Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although I thought the blurb of this book sounded really good – and the cover looked really nice – I found this book really difficult to get into.

The idea about the different levels in the world was an interesting one, though I felt there was a bit too much info-dumping at the beginning of the book.

The characters, especially Ash, started off as really interesting… at least until he and Anna met up.

I felt that a lot of the writing became really wooden when it came to Ash and Annalise. It was a serious case of insta!love and I really didn’t find their relationship very believable at all. There was too much telling rather than showing going on. I spent a lot of the book thinking, ‘But… WHY are they feeling this?’

I think I would have given this book only one star if it wasn’t for the relationship between Finlay and Arie. I would have liked to see more of their relationship, because I found them much more interesting than Ash and Annalise.

I wavered strongly between liking and disliking Leon. On the one hand, his loyalty towards Annalise was sweet and I felt like he eventually came through for her. On the other hand… he was another person whose centre of the universe was Annalise.

I found a lot of the book to be either contradictory, or so obvious in parts I couldn’t see how the other characters missed it. It wasn’t until right at the end of the book that I felt the action really picked up.

I did notice quite a few errors in the book, especially a change in tense. I don’t think I’ll read the sequel to this book, though if there’s more showing involved, I would consider giving it a chance.

If you’re interested in checking it out for yourself and making your own mind up, it is free right now on Amazon…:

Ethereal Underground (Ethereal Underground Trilogy Book 1)

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I have to say… if it wasn’t for the fact that, partway through the book, the main character really went down in my estimation, I would have given this book four stars. As it stands, I’d put it at 3.5 stars.

The blurb of the book was one that was particularly intriguing… and the cover of the book was really engaging, too.

I liked the use of the technology in the book. I think I misunderstood the blurb when I read it originally, but I’m not going to say what I read it as being about, because it turned out that misunderstanding was actually a part of the book. So when certain things weren’t revealed, I wasn’t all that surprised.

I liked Steve, up to a point, but I kind of lost a lot of my respect for his character with the way he ignored his daughter and didn’t even seem to think about her for ages. I think I would have found it interesting to see more of the book from Brooke’s point of view. She was a character I personally felt I could empathise better with.

There were some parts of the book that I had trouble understanding. I don’t think that’s anything about the author; I just felt, at times, that I was only hanging onto understanding by a thread. I did more or less understand the ending of the book, though, and felt that it worked – and that’s one of the most important things about reading a book, at least in my opinion.

The book was really well-written and I had little difficulty picturing a lot of the events in my mind. The descriptions of the technology was mostly easy to understand, apart from a couple of minor things. The only real problem, as mentioned above, was Steve’s character.

I did think the changing of POV to the victims’ worked quite well. There were a couple of periods where I really felt like I could feel the same emotions that they felt.

I don’t know for certain if I’d read a sequel to this book, but I’d probably look at other books by this author in the future.

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Terminal Connection: A Thriller

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I was quite intrigued by the blurb of this book. I tend to find books with angels as the main characters in pretty interesting.

I have to say, though, that I found this book more confusing than I was hoping. I’m not sure who the good guys in the book are and although there are a lot of interesting characters, I felt that a lot of the reasoning behind why certain things could happen wasn’t really explored as thoroughly as it could have been.

I found a couple of the characters to be really interesting, Gerald and Keep in particular. Unfortunately, the book changed POVs really quickly, which meant that I only learned bits and pieces about those characters throughout the course of the book.

I have a few mixed feelings about Drean. His personality seemed to go through a lot of changes and I would have liked to see more of how his character evolved, instead of it being summarised how he changed and became aware of… carnal pleasures.

The world was quite an intriguing one, with interesting types of creatures, though I got really confused about the differences between the different types of beings. I would have liked some more explanation about that.

I couldn’t say for certain if I’d read the next book in this series. I didn’t quite feel the emotional connection with the characters that I need to so I can stay focused. The book was mostly well-written, but I think the POV character changed too much for me to truly connect with any of them.

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From Heaven To Earth (The Faith of the Fallen Book 1)

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Using a character to tell the story of his or her past is quite a common plot device, but I liked that the prologue didn’t give away the ending of the book.

I did find the main characters in this book easy to relate to, though I felt that some of the developing relationships with the other characters were glossed over when they could have been further explored.

I wasn’t so keen on the love triangle in this book, particularly because it employed one of the plot devices I really dislike when it comes to love triangles.

I did like Jessica’s work in the wildlife rescue place, but for being something that was such a big part of her life, I didn’t think it was utilised as much as it could have been.

Although it was good to see the title used in the book, I felt that the first instance was included for the sake of it. That didn’t really seem to flow very well in the actual story.

It was really interesting to see the connection between Jessica and Mark from when they were children. Something like that doesn’t always work, but I felt it was particularly effective in this book.

