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The Half Bad Trilogy #2
Half Wild
After finally meeting his elusive father, Marcus, and receiving the three gifts that confirm him as a full adult witch, Nathan is still on the run. He needs to find his friend Gabriel and rescue Annalise, now a prisoner of the powerful Black witch Mercury. Most of all he needs to learn how to control his Gift – a strange, wild new power that threatens to overwhelm him.
Meanwhile, Soul O'Brien has seized control of the Council of White Witches and is expanding his war against Black witches into Europe. In response, an unprecedented alliance has formed between Black and White witches determined to resist him. Drawn into the rebellion by the enigmatic Black witch Van Dal, Nathan finds himself fighting alongside both old friends and old enemies. But can all the rebels be trusted, or is Nathan walking into a trap?
Meanwhile, Soul O'Brien has seized control of the Council of White Witches and is expanding his war against Black witches into Europe. In response, an unprecedented alliance has formed between Black and White witches determined to resist him. Drawn into the rebellion by the enigmatic Black witch Van Dal, Nathan finds himself fighting alongside both old friends and old enemies. But can all the rebels be trusted, or is Nathan walking into a trap?
402 pages, Paperback
First published March 24, 2015
About the author
Sally Green
20 books3,863 followersHi - I'm Sally Green. I'm the author of the real-world/ fantasy Half Bad Trilogy, which is made up of Half Bad, Half Wild and Half Lost. Most people read them in that order but there's always a few who don't. Many people who read them are teenagers but there's a lot who aren't.
I'm currently working on a new series called The Smoke Thieves, which is due to be published in spring 2018 and is definitely fantasy (there will be a map).
I said I'd never write another trilogy after Half Bad but it seems I lied.
I live in a village in north-west England.
There's some stuff about the Half Bad trilogy at www.halfbadworld.com.
Follow me on twitter@sa11eGreen
I'm currently working on a new series called The Smoke Thieves, which is due to be published in spring 2018 and is definitely fantasy (there will be a map).
I said I'd never write another trilogy after Half Bad but it seems I lied.
I live in a village in north-west England.
There's some stuff about the Half Bad trilogy at www.halfbadworld.com.
Follow me on twitter@sa11eGreen
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,960 reviews
February 23, 2015
The magic is gone.
This is not the sequel I had hoped for when I closed Half Bad last year, exhilarated and excited for the next installment. I'm going to be completely honest and say I found myself skim-reading parts of the second half because it just could not hold my attention. So if you do happen to read this and discover something amazing, it's possible that it happened while I was busy not caring.
Okay. What went wrong?
We started off on the wrong foot. Barely more than twenty pages in I was forced to do a double take when I read:
"Her skin is soft and skin-coloured."
Bad use of descriptions aside, I cringed when I tried to conjure an image of what "skin-coloured" could possibly mean. Not surprisingly, the character in question - Annalise - is white. Fuck knows what colour skin other ethnicities supposedly have.
The first few chapters are filled with Nathan's dreams of Annalise: touching her, exchanging bland conversation, staring at her skin-coloured skin and eye-coloured eyes (blue, I'd wager). It's like everything evil, nasty and fast-paced has just been sucked out of this story. I can sum up about 80% of the plot into nothing more than finding and saving Annalise. Oh shucks, somebody please save the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, white chick who's landed herself in some kind of magical coma. It's like Disney's Sleeping Beauty, with about the same amount of non-white people.
But this is just an ARC and people make stupid mistakes, right? Surely the author didn't intend to make it sound like that, right? So I continued on. A couple of chapters later (Nathan wanders around thinking about his dad and - you guessed it - Annalise during this time), the most Australian character I've ever encountered appears. Nathan describes him as having an Australian accent, and yet this is not enough, because the author throws in a couple of "crikeys!" and "mate"s whenever he speaks, just so we fully appreciate his Australianness.
Maybe you think I'm nitpicking. Maybe you think racist descriptions and cultural stereotypes are no big deal. I disagree, but whatever, it's not like I needed them for this book to be so unbelievably boring. I mean... what is the story here beyond Nathan's obsession with Annalise and her skin? Seriously. The book opens with him thinking about her and wanting to find her. 50% in and he still hasn't found her, but I honestly wish I'd counted how many times he thinks "I must find Annalise" or "I need to save Annalise" during that time. It felt like every single page.
And Annalise is so annoying. She doesn't have much of a personality, she just slots into the story where she's needed, doing whatever the author needs her to do to move the story in a certain direction whilst being all blonde and pretty. Like that stupid ending and what it seems to promise for the next book. Without giving away any spoilers, the final few lines are:
...if it hadn't been for Annalise.
You lie in the rain. Going over it again and again. There's nothing else you can do today. But tomorrow will be different. Tomorrow you go after her.
Oh my effin' god. So the next book's going to be about finding Annalise as well?! No, thank you. I've had enough Annalise for a lifetime.
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This is not the sequel I had hoped for when I closed Half Bad last year, exhilarated and excited for the next installment. I'm going to be completely honest and say I found myself skim-reading parts of the second half because it just could not hold my attention. So if you do happen to read this and discover something amazing, it's possible that it happened while I was busy not caring.
Okay. What went wrong?
We started off on the wrong foot. Barely more than twenty pages in I was forced to do a double take when I read:
"Her skin is soft and skin-coloured."
Bad use of descriptions aside, I cringed when I tried to conjure an image of what "skin-coloured" could possibly mean. Not surprisingly, the character in question - Annalise - is white. Fuck knows what colour skin other ethnicities supposedly have.
The first few chapters are filled with Nathan's dreams of Annalise: touching her, exchanging bland conversation, staring at her skin-coloured skin and eye-coloured eyes (blue, I'd wager). It's like everything evil, nasty and fast-paced has just been sucked out of this story. I can sum up about 80% of the plot into nothing more than finding and saving Annalise. Oh shucks, somebody please save the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, white chick who's landed herself in some kind of magical coma. It's like Disney's Sleeping Beauty, with about the same amount of non-white people.
But this is just an ARC and people make stupid mistakes, right? Surely the author didn't intend to make it sound like that, right? So I continued on. A couple of chapters later (Nathan wanders around thinking about his dad and - you guessed it - Annalise during this time), the most Australian character I've ever encountered appears. Nathan describes him as having an Australian accent, and yet this is not enough, because the author throws in a couple of "crikeys!" and "mate"s whenever he speaks, just so we fully appreciate his Australianness.
Maybe you think I'm nitpicking. Maybe you think racist descriptions and cultural stereotypes are no big deal. I disagree, but whatever, it's not like I needed them for this book to be so unbelievably boring. I mean... what is the story here beyond Nathan's obsession with Annalise and her skin? Seriously. The book opens with him thinking about her and wanting to find her. 50% in and he still hasn't found her, but I honestly wish I'd counted how many times he thinks "I must find Annalise" or "I need to save Annalise" during that time. It felt like every single page.
And Annalise is so annoying. She doesn't have much of a personality, she just slots into the story where she's needed, doing whatever the author needs her to do to move the story in a certain direction whilst being all blonde and pretty. Like that stupid ending and what it seems to promise for the next book. Without giving away any spoilers, the final few lines are:
...if it hadn't been for Annalise.
You lie in the rain. Going over it again and again. There's nothing else you can do today. But tomorrow will be different. Tomorrow you go after her.
Oh my effin' god. So the next book's going to be about finding Annalise as well?! No, thank you. I've had enough Annalise for a lifetime.
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February 1, 2015
fav book of the year.
i have no words.
amazing.
review soon ...
i have no words.
amazing.
review soon ...
April 10, 2015
SPOILER only if you haven't read the first book :)
Who don't ship Nathan and Gabriel?
I've never read a novel where the hero ends up with the gay boy in stead of the too-perfect heroine. I hope this one makes the exception.
My actual review
I don't know how I feel about this book. I read it and I thought about the unfairness of this world. The white witches (the bad ones) remind me of sexist and racist people in real life and it made me feel depressed and mad. Out of topic and crazy I know. But that's what happened.
The first quarter was slow but things got serious in the last quarter. So I guess it made up for Nathan's annoying whining about Annalise.
One thing though. I don't get how Gabrielle is so in love with Nathan. It's understandable for Nathan to be infuriated like that with Annlise. She is like the only beautiful and pure thing in his dark and hellish life after all. He is bound to love her. But Gabriel, how can he love Nathan more than his life? *shrug* I guess he sees something in him. I don't know.
Looking forward to the next book. :)
Who don't ship Nathan and Gabriel?
I've never read a novel where the hero ends up with the gay boy in stead of the too-perfect heroine. I hope this one makes the exception.
