Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I found myself quite enjoying reading this book. The novella at the beginning wasn’t really long, but I felt it was a good introduction to the world and the characters. I did feel sorry for Leena in the first story. She was quite naive, but I felt that made sense with her upbringing.

Leena’s country was also particularly vicious. I noticed there was a contrast between the two main kingdoms. I felt the author did a really good job of showing the different cultures in the kingdoms… and also how different Jinji’s people were in comparison to the rest of the world.

I did like Jinji and Rhen as characters. It was good that the author stuck to limited third person, because it wasn’t so confusing to read. I really liked their interactions and although I felt like parts of the story were glossed over, I did feel that the important parts were handled well.

It was interesting to see Rhen’s decision to be a spymaster and how his reputation was so at odds with his personality. I was quite sad to see his relationship with his family, though. Bad childhoods seem to happen a lot in fantasy…

I liked the contrast in the different powers Rhen and Jinji had. I also felt that the traumatic events each had gone through were handled really well. It was also good to see Jinji, at least, interact with Leena from the previous story.

There weren’t a lot of minor characters who appeared and were named, but the ones who were came across as really interesting and well-rounded. I especially liked getting glimpses of Rhen’s relationship with the Captain of the ship he and Jinji were on.

I did feel that the author did a good job of keeping to the knowledge that the characters had when it switched over to their POVs, which was good. And it was nice to see the way their friendship grew and how real it felt.

I was left somewhat confused by the end of the book, but I’m hoping that answers will be provided in the next books in this series. I do intend to read those at some point in the future. This was a good fantasy with an intriguing world and storyline and I hope to see more of Rhen and Jinji.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

The blurb of this collection of short stories sounded really intriguing, so when I won a copy in a Goodreads giveaway, I was really happy.

I really did enjoy reading this book. It was a really quick, easy read and the stories were really interesting. Although they did all have the same underlying theme, I felt that there was a good variety of stories that all dealt with something that every person experiences.

I did feel drawn into each of these stories and despite them being short stories, I felt that the author did a good job of showing well-rounded characters and interesting storylines.

I think my favourite of the short stories was probably Burn Unit. There was a lot about that that really resonated with me and by the time I reached the end of the story, I had a lump in my throat. I think that short story is one that could have been expanded and it’s one I would have liked to see more of the characters. I think it would have been good to see the aftermath of the story.

One of the other stories that particularly spoke to me was the Lazarus Project. Although the narrator of that story didn’t reveal too much about himself, I felt that worked with the story and it enabled me to feel more of a part of the world.

The first story was especially difficult to read, I felt. It was something that could happen in reality… probably has happened, though not necessarily on that scale. I felt the author did a good job of showing how a tragedy on that scale could affect so many people… but it was also nice that the story ended on a bit of a more hopeful note.

I felt the final story was good in that it dealt a bit more with memory. It did almost feel like that story should have been the longest, since there was quite a lot that was happening in this.

I felt Cabin #5 showed the effects on war on the people left behind, as well as the soldiers themselves, really well. It was a depressing read, but still really well-written.

In the future, I would look into reading more books by this author. This collection of short stories was really well-written and easy to read.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I think this might have been the first book I read by this author a while ago, so when I had the opportunity to re-read it, I did jump at the chance… even though it did take me a bit longer to get to than I would have liked.

I felt the concepts in this book were really quite intriguing, particularly the idea of remote viewing. Gabriel seemed to develop as a character as the book went on, but for a lot of it, he did come across as quite arrogant.

There were some quite gruesome mental images in this book. Although they were really well-written, I think those are going to stay with me for quite a while. It was intriguing to see the diary written by one of the Monk sisters, but I would have liked to see some more of the entries, rather than have them glossed over.

I did think the author did a good job of showing Gabriel to have more depth to him than he did when he first appeared. Although I wasn’t all that keen on his relationship with the Monk sisters, I did feel that I could relate to him much better later on. I liked his friendship with Isidore and his interactions with Frankie.

The house with the million rooms was quite interesting. I’ve seen the concept of that kind of place touched upon a number of times, but never quite as detailed as it was shown here.

I did feel that some of the more minor characters didn’t come across as real as they could have done. The main characters were really well-established, but some of the others seemed to exist primarily for the purpose of the story and they didn’t seem to have much of a life outside.

The book itself was really well-written, though I felt that some parts of the narrative were almost dreamlike. I didn’t quite like the ending of the book… but it was still a good read and although I remembered quite a lot that happened, it was a book that I was quite happy to read again.

