Ink of Blood

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I thought this was a good start to the trilogy. There were some creepy moments in this book, as well as some scenes that were really quite intense to read.

I thought Silas was a bit more interesting than Lily, though I didn’t see very much of Lily’s supposed ‘vanity’.

I thought it was interesting to learn of the history of the gardens and how it tied into mythology with a slightly different version of Pandora’s Box.

I felt that both Lily and Silas were well-rounded characters. I liked their uncle a bit more as the book went on, but I found it a bit difficult to discern between the different riders. Some of them were named and established characters, but many of them weren’t, which made it hard to figure out how many of them were.

Some of the creatures in the gardens came across as really creepy, in particular the Smiling Ladies. It was disturbing to see that the house was really unsafe, too. It’s definitely not a place I would feel comfortable living in personally.

I liked learning about Ozy’s past and I would have liked to know more about Polly and Ursula… even though Polly was particularly disturbing.

The glimpses of Abigail were quite intriguing and I also liked Cassandra as a character. I had a lot of sympathy for her with what was hinted at in regards to her green skin affecting how she was unable to touch people. I didn’t think that Silas deserved her hostility… but the suggestion Lily made seemed to fit.

I would have liked to see more details about the different beings in the garden and where they come from. There were some hints that not all of the creatures were ‘bad’ and it would be nice to see if others of their kind could turn out to be allies. I would also have liked to learn about and see more of the mist people.

I found this book an entertaining and engaging read and I do intend to read the remaining two books in the trilogy in the near future.

(I received a free copy of this book, through NetGalley, in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I’ve had this book (and the second in the trilogy) on my Kindle for a while and I decided to give it a try.

I did find the idea of this book to be quite a unique one. I was able to empathise with Ismae a lot. I wanted to protect her at the start of the book… but as the plot went on, I liked the fact that she was able to protect herself and that she grew into a strong character.

I thought that the setting of the book worked really well. It was interesting to see Syballa and Annith from Ismae’s perspective, but I would have liked to see more of her relationships with the other nuns in the convent.

I did find it fairly interesting that the old Celtic gods were absorbed into the Christian faith and the explanation given for them. It was also pretty cool to see the observations about death not being evil… just inevitable. Too many books make the god of death into the villain and it was nice to see this storyline take a different turn.

I thought it was pretty cool to see the different ways Ismae had to commit her job of killing, such as the different types of poison. And the bracelets that could be used as garrotes.

I did like the romance in this book, even though it was a bit frustrating at times, since I felt the romantic aspects were being tip-toed around for too much of the book… but it did eventually reach a satisfactory conclusion.

I liked reading about Ismae’s interactions with the other characters, particularly Anne and Isabeau. I did also like seeing some of the intrigues that were going on… and how Anne and Gavriel had to work their way around the people who were trying to control the duchy.

I liked meeting Beast, too. He was a really cool character and I enjoyed seeing his friendship with Gavriel and the third member of their group.

I was pulled really easily into this book and I really liked the atmosphere in it, as well as the paranormal aspects to it. I felt it was as much about the characters as the plot and I’m hoping to see more of Ismae and Gavriel in the next two books.

(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although this book is the second in a series, I found it easy to follow… though it was hard not to read about a red-haired character named Molly and not picture Molly Weasley from the Harry Potter books/films.

I felt a lot of sympathy for Emilia and Jacob in this book, especially at the beginning. I liked the fact that, although they were really close friends, it was still hard for Jacob and Emilia to be tethered together. I would have liked a bit more detail of how it all worked, though.

I thought the idea of the characters using talismans was a really interesting one. I would have liked to know more about why they had different talismans, though… and it was particularly interesting to learn that Jacob’s limitations were perhaps different to the other magic users in the book.

I liked Claire an awful lot in this book. She was one of those smart-mouthed characters who adds a bit of humour and even though some of what she said was cliched, I would have really liked to see more of her in this.

