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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This second book was as entertaining as the first. I really liked seeing all of the characters again in this book… and particularly Viktor and Romulus, though I would definitely like to know what Romulus is hiding as well.

It was really good to learn more about the other characters’ pasts, particularly the Leopard’s… but also Andrei’s. I liked the Gypsy characters more in this book and it was really good to learn of their past and how at least some of them were connected with the town.

It was nice to see more of the other characters in this book, but there were some times I got confused by some of them. A couple of the characters, it took me a few moments to realise which ones they were.

The Seven were really creepy… at least most of them. I would have liked to know a bit more background. As it is, the brief bits of explanation given didn’t really answer any of the questions I had about them.

I really liked Belch in this book. There were a couple of quite amusing scenes surrounding him, though I felt really sorry for him a lot of the time. I was also particularly fond of the acrobat twins… though I didn’t feel able to get to know their sister too well.

There were a number of quite emotional scenes in this book, too, which I think will stay with me. I’m also quite intrigued by the hints of magic in this book. It would be interesting to see how ‘real’ those hints really are.

I definitely would like to read the third and fourth books in this series at some point in the future. This is an interesting, intriguing world and I care about the characters and the plot.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I did win the second book in this series in a Goodreads giveaway, but the author kindly offered me a copy of book one to read first.

I did particularly enjoy reading this book. I found it a really intriguing read and I especially found myself growing fond of Viktor and his relationship with Romulus.

I didn’t realise, at first, that this series was a historical one. Even though I don’t know much about that time period in this country, I still found the plot of this book easy to follow. There were some things that I still didn’t understand by the end of the book, but it did hold my attention throughout and kept me reading, wanting to find out what would happen next.

It was interesting to read a book where the playing cards had such a big part in it all. At first, I thought that the ban on playing cards was just because of a really paranoid ruler… but as events unfolded, it became clear that the role the cards played was so much more than it first appeared.

I really liked a lot of the other characters in this book and I would have liked to see more of Viktor’s parents, especially. The masked people were quite scary in every appearance they had… at least before they started taking off those masks.

Empathising with Viktor and Romulus was really easy, though I found myself understanding Viktor’s moments of suspicion, especially given the very first scene in the book. That’s something else I would really like to see explored further in one of the next books.

I did also like the Gypsies… and particularly Belch, who added a level of humour to the book that I thought worked really well. I did have an odd sense of deja vu during his loudspeaker scene, though…

I really liked reading about Romulus’ inventions and it was cool to see them used during the course of the book. I also really liked Blizzard in the book… and the boys’ budding relationships with their female classmates.

I do have book two and have started reading that, but at some point, I would like to read the other books in this series too.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I was reasonably sure, from the blurb of this book, that this would be a book I’d enjoy reading… but I was somewhat surprised by how much I enjoyed it by the end. It had a lot of my favourite elements in a book, especially since I’ve been really interested in the Ancient World.

I really liked the main character in this book. I wasn’t sure I would at first, but I quickly grew to like him, especially given the relationships he formed with a lot of the other characters. (I love the whole bromance thing). I also really liked his relationship with his father, despite the fact it was strained for a lot of the book.

I felt that the characters in this book were really well-written and well-rounded. I particularly liked Justinius and his relationship with Alex. I would have liked to meet a few more individuals in the legion, but those I did meet, I liked… well, with at least one exception.

There was an interesting contrast in the two types of shifting. I found it interesting how the freedom contrasted so sharply with the bloodlust forced on them with the full moon.

I did really feel like I was back in Ancient Rome while I was reading this book. It was a much harsher time and I felt that came across really well through this book.

The camaraderie came across really well in this book and there was a lot I liked about it. Since I like it when a strong person humbles themselves for the sake of people they care about, there was a particular scene towards the end that I absolutely loved. And I could really believe in Alex’s loyalty and care about his men.

I would have liked a bit more detail about the history of some of the other characters, but what I did learn made me really like them. I found myself feeling really sorry for Brarn, too.

All in all, I really liked this book. It was light on the romance and heavy on the friendships between the characters. Although I noticed some errors in this book, they weren’t enough to detract from my enjoyment. I would definitely read a sequel to this book.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although this book did have my hated multi-first-person POVs, I actually did find this book to be a really easy read. The blurb of this sounded really interesting – I’ve always been intrigued by plots that focus heavily on the dreams.

The romance in this book was a little hit and miss for me. On the one hand, I felt that Amelia’s reactions to Seth’s clear attraction towards her made sense, given her upbringing and her past. At the same time, I did feel that Seth was a bit too much obsessed with her. There’s a moment where he comments about taking a while for relationships to grow and I just couldn’t help thinking, ‘Why isn’t the immortality thing applied to you and Amelia?’

I did find the dreamscape a really intriguing idea. I was fascinated by the concept of the different worlds and it was also interesting to see the origin story of the Erebos, though I wasn’t entirely sure what their relationship was with their hosts. I couldn’t entirely understand how much they controlled.

