(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Although I haven’t read the first book before this one, I did find this book quite easy and quick to read. The concept behind it was a really intriguing one and I found Paige to be an interesting character… though I do think the book slipped into third person for one scene and then back to first, which was quite distracting when it happened.
I did think there was a lot going on in this book. There were a few contradictory moments in the book and I couldn’t really believe in the attraction between Allan and Paige, since it didn’t really seem based on many of the interactions they had together.
I did like the whole concept of the spirit animals, but I did think that Paige didn’t end up experiencing the real consequences of her actions. She skipped loads of school, but there wasn’t anything about her needing to catch up. And I didn’t realise until well over halfway through the book that Carole actually went to the same school as well.
I did like Trixie as a character. I would have liked Hanna, but I felt that everything was really confusing with her. I couldn’t tell if she was meant to be one of the ‘good guys’ or not.
I do think that Paige wasn’t as intelligent as she could have been. There were things I felt she could have put together and times I felt she should have told her family what was going on. When she kept it secret, it felt as if she was actually putting them in more danger.
I did like the supernatural and prayer aspects to this. I was disappointed that the mystery of the boy wasn’t solved here, because I would have liked to see that reach a kind of resolution.
I did think there was a bit too much telling rather than showing in this book and I got a bit tired of everyone telling Paige what a pure soul she had and not really seeing that put into action.
I’m not sure if I’d read the first book in the series or not. Or later ones. It would depend on what I felt about the blurb.
Ink of Blood 