Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I did think that the blurb of this book sounded really intriguing, so I ignored the slight misgivings I had about the romance and requested a copy.

I felt that the book had a lot of potential, but the main romance didn’t really grab me. It came across too much as an insta!love connection and I felt that Kallisto was a rather bland character. I did find Seti to be a really interesting person and there were enough details about his past and relationships to the other characters that he came across as quite well-defined.

This book came across as part of a series and not the first book. There were characters mentioned but not really described. When Kallisto talks about her brothers, I was expecting to get to know some of them… but the book’s written as if assuming the readers have prior knowledge.

I liked the whole concept of the different worlds and it was good to learn more about the Chaos that Seti was battling with. And there were times I was able to empathise with him quite strongly in the book.

I do think that the book could have done with some serious editing. There were a lot of errors and clunky writing that a beta reader would have been able to catch and make the book more readable.

I found Azazel to be a really interesting character and I felt that his romance was much more believable. I would have liked it if there had been more focus on the two of them. I also would have liked to see more of Morgan’s character.

I did feel there was a bit too much telling, rather than showing, in this book. There were very few surprises or twists.

I did like the use of illustrations in this book, but there should have been more descriptions of the earlier characters. I didn’t think it was necessary to write a line from the narration under those illustrations. I did particularly like the one of the fairy, though.

I don’t know if I’d read any more books by this author in the future. It would depend on the plot and if there’d clearly been an editor.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I was a bit surprised by how easy I found this book to read. I was drawn really quickly into the storyline and I was able to empathise with Jake really well.

The action started in this book almost straight away, with very little build-up. Although I would have liked a bit more background, especially with the interactions Jake had with the other characters he knew, I was able to follow what was going on really well. I did feel some sympathy for Jake… especially when finding out exactly why he was so small.

It was interesting to have the opportunity to see more of the Amazonian forest that Jake was in, though I did feel that there was a bit of telling rather than showing. I did think it was good to see something of Jake’s resourcefulness while he’s in the forest… and there’s a good bit of foreshadowing during the course of the book, too.

I found Pilar an interesting character, but I didn’t feel as if I got to know her very well as a love interest for Jake. Parts of the book, where Jake was in the compound, didn’t exactly feel real. Though it was good to see some of the culture of the tribe Pilar was studying, there were parts during that time that came across as almost dream-like.

I would have liked a bit more background on Jake, such as his relationship with his parents now and friends and work colleagues. I could certainly understand what drew him to visit the tribe at the start of the book and it was interesting to see him interacting with the members of the Tabna tribe and trying to learn about them.

I thought that the supernatural elements in this book added an interesting dimension, though the book did become more fantastical as the storyline went on. I felt that most of the characters were intriguing and I would have liked to know more about most of them.

It would be good to read a sequel to this book and see where Jake will go next… and if he’s truly out of danger now.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I think I’d give this book 4.5 stars. I got a bit confused with the characters and the events going on at first (particularly to do with the marking), but as the book went on, I found myself drawn really easily into the world and the storyline.

There were a few different plots that did eventually converge with each other. I enjoyed learning about the different races there were on the planet and it was good to have information revealed in stages through the book, rather than all at once.

I was drawn more into the book when the five marked were all drawn together. I found myself intrigued by their different strengths and weaknesses and it was good to see that it wasn’t all about fighting. I found myself feeling really sorry for Kenrya… even though I’m sure she wouldn’t want someone to feel sorry for her.

I thought it was good to see the different cultures’ attitudes towards the young people who had been marked. It was good as well to see the different kinds of abilities/skill sets those different peoples were known for. I did like learning about the history of the planet and I also thought it was good to see that even the races who were considered ‘bad’ had reasons behind their behaviour… or that there was the potential for further development with some of the characters.

I really disliked Nord as a character. His attitude was an awful one and I couldn’t see any redeeming qualities to him. I had slightly different feelings towards Natal. He was a character I could understand a bit more.

I have to say, my favourite character was probably Tip. I enjoyed the fact that, although he wasn’t exactly a warrior, he still had valid skills and did work to save people. I also liked Jurth as a character… and it was nice to see him have a potentially surrogate father.

I really cared about the characters in this book and it was good to see them working together. I’d very much like to read the next book in this series at some point in the future. I definitely felt that it was worth reading.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This book took me a little while to read, since I was reading it to someone… and reading out loud always takes longer than if I’m reading it in my head.

I found a lot of this book to be quite complicated. There was an awful lot happening and a lot of characters. There were times when I got a bit confused with who was who, especially with the characters who weren’t mentioned as much.

As the book went on, I found it easier to like Shen Ming as a character. Even though he became desperate towards the end of part one, I could understand the evolution of his character. And it was interesting to see glimpses of his past and personality through other characters during the course of the book.

It was interesting to see the Chinese culture and how the characters’ different beliefs affected the situations they were in. I did find Si Wang to be a really creepy boy at times. There were other times I couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for him, but for a lot of the time, I did find that he was just a really creepy child.

It was interesting to see how things connected together through the course of the book. While I was reading it, I had no idea how events were connected in the way they were by the end of the book. I also found it interesting to read about the relationships that Si Wang formed with the other characters… even though I kept getting the impression that he didn’t really care about any of them.

I didn’t like Gu Quisha as a character at all. The way she interacted with Si Wang just seemed really inappropriate. I did find Si Wang’s mother an interesting character… even though she didn’t come across as a very nice woman for portions of the book.

I felt that this book was quite a good mix of different genres. There were parts of this book that were disturbing and other parts that were completely unexpected. The ending was kind of satisfactory… but I was a bit confused by one of the things that occurred then.

I would probably read other books by this author in the future. This was entertaining and deeply engaging and it was good to see how all of the characters were connected to each other.