Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although I haven’t read the previous two books in this series, I did find this book to be a really intriguing read. I was drawn into the world very quickly and the plot was easy to understand and follow.

It was an interesting concept to see how the world might be with modern-day Romans around. Although I wasn’t given much of an opportunity to see the world outside of their civilisation… it was good to see something of their relations with countries outside.

There was a lot of tension in this book and I felt it gradually progressed; until, by the end, I was reading quickly to find out what was going to happen to the characters.

I have to be honest… I really didn’t like Conrad. I felt sympathy for him, sure. And at first, I could understand why he wanted to see the potential for good in Nicola… but by over halfway through the book, all I could see was that he was keeping himself in dangerous ignorance.

I very much liked Allegra. For all that she made mistakes at the start, I felt she was given the opportunity to grow and mature by the end. She was a likable character and it would be a good opportunity to see how she grows and matures in future books. It was nice to see her relationship with her mother… and, to a lesser extent, her father.

I felt a lot of sympathy for Stella. It would have been good to see more of her and Carina interacting, but I was still able to see her as a well-rounded character… even if there were times she came across as somewhat spoiled. I would have liked to see a bit more of her development later on in the book.

The fact that this book was written in the first person enabled me, as a reader, to get to know Carina’s character. It did mean that there were few instances to be surprised… for instance, by Nicola’s devious nature. An outside perspective would have allowed some more instances of shock.

In the future, I’d like to read the other books in this series. The characters were intriguing and the world came across really well. It would be good to read more of their past… and see more of their future.