My actual review
I don't know how I feel about this book. I read it and I thought about the unfairness of this world. The white witches (the bad ones) remind me of sexist and racist people in real life and it made me feel depressed and mad. Out of topic and crazy I know. But that's what happened.
The first quarter was slow but things got serious in the last quarter. So I guess it made up for Nathan's annoying whining about Annalise.
One thing though. I don't get how Gabrielle is so in love with Nathan. It's understandable for Nathan to be infuriated like that with Annlise. She is like the only beautiful and pure thing in his dark and hellish life after all. He is bound to love her. But Gabriel, how can he love Nathan more than his life? *shrug* I guess he sees something in him. I don't know.
Looking forward to the next book. :)
April 14, 2015
1.5 Stars
A somewhat interesting plot with terrible writing, but mostly a chore to read.
The book starts off with this annoying formatting:
And then it continues at other points throughout the book too:
And it’s not just the formatting that’s bad. I’ve said previously that parts of the first book felt too much like a rough draft , the same is true here. While whole sections in this book read smoothly, others are too unpolished and amateurish. One of two things needs to happen for this series, either 1. Green needs to get a new editor or 2. Green needs to just plot out the book and get someone else to write it à la James Patterson. The author has the bones of a fascinating story but putting it onto paper is something that is clearly not in her skill set.
Further, this book is mostly filler. I’ve said the previous installment read like an overlong prologue, and this one seems like more of the same. It’s clear the author is setting up for a big finale but there needs to be more development and less running around in the woods. Here’s how this book read: We’re in the woods/I’m an animal and don’t understand things/Woods again/Major character death/Woods/Animal/Woods/Major character death/Woods/Animal/Oh hey, there’s the evil Marcus/Woods/Kill some hunters/Woods/Animal time/Woods/Major character death/Woods/Castle/Woods/”I love Annalise”/Woods/Animal/Woods/”Imma give Annalise some space”/Woods/Major character death/Woods/End
Did you notice that there were a lot of major character deaths? Well, they aren’t given any gravity and are quickly glossed over. Seriously, if you accidentally skip a sentence you missed a death scene. You can’t become invested in characters because they are all so flat and since the writing isn’t interested in making you feel anything, you simply don’t.
What I did like was a new character named Van. She’s an expert with potions and seems the most developed of the new characters, which I take to mean that she is important and will die in the finale if I were to just follow the author’s previous pattern.
Sadly, I won’t ever get to know her fate because I will never read another book in this series. The first 2 were mostly boring and felt like busy work, and her writing style needs a vast improvement because her releases so far were just not ready for bookstores. Just as there are beautiful actresses that can't act, so too are there books that are pretty but without any substance; this was one of them. Even as a popcorn book, this was bland. I was fooled by the shiny covers and descriptions twice already, but I won’t be again.
In summation, this is just as forgettable as the first one.
A somewhat interesting plot with terrible writing, but mostly a chore to read.
The book starts off with this annoying formatting:
And then it continues at other points throughout the book too:
And it’s not just the formatting that’s bad. I’ve said previously that parts of the first book felt too much like a rough draft , the same is true here. While whole sections in this book read smoothly, others are too unpolished and amateurish. One of two things needs to happen for this series, either 1. Green needs to get a new editor or 2. Green needs to just plot out the book and get someone else to write it à la James Patterson. The author has the bones of a fascinating story but putting it onto paper is something that is clearly not in her skill set.
Further, this book is mostly filler. I’ve said the previous installment read like an overlong prologue, and this one seems like more of the same. It’s clear the author is setting up for a big finale but there needs to be more development and less running around in the woods. Here’s how this book read: We’re in the woods/I’m an animal and don’t understand things/Woods again/Major character death/Woods/Animal/Woods/Major character death/Woods/Animal/Oh hey, there’s the evil Marcus/Woods/Kill some hunters/Woods/Animal time/Woods/Major character death/Woods/Castle/Woods/”I love Annalise”/Woods/Animal/Woods/”Imma give Annalise some space”/Woods/Major character death/Woods/End
Did you notice that there were a lot of major character deaths? Well, they aren’t given any gravity and are quickly glossed over. Seriously, if you accidentally skip a sentence you missed a death scene. You can’t become invested in characters because they are all so flat and since the writing isn’t interested in making you feel anything, you simply don’t.
What I did like was a new character named Van. She’s an expert with potions and seems the most developed of the new characters, which I take to mean that she is important and will die in the finale if I were to just follow the author’s previous pattern.
Sadly, I won’t ever get to know her fate because I will never read another book in this series. The first 2 were mostly boring and felt like busy work, and her writing style needs a vast improvement because her releases so far were just not ready for bookstores. Just as there are beautiful actresses that can't act, so too are there books that are pretty but without any substance; this was one of them. Even as a popcorn book, this was bland. I was fooled by the shiny covers and descriptions twice already, but I won’t be again.
In summation, this is just as forgettable as the first one.
June 14, 2016
2.01.2016
I will try to re-read first two books before the release of third and hopefully write a more coherent review ;)
OMG
Officially best author ever.
Now I am just really embarrassed for not keeping it eloquent, though *burns* . This is what happens when you write a review right after reading a book and don't expect anyone to read it. Especially authors. I'm sorry.
But, oh my gosh, I'm so touched <3
---
I feel weird after this ending O.O it was good, just... To be upset and really WOWed at the same time uh... Weird feeling
26.03.15
SPOILERS
In the middle of the book I was ready to drop to 3 stars, but I guess it would be unfair considering I gave worse books 5 stars, and this book won me over at the end again.
I have a lot of thoughts.
So the first half, maybe a little over half of the book was amazing. When it comes to fantasy books, Half Bad trilogy is right after Harry Potter.
It is definitely one of my favourite trilogies.
There are many things that this series have that other YA is missing badly:
1. Character isn't a Mary Sue.
2. Character acts badass, not says s/he is badass and then everybody does everything for them.
3. Characters KILL. The protagonists KILLS.
4. And then do not weep over it. It had to be done and that's it. Yeah finally.
5. This is a story about the "bad" side with a twist.
Now, everything was going great. The story focused on Gabriel/Nathan and we were also introduced to new characters. They all grew on me. I loved the relationships. I loved each character separately.
There are women, there are men, and they're all different yet equally badass and interesting. They're mature characters. They're fun to read. No one annoys you.
Gabriel and Nathan's relationship is one of the most interesting I have read in a while and I "ship" them beyond anything. Their relationship develops beautifully and realistically.
Here is the thing - the problem was not triangle. It was simply Nathan/Anna on their own.
We spent over 200 pages reading the amazing relationship of Gabriel and Nathan. It isn't about Gabriel finding Nathan hot and wanting to hook up with him. They love being together. They like talking, exercising, they understand each other, trust each other, they miss each other, Nathan falls and falls deeper into love [which he denies hard, but in my opinion it is obvious]. You can see how nicely his feelings develop. They just work together.
And then Anna makes a come back.
It isn't the triangle - it is not Nathan whining he does not know who to choose, playing with two people at once, who are unaware. No.
Gabriel is aware of Nathan's feelings for Annalise and made his choice to go after him anyway. Anna is later made aware of Gabriel's feelings. Nathan informed both, told Gabriel than Anna is his love, told Anna that Gabriel is just his friend. So it's not a problem. The worst thing about triangles isn't there.
I'd feel awfully bad for Gabriel, but he could make his choice, he wasn't played with, and I'd accept Anna/Nathan if this was Nathan's fair choice. You do not choose who you fall in love with.
It also helps that Gabriel knows when to say what he thinks, and he does not hide anything. He calls Nathan out on his shit. Bless.
The problem is that Nathan/Anna is cringe worthy. Triangle or not.
There are, in my opinion, two reasons;
1. After you develop one relationship for over 200 pages, and you do it well, the readers will get attached. So when after 200 pages you suddenly bring that other person back, and throw her into a bed with him, no one will feel it. I hated reading those scenes. I do not understand why Anna/Nathan like each other. They don't even know each other. It was only about, sorry for the harsh word, screwing each other. There was no development, absolutely nothing made me feel wow they fit.
All the time to develop a relationship was given to Nathan/Gabriel. I understand why they should be together. I get it. I see it. Them ending up together would make sense and I'd be happy.
Anna/Nathan... no.
2. Anna is the worst character. Naive princess living in a fairytale, like everything that happened did not happen to her. WAKE UP, GIRL. The whole cast is full of really interesting, badass guys and women. Anna is a 12 year old who does nothing but giggles, makes out with Nathan, and calls him a prince. I don't know who cringed more, me or Gabriel. In such a great setting, war, blood, murders... suddenly giggling "I love yous" more giggling and sex. There was nothing behind this. It made me nearly skip the pages, I begged this girl to go back to that deadly sleep. It was so... out of place. Especially since they could not even stop themselves in front of Gabriel. And that's nasty.
