Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although there were parts of this book I felt were really slow-moving, I found myself drawn into it fairly well, despite the fact that there were some instances of modern language used.

It was interesting to see the world in this book. Despite the modern language I mentioned above, I felt like I’d been drawn back in time. There were some parts of this book that really affected me, such as Winwaed’s relationship with the hermit. His personality as a child really spoke to me and I felt the author did a good job of showing how he interacted with the monks.

There were some things in the book that I didn’t always understand, such as when the other characters ask Winwaed if he understands something and he doesn’t… and those times, I would have liked to hear the explanation for what he doesn’t understand.

There were some really quite emotional scenes in this book, particularly towards the end. However, I found myself quite confused about exactly why this confession was being written. I thought I did know, but it wasn’t confirmed by the time I got to the end.

The way the memories were written in this book worked quite well, I felt. It seemed to come across as quite a realistic account. I felt it was clear that a lot of research had gone into this book.

There were a few times when I got confused between the characters – at least one of them was referred to by two different names. I found it really interesting to see the monastery through Winwaed’s eyes, as well as to see him interact with people outside of the monastery. Stuf was a fairly intriguing character. I still had some questions about some of the characters and the plots by the end of the book, though.

There were some parts of the book where I really felt able to interact with the setting. When the monks use sign language to communicate, for instance, I felt like I was in a place where silence prevailed.

I probably would read more books by this author in the future. This was slow-moving, but still drew me in and there were some quite emotional parts, particularly towards the end. Winwaed’s relationship with the hermit was definitely my favourite part of this book.