Intrinsical (The Yara Silva Trilogy #1) by Lani Woodland

Title: Intrinsical

Author: Lani Woodland

Series: works as stand alone but 1st in series

Pages: 298

Published: Available now from Pendrell Publishing

ISBN: 9780982729700

Source: Arranged Book Tour

Description: 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.

I Give This ...

 

This is an odd review for me to write.  I really enjoyed this book overall and couldn't put it down.  But, at times it was slow paced and then other events happened so fast I wondered what the heck was going on.  

 The biggest plus for this story is the cast of characters.  I absolutely loved all of them.  I liked Yara from the start.  I liked her family history and how she was trying to get away (or deny) from who/what she is.  I loved her best friend Cherie.  I found it so interesting that she was so devoted to investigating the very things Yara was so determined not to see.  They complimented each other so well, that it was no wonder they were best friends.  I also really enjoyed their romantic interests in the story.  They are completely realistic.  I love that Steve and Brent are best friends as well.

I also really enjoyed the paranormal elements of the story.  I liked that Yara can see ghosts.  I loved the Cherie believes and can't see them and tries to help Yara come to terms with her abilites.  I loved that the school is haunted and may even be cursed.  I liked how we learn about this and the history of the "spirit" that haunts the school.  Some of the scenes are down right creepy and left me wondering if I should really be reading it late at night with all the lights off.

It's hard to discuss what I had difficulty with without giving away what I feel are spoilers.  There are two specific events concerning Yara that happened so fast that it left me really wondering what was going on.  I actually had to go back and reread.  I think it's just me though, because those events don't seem to confuse anybody else.  Plus, the time frame in between those two events is slow.  We learn a lot about what is going on, but not much happens.  

But, overall I really enjoyed the story.  It's just the right mix of ghosts, paranormal, real life events, and romance.  The book has an overall dark feel to it that works really.  I'll definitely read the next one!