Half Wild

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Title: Half Wild

Author: Sally Green

Series: The Half Bad Trilogy, #2

Publisher: Penguin UK

Release Date: March 24th 2015

Rating:

After finally meeting his elusive father, Marcus, and receiving the three gifts that confirm him as a full adult witch, Nathan is still on the run. He needs to find his friend Gabriel and rescue Annalise, now a prisoner of the powerful Black witch Mercury. Most of all he needs to learn how to control his Gift—a strange, wild new power that threatens to overwhelm him.

Meanwhile, Soul O’Brien has seized control of the Council of White Witches and is expanding his war against Black witches into Europe. In response, an unprecedented alliance has formed between Black and White witches determined to resist him. Drawn into the rebellion by the enigmatic Black witch Van Dal, Nathan finds himself fighting alongside both old friends and old enemies. But can all the rebels be trusted, or is Nathan walking into a trap?

– Blurb courtesy of goodreads.com

This review may contain spoilers for previous book(s) in the series.

My Thoughts On…

…The Plot

“I’m…it’s like there’s someone, something else living in me. And he comes out and takes over. But I know he’s still me, another part of me, a completely wild, uncaring me.”

Half Wild picks up immediately where Half Bad finished, and in my opinion it is so much better than the first book. Nathan has received three gifts from his father and finally become a full witch but after the hunters discovered Mercury and attacked, and with Gabriel not yet having arrived at the meeting point they arranged, Nathan no longer knows what his next step is. In order to get Annalise back from Mercury he needs to kill his father, but Nathan is sure he will never turn against Marcus so instead he tries to find another solution.

Accepting Gabriel is likely dead Nathan has made the decision to leave the woods he has been camped in for weeks already when he runs into Nesbitt, a half Black half fain witch, who reveals that not only does he know where Gabriel is but he also knows the location of the Fairborn; the knife Nathan is supposed to use to kill his father and the knife he lost at the end of Half Bad. Nathan has no solid plan to get Annalise back but Van, the Black Witch Nesbitt takes him to, does.

In exchange for her help in getting Annalise back and convincing Mercury to wake her from the death like sleep she has been left in Nathan agrees to became a part of Van’s Alliance; a group made up of White and Black witches working together against the new council leader.

“Wild is an interesting word. We imagine wild to be untamed and out of control but, of course, nature isn’t like that; nature is controlled, ordered, extremely disciplined by all its elements.”

After Nathan’s escape in Half Bad Soul O’Brien manipulated his way to the head of the council, but he is cruel. Soul claims to be all about helping White witches but he kills anyone who crosses him, and is expanding the hunters across Europe to strike at Black witches where they’ve always been safe before.

Nathan doesn’t want to join the alliance, all he wants is to take Annalise, run far away, and live his life. However as the son of Marcus it seems that is never going to be Nathan’s fate. Still Van’s plan is the best he has so together the two of them, Nesbitt and Gabriel set off to try and find where Mercury is hiding, but the hunters are close on their trails and now being led by Nathan’s oldest sister Jessica now there are going to be more than a few close calls on their road to the alliance.

…The Characters

“I always thought a person’s Gift reflected something about that person and all I can think is that my Gift reflects my desires, and my desires are to be totally wild, totally free.”

Nathan has received his magical gift and no longer has to worry about who will perform his Giving ceremony, now he has to worry about how he is unable to control his power; every night Nathan seems to shift into an animal and when he wakes up he can still taste the blood in his mouth. Nathan has been changed by everything that happened in Half Bad; I wouldn’t say he was evil or cruel but he is sharp-tempered, unforgiving and quick to anger, the animal instinct that’s kept him alive so far has only been sharpened by his gift.

Although Nathan hasn’t met many Black witches he meets a few in Half Wild who despise him, not because he is half Black or even because he is Marcus’s son, but simply because he is a Half Code. The Black witches we are introduced to in this book are powerful but they do nothing for free, all of them have something to gain from Nathan and are willing to use whatever leverage they have against him. The only exception is Gabriel.

“I’ll stay with you always; go where you go always. I don’t want to be anywhere else. I couldn’t stand to be anywhere else.”

Gabriel is Nathan’s best friend but more than that he is in love with him. No matter what choices Nathan makes Gabriel will always be at his side; be it running off to save Annalise and risking Mercury’s wrath or joining the alliance and fighting against the council themselves. There is nothing Nathan can do that will lead to Gabriel leaving him but that doesn’t mean Gabriel likes his plan of saving Annalise or that he is a pushover when it comes to Nathan either.

“Tired?” he asks.
“Tired—yes. Angry—yes. Pissed off—ninety-nine percent of the time. Fun to be around—never.”
Gabriel smiles. “Who wants fun when you can have interesting?”

Together Gabriel and Nathan make a good team. Gabriel always seems to have a smile and a friendly word, he just makes people at ease around him, on the other hand Nathan is dark, dangerous and often has a very short temper but they balance each other out and work well together. Even when it seems like he has no one else Nathan always has Gabriel by his side.

Despite not being able to see them Nathan’s thoughts are never far from the people he loves; be it Annalise who is trapped by Mercury, Deborah and Arran who are still safe but so far out of Nathan’s reach, or his father. Nathan only met Marcus for a few minutes but he still wants more from his father, though he doubts he’ll ever get it as long as the prophecy of Nathan killing Marcus with Fairborn still exists.

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The issues I had with the pacing and the way the story was set out in Half Bad were non-existent in this second book. There seemed to be much more at stake for Nathan, and for all Black witches, and it created a thrilling story I never wanted to end. Although after the way it did end I can’t wait to jump straight into Half Lost.

What did you think of Half Wild? Was it a favourite of yours or could you just not get into the story? Let me know.