(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
This is a book that I’d ideally like to give 4.5 stars to. Despite a few eye-roll moments with Jade (I really don’t like characters who wax poetic about how attractive they are), I did find her easy to relate to.
This was a fairly interesting take on the ‘normal’ fairytale. Although I felt there were more elements of the tale of the Snow Queen, I could see how this book linked in with the fairy story of Sleeping Beauty.
It was good to see that the author took the time to develop the relationship between Jade and Asher. It didn’t come across as a love at first sight romance, even though they were both intrigued by each other from the beginning.
This book did quite a good job of exploring different genres, I felt. It was an interesting mix of dystopian, fantasy, romance… Although Jade was clearly a cold character at the start of the book, I found the reason behind it to be really interesting.
I did feel that the book really picked up when Jade was taken by Asher. Although the blurb wasn’t entirely accurate about them, I did enjoy seeing the way the rebels tried to live. There were certain parts of the book that made me quite sad and I was able to empathise with a lot of the other characters. I especially liked Maddy and the way she tried to learn more about Jade… and that Jade seemed to be developing a friendship with her. I also quite liked the attitude of the rebels.
It was interesting to learn the origin of Deirdre’s powers and I couldn’t help feeling a little bit sorry for her… even though I didn’t like her as a character. The reasoning behind the society she built was interesting, though.
I did very much enjoy reading this book and found myself drawn into Jade’s world really easily. I didn’t find her ridiculously over-powered or irritating and I believed in the relationship she formed with Asher. I wasn’t that keen on the cliffhanger-type ending… but it doesn’t stop me from wanting to read the next book in this series.
Ink of Blood 