Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having read book one in this trilogy, I was quite happy when the author kindly sent me a copy of book two to read.

It was good to see Harcourt again in this book. I liked that he came across as a much stronger, more confident character here. It was good to see him interacting with the other characters, but I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him, due to the fact that he seemed even more alone than in book one.

It was intriguing to see more of the Cult members, though I would have liked to learn a bit more about their pasts and how they became members. It was also really good to see more of the wizard in this book… and more of different types of magic that were in Stonewood.

I really didn’t like Garth as a character. At all. The Lich King was really creepy, but I would have liked to know more about his past. Still, I’m not sure I personally would have wanted to even enter the fortress… so obviously, Harcourt and his friends are much braver than I am.

The red dagger was really creepy when wielded by the Cult members… but it was even worse when Harcourt had it in hand. I was glad when he was no longer wielding it.

It was good to see more of the world outside of Stonewood, too. I liked Harcourt and Krestina. It was also pretty cool to see that Krestina was having the visions… though I did think that the priest in the temple should have listened to her.

I felt the book was really entertaining to read and drew me back into the world really easily. I did notice a quite a few repetitions of, ‘beautiful priestess’ or ‘beautiful assassin’, which I felt were unnecessary. I did think it was good that I grew to know some of the characters who ended up being in danger.

There is a third book in this trilogy and I hope to be able to read it at some point in the future. This book did end on something like a cliffhanger and it would be good to see how the characters cope with the events of this book.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This is a book I’m truly wavering between three and four stars for. In the end, I’ve given it three stars – for the simple reason that Emily (and Jack, to a certain extent) was the only character who was likable in this book. The other characters were well-written… but really unlikable. Stevie was one I would have liked to see a bit more of. It seemed to me that he got a bit of a raw deal throughout.

This book does pretty much delve into a scene of horror right away and doesn’t actually let up. The four girls in the book who Emily interacts with first are clearly quite despicable individuals. It’s good that they don’t fit neatly into any kind of stereotypes… but at the same time, I couldn’t see anything that was remotely redeeming about them.

I did find myself really quite intrigued by Jack and the mystery that was going on with him. The murder mystery… didn’t actually strike me as realistic. There were a lot of scenes I read and found myself thinking, ‘I’m pretty sure police can’t actually get away with doing that/giving this kind of information out’.

I think I would have liked the relationship between Emily and Jack a bit more if I’d felt it was going somewhere. I felt the author did take the time to develop it, but it didn’t really seem like real love – more of a crush. Which could also have been because of what Jack was going through in the book.

There were some scenes in this book that seemed almost a bit dreamlike, especially towards the end. There wasn’t really much that was unexpected and I was a bit lost about the explanation by the end of the book. I understood it to an extent… but I was confused about why.

I would have liked to see a bit more of Emily’s relationship with Lily, as well as with her mother and Stevie. I was a bit confused about why apparently none of them left the house. I did like the fact that Emily tried to stand up for Charlie at the beginning of the book.

I did notice quite a few errors in the writing, particularly a few instances where present tense was slipped into. The book was still readable, though, and I read it really fast. I probably would read other books by this author in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Despite the title of this book (and the blurb) sounding really similar to the Hunger Games, I was really intrigued by the plot of this. The whole concept of a battle royale type setting is a really intriguing one, especially when the book deals with the fallout from people being forced to kill other people.

I wasn’t really clear as to how the boys from each nation were picked to take part in the harem games. Alex as a character was really intriguing – I found it quite interesting how he was a hermaphrodite, though it didn’t really make much of a change to the story. I would have liked to see a bit more explanation about how someone with male and female parts fits into the society created.

I did feel that there was something of info-dumping through this book, especially at the start. Rather than having a list of the male characters who were supposed to fight in the games, I would have liked the author to show their personalities more. As the book went on, I did get to know the characters more and more.

I liked Alex’s relationship with his brides, as opposed to most of the other contestants. I liked the contradictions in his character – the fierce protectiveness over the six brides and his willingness to fight and kill for them, but also his gentle, almost childlike nature at times in the book. The way he treated them after a battle was especially sweet.

To be honest, if it wasn’t for the style of writing this book had, I probably would have given it four stars. I didn’t like the use of the script format and the book changed first person POVs with little to no warning. I really felt that style detracted from what would have otherwise been quite an entertaining book to read.

I also liked the Christian aspects in the book, even if I didn’t exactly agree with some of it. And the use of technology worked really well here, as well as the different powers the girls had.

I would probably read the sequel to this book at some point in the future. It would be good to see where the characters go next.