Since the beginning there wasn't much to this relationship, but liking each other's looks. Wanting to make out. Being very childish. Nathan suddenly naive and putting others in danger for her, even though she never prioritised his safety over others and he was hurt because of her.
No. Just no.
But here is the thing - a very personal thought. I think that Sally wants Nathan/Gabriel to end up together. I think this is why Nathan/Anna was so bad, especially since I read the ending that flashed a new light on the story. IF I did not read that interview and get impression from the book, I am not sure if I would read the third book. Couldn't we have a few less descriptions at least? Heh. It is just me, though, you know I take books personally and get too attached, so relationships can win or lose me.
Sally said that she, at the beginning, had N/G together in the first book already but then decided to split their relationship for three books so it won't be boring and well, development. And, well, the development is beautiful. Them ending up together at the end will result in a fantastic relationship. Let's be honest, believable relationships aren't a thing in YA. This might be first. Typical shallow relationship is Anna/Nathan - without depth, just making out, giggling [Im sorry but it annoyed me so much, omg] and nothing else.
BUT
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
It actually was proven it does not work. Like Gabriel said, in other words, that relationship is too shallow to work. And at the end it was proven.
Hard. I can't believe she did that. Knowing what they did to Nathan she still prioritised her assholish brothers over him and did THAT. Knowing how much he meant to Nathan. Sick. Once again she prioritised them over him and that in such cruel way. In my opinion it clearly showed she does not care for him. This is not love.
(He better not forgive her. And if they will then consider even a friendship... No. Enough.) everybody warned him and the worst happened because of his naivety.
In a way now I don't hate this relationship so much because it definitely brought a heartbreaking but very interesting plot. I just wish there was less description when they were still together, you know.
If this is all going where I think it does - one word: badass. This will be war, and I can't wait for it. I don't have a problem with crappy relationships if there is a point to them, instead of them being treated like they're perfect.
I love that characters own their pluses and minuses in this series.
God that ending made me hate her. I liked HIM. I swore at her. At least Nathan had a correct response. He better keep it. I want to see that! That's the thing, at least Sally's characters always have correct responses. There is no bullshit. I hope Nathan's way of thinking won't change. It shouldn't be only him wanting to get revenge either, so it should be interesting. Gabriel will need to bite his tongue to not say "told you". Nathan deserves to hear it, to be fair.
I found this a faster read than the first and more enjoyable. Well, Nathan was free, so the book was not as difficult. I had to take breaks from Half Bad because it just hurt to read sometimes. It's not a bad thing, but I enjoyed less pain here, heh. And Nathan/Gabriel made me read very quickly.
- Nathan/Gabriel scenes - So much love.
- So much yes for characters who DO not just TALK. No whining, no others doing for them yet them getting worshipped, etc etc. You know.
- Everybody loves Gabriel and finds him hot, I love it. He gets love whether Nathan is there or not. He wasn't created just to be there for Nathan and that's amazing.
So, yeah, just skip through Nathan/Anna scenes and this is definitely one of my favourite 2015 reads.
----
I CANT WAIT ANY LONGER
[12.02.15]
I can't wait.
I need to find out what's going to happen to Nathan, to Gabriel, and to them as a relationship.
LOOK AT THE PERFECT COVER REVEALED TODAY 7.07.2014
Nathan/Gabriel relationship:
updated 8.08.14
I will try to re-read first two books before the release of third and hopefully write a more coherent review ;)
OMG
Officially best author ever.
Now I am just really embarrassed for not keeping it eloquent, though *burns* . This is what happens when you write a review right after reading a book and don't expect anyone to read it. Especially authors. I'm sorry.
But, oh my gosh, I'm so touched <3
---
I feel weird after this ending O.O it was good, just... To be upset and really WOWed at the same time uh... Weird feeling
26.03.15
SPOILERS
In the middle of the book I was ready to drop to 3 stars, but I guess it would be unfair considering I gave worse books 5 stars, and this book won me over at the end again.
I have a lot of thoughts.
So the first half, maybe a little over half of the book was amazing. When it comes to fantasy books, Half Bad trilogy is right after Harry Potter.
It is definitely one of my favourite trilogies.
There are many things that this series have that other YA is missing badly:
1. Character isn't a Mary Sue.
2. Character acts badass, not says s/he is badass and then everybody does everything for them.
3. Characters KILL. The protagonists KILLS.
4. And then do not weep over it. It had to be done and that's it. Yeah finally.
5. This is a story about the "bad" side with a twist.
Now, everything was going great. The story focused on Gabriel/Nathan and we were also introduced to new characters. They all grew on me. I loved the relationships. I loved each character separately.
There are women, there are men, and they're all different yet equally badass and interesting. They're mature characters. They're fun to read. No one annoys you.
Gabriel and Nathan's relationship is one of the most interesting I have read in a while and I "ship" them beyond anything. Their relationship develops beautifully and realistically.
Here is the thing - the problem was not triangle. It was simply Nathan/Anna on their own.
We spent over 200 pages reading the amazing relationship of Gabriel and Nathan. It isn't about Gabriel finding Nathan hot and wanting to hook up with him. They love being together. They like talking, exercising, they understand each other, trust each other, they miss each other, Nathan falls and falls deeper into love [which he denies hard, but in my opinion it is obvious]. You can see how nicely his feelings develop. They just work together.
And then Anna makes a come back.
It isn't the triangle - it is not Nathan whining he does not know who to choose, playing with two people at once, who are unaware. No.
Gabriel is aware of Nathan's feelings for Annalise and made his choice to go after him anyway. Anna is later made aware of Gabriel's feelings. Nathan informed both, told Gabriel than Anna is his love, told Anna that Gabriel is just his friend. So it's not a problem. The worst thing about triangles isn't there.
I'd feel awfully bad for Gabriel, but he could make his choice, he wasn't played with, and I'd accept Anna/Nathan if this was Nathan's fair choice. You do not choose who you fall in love with.
It also helps that Gabriel knows when to say what he thinks, and he does not hide anything. He calls Nathan out on his shit. Bless.
The problem is that Nathan/Anna is cringe worthy. Triangle or not.
There are, in my opinion, two reasons;
1. After you develop one relationship for over 200 pages, and you do it well, the readers will get attached. So when after 200 pages you suddenly bring that other person back, and throw her into a bed with him, no one will feel it. I hated reading those scenes. I do not understand why Anna/Nathan like each other. They don't even know each other. It was only about, sorry for the harsh word, screwing each other. There was no development, absolutely nothing made me feel wow they fit.
All the time to develop a relationship was given to Nathan/Gabriel. I understand why they should be together. I get it. I see it. Them ending up together would make sense and I'd be happy.
Anna/Nathan... no.
2. Anna is the worst character. Naive princess living in a fairytale, like everything that happened did not happen to her. WAKE UP, GIRL. The whole cast is full of really interesting, badass guys and women. Anna is a 12 year old who does nothing but giggles, makes out with Nathan, and calls him a prince. I don't know who cringed more, me or Gabriel. In such a great setting, war, blood, murders... suddenly giggling "I love yous" more giggling and sex. There was nothing behind this. It made me nearly skip the pages, I begged this girl to go back to that deadly sleep. It was so... out of place. Especially since they could not even stop themselves in front of Gabriel. And that's nasty.
Since the beginning there wasn't much to this relationship, but liking each other's looks. Wanting to make out. Being very childish. Nathan suddenly naive and putting others in danger for her, even though she never prioritised his safety over others and he was hurt because of her.
No. Just no.
But here is the thing - a very personal thought. I think that Sally wants Nathan/Gabriel to end up together. I think this is why Nathan/Anna was so bad, especially since I read the ending that flashed a new light on the story. IF I did not read that interview and get impression from the book, I am not sure if I would read the third book. Couldn't we have a few less descriptions at least? Heh. It is just me, though, you know I take books personally and get too attached, so relationships can win or lose me.
Sally said that she, at the beginning, had N/G together in the first book already but then decided to split their relationship for three books so it won't be boring and well, development. And, well, the development is beautiful. Them ending up together at the end will result in a fantastic relationship. Let's be honest, believable relationships aren't a thing in YA. This might be first. Typical shallow relationship is Anna/Nathan - without depth, just making out, giggling [Im sorry but it annoyed me so much, omg] and nothing else.
BUT
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
It actually was proven it does not work. Like Gabriel said, in other words, that relationship is too shallow to work. And at the end it was proven.
