Name: Awakening II
Rating: 4 (6 reviews)
ISBN: 9781534304833

Greg Rucka

"Rowan Black is a detective with the Portsmouth PD ... and a witch, two aspects of her life she has struggled to keep separate. Now, someone is targeting Rowan, someone who knows her secrets and means to expose her ... or worse."--Publisher web site.

Awakening II

Maggie Gordon

Black Magick Volume 2 starts fleshing out its world a bit more, and damn this is an interesting take on witches! The plot is ramping up as well as magical shenanigans get more intense. I really hope there's not a two year gap between this volume and the next as this story deserves a lot more attention than it is currently getting!

Sarah Escorsa

Previous rating: 3.75 stars (view spoiler)[🙄🙄 (hide spoiler)].
New rating: 5 stars (view spoiler)[😎😎 (hide spoiler)].

➽ And the moral of this reread is: I obviously read this volume very wrong the first time around. I mean, I apparently thought that Rowan's backstory slowed the pace down (view spoiler)[🙄🙄 (hide spoiler)]. When it really is Super Extra Cool (SEC™) and adds a whole bloody shrimping lot to the series arc. Oh, and also, stuff like this:





Oh, and I think I must have been stupendously high/drunk/both on premium quality stuff when I first read this volume. I mean, there's no other way to explain why I would dedicate a whole fascinating paragraph in my original review to some hypothetically hypothetical love triangle crap/relationship drama that may or may not take place in the next volume. Yeah yeah yeah, I'm still disappointed that Rowan and Morgan can't be just friends, and that Rucka had to bring silly 💕lurve💕 into the mix, but it's really not that bad. For now, anyway. One thing is certain though: Morgan is an ass. And that, my Little Barnacles, is a scientifically proven fact.



Oh I sure am with you on that one, Ro.

Amazingly enough, there is some stuff I did read right the first time around. I kid you not.

① The Yummy Creepsters are as deliciously creeptastic as ever.

 

② The Foul-Mouthed Kitty = 😍😍. (And also 🐱‍👤🐱‍👤, obviously.)





I wonder how an obnoxious feline would get on with murderous crustaceans? Quite famously, I'm sure.

③ The coloring still is and forever will be scrumptious as fish:







Wait for the next instalment I cannot. A good thing that in today's mail it should be. Well I sure hope that in today's mail it actually is. Because slightly peeved I might get if it isn't (view spoiler)[
  

  

  
 (hide spoiler)].

👋 To be continued and stuff.

· Vol. 1: Awakening I ★★★★★
· Vol. 3: Ascension ★★★



August 2018

I’d originally rated this volume 5 wondrous little stars. But. I had a little chat about it with my Nefarious Daughter (aka Little One) and the cunning brat well-intentioned offspring that she is made me realize how grossly overgenerous my original rating was. Ergo:

Pre-chat rating: 5 stars. 
Post-chat rating: 3.75 stars. Like sucks and stuff. Also, don’t blame me, I’m innocent as the newborn shrimp. This is all Little One’s fault. Obviously.

So. The ever-cool stuff about this series: first, the artwork. I still love it despite its sepia/black and white/whatever tones (which I’ve never been a fan of). And I still think that adding little touches of color here and there to put emphasis on some items/characters/whatever is pure genius and stuff.



Second, the setting. I really liked the “something Wiccan this way comes” meets crime story vibes of the first volume. What makes this volume super extra yummy is the addition of some deliciously creepy elements:



Why hello there, you cutie pie!

Then we have one of the coolest familiars in the history of coolest familiars. I mean, who the bloody shrimp can resist a foul-mouthed cat? I sure as fish can’t.





Now. I had two problems with this volume. The first one is the pace. I wouldn’t say it is slower than an apathetic barnacle’s, but it is painfully sluggish at times. Which is to be expected since there is a lot of backstory in this volume. Which made for an interesting read, admittedly. I mean, I really enjoyed learning more about Rowan’s witchy past and stuff. And looking at the super extra cool graphics that went along with it and stuff:

 

But. As intriguing as the backstory is, it really prevents the story from developing at a satisfying pace. So meh and stuff.

The second problem I had with this volume is the relationship between our Kick Ass Witch of a Heroine (KAWoaH™) and her partner, Morgan. One of the reasons I loved volume one so much is the genuine friendship these two seem to have. A woman and a man working together and being great friends, with no hint of silly romance? Why color me slightly flabbergasted and stuff. Well. It seems that I was overly and most ridiculously naïve in my hope that this would be a romantic BS-free endeavor. I could be wrong, but it kind of sorta feels like we’ve got some love triangle crap/relationship drama on the way.



Mr Rucka, I lurves thee, but you better steer clear of Romantic Drama Llama Territory (RDLT™). I might have to unleash the murderous crustaceans on you if you don’t. And I’d hate to do that. Until Lazarus is completed, that is. After that, well…

Awakening II

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