By Em, Goodreads reviewer
This book was bloody amazing. 😍😍
I didn’t expect the second book, Leaving Blackwood, to be better than the first but I was proven wrong. I am dying to read the third one but alas it’s still a year away.
It took me about a day and a half to read it. I couldn’t put it down. This book had me hooked from the dedication to Hugh Jackman, to its suspenseful ending.
Leaving Blackwood combined the fantasy genre (which I love) with a kind of dystopian genre (which I also love).
Writer and reader synergies
Khaliah is great at encouraging the reader to view characters the same way Freya does. I found myself loving and hating characters according to Freya’s views. This defiantly created a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the novel. I absolutely loved James. He was hilarious and added a comical yet murderous element to the book. I still can’t decide whether he is a good or bad guy but I guess he can be both. Yet again Beau and his golden eyes stole my heart, even with his secretive nature and dark demeanor. His lack of communication and alpha male pride annoyed me slightly but that was perfect for his character development.
The Book picks up shortly after the first one, in a world where supernatural beings such as werewolves and witches exist. Everybody is aware of Freya’s syphon ability and her ‘not’ boyfriend Beau has become distant. When Freya decides to leave town for the night she’d never guess where she’d end up.
Yes, dystopia can be funny!
One thing I should have expected but didn’t was how funny and uplifting the novel was. The sarcasm and snide remarks from many different characters made this book hilarious, and had me laughing to myself. Freya’s ‘never give up’ attitude is inspiring and makes me feel like exercising and facing the world. After reading it I actually made an exercise routine
Leaving Blackwood introduces new characters. I especially liked Kilian and his… charisma. I desperately hope to hear more about him in coming books. I also enjoyed seeing old characters develop, especially Beau and Levi’s interesting relationship.
Book two, like the first book, Welcome to Blackwood, are both set and written in Australia (My favourite country, although I may be biased 🇦🇺) which I liked as I don’t read many books set in Australia.
A book with broad appeal
Fans of The Prison Healer, Shadowhunters, Divergent and Red Queen will defiantly enjoy Leaving Blackwood, but I can see any dystopian, fantasy or sci-fi fans enjoying this captivating story. It is appropriate and enjoyable for all ages with no swearing and ‘inappropriate’ behaviour which makes it fun loving and enjoyable for all
