Broken by A.E. Rought

I was really excited to get this e-galley from Angry Robot books, I think Strange Chemistry is the specific publisher, through NetGalley. Although, I got this before the big change on NetGalley, and now I'm unable to find this book to go post my review for the publisher.  Fortunately, kind of, I had to actually email someone at the publisher and get them to send me a copy of the file because I never got it to download from the site anyway.  So I am able to just email that person a copy of the review.  Anyone besides me still having issues with the new NetGalley?
Okay, enough complaints, on with the review!  I was intrigued when I read this was supposed to be a modern day retelling of Frankenstein.  So of course I had an idea of what direction the story would go.  But I was pleasantly surprised that this story kept me guessing and didn't just lay the whole "here's the monster" and how it was created in the beginning.  And there was a romance, of course.  And it worked, well, I thought it did.
The main character is Emma Gentry.  And Emma is really just going through the motions of living.  She lost her boyfriend Daniel to a tragic accident a few months before (I think months, not quite sure on the time period on that, I need to go back and read closer).  His best friend, Josh, was also there when it happened.  And all Emma remembers seeing is that Josh didn't even try to help him when he was falling.  And Josh is a big jerk.  It seems he now thinks that Emma should be dating him.  Emma is not interested though.  She still is really broken up and lost without Daniel.  She still wanders the cemetery that she and Daniel used to wander together. Until one day a new student walks into their school, Alex Franks.  Something about Alex calls to Emma, there is an electric charge between them.  And it seems to pull Alex to Emma as well.  There are things about Alex that are just like Daniel.  The way he can open her locker in one try, when Emma can't seem to ever get it open herself.  His eyes even have the same flecks that Daniel's eyes had.  And he knows things that only Daniel knew.  Within 2 weeks, you have what would be called "insta-love" these days.  But soon, you understand that there is something of Daniel in Alex.  And Alex's father is more than just the jerky doctor who made the break in Emma's hand worse.  AND, Josh, an even bigger jerk than Emma had known he was.
I like that Emma's mom and dad are pretty realistic.  Her mom is overprotective and strict.  And Emma's friend Bree is a good friend, and acts just like I feel a real friend would.  Emma's father is always down in the basement working on some kind of wood project.  The other kids at school are at first jealous and hateful to Emma because they want to get the new guy, or they've heard horrible gossip about him, or they're saying she's over Daniel too soon.  We end up with a real life or death situation, and Emma must decide if it is really Alex she loves, or if it is because of his connections to  Daniel.

Blackwood by Gwenda Bond

First I have to thank both Netgalley and Angry Robot publisher for allowing me to read this e-galley in June.  I was intrigued right from the description because the story is based on the mystery of Roanoke.  Something that has always fascinated me.  There have been many theories over time, of course first is that they all died, but then where were the remains, or any people left to tell what happened?  The Native Americans there should be able to tell something, but nothing was ever learned.  Then the word Croatoan carved into a tree there.  This is a topic that has been explored on many of my favorite tv shows, including the X-Files, and Supernatural.  And this book has a new, unique take on the whole thing.
The main character is Miranda, and she is the town "freak".  All her life her family has been treated as if they are the causes of anything bad that goes wrong.  She is a Blackwood, the only possible survivor of the original colony was an ancestor of hers.  Or so she learns later from the crazy scientist on the island that she calls Dr. Roswell, after the tv series, and his crazy theories about what happened.  She works on the town's big summer play about the whole disappearance and what is known about that original colony.  At the beginning of the story we are with Miranda watching the play's performance, and all of a sudden she sees a giant ghost ship flying above the area, and she thinks it will crash into the stage!  But no one else notices it, and she disrupts the play, embarrassing herself.  When she goes home that night, she thinks it is following her, in fact all the dogs begin to act funny as well.  That night, her father goes out, but never comes back home.  And he's not the only one, 114 people have disappeared.  The exact number of the original settlers that disappeared.
Our 2nd main character is Phillips, a boy Miranda's age who was sent away for causing trouble, and even accused Miranda of what her family had always been blamed for, and he did it in a humiliating way.  Yet, he has his own issues.  He can hear the voices of the dead.  And he sees this story, and has this feeling he must get back to help Miranda.  Even though by going away he has stopped the voices in his head.  When he was on the island, before he got sent away, Dr. Roswell had been his therapist, so he looks to him for help, using what Miranda has seen to try to help.  Not too long after, the missing return, except Miranda's father who has been murdered.  Miranda and Phillips must figure out what is going on, the returned people seem different.  Miranda is soon accused of helping to kill her father.  They must fight an evil force to get back their family, and friends, and save the island and themselves.
I have to say the theory behind this story is a new one, and a very interesting idea!  I liked it a lot.  The whole story got very intricate and detailed, there was a bit of confusion for me, but it wasn't enough to keep the story from making sense, and me enjoying it.  I'll let you read and see if it is confusing for you at all.  A great stand alone story for teens for a change.