Hard. I can't believe she did that. Knowing what they did to Nathan she still prioritised her assholish brothers over him and did THAT. Knowing how much he meant to Nathan. Sick. Once again she prioritised them over him and that in such cruel way. In my opinion it clearly showed she does not care for him. This is not love.
(He better not forgive her. And if they will then consider even a friendship... No. Enough.) everybody warned him and the worst happened because of his naivety.
In a way now I don't hate this relationship so much because it definitely brought a heartbreaking but very interesting plot. I just wish there was less description when they were still together, you know.
If this is all going where I think it does - one word: badass. This will be war, and I can't wait for it. I don't have a problem with crappy relationships if there is a point to them, instead of them being treated like they're perfect.
I love that characters own their pluses and minuses in this series.
God that ending made me hate her. I liked HIM. I swore at her. At least Nathan had a correct response. He better keep it. I want to see that! That's the thing, at least Sally's characters always have correct responses. There is no bullshit. I hope Nathan's way of thinking won't change. It shouldn't be only him wanting to get revenge either, so it should be interesting. Gabriel will need to bite his tongue to not say "told you". Nathan deserves to hear it, to be fair.
I found this a faster read than the first and more enjoyable. Well, Nathan was free, so the book was not as difficult. I had to take breaks from Half Bad because it just hurt to read sometimes. It's not a bad thing, but I enjoyed less pain here, heh. And Nathan/Gabriel made me read very quickly.
- Nathan/Gabriel scenes - So much love.
- So much yes for characters who DO not just TALK. No whining, no others doing for them yet them getting worshipped, etc etc. You know.
- Everybody loves Gabriel and finds him hot, I love it. He gets love whether Nathan is there or not. He wasn't created just to be there for Nathan and that's amazing.
So, yeah, just skip through Nathan/Anna scenes and this is definitely one of my favourite 2015 reads.
----
I CANT WAIT ANY LONGER
[12.02.15]
I can't wait.
I need to find out what's going to happen to Nathan, to Gabriel, and to them as a relationship.
LOOK AT THE PERFECT COVER REVEALED TODAY 7.07.2014
Nathan/Gabriel relationship:
updated 8.08.14
June 13, 2015
POR QUÉ. POR QUÉ.
Yo no quiero sufrir tanto, Sally. Eres mala persona. Venga, ahora voy con la review.
La verdad es que tras El lado oscuro era complicado hacer una novela que pudiese seguir mostrando al personaje de Nathan de un modo tan espléndido. Nathan está muy bien construido y es complicado (muy complicado), y esperaba que en El lado salvaje hubiera más de su locura. Y vaya si la hay. Porque las cosas en esta trilogía cambian radicalmente en apenas unas páginas. Hay cosas que jamás se me habrían ocurrido que pudieran pasar -y recaclo el jamás- y que ocurren en un inesperado giro de los acontecimientos.
Eso es lo que he sentido durante gran parte del libro. Hay especialmente dos cosas que me han dejado de piedra, y ambas son spoilers, así que no las diré PORQUE YO ESTOY INTENTANDO QUE OS LEÁIS ESTA SAGA MARAVILLOSA, ¿ENTENDIDO?
De verdad que El lado salvaje es increíble. No me esperaba que la trama fuera a explorar lo que ha explorado, ni que se iba a ir por temas más globales como la guerra y la 'lucha de clases', pero así ha sido y estoy muy satisfecho. Además, podemos ver cómo Marcus es un Brujo Negro temido y salvaje, pero es presentado de un modo tan humano y tan cercano a Nathan que cuesta creer que de verdad sea malo. Y manejar ambas imágenes a la vez es complicado, así que te felicito, Sally Green ♥
En cuanto al estilo, vuelve a sorprender, aunque no destaca tanto como en el primer libro. El peso de la historia recae principalmente en lo que cuenta, no en cómo lo cuenta. He disfrutado mucho de los viajes por Europa y de las distintas localizaciones, pues me ha recordado a las novelas de aventuras. Ha sido genial conocer a nuevos personajes tan diferentes, con nuevas tramas que se adhieren a la de Nathan (porque no sabes cómo pero TODOS tienen algo que ver con él) y que hacen que la novela se convierta en algo increíble.
Y NO SÉ QUÉ MÁS DECIR. QUE NECESITO EL SIGUIENTE. NO LO PUEDO ASUMIR.
Ahora mismo estoy así porque queda UN AÑO para la última parte:
Yo no quiero sufrir tanto, Sally. Eres mala persona. Venga, ahora voy con la review.
La verdad es que tras El lado oscuro era complicado hacer una novela que pudiese seguir mostrando al personaje de Nathan de un modo tan espléndido. Nathan está muy bien construido y es complicado (muy complicado), y esperaba que en El lado salvaje hubiera más de su locura. Y vaya si la hay. Porque las cosas en esta trilogía cambian radicalmente en apenas unas páginas. Hay cosas que jamás se me habrían ocurrido que pudieran pasar -y recaclo el jamás- y que ocurren en un inesperado giro de los acontecimientos.
Eso es lo que he sentido durante gran parte del libro. Hay especialmente dos cosas que me han dejado de piedra, y ambas son spoilers, así que no las diré PORQUE YO ESTOY INTENTANDO QUE OS LEÁIS ESTA SAGA MARAVILLOSA, ¿ENTENDIDO?
De verdad que El lado salvaje es increíble. No me esperaba que la trama fuera a explorar lo que ha explorado, ni que se iba a ir por temas más globales como la guerra y la 'lucha de clases', pero así ha sido y estoy muy satisfecho. Además, podemos ver cómo Marcus es un Brujo Negro temido y salvaje, pero es presentado de un modo tan humano y tan cercano a Nathan que cuesta creer que de verdad sea malo. Y manejar ambas imágenes a la vez es complicado, así que te felicito, Sally Green ♥
En cuanto al estilo, vuelve a sorprender, aunque no destaca tanto como en el primer libro. El peso de la historia recae principalmente en lo que cuenta, no en cómo lo cuenta. He disfrutado mucho de los viajes por Europa y de las distintas localizaciones, pues me ha recordado a las novelas de aventuras. Ha sido genial conocer a nuevos personajes tan diferentes, con nuevas tramas que se adhieren a la de Nathan (porque no sabes cómo pero TODOS tienen algo que ver con él) y que hacen que la novela se convierta en algo increíble.
Y NO SÉ QUÉ MÁS DECIR. QUE NECESITO EL SIGUIENTE. NO LO PUEDO ASUMIR.
Ahora mismo estoy así porque queda UN AÑO para la última parte:
Want to read
July 27, 2014 GIMMEEEEEEEEEEE
There is a cover!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyt :)
I LOVE NATHAN AND GABRIEL'S FRIENDSHIP!!!
CAN WE JUST TAKE A MOMENT TO TAKE IN THE STORY~
:(
There is a cover!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyt :)
I LOVE NATHAN AND GABRIEL'S FRIENDSHIP!!!
CAN WE JUST TAKE A MOMENT TO TAKE IN THE STORY~
:(
March 9, 2015
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Penguin Random House UK Children’s and NetGalley.)
Well, this was another of those books that I should really have read the first in the series before requesting the second.
I honestly didn’t understand this book. I didn’t get what was going on or why, and I didn’t care. The writing was once again unusual…
“You bow your head and the rain runs off you, rivulets of red, to join the mud and the blood around you.”
The story was kind-of disgusting in places…
“I eat small animals mainly, though I don’t remember catching them. But I know it’s happening cos there’re little bones in my vomit and rags of furry skins and blood. There was a tail once.”
Just yuck.
I got confused, I got bored, I had no idea what was happening, and it just didn’t seem to get better he further into it I got. I really didn’t enjoy this book, and I really don’t want to read the third one. This series is really not for me.
4 out of 10
Well, this was another of those books that I should really have read the first in the series before requesting the second.
I honestly didn’t understand this book. I didn’t get what was going on or why, and I didn’t care. The writing was once again unusual…
“You bow your head and the rain runs off you, rivulets of red, to join the mud and the blood around you.”
The story was kind-of disgusting in places…
“I eat small animals mainly, though I don’t remember catching them. But I know it’s happening cos there’re little bones in my vomit and rags of furry skins and blood. There was a tail once.”
Just yuck.
I got confused, I got bored, I had no idea what was happening, and it just didn’t seem to get better he further into it I got. I really didn’t enjoy this book, and I really don’t want to read the third one. This series is really not for me.
4 out of 10
January 5, 2017
I should probably go and wash my face. I've been crying like a baby for the last five minutes now. I'll stop crying and get back to writing this review.
