Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I was originally drawn to this book by the front cover. I felt it was a really cool front cover and since I do like reading erotic romance books, I was happy when I won a copy of this in one of the giveaways.

The concept of the highwayman was a really intriguing one, but I did get a bit confused by what was revealed through the course of the book, since the blurb had seemed to indicate one thing, while it was shown to be something different through the book.

I did like the fact that, although a lot of this book was about the erotic scenes between Zara and Max, there were also some scenes that showed Max’s past. I felt the author did a good job of showing the differences between the two different time frames, though I was a bit confused about the whole reason why Zara ended up visiting the past.

I found the interactions between Zara and Max to be really intriguing. Although a lot of it was about the sex, I felt that there was a lot of care there…and it was really good that things between the two of them were clearly consensual.

I was very unsure about Elizabetha as a character. I felt sympathy towards her at first, but seeing events from her perspective made her a much less sympathetic character… even if I could understand why she was so unhappy with her mother and the highwayman. I was curious to see what would happen to lead up to the events of the present day.

The erotic scenes were mostly good and quite hot in parts, but there were a couple of things that made me cringe, such as the description of Zara’s wrists being messed up and bleeding. But apart from that, it was pretty cool to read two consenting adults exploring different ways to pleasure each other. And it was good to see that there was some plot, rather than just the erotic adventure.

I have to say, though, there were a lot of errors in the writing and a couple of times where I had to pause reading to figure out where a quotation mark was supposed to go, for instance. Still, this was a good book to read and I found it entertaining and the issues of consent were dealt with, which is always important to me. I’m interested to see where Max goes next.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This is another book that I would ideally give 4.5 stars to. I liked it more than many books I give 4 stars to, but for me, it wasn’t quite at the level of five stars.

I wasn’t very clear about exactly when this book was set, I have to say. When I looked at the front cover, I though it was set in the Wild West… but on reading through the book, it seems it’s set in a post-apocalyptic world.

I thought the concept of the Reapers being infected with parasites was a really interesting one, though I would have liked to know a bit more of how the infection actually started. Or, rather, if it was a ‘natural’ disease, or if it was caused by sentient beings.

The concept of the Rangers was an intriguing one, too. Abby was an interesting character and I liked her interactions with Jake. It was cool that Jake didn’t come across as the conventional romantic hero and yet I still found his relationship with Abby believable. There were some parts that were quite sweet… but I liked that the attraction was there and real, but Abby was still hesitant to trust him. It made the romance seem much more believable.

It was good to see the way society had formed around the threat of the Reapers. I was a bit confused about exactly what the Scrapers were doing, though.

I did feel that the author did a good job in making the secondary characters feel like real people as well, though I did get confused with who was who at times. It was good to see that the other people had mostly normal reactions to Jake when they did meet him and find out what he was.

I really didn’t like the scientists very much at all, so I didn’t really care about them as characters. But I was able to care about other characters in this book and I wanted to see them survive. At the same time, I also felt sorry for the Reapers. In most zombie stories, the zombies seem to become merely monsters. It came across as vastly different with the Reapers.

I would definitely read more books by this author in the future. There is some dodgy subject matter involved, but it was a really good romance with a lot of action/horror to go along with.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

After having read and enjoyed the first book in this trilogy, I was quite eager to see the second one. And although it started off as good, by the time I reached the end, I found myself quite disappointed.

Learning more about the dimensions of hell was really interesting. I liked the concept that there were almost ‘waiting’ areas and opportunities for souls without faith to get a second chance. And I liked the fact that Nate and Olga became spirit guides. It was cool to see Limbo from their perspective as people who knew what was actually going on. And I liked Grace as a character. It was also good to see that there were issues between Nate and Olga and that their relationship had conflicts and wasn’t perfect.

I’ll be honest… this book probably would have got four stars if it wasn’t for Riel. I was disappointed that the angels had the otherworldly beauty that seems to be so prevalent. I was even more disappointed in his feelings for Olga. I thought he was a better character towards the end of the book, but then he backslid and pretty much left a bitter taste in my mouth.

It was interesting to see the place where Connor was, but I felt it was unnecessary for the first chapter of the book to be from Connor’s perspective. The list of reading questions asks who Olga should end up with and I personally feel she should have room to be her own person, rather than only obsessing over one of two guys.

