(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Ideally, I’d give this book 4.5 stars. When I first read the blurb, I thought it sounded really interesting, but I was a bit put off by the suggestion that the romance occurs very quickly.
I have to say, though, I was pleasantly surprised. From the very first page, I was drawn into this book. Kestrel was a really well-written character and I liked reading about how she interacted with the people around her. The relationship between her and Arin formed naturally and I really felt myself believing it.
I particularly liked the fact that this book was very much more about intrigue. Kestrel’s intelligence and observation skills came across really well, but she certainly wasn’t all-powerful. All in all, I felt that most of the characters in this book came across as really well-rounded, with emotions and feelings that made sense and realistic strengths and weaknesses.
The contrast between the two different peoples came across really well, though by the end, there were a lot of similarities. It was really easy to empathise with the characters and care about what happened to them.
There aren’t too many books that I struggle to pull myself away from now, but this was definitely one of them. I did notice one or two errors in the writing, but nothing that was really major. I could easily picture what was happening inside my head.
I would recommend this book as one to read. It’s well-written with engaging characters, at least in my opinion. And I will definitely be reading the next two books in this trilogy when they come out.
Ink of Blood 