Okay, so Half Wild picks up where Half Bad ended, it continues on with Nathan's life as a Half Code who is hated by pure white witches and wanted dead for being the son of the most dangerous black witch, Marcus Edge.
I was very scared I'll end up hating this book because it seems like sequels are always worse than the first book. However, I probably have hatred running through my veins at this point, I'm a mixture of feelings and the dominate one is totallypain anger.
This book was magnificent, interesting and intense. It was absolutely magical. Every part of it was intense, I felt closer to the characters, and got hurt when they did. The writing style was amazing, I couldn't put the book down or pass a chapter without commenting- poor goodreads - on it, I was completely absorbed into the story that I tuned everything else out.
The characters' development was one of the best things about this book. And the addition of new characters was what made this book even more exciting.
I don't know how but Sally Green managed to make Gabriel even more appealing, how can a character be so perfect and so good at continuing to be even more perfect? I don't know, but I've never read about someone that soft and gentle and beautiful! The relationship between him and Nathan grows and develops into something intense and unfair, Nathan can be quite selfish when he wants to be and Gabriel is being the lovely petal that he is and goes all you-kiss-me-I-kiss-you-you-scratch-my-back-I-scratch-yours on Nathan, but guess what Nathan does? uh-huh.
The lost star goes for Annalise, this book was all about Annalise -who is the reason why I have cried my eyes out- and how she is just a piece of useless Gretchen Weiners, I usually like girlfriends but this one was dumb and good for nothing, she was just a magnet for bad luck and brought crap upon others.
Also loads of events happened fast at the end while I wanted it to be more detailed and slow burned, and some characters were unfairly treated, I felt bad for some.
All in all, I'm in love with this trilogy so far, it's completely meeting my expectations even surprising me with how marvelous it is, incredible writing and fantastic plot!
Okay, so Half Wild picks up where Half Bad ended, it continues on with Nathan's life as a Half Code who is hated by pure white witches and wanted dead for being the son of the most dangerous black witch, Marcus Edge.
I was very scared I'll end up hating this book because it seems like sequels are always worse than the first book. However, I probably have hatred running through my veins at this point, I'm a mixture of feelings and the dominate one is totally
This book was magnificent, interesting and intense. It was absolutely magical. Every part of it was intense, I felt closer to the characters, and got hurt when they did. The writing style was amazing, I couldn't put the book down or pass a chapter without commenting
The characters' development was one of the best things about this book. And the addition of new characters was what made this book even more exciting.
I don't know how but Sally Green managed to make Gabriel even more appealing, how can a character be so perfect and so good at continuing to be even more perfect? I don't know, but I've never read about someone that soft and gentle and beautiful! The relationship between him and Nathan grows and develops into something intense and unfair, Nathan can be quite selfish when he wants to be and Gabriel is being the lovely petal that he is and goes all you-kiss-me-I-kiss-you-you-scratch-my-back-I-scratch-yours on Nathan, but guess what Nathan does? uh-huh.
The lost star goes for Annalise, this book was all about Annalise -who is the reason why I have cried my eyes out- and how she is just a piece of useless Gretchen Weiners, I usually like girlfriends but this one was dumb and good for nothing, she was just a magnet for bad luck and brought crap upon others.
Also loads of events happened fast at the end while I wanted it to be more detailed and slow burned, and some characters were unfairly treated, I felt bad for some.
All in all, I'm in love with this trilogy so far, it's completely meeting my expectations even surprising me with how marvelous it is, incredible writing and fantastic plot!
Want to read
September 12, 2016ASDFGHJKL!!!
June 24, 2018
THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND MORE
I loved the brutality of it.
I loved the tough decisions the protagonist has to make, and that he's not afraid to make them.
I loved that the main character, Nathan understands that in times of war you have to kill, you have to be cruel, vicious, bad. Because in war it is you and the ones you love or the others, and a lot of times in YA books, protagonists don't understand the importance and the necessity of being selfish and harsh and cruel and bloody. There is no other option. It is a war, after all. But Nathan, my precious murderous baby, understand this and I love him for it.
I loved Nathan discovering his gift and learning to control it.
And I love Gabriel. He's the kind of guy Nathan deserves and now, more than ever, I need them to be together.
And specially I loved the ending of this book. It is the kind of ending that leaves you wanting more. This trilogy has been absolutely fascinating to me.
Oh! btw, I have never hated a character more than I hate Annalise now. (fucking bitch).
I loved the brutality of it.
I loved the tough decisions the protagonist has to make, and that he's not afraid to make them.
I loved that the main character, Nathan understands that in times of war you have to kill, you have to be cruel, vicious, bad. Because in war it is you and the ones you love or the others, and a lot of times in YA books, protagonists don't understand the importance and the necessity of being selfish and harsh and cruel and bloody. There is no other option. It is a war, after all. But Nathan, my precious murderous baby, understand this and I love him for it.
I loved Nathan discovering his gift and learning to control it.
And I love Gabriel. He's the kind of guy Nathan deserves and now, more than ever, I need them to be together.
And specially I loved the ending of this book. It is the kind of ending that leaves you wanting more. This trilogy has been absolutely fascinating to me.
Oh! btw, I have never hated a character more than I hate Annalise now. (fucking bitch).
August 13, 2015
Increíble
June 13, 2015
-- UNA SEGUNDA PARTE TAN FASCINANTE COMO LA PRIMERA --
SALLY DAME YA EL TERCER LIBRO. POR FAVOR.
El lado salvaje es una novela sumamente complicada de reseñar. Es la continuación de El lado oscuro, una novela que me fascinó por la manera en la que estaba escrita y cuyo protagonista me dejó sin palabras. En esta segunda parte la autora sigue pisando fuerte y nos lanza una trama mucho más interesante que la que teníamos en El lado oscuro.
Si hay algo increíble sobre Sally Green es la manera en la que escribe. Tiene una pluma magnífica y sabe meter al lector de lleno en sus páginas. Sally crea personajes muy bien profundizados y caracterizados, personajes que el lector siente reales desde el primer momento y a los que conoce a la perfección.
En El lado salvaje vamos a seguir viendo esa faceta virtuosa de la autora. El personaje de Nathan está muy bien construido y se mantiene mucho en su línea en El lado salvaje. De hecho el surgirán dudas sobre quién es y qué quiere y se verán muy bien reflejadas en la obra. Es un personaje que te lo da todo, la novela no necesita una trama maravillosa ni nada, pues Nathan alimenta el interés del lector por sí solo.
En esta segunda parte Sally nos da algo que falta en la primera novela, una trama más interesante y con más tirón. Nuestro protagonista va a viajar por Europa y la autora nos va a meter en las ciudades que visita.
Hay varios giros de trama muy impredecibles y que le dan un buen toque a esta segunda novela. Además la relación especial que mantiene Nathan con otro personaje de la novela es maravillosa. Una de mis partes favoritas.
La oscuridad y fantasía que derrochaba El lado oscuro es también palpable en El lado salvaje. Seguimos en la línea de la fantasía -y cierta locura por parte de Nathan- que caracterizaba al primer tomo de la trilogía.
En resumen, El lado salvaje es una segunda parte de trilogía muy buena, que no decae ni flojea y que sigue en la línea de El lado oscuro. Es una trilogía para lectorxs de fantasía. Una segunda parte que hay que leer si has leído la primera. Y si no has leído la primera, ¿a qué estás esperando?
SALLY DAME YA EL TERCER LIBRO. POR FAVOR.
El lado salvaje es una novela sumamente complicada de reseñar. Es la continuación de El lado oscuro, una novela que me fascinó por la manera en la que estaba escrita y cuyo protagonista me dejó sin palabras. En esta segunda parte la autora sigue pisando fuerte y nos lanza una trama mucho más interesante que la que teníamos en El lado oscuro.
Si hay algo increíble sobre Sally Green es la manera en la que escribe. Tiene una pluma magnífica y sabe meter al lector de lleno en sus páginas. Sally crea personajes muy bien profundizados y caracterizados, personajes que el lector siente reales desde el primer momento y a los que conoce a la perfección.
En El lado salvaje vamos a seguir viendo esa faceta virtuosa de la autora. El personaje de Nathan está muy bien construido y se mantiene mucho en su línea en El lado salvaje. De hecho el surgirán dudas sobre quién es y qué quiere y se verán muy bien reflejadas en la obra. Es un personaje que te lo da todo, la novela no necesita una trama maravillosa ni nada, pues Nathan alimenta el interés del lector por sí solo.
En esta segunda parte Sally nos da algo que falta en la primera novela, una trama más interesante y con más tirón. Nuestro protagonista va a viajar por Europa y la autora nos va a meter en las ciudades que visita.
