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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This book was another one that I struggled a little to get into… but once I settled into the world and the characters, I found it really easy to follow the plotline. Although there were times that the characters irritated me (no, it does not take one day to fall in love with someone), I did find myself liking them… which is partly because I have a soft spot for spaceship crews that come together. (I blame Star Trek and the Knights of the Old Republic games for that).

I liked a lot of the characters on the ship. Gari was a particularly interesting character, especially with his mutation. It was interesting to also get some background on the characters before they all came together as well.

I liked the fact that there were three novellas in this book. I particularly liked the relationship that formed between Kol-ian and Ker-ris, but I did feel that, after it formed, Kol-ian lost a lot of his strength as a character. By the third book, he seemed much weaker personality-wise than he had in the first one and I felt it was a major character change.

The different races in the book were quite interesting as well and I would have liked to see more of some of them, particularly the Felines.

I did appreciate the fact that the author made an attempt to ‘humanise’ the bad guys in the third novella. There were times I felt a bit sorry for them, even though what they were doing was awful. By the time I got to the third book, I’d managed to become fully absorbed in the world and the characters.

I did feel that there was a bit too much pairing up. By the end of the book, there was the strong implication that almost every major character was going to be romantically involved with someone. I like romance, but I don’t think every character needs to be pushed into a relationship.

I particularly liked Ker-ris’ relationship with his son, too. The children were cute and it would be cool to read a book where they’ve grown up.

I did find the book a little bit difficult to read at times. There was mixing of POVs and quite a number of errors. Even so, it was an entertaining read and it’s a world I’d like to revisit at some point in the future. Also, the character ‘interviews’ at the end were pretty cool.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This book was one that grew on me as I read it. I wasn’t so sure of Aldara at first… and I’m still not completely sure what to think of her by the end of the book. There were times I felt sorry for her, but there were other times I felt that she didn’t act like one of the good guys.

I did think that there was a bit too much telling rather than showing at times in the book. I kept being told about this whole love triangle… but I felt there was very little evidence of those emotions in the book. I felt that Tye’s relationship with his father figure was probably the strongest relationship in this book and I would have liked to see more of that, rather than the romance that I really couldn’t get behind.

I felt there was a nice variety of characters, but Eldin really annoyed me. For a knight, I only saw one instance of honour from him… and even that, I didn’t realise was actually intended to be honour. I also found his attitude extremely contradictory. He yelled at Aldara for not trusting someone… and then turned round and said that he’d never trusted that same person. (Which he didn’t).

I actually did find myself quite liking Wyndle as a character, even though some of the writing made her seem (in my opinion) a bit more sexual than I was expecting. I also felt there was a nice variety of races in the world, even if most of them only seemed concerned with themselves.

I found Outoo to be quite an interesting character and I would have liked to see more of his past and history with the other characters. Although this book seemed to be part of a series, I did find it easy to follow… but I found it really difficult to see the villains as that interesting. I couldn’t understand what they were trying to do.

There were some quite emotional scenes in this book, I felt. The danger the characters were in was real and it was good that the author didn’t shy away from the bad things that happened. Although the writing seemed a bit wooden at times to me, I was eventually drawn into the world and there were some surprising things that happened. I would probably read the other books in this series at some point in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I liked reading this book a bit more than the previous one. It still did have a few asides in, but not quite as much as the first book. And I felt the storyline was expanded a bit more than the first one.

There was a lot about this book that made me think of the Chronicles of Narnia, but that didn’t mean I enjoyed this any less.

It was good to see more of the characters from the first book, though I would have liked a bit more detail about how Delany and the King had come together romantically. I liked seeing them together (and I particularly liked Asa as a character), but there was a big gap between books one and two… and since book one left Delany as a child…

I liked how the characters of Timothy and Barbara formed through the course of the book. It was interesting to see Timothy’s relationship with his grandmother and it was also cool to meet his grandfather.

I would have liked to meet more of Delany’s children, though Asa was probably my favourite character. I’d be interested in seeing more of him at some point in the future.

I probably wouldn’t mind reading the next book in this series at some point, if there is one. This was a quick, easy and enjoyable fantasy read. I’d probably pass both this book and book one on to my niece to read.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

When I first read the blurb of this book, I was particularly intrigued by it. I was also curious to see how the author would write a character who was blind. I personally think writing a character without a sense is pretty difficult, but I thought the author did a really good job of showing the world from Sadie’s perspective.

I found myself empathising with Sadie really easily. She was an interesting mix of a seriously damaged person and one who tried to be strong and independent, as much as she was able to. There were some things that really affected me about her past and the way it had shaped her personality in the story’s present. I thought it was really good that the author had Sadie act in a way that was realistic and consistent with what she’d been taught by her parents… or not taught, in some cases.

I thought that it was interesting how Sadie could control the air and use it to ‘see’, but I have to say, I was a bit confused with how that worked at times. There were moments where there seemed to be too much detail when Sadie used the air.

