(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
When I read the blurb of this book, I felt immediately drawn to the storyline described. I liked Alex’s character and I found her really easy to understand and empathise with.
I thought it was really cool to see the descriptions of the meteor shower, even though it brought the virus. I found it easy to see how difficult things were for Alex and how she and her brother were affected by not only their mother getting sick, but everyone around them.
I really enjoyed seeing Alex’s relationship with Jacob and I liked that he remained a priority to her. I did think that there wasn’t enough foreshadowing in this book, though. There was too much in the way of things suddenly being revealed from the past, rather than earlier in the book. It was very much a case of, ‘Oh. That was a bit convenient’.
I liked being able to see some of the characters before the virus took hold, since it was good to see the contrast in their personalities before and after. I would have liked a bit more information about how Baxter seemed able to sense something was wrong… whether it was something unique to dogs, or if all animals could sense it.
There were some really good elements of mystery in this book and it was good to see that Alex wasn’t as good at fooling her mother as she’d hoped. I was a bit disappointed in her father’s friend. He came across as kind of a jerk and completely contrasted with how he’d come across before. (And there was the lack of foreshadowing again…)
It was interesting to see the dreams that were helping Alex to figure things out, but I couldn’t tell if the dreams were her subconscious or whether there were supernatural reasons behind them. I also liked seeing Alex’s interactions with Chris. It was nice to see that, although she was attracted to him, that didn’t take over the book. It was also good to see her and Chris forced to grow up and take on responsibility.
I would probably be interested in reading the sequel to this book in the future. It would be good to see how people will deal with the aftermath of everything.
Ink of Blood 