Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

When I first read the blurb of this book, I was particularly intrigued by it. I was also curious to see how the author would write a character who was blind. I personally think writing a character without a sense is pretty difficult, but I thought the author did a really good job of showing the world from Sadie’s perspective.

I found myself empathising with Sadie really easily. She was an interesting mix of a seriously damaged person and one who tried to be strong and independent, as much as she was able to. There were some things that really affected me about her past and the way it had shaped her personality in the story’s present. I thought it was really good that the author had Sadie act in a way that was realistic and consistent with what she’d been taught by her parents… or not taught, in some cases.

I thought that it was interesting how Sadie could control the air and use it to ‘see’, but I have to say, I was a bit confused with how that worked at times. There were moments where there seemed to be too much detail when Sadie used the air.

The idea about the supernaturals was quite an intriguing one, though I would have liked a bit more background and history about them, as well as some background of the world itself.

I particularly liked Fester. I liked Chloe, too, but Michael took a little while to grow on me. That was partly because he came across as quite harsh at times… but I also found a lot of his speech very difficult to follow. I tended to only get about half of what he was actually saying.

I wasn’t really sure what to think about Sal by the end of the book, but I have to say, I did find her quite an interesting character. I would have liked to see a bit more of her during the book.

There were a lot of moments in this that were quite intense and the plot was enough to draw me in and keep me reading. If there was a sequel to this book, I’d definitely be interested in checking it out… and I would also read other books by this author in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

The plot of this book was quite an intriguing one, but I did struggle a bit with the storyline at times. I have to say, I found it quite strange that teachers would basically insist on leaving a student completely on her own in a house… though I don’t actually know how long ago this book is set, so maybe things were different in that time.

The idea of the different worlds was quite a good one and I did like the characters. It was interesting to see how Delany’s and Mattie’s friendship evolved through the course of the book, from them being enemies to being supportive of each other… even through a very tough time.

I did also like the other characters in this book, particularly Meris and the wrongfully accused prince. It was a bit disappointing that there was very little explanation as to the bad guy’s motivations, though… and I felt the ‘weak hearts’ explanation didn’t work too well for why no one acted to stand against what they knew was wrong.

I did find the writing style a bit difficult to get into. The author kept breaking into the flow of the story, which I felt was unnecessary and quite distracting at times. But there were some tense moments in the book that kept me reading… and I liked the fact that Delany and Mattie did the right thing, even when it was difficult at times.

I did like the ending of the book, but I felt there was more to the story that could have been told. I do have book two and I do intend to read it in the next day or so. Despite what I mentioned above, the plot was interesting and engaging and I did find it a quick, easy read.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I know the story of Ruth reasonably well, but it hadn’t occurred to me that there was enough to the story to make a novel out of it. Still, when I saw this book on NetGalley, I was instantly intrigued to see where the author would go with it.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was pulled into the storyline right from the start and I really appreciated how the author used the people from the story of Ruth to write interesting, well-rounded characters who I found myself truly caring about.

I liked the fact that the author expanded on the story of Ruth, while keeping true to the core elements. I really liked how believable and realistic the relationship forming between Ruth and Boaz was. In the account in the Bible, there doesn’t seem to be much emotion involved… so I was really happy to see them spend time together and feelings develop on both sides. There were, of course, the normal misunderstandings that there always are in romance… but even though some things were cliches, I felt they were utilised in a good way.

It’s probably not very surprising that I really liked the faith aspects in this book. It was nice to see how strong Boaz’s and Ruth’s faith was, even despite the hardships both had suffered.

One of the other things I really liked was that, as well as the romance between her and Boaz, Ruth also formed relationships with other people. I particularly liked Dinah… she grew on me; and I felt sorry for her with how Adin reacted to her. (Though when he finally came to his senses, I found myself smiling). And I liked how, even though she became nicer, Dinah still kept to her personality.

I felt that the author did a really good job of showing the culture, without making the detail boring. I felt that there was clearly a lot of research that had gone into this book. I also liked the link-ins with David in the epilogue.

Despite knowing how this book would end, it was an interesting journey to that point. I really enjoyed reading this book and I would definitely read more books by this author in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I think I’d give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. It’s not quite at the level of 4 stars (at least for me), but it’s not quite 3 stars.

Although this book was the second in a series, I did find it fairly easy to follow. Many of the relationships came across as real and natural, though I would have liked to see a bit more development for one of the relationships that formed.

