Half Wild by Sally Green

Genre:  YA Paranormal Fantasy

Half Bad Trilogy, Book 2

Sally Green's website

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Note:  This is the second book in a series.  You have been warned.

Description (taken from Sally Green's website):

"You will have a powerful Gift, but it’s how you use it that will show you to be good or bad."

In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, seventeen-year-old Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world’s most powerful and violent witch. Nathan is hunted from all sides: nowhere is safe and no one can be trusted. Now, Nathan has come into his own unique magical Gift, and he’s on the run–but the Hunters are close behind, and they will stop at nothing until they have captured Nathan and destroyed his father.

This story picks up right where the last one left:  with Nathan on the run from White Hunters.  He was separated from Gabriel in the last book and now he's waiting to meet up with him.  While he did have his Giving ceremony, so many other things have gone wrong.  And it's going to take a lot to make them right again.

This story is more about Nathan exploring his gifts and meeting his father, Marcus.  It's also about a rebel group of Black and White Witches uniting against the Council.  But it's going to take a lot of powerful witches to overcome the Council and Hunters.  And with Nathan trying to figure out how to control his Gift, a lot of things can go wrong.

I love the grit that comes with the main character.  This book is very different from what I'm used to reading.  It's from the point of view of a teenage boy who isn't that sociable.  Yet he's still very much in love with a girl and willing to do anything to be with her.  But he's also got a power that comes from a history of witches who have done terrible things.  So he doesn't want history to dictate his future.  I enjoyed reading this.  And I'm looking forward to the next one.

I think this is a fun and easy read.  You're either going to love Nathan or you're not.  But at least give the series a try.

Half Bad by Sally Green

Click here to enter a giveaway for this series.

Genre:  YA Paranormal Fantasy

Half Bad Series, Book 1 

Sally Green's website

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Description (taken From Sally Green's website):

Wanted by no one. Hunted by everyone.

Sixteen-year-old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world’s most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan’s only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers—before it’s too late. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves?

Nathan's world is made up of fain (non-magic people) and two kinds of witches: White and Black.  The White witches are the witches who practice good magic and use it to promote mankind.  However the Black witches are evil and kill other witches for their power.  Or that is what the witch-order would like us to believe.  Being a half black and half white witch, Nathan's not so sure which side is good and which side is evil.  So far all he's known from the governing white witches has been cruelty and evilness.  Maybe Nathan will be able to find his father to prove to himself that not all black witches are evil.

After Nathan is taken from his home, he begins to learn bits and pieces about his family history as well as prophecies.  But there's not much sense in these prophecies if Nathan can't figure out half of what's going on.  As the White Witches Council tries to shape him into a half-starved animal, he escapes.  And before he can become a full-fledged witch, he needs to receive three gifts from a family member.  So now he's even more convinced that he needs to find his father in order to understand the past that haunts him.

This book is like Harry Potter goes goth.  The prejudices that Nathan undergoes; it's shocking.  He's like the black sheep that everyone tries to paint white before giving up and killing the thing.  And the story moves forward.  And builds.  Suddenly you're engrossed and need to know what's going to happen.  And you realize the ending is coming soon, but it's still climaxing.  And then you're like OMG, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?  And the title of the next chapter is "Acknowledgements," and you realize you're at the end of the story.  The only thing you can think of clearly is how much of an improper ending that was.  And where's the next book?

This is a good starter novel.  It has you wanting more pretty quickly.  And then you hit the end of the book without getting a good ending.  I'm off to get the second one now.

Thanks goes to Penguin Random House for providing me a review copy.

Click here to enter a giveaway for this series.