(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Although I haven’t read the previous two books in this series, I did find this really quick to read… but it wasn’t exactly easy, even though it did draw me into the world and the storyline really easily.
I did like Aulen’s character. It was interesting to see his views on using his blood to heal those patients under his care. I found it really easy to understand his motivations, even though I did think that his friend had a point with what he said about making the choice to save people. And I did think that the author did a really good job of showing the problems Aulen’s addiction caused, not only personally but also professionally.
I liked seeing Aulen interacting with the other characters, especially with his wife and daughter. I enjoyed seeing his relationship with them and I did feel a lot of sympathy for Genevieve especially. It was good to see the contrast between her wanting to be an adult, but also needing her father.
It was easy to see Aulen’s compassion for the people who needed his help, though I didn’t really like him as much after his downward spiral, even though I did feel a lot of empathy for him, especially after Alessandra got her hands on him. (I didn’t have any sympathy for her even in her first appearance… much less so towards the end of the book).
I did think that this book was really well-written. It was easy to be drawn into the world Aulen inhabited and I thought he was a really intriguing, well-rounded character. I also liked Philip, even though I haven’t read his book… but it was good to see a bit of the main characters from the previous books.
There were a lot of really dark scenes in this and there were times I did find it hard to push through. Aulen really did hit rock bottom and that came across really well.
In the future, I would definitely like to read the previous two books in this series. I also would like a bit more detail about how these three different people developed their abilities.
Ink of Blood 