Hay varios giros de trama muy impredecibles y que le dan un buen toque a esta segunda novela. Además la relación especial que mantiene Nathan con otro personaje de la novela es maravillosa. Una de mis partes favoritas.
La oscuridad y fantasía que derrochaba El lado oscuro es también palpable en El lado salvaje. Seguimos en la línea de la fantasía -y cierta locura por parte de Nathan- que caracterizaba al primer tomo de la trilogía.
En resumen, El lado salvaje es una segunda parte de trilogía muy buena, que no decae ni flojea y que sigue en la línea de El lado oscuro. Es una trilogía para lectorxs de fantasía. Una segunda parte que hay que leer si has leído la primera. Y si no has leído la primera, ¿a qué estás esperando?
February 9, 2021
Rep: bi mc, gay li
October 27, 2017
Nathan has finally become a true witch. His father gave him his three gifts and he healed him.
But still Nathan is alone.
His meeting with his father wasn't the one he was anticipating and he didn't got the chance to ask him all the questions that he wanted. More than that he wasn't able to kill him so that he can free Annalise. He knew that he wouldn't, couldn't do that to his father no matter how cruel he was or that he never rescued him from his tragic life.
None of that matters now. What's important is to find Gabriell and a way back to Mercury's house to rescue Annalise. And that's what he does.
I don't think I've ever read a book in which the main character had the tragic life that Nathan did.
When he finally escaped every white witch that mistreated him and found people who loved him... he lost them again.
Then his father only showes up to give him his gifts and disappears again without helping him.
And still everyone is using him. Everyone except for Gabriell who is the only one who really shows true love towards Nathan.
Why is everyone so cruel to him? He just need a big hug and alot of love.
This series is so good but it agrivates me so much.
I just want to kill all the adults in it.
But still Nathan is alone.
His meeting with his father wasn't the one he was anticipating and he didn't got the chance to ask him all the questions that he wanted. More than that he wasn't able to kill him so that he can free Annalise. He knew that he wouldn't, couldn't do that to his father no matter how cruel he was or that he never rescued him from his tragic life.
None of that matters now. What's important is to find Gabriell and a way back to Mercury's house to rescue Annalise. And that's what he does.
I don't think I've ever read a book in which the main character had the tragic life that Nathan did.
When he finally escaped every white witch that mistreated him and found people who loved him... he lost them again.
Then his father only showes up to give him his gifts and disappears again without helping him.
And still everyone is using him. Everyone except for Gabriell who is the only one who really shows true love towards Nathan.
Why is everyone so cruel to him? He just need a big hug and alot of love.
This series is so good but it agrivates me so much.
I just want to kill all the adults in it.
January 10, 2020
*4.5 stars*
September 5, 2016
Sally's writing is very special. She can write complex characters in a very few words, which can lead either to pleasure or boredom, depending on the reader.
In my case, it led to pleasure, so I´m looking forward to reading the last part.
In my case, it led to pleasure, so I´m looking forward to reading the last part.
April 8, 2015
I received a copy of Half Wild in exchange for an honest review, courtesy of Penguin Random House UK and Netgalley. A copy of this review is also on my blog: www.bookblogbird.weebly.com
I finished the first book in this trilogy a couple of days ago. It’s a wild, gruesome ride and I loved every minute of it.
This book, not so much.
I want to start by highlighting the good parts. Some scenes were great. There are a couple of scenes with Gabriel and Nathan that almost had me in tears, they were so beautifully written. The parts with Marcus in were very good, too.
Also, I genuinely think Sally Green is a great writer. With a trilogy about witches, magic and superpowers, it would have been easy to have gone completely purple-prose and hammed it up. She does none of that. Her writing is very gritty and very real.
There were some characters that I loved. Nathan is one of the most interesting protagonists I’ve read about for a long time and it was fascinating to watch him embrace his Black Witch side. Marcus, his father, I found very compelling also and I think it takes a very skilled writer to make a mass murderer a sympathetic character. And Gabriel. Aaah...Gabriel. Fit, gorgeous, witty, able to handle a gun and utterly devoted to Nathan.
Unfortunately, I had a bit of a problem with some of the other characters. Annalise was one, and a lot of the plot revolved around her. I thought she was a complete drip and I couldn’t for the life of me see why Nathan was so obsessed with her. She had no spark. She wasn’t witty, she wasn’t useful in a fight, she didn’t really know whether she wanted to join the Alliance, she didn’t even know what her Gift was, for crying out loud. She was just a pretty face. Blah.
I get that seventeen year old boys often think with their junk instead of their heads when it comes to girls, but Nathan is such a complex character that I felt his obsession with this one-dimensional Disney-Princess girl was wrong. Just...wrong.
Also, it didn’t help the Annalise-Is-Great cause when she explained that the reason she left Nathan to be carved to bits by her psychotic brother (back in Half Bad) was because her parents locked her in her room. Huh? That’s not good. You shimmy out the window, or you break the lock, or you punch your dad in the face. You don’t just sit there and wait for the boy you love to be butchered.
I had problems with the plot as well and the biggest problem was that there just didn’t seem to be one. The first half of the book revolves around finding Annalise. Nathan, Gabriel and two new characters (whose names I’ve already forgotten) just seem to zoom about all over Europe, without anything much actually happening. There are a couple of good bits, but they are few and far between and after the all-thriller-no-filler excitement of Half Bad it just fell a little flat. It felt like the author put all of her awesomest ideas into Half Bad, but couldn’t quite seem to think of anything to happen in this book.
I know Sophomore Slump is a thing, where the eager-beaver author proudly delivers the final, final draft of the first instalment of their trilogy and the publisher goes, ‘Thanks very much. You now have exactly-’ Looks at watch ‘-three months to produce the first draft of the next instalment. GO! GO! GO!’
Let me reiterate: I enjoy Sally Green’s writing and I would happily read a different series of hers, if she writes one, or a standalone and I kind of want to know what happens to Nathan and Gabriel, but I just don’t think I have the energy to read the third instalment.
4/10
I finished the first book in this trilogy a couple of days ago. It’s a wild, gruesome ride and I loved every minute of it.
This book, not so much.
I want to start by highlighting the good parts. Some scenes were great. There are a couple of scenes with Gabriel and Nathan that almost had me in tears, they were so beautifully written. The parts with Marcus in were very good, too.
Also, I genuinely think Sally Green is a great writer. With a trilogy about witches, magic and superpowers, it would have been easy to have gone completely purple-prose and hammed it up. She does none of that. Her writing is very gritty and very real.
There were some characters that I loved. Nathan is one of the most interesting protagonists I’ve read about for a long time and it was fascinating to watch him embrace his Black Witch side. Marcus, his father, I found very compelling also and I think it takes a very skilled writer to make a mass murderer a sympathetic character. And Gabriel. Aaah...Gabriel. Fit, gorgeous, witty, able to handle a gun and utterly devoted to Nathan.
Unfortunately, I had a bit of a problem with some of the other characters. Annalise was one, and a lot of the plot revolved around her. I thought she was a complete drip and I couldn’t for the life of me see why Nathan was so obsessed with her. She had no spark. She wasn’t witty, she wasn’t useful in a fight, she didn’t really know whether she wanted to join the Alliance, she didn’t even know what her Gift was, for crying out loud. She was just a pretty face. Blah.
I get that seventeen year old boys often think with their junk instead of their heads when it comes to girls, but Nathan is such a complex character that I felt his obsession with this one-dimensional Disney-Princess girl was wrong. Just...wrong.
Also, it didn’t help the Annalise-Is-Great cause when she explained that the reason she left Nathan to be carved to bits by her psychotic brother (back in Half Bad) was because her parents locked her in her room. Huh? That’s not good. You shimmy out the window, or you break the lock, or you punch your dad in the face. You don’t just sit there and wait for the boy you love to be butchered.
I had problems with the plot as well and the biggest problem was that there just didn’t seem to be one. The first half of the book revolves around finding Annalise. Nathan, Gabriel and two new characters (whose names I’ve already forgotten) just seem to zoom about all over Europe, without anything much actually happening. There are a couple of good bits, but they are few and far between and after the all-thriller-no-filler excitement of Half Bad it just fell a little flat. It felt like the author put all of her awesomest ideas into Half Bad, but couldn’t quite seem to think of anything to happen in this book.
I know Sophomore Slump is a thing, where the eager-beaver author proudly delivers the final, final draft of the first instalment of their trilogy and the publisher goes, ‘Thanks very much. You now have exactly-’ Looks at watch ‘-three months to produce the first draft of the next instalment. GO! GO! GO!’