I liked seeing Dr. Judy and learning about her past. I also liked seeing the faith in this book, but I felt that Olga’s decision to try and see Connor completely contradicted the growth she’d made in the previous book. This book had a lot of potential, but I was disappointed by certain aspects, which is why I knocked a star off. I am going to be reading book three, but I’m not sure I have a good feeling about that.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

While reading this book, I found myself wavering a lot over how many stars to give it. By the end of the book, I decided to give it four, because I did find the book entertaining and easy to read, even if I was a bit hesitant about Matti’s character at times.

I did like Matti, to a certain extent, though I did think there were times she came across as a bit self-centred. I also really liked the paranormal aspects in this book. Despite the blurb, I was expecting more of a hallucinations aspect, so I was really happy to see that there were actual ghosts and I found the mythos with them to be really interesting.

The mystery in this book was quite intriguing and I liked meeting a lot of the other characters. Linda was probably my favourite. Out of the other four women, I found her to be the most developed, likable character. I didn’t really know what to make of Tricia, because she wasn’t really shown very much in the book and was the only one out of the group who didn’t seem to be explored as a character.

I was a bit confused about Luis, since he seemed to have a bit of an about-face in the book and it seemed to happen a bit fast. At the same time, I did find Joe to be quite good character. I liked his interactions with Matti and the friendship that formed between them.

I liked Abby as a character, too. It was also really interesting to see Matti’s work as a forensics artist. I felt the author did a good job of showing how it all worked… though there was a bit too much of, ‘this felt like the right colour’… etc. It was nice to see Fluffy and how big a part he played in the book.

I did think there wasn’t as much foreshadowing in the book as there could have been. Although the journey to the end was interesting, I felt that something fell flat on the ‘big reveal’. I would have liked to see a bit more on the mystery and less on Matti’s love life.

I would probably read a sequel to this book. I enjoyed reading this and it was very intriguing. I’d like to see more of Linda especially in later books.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I did feel the concept of this book was very interesting and although there wasn’t anything paranormal until right towards the end of the book, I did feel there were hints and clues left throughout that something was going on.

I empathised with Olga really easily in this book. It was nice to see her perspective (and for the author to just stick to the one first person POV). I could understand the guilt she felt and it was awful to see how people treated her after what happened with Connor. The first part of the book was really quite depressing to read.

I was really hesitant when Olga saw Nate for the first time, because the thoughts that went through her head upon her first glimpse of him struck me as the same as every other young adult book that has a love-at-first-sight theme… which is a depressingly large amount. I was relieved that the author did spend time developing the relationship between them.

The concept about the eighteen things to do is a really neat one and I felt that the idea about having it featured in the news article was a pretty cool one, too. The references to Star Wars were really good, though I felt they got really corny by the end of the book.

I found it interesting to learn more about Tammy’s life and how she was much more than the awful, popular cheerleader she originally came across as. It was good to see her and Olga develop a friendship, even though Tammy still kept her slightly off-colour personality.

I do plan to read the second and third books in this trilogy. Although the paranormal aspects don’t come in until much later in this book, I found it really easy to read and a unique concept. There was something I did see coming… but I still really liked this book. I feel there’s a lot more of this story to be told and it will be good to see where the characters end up next… even if I do have the feeling book two will contain one of my pet peeves.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This book was one that I found really difficult to read. It was really well-written and the character of Missy was quite an intriguing one. There was a love triangle in the book that I actually didn’t hate so much, though I do wish less authors would use them because, like vampires, love triangles are over-used.

It was funny, but I didn’t realise I’d won this book until a month after the giveaway had ended. I’m not sure if there were issues with the algorithm or something, but yeah. I’d forgotten I’d even entered to win this.

I liked that this book was written in first person and Missy was a character who was really easy to relate to. This book did deal with a couple of major issues that many people in reality face. Although it was difficult to read in places, I felt that the author handled the issues really well. But it raised a lot of my own personal issues.

I was surprised (in a good way) by Josh’s faith. I liked the comments made by his pastor. It was a really interesting concept to read about and made me want to point the passage to my dad for him to use as an illustration in one of his sermons.

When I read the first chapter of this book, I assumed that meant I was going to know how the story ended. It was good that there were still a lot of surprises all the way through, though, and although I knew some of the ending, the three guys weren’t all that obvious.

I didn’t really like Missy’s mother, possibly because there were a lot of aspects that reminded me of my own mother. I thought Crystal was particularly sweet and I liked the descriptions of the life on the island.

I wasn’t particularly keen on a lot of the minor characters in this book, especially Sam. But I could empathise with Missy having a crush on someone who was technically untouchable. I would probably read more books by this author in the future. I was drawn into Missy’s life easily and I really felt for her through a lot of the book.