(This review may contain spoilers).
When I originally read the blurb of this book, I really thought it sounded intriguing, even though I’ve become somewhat hesitant with young adult books, especially those that focus primarily on a female character.
One of the strongest parts of this book, I felt, was the mystery surrounding Lex. I was curious enough to keep reading the book in the hopes that I would find out her past and why the alien had attached itself to her. However, even though the first question was answered, I didn’t feel the second one was very clear and I would have liked a bit more of an explanation as to why her? What made her so important, apart from the tampering with her genes? (And I wasn’t exactly clear on where and when that happened – it just felt like an element tacked on to make her special).
I was completely fooled by the scenes with the soldier, as I’d had a whole lot of theories around him and what had happened that were blown clear out of the water because I’d made some assumptions, so that was done really well. And it was incredibly easy to connect emotionally with him, even if, by the end of the book, I’d lost quite a bit of sympathy. On the other hand, I could understand why he acted the way he did, even if I didn’t agree with or condone it.
I do think there were too many characters who were glossed over and therefore, I wasn’t sure who I was focused on. There were quite a few switches in POV, which meant that there was very little hidden; but also that the ‘twists’ didn’t really work so well. And I did feel that the entire middle of the book, after receiving answers, alternately dragged and then rushed along with what little action there was.
I did find the ending didn’t really fit with the rest of the book, primarily because there was character development I didn’t see happening as a reader. I think this book would have benefitted from focusing more on just one or two POVs and setting up the secondary character twists a bit more.
I might be interested in reading a sequel to this book in the future, but I don’t think I’ll be re-reading this one any time soon.
Ink of Blood 