Blackwatch (Wintercraft #2)
Publication: June 26, 2012
Pages: 320
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Publisher: Greenwillow Books
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“Deliver Kate Winters and be spared.”
Kate is the one person gifted enough to work the magic held in the ancient book of Wintercraft. And everyone wants her, either to lock her up or to use her as the ultimate weapon. Her rare power is being able to walk freely through the veil between life and death, and she cannot control it.
Hunted by the Blackwatch—the elite assassins of the enemy—and by her own people, Kate flees deep into tunnels beneath the graveyard city. And she is still inextricably linked to the murderer and traitor Silas Dane, who has crossed the ocean and walked straight into the enemy’s hands.
As the Blackwatch closes in, Kate and Silas will face terrors that only they can keep from destroying Albion. And time is running out.
I hadn’t read book one (Shadowcry) before picking this one up; however, I was able to fill in the blanks pretty quickly based off events. Kate has been found guilty for murder that she didn’t commit by the people she trusted. After an attempt on her life, Kate escapes with her friend Edgar, uncertain about her future only knowing that she needs to stay alive. Elsewhere, Silas is on the run, wanted for betraying his fellow Councilmen. After hearing about someone like him, he decides to find the woman in the hopes of finding an ally.
Kate isn’t my favorite character. She’s timid and acts rationally, allowing herself to be taken prisoner because she doesn’t trust herself not to accidentally kill those she cares about. Her powers are beyond comprehension, as she comes from a strong lineage of Walkers, skilled among the Skilled; being the last of her kind, the other Skilled fear her abilities. I like Edgar for his honesty and loyalty, and I like Silas because he’s a loner who trusts in his abilities and who remains loyal to his beliefs even when his people distrust him after his ability to die was taken from him.
As much as I like certain characters, however, I can’t say the same for the novel overall. I have high expectations for fantasy novels. They were my first love when it came to YA books. Because of the complex world building that it takes to bring fantasy worlds to life, I like my fantasy novels to be descriptive more than any other genre that I read, and I need to be able to follow character motivation. Blackwatch didn’t delve deeply enough into the world or character for me to relate to the characters. I wanted to like them, especially Silas and Edgar, but I didn’t feel as though I got to know them well enough. While the alternating narration between Kate and Silas should have rounded out the plot, the writing style doesn’t seem well suited to fantasy, and I didn’t feel the connection.
It is easy for me to see paranormal readers jumping on this book, and there are those who will enjoy it. As for myself, I don’t have any interest in picking up the first book or the third in this trilogy.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher. No payment was received in return for a review. The receipt of the book had no influence on the opinions expressed in my review.
Author: Crystal
A story girl at heart, Crystal is a bibliophile who can easily spend the day immersed in a good read. She writes under the name Kristy Wang. You can follow her writing adventures on X and Instagram @_kristywang.
Denise Z says
Well I am a paranormal reader and the storyline sounds tasty to me. I think I will give it a looksee and perhaps check out book one. Recently started a book two of a series by accident and it was just not there for me, but when I went back check out book one, ended up loving the series LOL Thank you for taking the time and effort to share with us.