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cornerofmadness
Wildblood by Lauren BlackwoodMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a hard one to rate. It's closer to 3 than a 4 but since we have no half stars... Anyhow thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. The book has some very good ideas and some that needed developed more. For one, it was hard to tell the time period (at the end I figure it's late 1800s early 1900s maybe) but that's more incidental. The 'magic' is what bugged me. It felt only half developed. The titular wild bloods have 'science.' They can manipulate blood into weapons. How? We don't know. We do know that it is the reason they are scorned by society, at least here on Jamaica. It can also cause them to rage out of control, again an idea that feels half done. I wanted more on this.
Victoria, our point of view character, has been working for the touring company since she was six, as a 'rare beauty' tour guide. Trigger warning there is a huge amount of colorism in this and racism. So Victoria is light skinned (there is a scene where she's remembering having to scrape her skin raw because she got tanned darker for instance). The boss (one of the few white characters) is a nasty piece of work, not above kidnapping wild bloods and having them shot if they try to leave his business. He pays them a meager amount so it's 'not slavery' but it very obviously is. Dean, another wild blood and Victoria's ex, is being groomed to take over for the boss and has betrayed Victoria in the worst way.
Dean and Victoria are thrown together along with her wildblood friends Sampson and Bunny (who is in danger of raging and being put down) to escort a large group of miners into the jungle to get the legendary gold. Thorn, the leader of the group, is handsome and puts out a kind, understand vibe that Victoria responds to. She, however, doesn't want to be on this tour. The jungle, you see, is sentient. River Mumma is a literal female spirit/goddess who will kill intruders. THe jungle allowed the road to be put in but that's not where Thorn wants to go. Mumma has ties to Victoria and maybe that might let them live. Victoria doubts it.
The idea of a sentient jungle filled with various spirits from duppies (a poltergeist like spirit from Jamaican lore) to the spirits of deceased kids to a giant bull is a fantastic one. That's what I liked best, this jungle. It is dangerous. Victoria doesn't want to be doing this and especially doesn't want to be replacing Dean as boss knowing the trouble that'll cause, especially because she and Thorn are falling in love and the other wildbloods know this. (not a spoiler this is all in the blurb which is vaguely disappointing)
So let's talk this romance. Honestly it is another thing that felt a little half done. It seemed too easy and a little flat. That said, I liked Thorn and Victoria (though the constant my beloved stuff at the end made my teeth ache). Speaking of teeth, I really wish the editor would have removed a few 'kissing their teeth' bits. I've usually heard it sucking their teeth i.e. that sound we make usually when we're being a bit dismissive. That phrase is in like every chapter.
It ended as I thought it might. That said I wished Thorn had had a bigger reaction to realizing his and his partners deep pockets were funding what is basically child slavery. Over all, in spite of my quibbles I did like the book. One final trigger warning (and it is in the foreword of my arc) there is an off screen rape from about a year before the story and Victoria has a lot of unprocessed trauma relating to it.
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