(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Having read the first book in this series, I was immediately happy to read the second when it was offered as an ARC.
I liked the opportunity to see the origins of the Jumlin. It was also good to learn more about the child… or, rather, the previous incarnations of Laughing Bear. While I really didn’t like her when she suddenly made an appearance, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her; and later in the book, she seemed to have more depth to her than in book one.
I liked the fact that Ashling had to suffer through real consequences, both from what had happened in book one and also from what happened in this book.
While I could understand Ashling’s desperation to save her mother, I did think that, by doing so, she made some poor choices that had a negative impact on not only her, but also on the other people around her, including the new family members she’d discovered. I did, however, like the fact she had the chance to go back in time and see her mother when she was the same age.
I did think that, towards the end of the book, the setting felt almost like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with the amount of people who knew the truth. It was hard to suspend my disbelief when people who were untrained were able to kill the Jumlin’s spawn, at least until there was an explanation given.
I thought it was good to see Ashling meet Coop in the present, though it was just as weird for me, as a reader, to think of the fact they would be married as adults. It was sweet to see the almost hero worship on Coop’s part, though.
I did kind of feel like the romance was tacked on for the sake of it. I would have liked more focus on Laughing Bear and the Jumlin, as I felt the danger the characters were in took a backseat to some of the subplot.
On the whole, I did enjoy reading this book. It was a nice addition to the series, but I wouldn’t say it could stand on its own. If you’re new to the series, start with book one.
Ink of Blood 