Review: "Blackfoot" by W. R. Gingell

After reading and very much enjoying Spindle last year, (the first book in this series), I didn't want to keep reading, because Poly and Luck weren't in this one. #notshallowatall. But someone told me I should really keep reading, and I am so glad I did! (I don't remember who told me this! But thank you! Please tell me who you were in the comments!) 

Annabel has never wanted a cat. She certainly didn’t want a secretive, sarcastic black cat who takes over her pillow and makes remarks that no one else ever seems to hear. Despite that, Blackfoot manages to slink into her life like a small, furry shadow.

Now Annabel and her friend Peter are being over-run by cats. More and more arrive each day, turning up at the old castle ruins where Annabel and Peter spend most of their time. And some of those cats aren’t as…friendly…as Blackfoot.

When someone tries to kill Annabel and a spell goes very badly wrong, they find themselves trapped in the castle ruins, which are now growing back at an alarming rate. Even more alarming is the fact that the person who tried to kill Annabel is rapidly gaining control over the magical ruins.

Worst of all, Blackfoot knows more than he’s telling, and what he’s not telling could be enough to get them all killed.

Worldbuilding/Writing Style
I am a big fan of Gingell's worldbuilding, which honestly, is for sure a function of her writing style. The way she can craft a compelling but also rather confusing world intrigues me every time. I loved this about Spindle, and I loved it in this one, too, although the settings differ quite a bit. I won't spoil it for you too much, but let's just say that there's a magical castle involved. :) (I am a complete sucker for magical castles). 

Plot
This book was most certainly character driven! Not to say that the plot wasn't important--because it was--but a lot of the time, what was happening was snark and exploring and unclear magical clues, rather than something that seemed super important at the time. But of course, some of it was important later. :) It's sort of a mystery, so the reader is kept in the dark for a lot of the book. (That was super coherent. Sorry. XD) 
I will say that while this book is technically set in the same world as Spindle, and we see a couple of the same characters, it can be read as a standalone, which is a plus, since I didn't remember exactly what happened in Spindle, so I was worried I would be lost. I was, but not because I didn't remember what had happened in Spindle. :)

Characters
Characters are where this book shines.
Annabel, our heroine, is not the typical sort of heroine. At all. Not even a little bit. She loves to eat, has no taste in clothes, likes to pretend that not much is happening in her head, doesn't like to exert herself, dislikes cats, and is an extremely talented artist. So when she's thrust into the middle of an adventure, she would like to ignore it, thank you, and draw these beautiful ruins the way they should look while eating those apricot pies she just found. But when she does really have to do things (what.) she finds that she knows more than she thinks. I like her. I like her a lot, and I love how many stereotypes she crushes into dust. :)
Peter. Honestly, he kind of irritated me? But I think he was supposed to. He's fairly arrogant, but does get taken down some pegs by certain happenings, and it turns out he does have a heart under all of that...so I mean, he's not the worst. And he's an excellent foil for Annabel. But my favorite parts were when he wasn't there. 
Blackfoot! Saving the best for last. The sheer levels of exasperation and sass coming off of that cat were enough to make me love him. Not to mention the hilarities of the three-way dialogue between him, Annabel and Peter. But really, he takes sarcasm to a new level, and I am so here for it. 
These three are obviously not the only characters, but they're the main ones, so I'm going to stop there, since this section is long enough. :)

Romance
I don't think there is any. :)

Content
Some fairly creepy magic which intends to kill people, and one scene with death in it. 

Overall Rating
Four stars! Indubitably. 

Reminded me of...
Honestly, the setting reminded me quite a bit of Tuesdays At the Castle by Jessica Day George, a book I love dearly. And the magical system seemed rather Diana Wynne Jones-y.

Who's your favorite unconventional heroine? Have you read anything by W. R. Gingell? Do you have any recs for books with magical castles?