Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This was a fairly short book, but I thought it was a good introduction to the series. I couldn’t help feeling sorry for Vivian. I did grow to like her as a character and I was able to empathise with her really easily.

I wasn’t very keen on Vivian’s Aunt Agnes, I have to say. While it’s true that, as the book went on, I found it easier to understand her, I still didn’t really like her. Beatrice was a character I grew to like much more.

It was interesting to see Rose and her reactions to Vivian. I felt really sorry for Rose from the beginning… though I’m sure she’s not the type to want (or need) anyone to feel sorry for her.

I was a bit disappointed not to see very much of the paranormal aspects in this book. I did think that Vivian’s reactions to what she was being told made sense, since she didn’t automatically believe and still questioned, right up until she didn’t have much choice.

I liked learning about the history of the town and it would have been good to know more about the history of the different families in the town.

I did think that Hunter was an interesting character and one I would have liked to see more of. I also found Jaxon to be quite intriguing… but my favourite secondary characters were probably Declan and Skylar. I enjoyed reading about their relationship and it was cool to see them so quickly befriend Vivian.

I did think the reasoning for information being kept from Vivian was weak at best. And I found myself really disliking her father. It wasn’t clear why he was suddenly shunting her off onto two aunts she didn’t know about… or even if it was a ‘normal’ thing for him to do. I also thought that Vivian’s arrival in the school was a bit cliched, such as the pretty, popular girl who hates her… and the inordinate amount of attention she gets on her first day.

This book worked as a good introduction to the series. It would have been nice if it was longer and I did find myself with all kinds of unanswered questions by the end. But I am interested in reading the next book/s in this series and seeing where Vivian and Rose will go next.