(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Sometimes, I know within the first few sentences if I’m going to like a book or not. That can sometimes be a bit awkward when it’s one I know I’m not going to like… but this book was one I was fairly sure I was going to enjoy. And I was right.
I’m not sure if elves twisted and tortured to become orcs is an idea used outside of Lord of the Rings, but that was what that particular subplot made me think of. Apart from that, a lot of the concepts were fairly unique… or at least had unique twists to them.
It was really intriguing to see orcs portrayed as something other than monsters and to see the elves shown as quite cruel towards those who had been their brethren, but it was really sad to see the massive gulf there was between two peoples who had started out the same. The whole concept of thoughts laughing together (which seems a much tamer way of saying soulmates) was a pretty intriguing one. In some ways, I would like to see that kind of bond between orc and elf… and how both are forced to deal with it.
The romance was one I could really believe in and get behind. Although Arianna seemed weak at first, I felt that she really grew and matured as a character through the course of the book. A good romance book makes me fall in love with the characters together… and that’s what this book did.
I also found the orc culture to be a really intriguing one. The concepts of freedom and equality were ones I wouldn’t necessarily associate with their race.
The book itself was really well-written and it drew me in with a well-established world and believable, likable characters. I definitely intend to read book two at some point in the future.
Ink of Blood 