
Despite this, it was still a fun and interesting ride through the jungle, with some extremely intriguing and well-written characters. There are heavy issues talked about here that make it fitting for the older side of YA, and unlike a lot of other young adult books it refreshingly walks through the gray instead of taking a black or white side of complicated issues, like how we feel about our exes and past abusers. It felt very real and genuine to me. Especially that ending, which made me feel so much better about the book in general. It was just the Right ending for this story. I look forward to Blackwood's next novel!
Representation:
- about half the characters are Jamaican
- the love interest is a Black American
- a secondary character is biracial, Jamaican and Chinese
At the age of six, Victoria was kidnapped from her home in the jungle of Jamaica by a tourist company who uses people like her, Wildbloods who can shape their blood into objects, to protect tourists as they travel through the jungle road to cross the island. Now eighteen years old, Victoria is the most powerful of all the Wildbloods in the company, and she is determined to earn a promotion to save enough money to buy her brother's freedom. But she has just been assigned to a new client who is hell-bent on traveling off the safe road and into the heart of the jungle itself, which abounds with dangerous monsters and spirits—and although she quickly falls for the new client, she knows entering the jungle is too risky. They might not make it back alive, and the longer she stays in the jungle, the more she questions who she is and what she really wants.
The plot at first sounds fairly straightforward and uninteresting: Victoria is helping rich foreign businessmen find gold in the jungle. It's uninteresting, though, because that's not the real plot. It's actually about a young woman held in conditions comparable to slavery who fights to get her and her loved ones free, and to figure out where she belongs.
I have to talk about what I liked first: besides that cover, the entire design of the book is exquisite. I am in love with the bug pattern on the inside pages, and I'm especially in love with the engraving of Victoria's hand holding her thurible. Whoever designed this book is fantastic.
Blackwood's descriptions of the sentient jungle are similarly gorgeous and lush, seeming just as detailed and filled with life as the design of the book itself. Although I think the author shines when it comes to dialogue and witty back-and-forth, in this novel, I think her descriptions of the jungle become the star.
What primarily hindered my enjoyment of this book had to be the romance between Victoria and Thorn. I think it's understandable why Victoria latched onto him like she did, but their dynamic from the middle section to the end became nothing but fluff and "beloveds", which got to be too much for me. And I understand that's a me problem, especially since the author straight-up says that she writes romance-heavy fantasy in her bio.
There was also some strange issues regarding consent, too, like when the admittedly awesome River Mumma brought a character back to life for the sole purpose of being her mate, but knowing what we know about the jungle, I think we're meant to understand this as these spirits not having the same morality as humans do. This Mumma certainly isn't a particularly benevolent spirit.
I'm also confused as to why the Wildbloods' magic isn't just called "magic" instead of "science", which always seemed a bit out of place and took me out of the story when I read it. It never seemed very scientific, even after it was explained (and I don't think I truly ever understood the magic/magic system entirely, if I'm being honest).
Despite this, it was still a fun and interesting ride through the jungle, with some extremely intriguing and well-written characters. There are heavy issues talked about here that make it fitting for the older side of YA, and unlike a lot of other young adult books it refreshingly walks through the gray instead of taking a black or white side of complicated issues, like how we feel about our exes and past abusers. It felt very real and genuine to me. Especially that ending, which made me feel so much better about the book in general. It was just the Right ending for this story. I look forward to Blackwood's next novel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Slavery
also: lynching (mentioned); there are a couple of scenes where consent is iffy