The hints of Seth’s past were interesting, particularly the small parts of information about Rhea. I would have liked to see more of the past events, either in flashbacks or a bit more detail. Given the importance of Jason, I felt there really should have been more of his interactions with Amelia.

I liked the variety of different types of creatures there were in Seth’s team, but I wasn’t too keen on the way Amelia became the main focus. I do, however, think that there was enough training involved that meant Amelia didn’t become completely skilled straight away. Although… I really disliked the use of black leather in the costumes.

I was particularly intrigued by Seth’s relationship with his brothers, Ian and Peter in particular. I would have liked to see more focus on the family aspects and less on the romance. I think the book would have been stronger with that. The world building was definitely the stronger aspect, though, and the secondary characters were what made me give this book four stars.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I was definitely drawn into this book from the start. I found Sean to be a really interesting character and even though I did feel that the romance moved a bit too fast, I still quite enjoyed his reactions with the other characters.

I was particularly fond of Nique as a character, though it was a bit tiring to keep being beaten over the head with how attractive she was. The banter she and Sean shared was amusing and it was really good to see a nice, platonic relationship between a man and a woman.

I was really impressed with how much medical knowledge was in this book without being overwhelming. I felt like a part of the world of the paramedics and I now have a whole new respect for them and what they have to deal with.

It was nice to see a book stick to one first person perspective. It was quite good to see things from Sean’s perspective, though there were times that I felt he was a bit contradictory. At the same time, he came across as a fairly likable character and I liked the fact that he did his best to heal people as much as he realistically could.

Sean’s lack of memory was a bit confusing at first through the book, but it eventually made more sense as the plot moved on. I found what he did remember of his past interesting and it was cool to read the little asides to events in his past, even if I would have liked a bit more detail about it.

I found Sean’s views towards the patients he treated quite interesting ones, particularly those who he knew would go back to doing what got the paramedics called in the first place. I’m not sure I would want to continue helping someone who refused to even try to change.

I liked Pete in this book, too, though I would have liked to see a bit more of some of Sean’s other colleagues. There were some instances of humour in this book, but not as much as I thought there might be from the blurb.

I would probably read a sequel to this book, or more books by this author, in the future. This was an entertaining read with characters that seemed real. It also had a proper ending, which is always good.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Okay, so when I read the blurb of this book, I was immediately intrigued by it. The biggest problem is the multiple first person POVs. I ended up marking it down because I felt a bit like a yo-yo, trying to figure out whose head I was in at which time.

The differences in values and morals in the new world were quite interesting to read about, particularly where love meant something different in comparison to the Old World.

I did find the thing with the Hunters interesting, but I really didn’t know what was going on with them until the end. Two of the characters I really liked in the book were Cara and Holly. They were particularly sweet and there’s an adorable exchange between Holly and Kai later on in the book that really struck a chord.

It was interesting to get glimpses into both Arys’ and Kayra’s lives, but I felt there were a few too many characters at times and I really struggled to keep them straight. I would have liked to see more of some of the characters’ pasts and histories. I would have much preferred limited third person POVs and get to know a bit more about some of the other characters.

I did feel that some of the relationships weren’t shown as well as they could have been and there wasn’t as much foreshadowing as there could have been.

I really liked Lee as a character and I would have liked to see more of him. I was also a bit disappointed by how trusting most of the characters seemed to be with each other, considering the society they live in. (No. I was not happy with Arys spilling her secrets to the first cute guy she meets).

I’m not sure if I’ll read book two or not. I found some parts of this one to be quite contradictory and I did start getting a headache from the multiple head-switching. I’d give book two a try if it just stayed in either one first person POV or limited third person POV.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I found this book to be a really intriguing storyline. It was really interesting to see the breakdown in Darrow’s original commitments. I actually find that to be really interesting – the leader of the so-called resistance basically becoming what they’re fighting against. It was intriguing to see how Darrow started off with all these tenets that then started falling by the wayside.

I liked Billy as a character and I also really liked the relationships he formed with the other characters. I particularly liked Jacob and Tommy, who I felt stuck true to their morals and ethics through a lot of the book.

I was somewhat confused by what time period this book was set in. It seemed dystopian, but there were a lot of references to modern-day television shows. Having reached the end of the book, I now think I understand better… but there were still a few moments of confusion throughout.

There were some really good descriptive scenes in this book, especially the scene with Darrow and the rat… which really struck a chord with me. There were also the scenes with the little girls, the first of which was really sweet, while the second was really disturbing.

There were certain chapters written in present tense, which did throw me somewhat out of the story. I think all of those, bar the final chapter, were somewhat unnecessary.

There was something revealed at the end which did make me view the storyline in a completely different light. However, not everything makes sense with that revelation and there were still some unanswered questions I had even by the end.

I probably would eventually read a sequel to this book. It would be interesting to read it with the revelation in mind and see how different things are with that knowledge.