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Black Spiral #2
Black Wolf
THE SECOND RIVETING BOOK IN THE FAST-PACED BLACK SPIRAL TRILOGY.Back from Germany and the assignment that went horribly wrong, Violet doesn’t know who to ’s fortunate for me that the Foundation staff can’t read my thoughts. . . If they could read my thoughts, they’d never let me go. I’d be a liability, and I know what happens to liabilities.Phoenix is equally an hour I will forget who I am, what I have done . . . But . . . I will wake with the heavy knowledge that I am the Black Wolf, never to be trusted, never to be loved — because the only people I’ve ever loved are either dead or hate my guts.The only thing both of them know for sure is that they have to escape the Foundation’s clutches . . .
Kindle Edition
Published August 31, 2021
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Eileen Merriman
25 books109 followersEileen Merriman works full-time as a consultant haematologist at North Shore Hospital. Her writing has appeared in a number of national and international journals and anthologies, including Smokelong Quarterly, The Island Review, Literary Orphans, the Bath Short Story Award Anthology 2015, the Sunday Star-Times, F(r)iction, takahe, Headland and Flash Frontier. Her first novel was Pieces of You, with reviewers calling it 'compulsively readable' and 'compelling, challenging, and heartbreaking'. It was a 2018 Storylines Notable Book and, along with her second novel, it was shortlisted for the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
Her other awards include runner-up in the 2018 Sunday Star-Times Short Story Award, third for three consecutive years in the 2014-2016 Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards, second in the 2015 Bath Flash Fiction Award, commended in the 2015 Bath Short Story Competition, and first place in the 2015 Graeme Lay Short Story Competition.
Her other awards include runner-up in the 2018 Sunday Star-Times Short Story Award, third for three consecutive years in the 2014-2016 Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards, second in the 2015 Bath Flash Fiction Award, commended in the 2015 Bath Short Story Competition, and first place in the 2015 Graeme Lay Short Story Competition.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 7, 2022
Wow what a step up in intensity, Eileen! This was gripping in parts and I enjoyed how the relationships developed. I am hoping for a super power show down somewhere along the line though as I want to see more of this kind of action. On to book 3!
CW:
CW:
January 13, 2022
WOW - In many ways I enjoyed this more than Black Spiral #1 and am now hanging out for #3 (thank goodness Eileen is a fast writer and we have an ETA for later this year).
This was a thrilling page turning adventure with just the right element of fantasy but enough grit and reality to make it relatable. While there were a couple of convenient plot devices (or character appearances) to move the action along, there were also a couple of twists to keep up the suspense and surprise.
This was a thrilling page turning adventure with just the right element of fantasy but enough grit and reality to make it relatable. While there were a couple of convenient plot devices (or character appearances) to move the action along, there were also a couple of twists to keep up the suspense and surprise.
March 2, 2022
(3.8) RAWIRI DID HE MAKE IT OUT LFJNWJLGBRKJGE
Ok let’s just start with Rawiri oml ITS SO SAD BECAUSE HE WENT TO GO FIND ETHAN HIS FRIEND AND ENDS UP GETTING KIDNAPPED AND TESTED ON ONLY TO FIND OUT HE’S DEAD LIKE BRUH I FELT SOOOOOO BAD FOR HIM I WAS LITERALLY CRYING MY EYES OUT maybe because im kinda tired but ALL THAT only to find out that your friends dead like NAH *insert crying face emoji* and I SWEAR IF HE DID NOT MAKE IT OUT ALIVE and OMFG when jonno was like he dead and I WAS BALLING ME EYES OUT because like 5 mins prior i was like this boy better not DIE!!!!! So he better be alive and safe
Oml but in general this book I COULD NOT HANDLE because the first book was just a nice fun fast read and RIP ETHAN but this…well one: I don;t like reading or watching movies based in the desert so when they were going back and forth i just really wanted a change of scenery and I just wanted them to escape and leave and then she almost got raped, then jonno gets shot, hospital panic and then she’s back at the foundation base and then the cops saying to jonno and that violet accused him of rape and he was gonna face all these charges and i was like NOOOO cuz everything was going wrong anf BRUH the way they be gaslighting them kfjnesjkgbergberg OMFGWEKBHJEBFHEWB then bruh oml i knew she was gonna be pregnant but dfeakjfgbjrkgr LIKE wekjnfwejkf then the whole escape on both sies got me nervous AND IM JUST SO HAPPY THEY BOTH IN NZ AND SAFE well for now wejnfgjkegblewktg but JBQKDBKQEBDQK anyways can’t wait for the next book coming in March OML and BRUH i swear somany people dying and AUDREY NOOOO and harper and callum ewjfnwjnfwrkjfr like ewfjbkerhjbg i just this book was just wayyyy more depressing because they’re other dead or not the same and it makes violet and jonna feel alone which makes me as a reader feel alone but i mean int he way ahh i dont know how to explain but just losing the people who understood what only theyre going through and them being gona now is just *insert more crying emojis*
Oml jonno AHHHH bless him ahA i just like seeing his pov and how he cared for her and how he tried to avoid her to not show his fEeEliNgS
but bruh the way i kept cying in this book...i think mainly for rawiri but the way this book just made be feel so panicky and sad
also though um the wolf thing...they aint like...um...
