(I received a free copy of this book, through NetGalley, in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Ideally, I’d give this book 2.5 stars out of 5. I can’t quite give it 3. I thought the blurb was really intriguing and I really did adore the front cover. I thought that the book did start off promising… but it quickly went downhill when Piper came into her abilities.
I did think that Piper became a much more unlikable character after her transformation. Although she claimed to care about and love her friends, I didn’t really see much evidence of that. I thought most of the characters came across as quite immature… which I guess they were meant to be, but I couldn’t really form an emotional connection to Piper. And I felt that her friends didn’t seem to exist outside of her; mostly because I was only ever told what they were thinking and feeling through Piper, without having the chance to see it for myself.
While I did like Charlie’s character, I was disappointed that Piper seemed to drop him as well, despite apparently seeming to care for him at various times. For most of the book, I felt that Piper was vapid and shallow. There was the ‘soulmate’ connection with Dev, which I felt was used rather than any real feelings developing between them.
I did like the fact that Piper was so good with Jaxx, even though it didn’t take me that long to figure out the secret. I liked Esther… and I did like Lisa; at least what I saw of her that wasn’t mad on Chet. Or other boys.
I didn’t like how Piper treated Tess… but I wasn’t really that keen on Tess, either. There was too much glossing over of events at the beginning of the book… and I felt the first chapter written from a different first person perspective wasn’t necessary and didn’t add anything to the story.
There was a lot of potential in this book, such as the deeper aspects to Rob. Unfortunately, it felt like it was more important for Piper to become a ridiculously over-powered character than in forming any attachments that felt real and had meaning.
I don’t think I’ll be reading the next book/s in this series.
Ink of Blood 