Let me reiterate: I enjoy Sally Green’s writing and I would happily read a different series of hers, if she writes one, or a standalone and I kind of want to know what happens to Nathan and Gabriel, but I just don’t think I have the energy to read the third instalment.
4/10
June 24, 2016
OMG. El final. Dios, que manera de cerrar el libro.
Iba a ser 4 estrellas pero los últimos 3 capítulos hicieron que me replantee la puntuación final
Iba a ser 4 estrellas pero los últimos 3 capítulos hicieron que me replantee la puntuación final
October 20, 2015
3.5ish stars maybe... I really loved book one and its darkness, from the uncomfortable confusion of the beginning to the fear and adrenaline later on. I know it was a Marmite book, but I really loved it! This one just didn't have the substance.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Half Wild. I liked the 'animal' development and the shift in relationships with Gabrielle, Annalise and Marcus. It all makes sense and probably needed to happen. It's just that on the whole it felt a little 'filler'. Compared to book 1 this was slow, and not a great deal happened. Plenty of deaths and gore, which is definitely a redeeming feature, but for a story now turning towards all-out war it was a bit lacking in action until the last few chapters. But then it definitely delivered, and I'm left hanging waiting for book 3, with some vengeance I can't wait to see!
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Half Wild. I liked the 'animal' development and the shift in relationships with Gabrielle, Annalise and Marcus. It all makes sense and probably needed to happen. It's just that on the whole it felt a little 'filler'. Compared to book 1 this was slow, and not a great deal happened. Plenty of deaths and gore, which is definitely a redeeming feature, but for a story now turning towards all-out war it was a bit lacking in action until the last few chapters. But then it definitely delivered, and I'm left hanging waiting for book 3, with some vengeance I can't wait to see!
April 10, 2018
Cool ending, it's always like that : the ones you surrender your heart to often end up stabbing you in the back or at least hurting you , i hope the next book gets better....
Want to read
July 9, 2014I'm all for a gay protagonist as it is missing from mainstream YA literature but I don't think having Gabriel and Nathan end up together would be the greatest of choices. My reasoning is this: We are told the story in Nathan's perspective but we are never told of any occurrences were he has had either homosexual thoughts or urges. We meet Gabriel who is gay and yet we still do not get any information if Nathan might actually lean that way. We just know that he has been in love with Annalise since like forever, what does this lead a reader to believe? Nathan has never really had any homosexual thoughts or urges for him to even be curious of his sexuality. I am sorry but no one can just wake up one morning and say "OMG I am gay" without any past history of homosexuality. You are born straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transsexual. You can't choose what you are born. If Sally Green were to end up turning Nathan gay it would send a wrong message to the LGBT community. It would also kind of be a bad choice in terms of actual literary content as well. You can't write a debut novel of a series and introduce and develop a main character and then in the second novel add a completely and life changing revelation as homosexuality without at all hinting to it in the first book. I think that a homosexual protagonist would be given more justice in another novel. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE MY COMMENT AS HOMOPHOBIC CUZ I TOTALLY DO NOT MEAN IT TO BE.
July 20, 2015
hm, da
Kako sam i rekao ranije u kraćem komentaru nešto nije u redu s ovim nastavkom - spisateljica je neiskusna, a urednik uopće nije ni pokušao uraditi svoj posao.
Izgleda otprilike kao da je napisana kompletna knjiga, nekih 1000 stranica, i onda su to dali mesaru da rasječe sjekirom na tri od oka njemu jednaka dijela.
Ne smije se rad u nastavcima cjepkati tako da se oni kojima je namijenjen osjećaju kao miš u labirintu - ne znam ni gdje mi je glava ni rep ni ulaz ni izlaz.
Pomislio sam kako me i neka demencija starijih već pomalo hvata, no nisam u zadnje vrijeme pročitao malo nastavaka objavljivanih godišnje po jedan no ovdje sam se upleo k'o pile u kučine i do kraja se nisam osjećao ugodno.
Stoga, ako se osjetite imalo izgubljeno kada počnete čitati drugi dio, odmah ga ostavite i uzmite prvi pa ponovite gradivo od jedno polovice knjige do kraja.
Inače radnjom nastavlja na prvi dio no meni je kvalitet znatno opao, a pojavile su se neke naivnosti kojima nije mjesto u samom vrhuncu pri kraju - opet posao urednika da objasni i vrati na doradu.
(ne smijem spoilati no teta je počela pisati kao mlada curica bez iskustva, likove uklanja krajnje besmisleno i neznalački, događaji se odvijaju krajnje naivno, davi sa homoseksualizmom...)
Sada sve ovisi o završnom nastavku no nemam više neka očekivanja, mislim da neće uspjeti - čekam ožujak 2016. za treći, finalni dio.
Ocjena ovoga je dvojka - može proći, onako na slavi prvog nastavka - i svakako pročitajte ako ste i prvi dio, a može i ako niste ništa - ima nekih zanimljivih neobičnosti koje mogu opravdati ljetno, nezahtjevno čitanje.
već treći put čitam što sam napisao - konfuzno je, uhvatila me atmosfera
"Confusion will be my epitaph
As I crawl a cracked and broken path
If we make it we can all sit back and laugh,
But I fear tomorrow I'll be crying..."
Kako sam i rekao ranije u kraćem komentaru nešto nije u redu s ovim nastavkom - spisateljica je neiskusna, a urednik uopće nije ni pokušao uraditi svoj posao.
Izgleda otprilike kao da je napisana kompletna knjiga, nekih 1000 stranica, i onda su to dali mesaru da rasječe sjekirom na tri od oka njemu jednaka dijela.
Ne smije se rad u nastavcima cjepkati tako da se oni kojima je namijenjen osjećaju kao miš u labirintu - ne znam ni gdje mi je glava ni rep ni ulaz ni izlaz.
Pomislio sam kako me i neka demencija starijih već pomalo hvata, no nisam u zadnje vrijeme pročitao malo nastavaka objavljivanih godišnje po jedan no ovdje sam se upleo k'o pile u kučine i do kraja se nisam osjećao ugodno.
Stoga, ako se osjetite imalo izgubljeno kada počnete čitati drugi dio, odmah ga ostavite i uzmite prvi pa ponovite gradivo od jedno polovice knjige do kraja.
Inače radnjom nastavlja na prvi dio no meni je kvalitet znatno opao, a pojavile su se neke naivnosti kojima nije mjesto u samom vrhuncu pri kraju - opet posao urednika da objasni i vrati na doradu.
(ne smijem spoilati no teta je počela pisati kao mlada curica bez iskustva, likove uklanja krajnje besmisleno i neznalački, događaji se odvijaju krajnje naivno, davi sa homoseksualizmom...)
Sada sve ovisi o završnom nastavku no nemam više neka očekivanja, mislim da neće uspjeti - čekam ožujak 2016. za treći, finalni dio.
Ocjena ovoga je dvojka - može proći, onako na slavi prvog nastavka - i svakako pročitajte ako ste i prvi dio, a može i ako niste ništa - ima nekih zanimljivih neobičnosti koje mogu opravdati ljetno, nezahtjevno čitanje.
već treći put čitam što sam napisao - konfuzno je, uhvatila me atmosfera
"Confusion will be my epitaph
As I crawl a cracked and broken path
If we make it we can all sit back and laugh,
But I fear tomorrow I'll be crying..."
April 6, 2016
Hooooooly shit. Okay. I just... Okay. I need to catch my breath. My body was not ready for this.
RTC.
RTC.
May 5, 2016
While superior to the first installment in characterization, plot, and writing, I am a little ticked off that the world building was not detailed any further. The reason why I never complained about the vague world-building in the first book was because I thought that was all the information given to Nathan about it, and I was lead to believe it would grow as the series progressed. I'll just have to hope that in the last installment Sally will take a little more time to fill in the blanks (especially the question on whether or not "normal" people know about witches because I'm still pretty confused).
Review to come.
EDIT (11.07.14):
You literally have no idea how ecstatic I am for this. Not only am I eager to see what happens next, I’m also thrilled to find that they’ve continued with Half Bad’s cover-theme. I absolutely adore the cover for Half Bad – it was eye catching and unique and so clever. It was what pulled me into Green’s work in the first place. And I’m so happy that they’ve continued the originality into the sequel and did not replace it with a photoshopped cover of some hot guy and some smoke.
... But dammit please tell me my ship with Nathan and Gabriel will actually set sail. I loath Annalise with a burning passion. Just -- just go away. Shoo.
Review to come.
