Mundie Moms

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Book Review: Intrinsical by Lani Woodland


Published by: Pendrell Publishing
Released on: August 20th, 2010
Source: book from author to review
4 stars: I enjoyed it
Purchase from: Amazon|

Sixteen-year-old Yara Silva has always known that ghosts walk alongside the living. Her grandma, like the other females in her family, is a Waker, someone who can see and communicate with ghosts. Yara grew up watching her grandmother taunted and scorned for this unusual ability and doesn't want that to be her future. She has been dreading the day when she too would see ghosts, and is relieved that the usually dominant Waker gene seems to have skipped her, letting her live a normal teenage life. However, all that changes for Yara on her first day at her elite boarding school when she discovers the gene was only lying dormant. She witnesses a dark mist attack Brent, a handsome fellow student, and rushes to his rescue. Her act of heroism draws the mist's attention, and the dark spirit begins stalking her. Yara finds herself entrenched in a sixty-year-old curse that haunts the school, threatening not only her life, but the lives of her closest friends as well. Yara soon realizes that the past she was trying to put behind her isn't going to go quietly.

Talk about a unique ghost story! Intrinsical is an engaging fast paced read with a fabulously twisted plot. Lani Woodland definitely kept me on my toes with trying to figure out everything that was going on in her story, and surprisingly, she kept me guessing the entire time. I love that when a book isn't predictable. She hooked me with her refreshing take on ghosts and intrigued me with the world she created. Lani's world building is descriptive, alluring and really sets the tone for her story. Each of her characters are fun, in-depth and realistically portrayed.

Yara is an enjoyable character to meet. She's a smart, head strong sixteen year old who knows what she wants. She's also someone that teen readers will be able to relate too, as she allows readers to connect with her on so many levels through out the story. I was really impressed with how much her character grows from the start of the story to the end. I liked being able to be apart of her experiences and getting to understand why she makes the choices she does. She's just a fiery, refreshing character and I finally understood why so many of my reader friends love her and have been telling me I needed to read her story.

I adored her friends, and for once I didn't immediately fall for the love interest Brent. I mean, I liked him, but like Yara, I took me a bit to fall in love with his character. Don't get me wrong, he's fabulous. He's the good looking, intelligent, cocky guy who knows he's all that. He doesn't go around flaunting it, but he doesn't hide it either. I liked that he's very sure of himself, and I mean that in a good way. He's got confidence and I love that it took him awhile before he really won Yara over. The way their relationship develops is fantastic! It's so realistic and creditable. There's times in the story they annoy each other, there's times their chemistry just ooze off the pages, and there's other times they get frustrated with each other, but in the end they learn to trust each other, help each other out and end up falling for each other. It was fabulous! I really enjoyed that fact they have normal conversations and communicate with each on a relatable level. They made me sigh, they made me laugh and they both make mistakes they learn from.

My only hangs on the book are the few times I felt the plot line got a bit confusing, and the way Yara acted towards Brent near the end of the book. With out saying too much, I got a little annoyed with after all Brent does for Yara and what they end up experiencing together, she still kind of strings him along. But Lani threw me for another surprise with the ending, and what Brent does makes me love him that much more. I gave a little "yes" with the scene between him and Yara. Being the first book in the series I like that Lani didn't leave me with a cliff hanger, and I thought the ending wrapped up the story nicely. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of Yara's story. This is a clean cut book I'd recommend to YA readers 13 yrs & older.

3 comments:

  1. I love a good ghost story, especially if the author can pull it off and make it believable, which from your review, sounds like exactly what she did! I'll be checking this one out.

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  2. Intrinsical is one of those books that I feel like didn't get as much publicity as it deserved when it first came out. I really enjoyed it, and I'm actually reading the sequel, Indelible, right now. I'm glad to hear you're planning on continuing the series!

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  3. Heather- Then you'll enjoy this book! Lani does a fabulous job of doing just that.

    Natalie- I agree. It definitely didn't receive the publicity it deserved. I'm so glad I finally read this book. Lani's a fabulous story teller. I can't wait to read your review of Indelible.

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