Review: Intrinsical by Lani Woodland

Book: Intrinsical by Lani Woodland
Series or Stand-Alone: Series, The Yara Silva Trilogy #1
Pages: 298
Genre: Young Adult
How Did I Get This Book: Book Tour
Publication Date: August 20th, 2010
Description (From Goodreads): Sixteen-year-old Yara Silva has always known that ghosts walk alongside the living. Her grandma, like the other females in her family, is a Waker, someone who can see and communicate with ghosts. Yara grew up watching her grandmother taunted and scorned for this unusual ability and doesn't want that to be her future. She has been dreading the day when she too would see ghosts, and is relieved that the usually dominant Waker gene seems to have skipped her, letting her live a normal teenage life. However, all that changes for Yara on her first day at her elite boarding school when she discovers the gene was only lying dormant. She witnesses a dark mist attack Brent, a handsome fellow student, and rushes to his rescue. Her act of heroism draws the mist's attention, and the dark spirit begins stalking her. Yara finds herself entrenched in a sixty-year-old curse that haunts the school, threatening not only her life, but the lives of her closest friends as well. Yara soon realizes that the past she was trying to put behind her isn't going to go quietly.

First of all, mad props to Lani for coming up with an utterly unique and intriguing storyline. The only other book that I can think of that dealt kind of dealt with astral projection was A Certain Slant of Light, and that really isn't the same thing. I am always impressed when an author (especially one in the highly competitive Paranormal YA market) comes up with a new and interesting plotline.

Besides the storyline, I think that one of the elements that sets this book apart is the many plot twists. There were plenty of times when I thought I had everything figured out, only to have the rug swept out from under my feet. I don't know about you guys, but as a reader, I love it when that happens.

Woodland's writing was also superb. No matter how you feel about the story, you have to admit she has talent. Her descriptions and just general writing style was flawless. The characters were also all beautifully written. I particularly enjoyed Brent; Yara's love interest (the boy she saves). Their relationship develops at a realistic pace. In a lot of today's Paranormal YA books, the relationships develop almost like Romance novels - which is strange and unsettling to me. It is refreshing to see a book go at a believable pace.

The only issue I had with the book was with the villain, or rather with the villain plotline. You see, when Yara and Brent are being chased around by the bad guy, he pulls a total Bond Villain move. You know what I mean? You know how in all of the old James Bond movies, the villain takes the time to explain his plan for world domination and then comes up with some time consuming torturous plan to kill Bond - giving him enough time to escape? That's exactly what happens here. The villian just kind of sits back and watches Brent and Yara as they get stronger and stronger. It is explained why in the book, but it just doesn't make sense to me. I don't see any reason why you would not only let, but wait for your enemy to get stronger.

Other than the Bond-equse Villain, I truly enjoyed this book. I think that Woodland did a marvelous job creating and crafting the storyline and characters. Her writing is exquisite and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the trilogy.