(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

When I got a short way into this book, I found it a bit difficult to connect the different storylines inside my mind. At first, the separate plotlines seemed kind of disjointed – but as the book went on, things began making more sense.

I found this book to be quite an engaging read, all told. Although there were a few instances I felt that came across as kind of info-dumping, the world was still interesting to read about.

Many of the elements in this book were recognisable as the normal elements found in fantasy books. They were used in ways that helped make this book more entertaining, though.

One of the things I liked about this book was the mythology and the gods. Although a lot of the god-characters didn’t show much of their personalities, those that did were quite intriguing and I’d like to see more of them.

Another thing that was quite interesting about this book was the two different groups that came together. Although they weren’t all heroes in the conventional sense, it was interesting to see them work together and I felt they came across as quite well-rounded.

I liked Amber a lot, though I wasn’t so sure about her from her first appearance. I also especially liked Gooly. I felt sorry for him at first and as the book progressed, I found him more and more intriguing.

I did notice some errors in the writing, but on the whole, I was able to picture a lot of the events happening inside my mind. I did get a bit confused at times with some of the characters’ history, but after a while, that confusion settled.

I do have the next book in this series on my Kindle and fully intend to read it very soon.

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

It did take me a little longer than it would normally to finish this book, but once I was up to it, I found it a unique, entertaining read.

Shapeshifters on their own aren’t an original idea, but the way they were portrayed in this book was really unique. I felt the author did a good job of showing the science behind the shifting and what the race’s characteristics were, without it coming across as an info-dump.

I found the characters in this book to be quite interesting and engaging. The use of the spirits was quite intriguing and I felt the author showed the way both Christopher and Michael handled the spirits really well.

I did get a bit confused with the switching of different time periods at certain points. I was a bit thrown with the flashback – I think it would have worked better as a kind of prologue.

It was interesting to see the different races that were offshoots of the doppelgangers. I would have liked to see a bit more of their history and how they formed.

There were some scenes in the book that did make me cringe to read them. Some parts of it were quite graphic, in terms of sex and violence.

I think this is a world I would like to see more of. I found the book engaging, with interesting characters and a plot that held my attention throughout. If you’re interested in a different spin on the shapeshifter genre, this book is definitely worth a read.

(I received a free copy of this book, through NetGalley, in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I have a few mixed feelings about this book, so ideally, I would have given it 3.5 stars.

The blurb of this book sounded really intriguing. Unfortunately, when I started reading it? I came quite close to stopping reading the book at the love at first sight in eight and a half seconds comment. That doesn’t exist and always makes me roll my eyes.

I have to say, however, that once I got past that comment, I actually quite enjoyed reading this book. It did take a while for me to get behind the characters. The dreams were good, but I felt the book would have benefited from being expanded.

The first person perspective didn’t really irritate me, but I didn’t feel it was necessary to switch to another character’s point of view for one chapter alone. That was kind of awkward and did throw me out of the story a bit. Also, I noticed that Andy kept talking as if she knew exactly how one of the other characters felt.

I did think there was a bit too much telling rather than showing at times. The characters did come across as more three-dimensional later on in the book.

The book was more or less well-written, despite the earlier issues I mentioned. I’d probably be interested in reading a sequel to this book to find out what happens to the characters and if they truly learned anything.

(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).

(This review may contain spoilers).

While I was reading this book, I had the strangest sense that I was moving through a dream.

The idea of people getting sick all around the world isn’t a really unique idea, but the zombie-like twist added a kind of cool dimension to it. I have to be honest, though – I struggled a bit to relate to the characters. Part of it was the very surreal feel to this book, but I also felt that the book came across as if it was being written like a movie.

There were a lot of cringeworthy scenes in this book. One in particular came quite close to making me gag.

It was interesting to see the different ways the sickness affected people. I did feel that there were some questions that I had by the end. Some of the things weren’t explained to my satisfaction.

At times, I felt that the book did jump ahead a bit. For instance, it went from the start of the sickness to the whole society having collapsed. I would have liked to see a bit more of how society collapsed.

It was interesting to see how Lee and Park each saw the sickness and how it affected them. The author did do a good job of showing the progression that each of them went through.

I think this book could have been extended a bit and I would have liked to have my questions answered by the end, which I felt was left very open-ended. It was really quick and easy to read, though that was probably more because the writing format meant it was much shorter than it appeared to be.

I’m not sure if I’d read a sequel to this book. I’d have to wait and see and judge it on the book itself.

(I received a free copy of this book, through NetGalley, in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I don’t really know much about the group that this book is a tribute to, but I’ve always been a fan of manga and all kinds of art. I can’t draw or paint myself, but I really like looking at other people’s fan work.

I really liked all of the different kinds of drawings there were in this book. There were some really cute and adorable ones, but also a lot of more serious drawings. Through both of those types, I felt that I had some idea of the characters and storylines, though I’m still not sure what the point of the Vocaloids are.

It was nice that there were so many different artists included in this collection. It was a good showcasing of the different art and a good introduction to the world of the Vocaloid.

I liked learning about the Vocaloids, too. I did like the comic strips that were included. The first one in particular was really effective. Using drawings without any speech bubbles is a really effective way of showing a story when it’s done well – and I felt that it was done particularly well here.

The second comic strip was really sweet, but I was really confused by how it fit in; whether it was an alternate universe, or the origin of Miku… I would have liked a bit more background and information about the characters’ histories.

All in all, though, this was a creative selection of work. I’m curious enough to check out more of Vocaloids, so in that sense, I suppose this work has done one of its jobs.

(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having reached the end of this book, I’m still left with some questions about it, but I still found it really well-written and a good read.

I liked Flora as a character and I also liked the relationship she had with Ailsa. Flora was someone I could really relate to and I saw a lot of myself in her.

I really liked the interspersing of the Selkie myths with the story. It was interesting to see the contrast of the vicious myths with the more gentle ones.

The use of first person worked really well in this book. I could picture a lot of the events happening inside my mind.

The mystery came across really well in this book and there were a few things I didn’t see coming.

I don’t normally like ambiguous things in books, but in this case, I do think it worked. I really liked this book and I would definitely be interested in looking at more books by this author in the future. It’s sad in parts, but is well-written.