It was good to see how the society of the centaurs differed to what the children were used to. By the end of the book, Iz’s character had fallen somewhat in my estimation.

I didn’t get the opportunity to meet Dexter, but it was good to see how his betrayal had affected Emilia. I felt that the emotions between Emilia and Jacob came across as real and sweet. There were some hard choices that had to be made… but I believed in the relationship between the two characters and also the friendships they formed with others.

I would have liked to see a bit more of the people outside of the magic users. In some ways, it did seem like Emilia was over-using her magic… but I thought the author did a good job of showing the differences in the ways Emilia and Jacob viewed and used their magic.

The concept of the Siren’s Realm was an interesting one, but I didn’t really understand the Siren’s motives. I would have liked to learn a bit more about her and her world.

At some point in the future, it would be good to read the other books in this series. The ending of this one was immediately intriguing and I’d like to know more about the secondary characters, as well as the two main ones.

(I received a free copy of this book, through NetGalley, in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

On reading the blurb of this book, I immediately found my interest piqued. As I was drawn into Sandrine’s story, to begin with, I did feel a lot of empathy towards her. I think the biggest issue was the fact that there was a lot of telling, not showing, about what had happened in the past.

The elements of mystery in this book were particularly intriguing, though I felt that the reveal dragged out for too much of the book. When it happened, it was done in quite an intriguing way… and I did find myself feeling some sympathy for La Luna when her history was revealed.

I didn’t feel like there was enough foreshadowing in this book. There were a lot of parts where information was revealed right before it became relevant, instead of being alluded to earlier on in the book.

I did think that the setting of the book came across quite well, including the kind of attitudes people had at that time towards marital affairs and the like. The romance itself… I felt that the author did spend time developing the emotions between the characters. Unfortunately, there was one scene in particular that really shouldn’t have been included. That made Sandrine’s character go right down in my estimation.

I felt that the use of the artwork came across really well in this book. It was interesting to see the tie-ins with mythology and, in particular, the Cupid and Psyche aspects.

I did think that a lot of what happened was a self-fulfilling prophecy. And there were times when Sandrine irritated me a bit in this book. She came across as quite self-centred at times… which could possibly be blamed on what was happening to her. There were times I thought she might be stronger… but there were disappointments, too. Including the ending.

I’d like to give this book four stars, but it doesn’t quite reach that level; which is a shame, because I was looking forward to reading this. If the book had been condensed down, it wouldn’t have dragged so much and I think the storyline would have had a bit more urgency to it.

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I found this book to be a really good read. I was able to put aside my personal beliefs as I read this and, as a result, found myself enjoying it more.

It was good to have the opportunity to see the action more or less straight away. I liked Venus as a character and although she did seem to accept things a bit fast, I did think it worked for the age she was. And it was good to see that Sebastian and Eric didn’t just believe things straight away and didn’t until they had proof.

I really liked Galahad as a character, though I would have liked to know if he was the same one from Arthurian legend. I thought it was a really unique idea to explain how Venus and her friends were able to interact with people who had actually been dead for a long time. And it was nice to see that Galahad was a really capable warrior and acted to protect all of them; not just Venus… even though he clearly wasn’t thrilled at having others accompany them.

I would have liked a bit more detail about how Venus had her abilities and if it was passed down to her genetically, as Eleanor’s seemed to be. It was also good to see the other organisation who Margaret worked for… even though I would have liked some more details about the different members of that organisation. And also why they seemed very closed to the idea of otherworldly phenomenon.

I thought the author did a good job of demonstrating the differences in ways of speaking the characters from the past had. For instance, Galahad had a very archaic way of speaking and I felt it really fit in well with his character. He didn’t seem to have much of a problem with modern things, though.

The characters in this book did come across as very black and white. Although reasoning was provided for the bad guys, I didn’t think there was much to ‘humanise’ them. I would have liked more well-rounded villains.

I would be interested in reading a sequel to this book in the future. It would be really good to see more of Venus and Galahad… as well as have the opportunity to travel back in time and see more of the history.