EDIT (11.07.14):
You literally have no idea how ecstatic I am for this. Not only am I eager to see what happens next, I’m also thrilled to find that they’ve continued with Half Bad’s cover-theme. I absolutely adore the cover for Half Bad – it was eye catching and unique and so clever. It was what pulled me into Green’s work in the first place. And I’m so happy that they’ve continued the originality into the sequel and did not replace it with a photoshopped cover of some hot guy and some smoke.
... But dammit please tell me my ship with Nathan and Gabriel will actually set sail. I loath Annalise with a burning passion. Just -- just go away. Shoo.
March 21, 2016
I honestly don't know how to feel about this book. The ending was great, but I am not a fan of Annalise and this book focused around finding her, which I don't understand because she's just annoying.
I did enjoy the LGBTQ factor in this book, it was a nice surprise for me because I had no idea that this book involved any LGBTQ in it, but I loved it!
Gabriel is still my favorite character in the trilogy. It was nice to see Nathan continue to grow as a person and his relationship with his father grow too.
I did enjoy Half Wild more than Half Bad, and I think I'm going to have to drop my rating for Half Bad down to 3/5 stars rather than 3.5/5 stars because Half Wild was better, but it's not a 4/5 stars book to me.
In depth review on my blog coming soon!!
I did enjoy the LGBTQ factor in this book, it was a nice surprise for me because I had no idea that this book involved any LGBTQ in it, but I loved it!
Gabriel is still my favorite character in the trilogy. It was nice to see Nathan continue to grow as a person and his relationship with his father grow too.
I did enjoy Half Wild more than Half Bad, and I think I'm going to have to drop my rating for Half Bad down to 3/5 stars rather than 3.5/5 stars because Half Wild was better, but it's not a 4/5 stars book to me.
In depth review on my blog coming soon!!
August 4, 2016
This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
MY THOUGHTS
I enjoyed the first book in this series, so I was excited to finally dive into this sequel! This book does have middle book syndrome, so it's very slow-paced, but I still enjoyed it!
This book takes place shortly after the events of Half Bad. Gabriel is currently missing, or dead, and Nathan keeps checking to see if Gabriel has showed up. He also still has to evade the Hunters and to make things even more difficult, he's having trouble controlling his Gift. Oh, let's not forget that he still needs to save Annalise. To top it all off, people now what him to join some kind of Alliance. The leader of the White Witches in Britain have no started to kill all Black Witches in Europe, as well as White Witches that don't 'agree'. The Alliance want to put a stop with it and think Nathan would be a great fighter for the cause.
This book is really really slow-paced. Enough happened to keep me interested, but this book was mostly leading up to the next book. There's a whole lot of planning, deciding, flashbacks, and fighting. Some of it was important, but there weren't really huge action-packed events until the end.
The writing and the world-building in this book is great! I know some people don't really like the oddness of some of the writing, but I think it's very interesting and unique! As for the world, I love it! It's a very harsh magic system, but I think it's very different and, again, I think it's very interesting! We don't get to learn a whole lot more about it, though, in this book, but the system is still there. In fact, it's becoming even more darker.
As for romance, it's probably one of the oddest romance I've ever had in a book, and I've read hundreds. Gabriel likes Nathan and Nathan likes Annalise. Nathan thinks he only likes Gabriel as a friend. I say thinks because I really like Gabriel and I completely ship them. Annalise is okay, but she's kind of the typical girl character I see in YA.
IN CONCLUSION
All in all, this book has middle book syndrome, so it is a bit slow, but it's still necessary. I love the imagination in this series and this book ended in such a climatic way, that I can't wait to read the next book!
MY THOUGHTS
I enjoyed the first book in this series, so I was excited to finally dive into this sequel! This book does have middle book syndrome, so it's very slow-paced, but I still enjoyed it!
This book takes place shortly after the events of Half Bad. Gabriel is currently missing, or dead, and Nathan keeps checking to see if Gabriel has showed up. He also still has to evade the Hunters and to make things even more difficult, he's having trouble controlling his Gift. Oh, let's not forget that he still needs to save Annalise. To top it all off, people now what him to join some kind of Alliance. The leader of the White Witches in Britain have no started to kill all Black Witches in Europe, as well as White Witches that don't 'agree'. The Alliance want to put a stop with it and think Nathan would be a great fighter for the cause.
This book is really really slow-paced. Enough happened to keep me interested, but this book was mostly leading up to the next book. There's a whole lot of planning, deciding, flashbacks, and fighting. Some of it was important, but there weren't really huge action-packed events until the end.
The writing and the world-building in this book is great! I know some people don't really like the oddness of some of the writing, but I think it's very interesting and unique! As for the world, I love it! It's a very harsh magic system, but I think it's very different and, again, I think it's very interesting! We don't get to learn a whole lot more about it, though, in this book, but the system is still there. In fact, it's becoming even more darker.
As for romance, it's probably one of the oddest romance I've ever had in a book, and I've read hundreds. Gabriel likes Nathan and Nathan likes Annalise. Nathan thinks he only likes Gabriel as a friend. I say thinks because I really like Gabriel and I completely ship them. Annalise is okay, but she's kind of the typical girl character I see in YA.
IN CONCLUSION
All in all, this book has middle book syndrome, so it is a bit slow, but it's still necessary. I love the imagination in this series and this book ended in such a climatic way, that I can't wait to read the next book!
April 22, 2016
Nathan is back and with it comes his new found abilities. He's still on the run from the terror of the White Witches, but he's not alone. With a new round of characters and enemies he might know, Nathan finds out exactly what he's capable of. Being out in the wild suits him.
Half Bad had some pacing issues but there was no problem with this one because I was constantly engaged. Namely because there's a certain love interest that I want him to get with. I felt like Nathan could fare better with this person and I just liked this person so much more for him. This person is good for him in more ways than one. Loyal, kind, and so in love with Nathan that I'm pretty sure Nathan himself didn't want to admit it to himself. The other love interest fell apart for me, and I wholly didn't trust them. You can tell how I'm writing these people so vaguely because I don't want there to be any spoilers.
There's the sudden urgency to get around the White Witches even more and this time Nathan indeed gets help. From people he may not expect either. I thought it was wonderfully paced and that ending! Geez..If I knew it would be such a climatic ending I would have waited until the last book. I found it interesting that his magical power manifests here even though I still don't know what kind it is exactly. I liked the world a whole lot more and even though there are parts where it's dragged on, I couldn't help but love the ending. It just brought it up one star for me.
RATING 3/5
QUOTES
"If I can't control it I could kill anyone."
"There's no right or wrong here."
"I never had you down as a coward—so that shows how much I know about people."
"I treasure every second with you. Every second. More than you know."
"The point of being good is doing it when it's tough, not when it's easy."
Half Bad had some pacing issues but there was no problem with this one because I was constantly engaged. Namely because there's a certain love interest that I want him to get with. I felt like Nathan could fare better with this person and I just liked this person so much more for him. This person is good for him in more ways than one. Loyal, kind, and so in love with Nathan that I'm pretty sure Nathan himself didn't want to admit it to himself. The other love interest fell apart for me, and I wholly didn't trust them. You can tell how I'm writing these people so vaguely because I don't want there to be any spoilers.
There's the sudden urgency to get around the White Witches even more and this time Nathan indeed gets help. From people he may not expect either. I thought it was wonderfully paced and that ending! Geez..If I knew it would be such a climatic ending I would have waited until the last book. I found it interesting that his magical power manifests here even though I still don't know what kind it is exactly. I liked the world a whole lot more and even though there are parts where it's dragged on, I couldn't help but love the ending. It just brought it up one star for me.
RATING 3/5
QUOTES
"If I can't control it I could kill anyone."
"There's no right or wrong here."
"I never had you down as a coward—so that shows how much I know about people."
"I treasure every second with you. Every second. More than you know."
"The point of being good is doing it when it's tough, not when it's easy."
July 16, 2015
Un 4,5 en realidad
El lado salvaje es una segunda parte que supera con creces a su predecesora. Con más violencia, oscuridad y explorando de una forma fascinante la relación de Nathan con sus poderes y también con la gente que le rodea. Una novela que se centra más en los personajes y sus relaciones pero que igualmente engancha y nos mantiene en vilo hasta el final.
http://lavidasecretadeloslibros.blogs...
El lado salvaje es una segunda parte que supera con creces a su predecesora. Con más violencia, oscuridad y explorando de una forma fascinante la relación de Nathan con sus poderes y también con la gente que le rodea. Una novela que se centra más en los personajes y sus relaciones pero que igualmente engancha y nos mantiene en vilo hasta el final.
http://lavidasecretadeloslibros.blogs...
September 10, 2016
4.5 stars. Holy crap, I'm a mess
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