But aha when he was driving across mangere bridge i was like AYEEEEEE and oh the dad. Was he the one who made the virus? Oml im dumb so i wasn’t sure but i mean he knew about this whole project so like um he aint a good guy anyways im gonna sleep now and wait for march to come, i also just bought the first book and hoping to but this booka dn then next one when it comes out :D also might make a savings account specifically for book buying aha for when that sale comes lmao
Ok let’s just start with Rawiri oml ITS SO SAD BECAUSE HE WENT TO GO FIND ETHAN HIS FRIEND AND ENDS UP GETTING KIDNAPPED AND TESTED ON ONLY TO FIND OUT HE’S DEAD LIKE BRUH I FELT SOOOOOO BAD FOR HIM I WAS LITERALLY CRYING MY EYES OUT maybe because im kinda tired but ALL THAT only to find out that your friends dead like NAH *insert crying face emoji* and I SWEAR IF HE DID NOT MAKE IT OUT ALIVE and OMFG when jonno was like he dead and I WAS BALLING ME EYES OUT because like 5 mins prior i was like this boy better not DIE!!!!! So he better be alive and safe
Oml but in general this book I COULD NOT HANDLE because the first book was just a nice fun fast read and RIP ETHAN but this…well one: I don;t like reading or watching movies based in the desert so when they were going back and forth i just really wanted a change of scenery and I just wanted them to escape and leave and then she almost got raped, then jonno gets shot, hospital panic and then she’s back at the foundation base and then the cops saying to jonno and that violet accused him of rape and he was gonna face all these charges and i was like NOOOO cuz everything was going wrong anf BRUH the way they be gaslighting them kfjnesjkgbergberg OMFGWEKBHJEBFHEWB then bruh oml i knew she was gonna be pregnant but dfeakjfgbjrkgr LIKE wekjnfwejkf then the whole escape on both sies got me nervous AND IM JUST SO HAPPY THEY BOTH IN NZ AND SAFE well for now wejnfgjkegblewktg but JBQKDBKQEBDQK anyways can’t wait for the next book coming in March OML and BRUH i swear somany people dying and AUDREY NOOOO and harper and callum ewjfnwjnfwrkjfr like ewfjbkerhjbg i just this book was just wayyyy more depressing because they’re other dead or not the same and it makes violet and jonna feel alone which makes me as a reader feel alone but i mean int he way ahh i dont know how to explain but just losing the people who understood what only theyre going through and them being gona now is just *insert more crying emojis*
Oml jonno AHHHH bless him ahA i just like seeing his pov and how he cared for her and how he tried to avoid her to not show his fEeEliNgS
but bruh the way i kept cying in this book...i think mainly for rawiri but the way this book just made be feel so panicky and sad
also though um the wolf thing...they aint like...um...
But aha when he was driving across mangere bridge i was like AYEEEEEE and oh the dad. Was he the one who made the virus? Oml im dumb so i wasn’t sure but i mean he knew about this whole project so like um he aint a good guy anyways im gonna sleep now and wait for march to come, i also just bought the first book and hoping to but this booka dn then next one when it comes out :D also might make a savings account specifically for book buying aha for when that sale comes lmao
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 4, 2024
Representation: Implied Asian character
Trigger warnings: PTSD, death and borderline personality disorder mentioned, pregnancy, physical injury, hospitalisation
Score: Seven points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.
