(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Being a Christian, this particular genre of books is one that I really like. (Though there are very few genres I don’t like…) I found it really easy to read and it was interesting and engaging enough to hold my interest.
One of the things I especially liked about the title was that it could refer to quite a lot of different things and not necessarily what was named originally. I felt that the author did a really good job of portraying the harshness of life in those times… but also how important the family was to each other.
Although I tend to not like multiple first person POVs, I did find this one easier to read. I was pulled into the two separate storylines and I found myself grieving along with the characters when bad things happened. There was one thing in particular that was devastating, even though I could understand why it was done – it was an awful thing to read about; but then again, battles are awful things.
The angle with the cup was pretty interesting and I was quite intrigued by how things were handled with it.
I really especially liked how prayer worked in the book. I felt it worked how prayers were answered – both directly and indirectly. I do think Ethan was stubborn and I got a bit annoyed with him at times. Aaron was probably my favourite character. The contrast between the soldier and the man of faith came across really well and he would be a character whose story I’d like to read more of.
There was one dream in particular that a character had that was especially hard-hitting. I felt like I was transported into that point and I felt really affected by the descriptions.
The book was really well-written, though I did notice some minor errors in the writing. They weren’t enough to make me stop reading for more than a moment, though, and although I’m not sure I could say this was an enjoyable read, it was one that’s affected me and will probably stay with me for quite a while.
There are reading group questions at the end which I think would make a really good theme for bible study. I would definitely be interested in reading more books by this author in the future.
Ink of Blood 