Lani Woodland

2.5 stars.

There was nothing really wrong with the story here... wait a minute, lemme back up here.

So, as I was reading this book, I saw first some formatting errors. There was a widow line, there was an ellipsis that looked like this:
stuff is being said..
. more stuff gets said
blah blah blah

Those things made the book look a little unprofessional. then I started noticing some grammatical errors. Mostly improper use a of commas and stuff like that. But these things kind of made me annoyed. So when I got to the point in the book where stuff just turned downright confusing and nonsensical, I was already somewhat annoyed.

Now, as I said, the story wasn't really bad... there was just this kind of sudden plot twist that was making NO sense. If I hadn't already been annoyed, I probably would've continued on. And I might one day pick up this book again and read it through. just not right now. You know what they say, so many books to read, only some much time in our lives.

Right now, I'm in my prime. My mind is sharp, my body needs more exercise then I give it, I'm just in school, don't really have a job. This is the point in my life, where I'll probably be getting the most reading done.

There are some books, like classics like Dracula, stuff like LoTR, Game of Thrones and such like, really THICK and DENSE books that I want to read someday. You know when I'm older and bored and boring. Books that I want to read in my lifetime, but not now, not while I'm in my reading prime. So, if I ever do pick this book up again, it will probably be in that era of my life.

I got to page 119… (meer)

Intrinsical is the first book in the Yara Silva trilogy. I was initially drawn to this book by the striking cover and the intriguing premise. Intrinsical is a suspenseful and fast paced read and kept me up late reading. It is a scarier story than I had expected, and I realized it was not the best idea to read this late at night. There is a steady level of tension in the book and some unexpected twists to keep your interest. The writing flowed nicely with plenty of detail and vivid descriptions.

As the protagonist, Yara is a strong heroine. She starts out lacking confidence, but the character shows growth throughout the book as she learns to live with her paranormal gift. Yara’s relationship with Brent is believable and builds slowly. She and Cherie have a strong friendship and make a good team researching the Pendrell curse.

The ghost story was the most compelling for me due to the surprises and the intricate plot. There are high stakes involved and a scary villain to defeat that kept me turning the pages. This story should appeal to fans of ghost stories and romance, and one that came to mind while I was reading this was Shadowed Summer. In the sequel I would be interested to learn more about the origin of Yara’s Waker gift, and find out more about her grandmother.

Per Goodreads, the next book of the series is titled Indelible and should be published in September of this year.… (meer)

I'm absolutely in love with this series. It's nice to see a levelheaded heroine who has the common sense to think her decisions through and to make hard choices. I think Yara is a good role model for YA readers: no boy-crazed-fashion-victim-gossipy-airheads here.
If I had a teenage kid, I would surely buy him/her this book as a birthday present (hint hint).

Second books are often tricky: if the romance has already been “solved” in the first one, how do you re-create some tension? If all the mysteries already got unveiled, should you introduce new ones or concentrate on something else? And about the world building, should you insist some more on the same main concepts or come up with something complementary?
I think [a:Lani Woodland|4104358|Lani Woodland|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1278086541p2/4104358.jpg] did a great job in facing these issues and many others I didn't mention.
She managed to build tension between Yara and Brent without resorting to the always detestable love triangle (thanks for writing a book that's trigonometrically free!).
I was not disappointed in the mystery and world building departments, either. We learn more about the Wakers and the Pendrell curse (something known), and we get acquainted with other side characters and a creepy ghost (something new).
About the ghost: it's hard not to give away any spoilers; let me just say this: if I were Yara, I would have called the Ghostbusters right away!

There would be much to say about this book but, for the sake of concision, I'm going to pick (the) one thing I didn't like and one (among many) I liked.

What I didn't like was the single-mindedness of Vovò; here she downgraded from “elderly mentor” to “overbearing old lady”. For her, Yara's life should be dedicated entirely to the Waker business, and she goes about this opinion of hers with the finesse of a steamroller. Let's take the moment in which she suggested that Yara could postpone, or downright renounce, college:

“Your parents and I agree it might be in your best interest to defer school for a year and train. […]
You don’t have a choice about being a Waker, Yara. I’m sorry. This is your life. You have much to learn. There is still much you don’t know about herbs, about our legends, about other techniques to help ghosts. […]
Just think about it, Yara. We aren’t forcing you to do this. It is your choice. Completely.”

Well, you are not putting it really as a choice, are you? It looks much more as a psychological blackmail to me: “you can do what you want, but I would be seriously unhappy if you choose what I don't want you to choose.”
I'm not entirely satisfied with Yara's decision about this matter , but it's consistent with the character, so I can't complain.

What I liked was the way in which the author dealt with the difficult topic of chronic illness. Maybe because it strikes too close to home for comfort, I always have a difficult time reading about situations in which someone is exposed to the fear of an announced early death. But in this case there's love, courage, determination and, most important of all, hope.

I'm definitely waiting for [b:Inevitable|9982010|Inevitable (The Yara Silva Trilogy, #3)|Lani Woodland|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|14876556], the third (and final?) book in this series.… (meer)