One year ago, I read the first instalment in the Black Spiral Trilogy, Violet Black, but it ultimately disappointed me. One year later, it was time to read the second part, Black Wolf. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, I couldn't precisely time it. I enjoyed Black Wolf and the author improved her writing, which I appreciated.
It starts (more like continues) with the characters who need no introduction, Violet and Phoenix who returned from their unsuccessful mission in Germany with the former being traumatised from that. The opening pages are slow but that's where Violet starts a relationship with another person, Johnno, all while being on the run from The Foundation who wants her back. Violet is part of a genetic experiment called VORTEX, giving her and others abilities like telepathy (which they call think speak.) There's more action in Black Wolf than Violet Black and the characters grew on me as the author rewrote them to be more likeable and like someone I can root for. The conclusion finishes on a cliffhanger. Unfortunately, no one has Black Spiral so the final events remain undisclosed.
Trigger warnings: PTSD, death and borderline personality disorder mentioned, pregnancy, physical injury, hospitalisation
Score: Seven points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.
One year ago, I read the first instalment in the Black Spiral Trilogy, Violet Black, but it ultimately disappointed me. One year later, it was time to read the second part, Black Wolf. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, I couldn't precisely time it. I enjoyed Black Wolf and the author improved her writing, which I appreciated.
It starts (more like continues) with the characters who need no introduction, Violet and Phoenix who returned from their unsuccessful mission in Germany with the former being traumatised from that. The opening pages are slow but that's where Violet starts a relationship with another person, Johnno, all while being on the run from The Foundation who wants her back. Violet is part of a genetic experiment called VORTEX, giving her and others abilities like telepathy (which they call think speak.) There's more action in Black Wolf than Violet Black and the characters grew on me as the author rewrote them to be more likeable and like someone I can root for. The conclusion finishes on a cliffhanger. Unfortunately, no one has Black Spiral so the final events remain undisclosed.
July 18, 2022
I would recommend this book to anyone who prefers to read young adult dystopian books that let your imagination fly away with this intriguing and intensely detailed style of writing.
This book is slow and detailed with a side of dramatic and realistic fiction paragraphs that include gripping mysteries. "For an hour I will forget who I am, what I have done . . . But . . . I will wake with the heavy knowledge that I am the Black Wolf, never to be trusted, never to be loved - because the only people I've ever loved are either dead or hate my guts."
The way the author related the story to a virus such as corona, shows that the book has been written recently relating the so called ‘M-Virus’ to the covid-19 pandemic.
The way the author began the story was different than any other story that I had ever read because it starts with a description of the surrounding area before introducing any characters.
I made connections with the way the story carries the situations in the text into relatable and practical positions.
The author wrote the first few paragraphs like this to show off the scenery which is made to give an idea of what might be happening or has previously happened in the book just as you start reading.
This book is slow and detailed with a side of dramatic and realistic fiction paragraphs that include gripping mysteries. "For an hour I will forget who I am, what I have done . . . But . . . I will wake with the heavy knowledge that I am the Black Wolf, never to be trusted, never to be loved - because the only people I've ever loved are either dead or hate my guts."
The way the author related the story to a virus such as corona, shows that the book has been written recently relating the so called ‘M-Virus’ to the covid-19 pandemic.
The way the author began the story was different than any other story that I had ever read because it starts with a description of the surrounding area before introducing any characters.
I made connections with the way the story carries the situations in the text into relatable and practical positions.
The author wrote the first few paragraphs like this to show off the scenery which is made to give an idea of what might be happening or has previously happened in the book just as you start reading.
September 26, 2021
Exciting, twist ending, one more to come.
October 27, 2021
A very good read, engaging all the way through. Had an interesting ending, very excited to read the 3rd instalment of the series!
December 27, 2021
Read it in a day. It was fine. Predictable, a bit airy-fakry on the details, but yes I'll be buying and reading the third one!
January 5, 2022
Book 2 of the Black Spiral trilogy, looking forward to Book 3.
January 8, 2022
This was a great, heart-pounding sequel to Eileen Merriman's Violet Black. I raced through it and can't wait for the third.
March 24, 2022
I'm quite into this now. Definitely has great characters that you invest in.
August 16, 2022
slayed
February 16, 2023
2.5 stars
November 1, 2023
A really good book that I couldn’t put down. The plot was very entertaining and just made you want to keep on reading. Very well written to and had an ending that I enjoyed!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews