Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

The concept behind this book was a really intriguing one, but I did struggle a bit to connect to the characters.

It was interesting to see the legends detailed at the start of each story and see how they fit in with the stories that were detailed. I didn’t feel like enough detail was given about the characters for me to properly care about what happened to them.

It was interesting to see some aspects of the culture in this book, but there were words used in the original language… which, considering a book set in another country is one you just assume would use that language, always seems pointless. (It’s a bit like having random Japanese words in a story that’s written in English but set in Japan).

I found the second storyline to be quite intriguing. It was good to see how the whole sins and repentance thing was dealt with… and that one of the characters still clung so much to the fact that he was right, he refused to learn the lesson he was being taught.

I couldn’t really get into the mysteries, to be honest. A lot of them just involved talking/sensing things without said things being indicated. The only possible exception was Honor… and that didn’t really seem to have a proper ending.

The last story was interesting, but I felt that the ending didn’t really work too well.

I did like the correlation and connections between the stories. If I could have connected to the characters more, I’m sure I would have enjoyed the book better.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I did used to watch Bones, though I haven’t seen it in quite a while. Still, I at least had a passing knowledge of Temperance, so when I saw this book available in a giveaway, I decided to enter… and then I won a copy, which was good.

Although this book was fairly late in the series, I still found it really easy to follow. It was quite different to the television series, but that’s to be expected. It was nice to read one of the original source material for that.

There were a number of quite disturbing things in this book… particular things that made my skin crawl. The subject matter this book deals with really isn’t pleasant and I felt the author brought that across really well – the horror and the frustration the police were probably facing throughout.

I really liked Temperance as a character, even though there were times I thought the disagreements between her and the other members of the team (and the other team members) were really petty. But Temperance is a cat person, so I really liked her. Though I’m not sure why you’d call a cat Birdie…

To be honest, quite a lot of the forensic parts of the book flew over my head. I think this series, judging by this book, relies on the reader having a working knowledge of forensics. I know bits and pieces, but not enough to have all my questions answered.

It was really good to see Temperance’s relationship with her mother and see her mother play a part in the book. I felt the author did a really good job of showing the changes in personality her mother was suffering as she had good and bad days.

I did see a couple of things coming in this book, but there were other things that surprised me. There were a couple of good twists in here.

I’m not really sure I believed the tagline about the case haunting Temperance, though. She certainly seemed bothered, but I don’t think it was about the previous case.

I actually found this book a really quick and easy read. I was absorbed into the world and it’s one I wouldn’t mind revisiting in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I really only know bits and pieces about the Amazon society, but I was still quite intrigued when I read the blurb of this book and it was nice to win a copy in the giveaway.

It was interesting to see the contrasts between Kale and Shale… how different they were to each other in many respects, while still being markedly similar in some ways. (Case in point… the way they teased and joked, with each other as well as with their partners).

I also really liked the romance in this book. The relationship between Shale and Blake was much sweeter than the one between Kale and Amber, but I still enjoyed reading about both and found them to be believable. It was also interesting to note the contrast between Blake and the three warriors while they were travelling together.

I thought it was good how the author showed the Amazons bonding together and viewing even other tribes as family. It was also good to see how not all of the Amazons were shown as warriors. There were other jobs as well and I think those came across really well.

I do think the title (and the blurb) gave away an important element of the story. Although I did really enjoy reading the book, I found myself waiting for the scenario that was indicated in the blurb.

It was good to see Blake, Amber, Shale and Kale travelling together. I felt that was a good insight into the way they interacted with each other and I felt like a part of the group as I was reading this.

There were some really nice, emotional scenes, as well as the action and the humour, which I felt balanced out really well. I was particularly fond of Kale by the end of the book. A lot of the times I smiled were in response to some of her antics.

I enjoyed reading about the Amazons’ views on the gods and it was particularly good to see the twin bond explored. I think I would definitely like to read the prequel to this book at some point in the future. It would be good to revisit this world and see the events the characters were talking about.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

In some ways, this book reminded me of Game of Thrones… probably oddly, considering that I’ve only watched the show’s first season and haven’t read the books.

I did find this book to be really well-written. Although I struggled to relate to many of the main characters, I still found the plotline to be fairly engaging and it pulled me into the story fairly quickly.

It was really interesting to see the four different races in Leman. I would have liked a bit more detail about the Game itself… mostly because there only seemed to be one character who knew anything about the Game. If the other races had different beliefs, it would have been nice to see those.