I was quite intrigued by a lot of the characters, particularly Maudae and her relationship with her father… though I would have liked to see Sahgi and Joliph reunited, instead of just having a brief, throwaway line about that.

The fantasy elements in this book were really good and I was particularly intrigued by Joliph’s relationship with Lilith. However, I was also confused about what was going on with them. Presumably, both Joliph and Maudae had formed their relationships for cover… but while I could believe and get behind Lilith and Joliph, I couldn’t do the same with Errud and Maudae… though Errud might have been an interesting character if there could have been any hope for redemption.

The idea about the five Mystics was an intriguing one, but I wasn’t sure how everyone fit together, even though, by the end, I was pretty certain of the identities of two of the Mystics.

The asides written by the scribe in the future were interesting, but there were some occasions I wasn’t sure they were needed. I felt they would have had more of an impact if they’d been confined to the beginning and the end of the book.

I was also quite intrigued by the relationship between Naeden and Talla, though I’m not sure if things run deeper between them than it seems. There were times I felt that the danger the characters faced was real… and I also liked that the characters did end up admitting when they’d done wrong. I like guilt angst.

I’m not completely sure if I’d read the other books in this series or not. I did notice quite a few errors in this book and there were times I struggled to get into the storyline. But it was entertaining to read and even though there were things I would have liked a bit more explanation about, I was able to follow the story mostly well.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

There’s kind of a funny story behind winning this book in a Goodreads giveaway. When I was looking through the books to enter to win, I saw this one… and I saw the prequel (which I have read). But I didn’t clock that this one was the sequel to the one I’d previously read and enjoyed. It wasn’t until my win was confirmed that I realised.

Anyway… it was really good to return to this world. What was interesting was that there were very few new characters introduced. Almost without exception, I felt like I was meeting a group of friends again. There were times I felt fully immersed in the action… like a part of the world. That’s a feeling I don’t often get now, but it’s nice when I do.

Despite my personal dislike for love triangles, I did find the one in this book bearable. I won’t say I liked it – love triangles are so over-used now, the presence of one is a red flag for me – but it was good to see that the love triangle didn’t take over the book; and the characters’ feelings seemed real and easy to understand.

I think I liked Mai a bit more in the previous book. In this one, his personality seemed to keep changing. It was really good to see politics used in the Guild. The danger the characters faced seemed real and kept the book intense… but a lot of the casualties were unnamed characters, which made it harder for me to care about them when they fell.

I liked the descriptions used in this book. I especially liked the fact that, in my head, I could picture Mai and Kara fighting side by side.

I particularly liked Celana and Ellah and I would have liked to see more of Kyth’s foster brother in this book. I also really liked Kyth’s evolution through the course of the story and I felt he’d really grown as a character by the end.

If there’s a third book in this series, I would definitely be interested in reading it. I got pulled into this world and it would be really good to see where the author takes it next.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This was another series where I read the first book and then jumped at the chance when I was offered the opportunity to read the second.

I really didn’t want to like Lucino in this book, but I found myself growing more and more intrigued by him as the book went on. I liked him and Jeslyn together and I found it easy to get behind their gradually growing relationship.

I’m still not a fan of the multi first-person POVs. I did get somewhat confused with who was narrating at times. I do think I would have found it much easier to read if the whole book had been in third person.

I did find most of the characters to be well-written and well-rounded, even though I really didn’t like the love triangle there was. I was also really intrigued by Lucy’s character. I would have liked to see a bit more of her… and get some glimpses into her motivations, similar to how Lucino’s thoughts and mechanisms were shown.

I liked the fact that there was a bit more detail in this book, both about the human world and about the world Lucino came from. I did lose a lot of sympathy towards his people, though, considering what they planned for the humans.

I really liked Haddo in this book and I would have liked to see more of her kind and how she was there. It was also interesting to see more of the Order, particularly given that they clearly had a bad reputation in the previous book. I don’t really understand much of their motivations, though, and there was really only one member of the Order that I really liked.

I did find this book a really entertaining, easy, quick read. The characters were engaging and interesting and I liked learning about the world. I would definitely be interested in reading the third book in this series at some point in the future, when it comes out. I think you do need to read the first book to understand what’s happening in this one… but I do recommend this as a good, well-written young adult fantasy series.