(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I sometimes find that sequels aren’t quite as good as the first book. Often, the sequel contains a similar plot to the first book, just changed around to look shiny and new. (Kinda like the updated technology that actually isn’t all that different from the previous version/s…)
Anyway. This book wasn’t like that. I knew the background, from having read book one, but this was quite different from book one.
I liked how the main focus was on female characters in this book. It made sense to have a separate area for the girls, particularly in light of what was in the first book. It was really intriguing how the world the characters inhabited was so different from the one the boys had. There were parts of their world that I found to be particularly creepy.
I did get a bit confused with the different characters at first, though by the end, I knew who everyone was. There were some parts of the book I saw coming, while others still managed to surprise me, despite coming up with all kinds of theories as I read.
Although this book is a sequel, I personally feel it can be read as a standalone. You don’t need to have read book one to know what’s going on here, because the characters wake up with no idea of who or where they are.
This book does end on something of a cliffhanger and I’m now eager to read the next book, to see how everything fits together and if the characters from both books will end up meeting each other later on.
I personally feel this book and the previous one are worth reading. It’s not quite dystopian in the way you might expect, but it still has some of those elements. It’s definitely an original spin on some older storylines.
Ink of Blood 