I thought it was really good to have glimpses of the normal lives members of the races had. I really didn’t like Cassius, but it was interesting to see the political side of him as a leader.

I was especially intrigued by how the elves reproduced. It would have been nice to get a few details about how that worked.

I thought the author did a good job of showing the attitudes of the different races towards each other. There was, however, a lot going on with the plotline and there were some times when I wasn’t able to follow on what was going on in the story.

I felt that Binch was a fairly interesting character. It was interesting to see an orc who, although still really violent and stuck in the hierarchy, had a bit more intelligence than the average.

I thought the book was quite well-written and it kept my attention throughout. I don’t know if I would read the next books in the series, though. I had some trouble connecting emotionally with any of the characters.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I’ve really enjoyed reading the Dresden Files novels. I haven’t picked one up in a while, but I remember really liking them and particularly growing fond of Harry as a character… even though some other reviews of the series I’ve read have pointed out some issues with the series.

So, when I saw a comic based on the series available on NetGalley, I was immediately eager to read it.

It has been a while since I read the series, but I found it fairly easy to follow, even though I’d forgotten who some of the characters were. (I know Ramirez… but I can’t remember *who* he is…) Still, there were parts that were written in Harry’s narration that I felt really fit in with the character as I know him… even if the tenses did keep changing.

I felt that the artwork in this comic was really good and the storyline was really intriguing. I especially liked seeing Thomas in the comic. I like his relationship with Harry in the books and I felt that was showcased especially well here in this comic.

I don’t think the artwork really matched how I pictured the characters in my mind, but I still really found the artwork good and the storyline entertaining and engaging. It’s made me want to go back to the world of the Dresden Files.

I would have liked to see more elements of the book series in this comic, such as Harry’s mixing of potions, which I’ve always been really intrigued by. I hope that, in later comics, more of the elements from the series will be included.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I have a few mixed feelings about this book. The idea was quite an intriguing one, but I felt that a lot of the book read more like an information book.

It took me a little while to figure out what was going on in the book. I felt it picked up quite a bit when I started learning about the Mylean civilisation, but that did seem to take a little while.

It was interesting to read about the Mylean people, but I felt there were some parts of the story that were repeated… like when Tom’s explaining about the Mylean civilisation to Jim and then, only a short while later, the narrative explains about the Mylean civilisation and I personally felt that it didn’t really add any extra to the story.

It was nice to see some of the different cultures on Earth, but I was a bit confused about why Tom chose Jim in particular. It was also nice to see the planet of Mylea and how it contrasted so much with Earth.

I didn’t think there was as much action in this book. A lot of it was exposition of the story and world and it would have been nice to see more of the world when it was inhabited.

I’m not sure if I’d read a sequel to this book… perhaps if it details the rebuilding of the civilisation. It was interesting to see Maxx and Tom clash wills, but for a lot of the book, I didn’t really understand why they were doing that. And I did really like Mitch in the book, too. She was amusing, even if she wasn’t the best behaved of dogs.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

The blurb of this book was one that really intrigued me. The idea of trying to deal with a loved one losing any kind of memory, let alone three years’ worth, is one that I find particularly scary. But I felt particularly sorry for Zach, even if I did feel he made quite a few mistakes in the way he handled things.

I was really able to empathise with Leith as a character. The confusion he had to go through must have been awful, as well as knowing that his loss of memories was affecting the people around him… whether or not he remembered them.

One of the things I particularly liked about this book was the way various things linked to… body memory for Leith. (I’m not sure that makes a lot of sense – I mean the way scent or touch triggered reactions from Leith). It was also interesting to see the meanings of their names… though that didn’t really have much to do with the story itself.

I would have liked to see more of the other characters. The only other relationship (apart from with Zach) that I saw with Leith was with his brother, Arthur. I also would have liked to see more of Leith’s interactions with the other patients in the hospital who had memory problems.

I did think that there was clearly a lot of research about memory and brain damage that went into this book. Although the main focus of the story was on the romance, it was also interesting to read about the different types of memory loss, for instance.

It was really good to see Zach’s vlogging posts, but I felt that he came across differently in those to how he interacted with Leith and the other characters. Still, I could understand how he felt it so easy to talk to people online (who didn’t know him personally).

It was good to see that it was made clear that Leith was a new person than the others were used to and that the relationship with Zach had to kind of reform. I liked that things weren’t perfect straight away and I also quite liked the ending. I would probably be interested in reading more books by this author in the future.