Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I though the concept of this book was a particularly interesting one. The idea of having a society entirely comprised of women, many of whom were forced to live in a swamp, was a really intriguing one. Even though I was a bit confused by exactly why so many of them were outside the Wall, I was easily pulled into the atmosphere of the story.

I was disappointed by the fact that the book switched between first and third person. In my opinion, that switching actually detracted from experiencing the events through Regina’s eyes.

I liked seeing Regina’s relationship with her sister and the other girls. The title fits particularly well with her character and I felt Regina comes across as a really strong individual. The idea of having a bartering system was a fairly interesting one… though I felt a lot of ‘normal’ human kindness fell by the wayside.

I would have liked to know more about the different castes in the society. Although there were hints dropped about elements of the society and those in authority, I didn’t feel those were explored as fully as they could have been.

It was hard to be sympathetic towards some of the characters. I had the impression that many of the youngsters didn’t really understand the danger they could be in. And there were a couple of characters I really disliked.

I enjoyed seeing Regina’s interactions with Wendy, though I did feel that too much of their friendship was glossed over and summarised. I did like how Regina cared about and empathised with the other girls affected, even those she didn’t know.

I did find it a little difficult to picture what it was like under the surface of the swamp. Above wasn’t so much of a problem, but it was disappointing not to have more of the world described. I had no idea what society was like on the other side of the wall.

I did find this book easy to read and in the future, I’d be interested to see where Regina’s journey takes her next. It was good to see she had clear goals that she didn’t drop by the wayside… and I liked the fact she did have to struggle and work hard.