I do have other books by this author that I intend to read in the future. I really do enjoy the worlds and characters she creates and if you’re a fan of paranormal-themed books, I recommend this author as one to try.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although I haven’t read the first book before this one, I did find this book quite easy and quick to read. The concept behind it was a really intriguing one and I found Paige to be an interesting character… though I do think the book slipped into third person for one scene and then back to first, which was quite distracting when it happened.

I did think there was a lot going on in this book. There were a few contradictory moments in the book and I couldn’t really believe in the attraction between Allan and Paige, since it didn’t really seem based on many of the interactions they had together.

I did like the whole concept of the spirit animals, but I did think that Paige didn’t end up experiencing the real consequences of her actions. She skipped loads of school, but there wasn’t anything about her needing to catch up. And I didn’t realise until well over halfway through the book that Carole actually went to the same school as well.

I did like Trixie as a character. I would have liked Hanna, but I felt that everything was really confusing with her. I couldn’t tell if she was meant to be one of the ‘good guys’ or not.

I do think that Paige wasn’t as intelligent as she could have been. There were things I felt she could have put together and times I felt she should have told her family what was going on. When she kept it secret, it felt as if she was actually putting them in more danger.

I did like the supernatural and prayer aspects to this. I was disappointed that the mystery of the boy wasn’t solved here, because I would have liked to see that reach a kind of resolution.

I did think there was a bit too much telling rather than showing in this book and I got a bit tired of everyone telling Paige what a pure soul she had and not really seeing that put into action.

I’m not sure if I’d read the first book in the series or not. Or later ones. It would depend on what I felt about the blurb.

(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 trilogy, I was happy to read the second when the author offered me a copy in exchange for a review. Unfortunately, it did take me a while to get to this, but I’m glad I was able to read it and it was something I found really entertaining.

Even though I do wish that the book didn’t constantly change between multiple first person POVs (I always find that hard to read), I did find this book a really quick and easy read otherwise. It was good to see more of Nicolette and the other characters I’d met from the first book… as well as the new characters who appeared in this book.

Although I would have preferred the book to be written in third person, it was good to see the workings with the other side as well as with Nicolette. I felt the author did a good job of putting a more ‘human’ face to the apparent bad guys.

I also thought the author did a really good job of showing the kind of situation Nicolette was in due to the properties of her blood. Sadly, I could see humans wanting to get what they saw as a ‘resource’ and completely ignore the issue of basic human rights.

I did like the scenes with Nicolette and Jason at the beginning of the book. It was nice to see them spending time together and having been able to be married. I also liked seeing that Nicolette had been training in self-defense… even if she still can’t aim a gun properly.

I also liked seeing Eva in this book and Nicolette’s brother and sister. I did feel that things moved a bit too fast with Elena towards the end of the book. She seemed to change her tune quite fast.

There were some quite intense scenes in this book and it kept me reading really easily throughout. I liked Noelle as a character and I would have liked to see a bit more of her interactions with the other characters around her.

I also liked the use of faith and Christianity in this book. I definitely hope to read the final book in this trilogy at some point in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I found this book quite an easy read. The characters were intriguing and likable… at least the main characters, for the most part. I did feel like I was thrown halfway into the storyline, but I suspect that was a similar feeling to the one that Jake was experiencing when he was first thrown into the situation.

I liked Sandy a lot as a character and I felt it was good that the author spent quite a bit of time showing how things went for her. It was really good to see a strong female lead, even though I got a bit frustrated with the fact that she couldn’t do much to begin with. Still, I felt there was a lot with her later on… and I have to say she was one of my favourite characters.

I really wasn’t sure what to make of Victor. There were certain things that made me wonder if there was going to be a twist involving him, but it apparently didn’t happen.

The concept of the different alien races and the humans being the same as the main alien race they interacted with was quite an interesting one and I felt the author provided a good explanation as to why that was the case.

The enemy aliens were quite creepy and scary and I felt the author did a good job of that. I couldn’t help noticing that the ugly/frightening-in-appearance aliens were the ones who were the bad guys, though. Although their personalities made it clear they were bad, I’ve found it a bit disappointing that the ‘good’ guys tend to be the more humanoid aliens.

I did find it interesting to see there were two different sides to the history and that there seemed to be bad things done on both sides. I also really liked the descriptions and usage of the technology.

It was good to see humans fighting to defend Earth and the aliens coming to help right towards the end. I did like the ending of the book, too, even if I was a bit confused by exactly what happened. The danger the characters were in felt real and I would definitely be interested in reading the next book in this series.