The idea about the supernaturals was quite an intriguing one, though I would have liked a bit more background and history about them, as well as some background of the world itself.

I particularly liked Fester. I liked Chloe, too, but Michael took a little while to grow on me. That was partly because he came across as quite harsh at times… but I also found a lot of his speech very difficult to follow. I tended to only get about half of what he was actually saying.

I wasn’t really sure what to think about Sal by the end of the book, but I have to say, I did find her quite an interesting character. I would have liked to see a bit more of her during the book.

There were a lot of moments in this that were quite intense and the plot was enough to draw me in and keep me reading. If there was a sequel to this book, I’d definitely be interested in checking it out… and I would also read other books by this author in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

The plot of this book was quite an intriguing one, but I did struggle a bit with the storyline at times. I have to say, I found it quite strange that teachers would basically insist on leaving a student completely on her own in a house… though I don’t actually know how long ago this book is set, so maybe things were different in that time.

The idea of the different worlds was quite a good one and I did like the characters. It was interesting to see how Delany’s and Mattie’s friendship evolved through the course of the book, from them being enemies to being supportive of each other… even through a very tough time.

I did also like the other characters in this book, particularly Meris and the wrongfully accused prince. It was a bit disappointing that there was very little explanation as to the bad guy’s motivations, though… and I felt the ‘weak hearts’ explanation didn’t work too well for why no one acted to stand against what they knew was wrong.

I did find the writing style a bit difficult to get into. The author kept breaking into the flow of the story, which I felt was unnecessary and quite distracting at times. But there were some tense moments in the book that kept me reading… and I liked the fact that Delany and Mattie did the right thing, even when it was difficult at times.

I did like the ending of the book, but I felt there was more to the story that could have been told. I do have book two and I do intend to read it in the next day or so. Despite what I mentioned above, the plot was interesting and engaging and I did find it a quick, easy read.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I know the story of Ruth reasonably well, but it hadn’t occurred to me that there was enough to the story to make a novel out of it. Still, when I saw this book on NetGalley, I was instantly intrigued to see where the author would go with it.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was pulled into the storyline right from the start and I really appreciated how the author used the people from the story of Ruth to write interesting, well-rounded characters who I found myself truly caring about.

I liked the fact that the author expanded on the story of Ruth, while keeping true to the core elements. I really liked how believable and realistic the relationship forming between Ruth and Boaz was. In the account in the Bible, there doesn’t seem to be much emotion involved… so I was really happy to see them spend time together and feelings develop on both sides. There were, of course, the normal misunderstandings that there always are in romance… but even though some things were cliches, I felt they were utilised in a good way.

It’s probably not very surprising that I really liked the faith aspects in this book. It was nice to see how strong Boaz’s and Ruth’s faith was, even despite the hardships both had suffered.

One of the other things I really liked was that, as well as the romance between her and Boaz, Ruth also formed relationships with other people. I particularly liked Dinah… she grew on me; and I felt sorry for her with how Adin reacted to her. (Though when he finally came to his senses, I found myself smiling). And I liked how, even though she became nicer, Dinah still kept to her personality.

I felt that the author did a really good job of showing the culture, without making the detail boring. I felt that there was clearly a lot of research that had gone into this book. I also liked the link-ins with David in the epilogue.

Despite knowing how this book would end, it was an interesting journey to that point. I really enjoyed reading this book and I would definitely read more books by this author in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I think I’d give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. It’s not quite at the level of 4 stars (at least for me), but it’s not quite 3 stars.

Although this book was the second in a series, I did find it fairly easy to follow. Many of the relationships came across as real and natural, though I would have liked to see a bit more development for one of the relationships that formed.

I was quite intrigued by a lot of the characters, particularly Maudae and her relationship with her father… though I would have liked to see Sahgi and Joliph reunited, instead of just having a brief, throwaway line about that.

The fantasy elements in this book were really good and I was particularly intrigued by Joliph’s relationship with Lilith. However, I was also confused about what was going on with them. Presumably, both Joliph and Maudae had formed their relationships for cover… but while I could believe and get behind Lilith and Joliph, I couldn’t do the same with Errud and Maudae… though Errud might have been an interesting character if there could have been any hope for redemption.

The idea about the five Mystics was an intriguing one, but I wasn’t sure how everyone fit together, even though, by the end, I was pretty certain of the identities of two of the Mystics.

The asides written by the scribe in the future were interesting, but there were some occasions I wasn’t sure they were needed. I felt they would have had more of an impact if they’d been confined to the beginning and the end of the book.

I was also quite intrigued by the relationship between Naeden and Talla, though I’m not sure if things run deeper between them than it seems. There were times I felt that the danger the characters faced was real… and I also liked that the characters did end up admitting when they’d done wrong. I like guilt angst.

I’m not completely sure if I’d read the other books in this series or not. I did notice quite a few errors in this book and there were times I struggled to get into the storyline. But it was entertaining to read and even though there were things I would have liked a bit more explanation about, I was able to follow the story mostly well.