Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although, by the time I got halfway through this book, I found it much easier to read than when I’d started, I can’t really give it more than three stars.

The plot of this book was a really intriguing one. The idea of reincarnation is, for me, quite a fascinating one… and when I read the blurb of this book originally, I felt really grabbed by the idea.

Unfortunately, the romance(s) really killed this book for me.

I’m not fond of the whole insta!love thing. Even if the characters are soulmates or who have been in love in a previous life, unless they’re an established relationship in the current life, I want to see how they actually fall in love… not a summary of however long the passage of time is before, gasp!, they’re in love.

When I got about halfway through the book, I felt that the pace picked up quite a lot. It was nice to read something that didn’t have werewolves or vampires in as well.

I’ve started to become more interested in family relationships between characters and it was a bit disappointing not to see more of those. Like Marcus and Evan’s relationship… it’s always annoyinging to see two brothers fighting over the same girl. That’s one of those things that makes me roll my eyes, because since the Vampire Diaires, it’s one of those plotlines that I see more than I like.

I actually really liked Robyn and Beth as characters. To be honest, the fact that I was so taken by them was probably one of the things that finally drew me into this book. I also thought Maggie was quite an interesting character.

I did feel there was quite a lot of exposition by the other characters. I was more interested in the actual flashback scenes than when the main characters were being told the stories of their pasts. I was also disappointed that there were some plotlines that were kind of dropped… one thing in particular, towards the end, was left hanging and I was disappointed by that.

I did think the author did a good job with the nightmares. They were suitably creepy and well-described.

I’m not sure if I’d read a sequel to this book. It would depend… Multiple guys falling for the main female character is a red flag for me and I disliked Brooke when she kept leading them on. On the other hand… the moments between her and Marcus were sweet; and if there hadn’t been insta!love, I would have been rooting for them.

Get a copy: The Gathering Darkness