Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. The blurb sounded intriguing, but I thought it would be a fairly complicated read and that I wouldn’t necessarily get behind the characters. As it was… all of the journeys that there were in this book were really intriguing and I found myself eagerly reading to find out what would happen next.

I found Zach a particularly interesting character. I felt the author did quite a good job of showing what the world was like for an autistic child, both through the eyes of the child himself and through the eyes of his mother.

The idea of the Commons was a really unique one. I really liked Ken and Po as characters. It was interesting to learn what Po’s origins were… but I would have liked to know what Ken’s were as well. I also quite liked Porter as a character, though I would have liked some more information about where his powers had actually come from.

I did have a couple of confusing moments in this book and I still had some questions by the end of it. I did really like Annie’s relationship with Zach. I felt that her protective instincts came across really well.

I also did like Paul as a character. His whole relationship with the Commons was really interesting as well.

I did think there were quite a few creepy moments in this book, particularly the one where Zach was going down the staircase. The Commons itself was an intriguing mix of fantasy and horror. I would have liked to be able to see more of the world and how everything fit together.

I would definitely like to see more of the world and its characters. Although the book had a ‘proper’ ending, I feel there could be so much more of the world and the characters explored. And, of course, there would be other Journeys to follow. I found this book to be really well-written. It doesn’t fit neatly into a category, but I still found it a quick and easy read. I recommend giving it a try if you’re on the fence about it.