I did also like the explanation for what Mark used to do. Something like that is particularly heroic and I felt it fit in with Mark’s character.

I found the book generally to be really well-written. There were some sweet, emotional scenes that are always good to read. I’d probably check out more book by this author in the future.

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Come Find Me

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I was actually really surprised at how quickly I finished this book. I am a fast reader anyway, but I managed to finish this book in just over two hours before my work shift started.

I did find this book really easy to read. I liked Jessica as a character and once her relationship with Blade was established, I did like that, too. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really believe in the start of their relationship. A lot of it seemed based on just physical attraction and ‘feeling drawn to each other’.

The other characters were interesting as well, but I didn’t really like how Zach seemed to become a villain after Jessica rejected him. Then again, I really dislike love triangles, so I could just be biased.

The idea of the aliens was really interesting and I really appreciated that the author made an attempt to make them less like the monsters they appeared, though some of the explanations seemed a bit too… convenient.

I think I really would have liked to see more of a friendship-based storyline, rather than a romance. The romance was just a bit too cliched and love-at-first sight for my liking.

I’d probably read a sequel to this book, because there were some quite sweet parts to it, but right now, I think I’d give it 3.5 stars.

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Bleak Devotion

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This is another book I have very mixed feelings about. I did find it quite well-written, but I also found it nearly impossible to relate to Kenstibec.

I did feel the author did a good job of showing the lack of true emotion. I felt that I was able to have a glimpse into the working mind of the Engineered race.

Kenstibec’s interactions with the rest of the characters were quite interesting, as was his evolution throughout the course of the book. I felt that his and Fatty’s working relationship (if that’s even the right word) came across as really intriguing.

I really didn’t know what to make of Starvie and even reaching the end of the book, I still don’t know what to think of her. In a way, she was even less understandable than Kenstibec.

I think I would have liked a bit more explanation about how the society collapsed in the way it did. Showing the events in flashbacks made a certain type of sense, but I think it might have been interesting to see society’s collapse from the perspective of one of the Reals.

The book itself was really well-written and even though I couldn’t empathise with Kenstibec, I found the world to be a really intriguing one. I think I’d probably read a sequel to this book, if one’s published, at some point in the future.

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Barricade

Barricade Kindle Edition

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This is another book I’d ideally give 3.5 stars to…

For a lot of this, I did find it quite intriguing. Although I felt that some things could have been further explored, I liked Riley as a character and I felt her relationship with Tristan was one of the strongest points of this book.

Apart from Riley and Tristan, however, I didn’t really like the other characters in the book. They all seemed to have their own agenda, but I kept feeling that some of them (Abby in particular) came across as trying too hard to be a nice person.

I did like the supernatural elements in this book and I would have liked to see more of those. The ghost was a really intriguing aspect, but I didn’t think enough explanation was given to make this book truly belong in the supernatural genre.

I did like the use of the wolf pack hierarchy in this book and it was quite an interesting use throughout the book. I felt Riley’s responses to things came across really well, but I found myself rolling my eyes more than once throughout the book.

There were some things that surprised me, but not so much who the bad guy turned out to be. Zoe and Colin’s relationship was quite an interesting one and I thought it would be good to see it from one of their perspectives, even though I wasn’t sure I really liked either of them as characters.

I have to say… I did think that the sex scene at the end of the book really didn’t work. I cringed when I read it. I didn’t think it was the time or the place.

I’d probably be interested in reading other books by this author, so long as the characters were a bit more complex and likable. I struggle more when I find myself disliking more characters in a book, film, etc. than ones I like.

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The Haunting of Wolfe Haven

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Ideally, I’d give this book 3.5 stars. I felt that the science fiction aspects weren’t as explored as well as they could have been and although the book itself was readable, I wavered a lot between liking Anna and not really liking her very much.

There were some things about Anna that I could really empathise with, but I kind of found myself disliking her a bit more when it came to the things about the boys. I think perhaps some of it was due to just getting a summary of her interactions with Steve when they realised they had so much in common.

The other characters in the book were a bit more interesting. By the end of the book, I found Jared to be quite intriguing. I would have liked to see more of the science fiction elements explored. The marks on Anna’s arm weren’t really shown as much as I felt they should be.

I also liked Anna’s relationship with her mother and brother, although some of her interactions with them kind of made my head spin. I couldn’t tell if she really cared about them or not.

I did think there were some cliched moments in this book. The nerdy girl who forms a relationship with the quarterback is something that’s seen explored a lot, but I felt that Steve was a more conflicted character than Anna herself. I think I would have preferred to see the events from his perspective, or maybe even Heather’s.

I probably would read the second book in the series, partly to find out what will happen to the characters, but also, I hope book two will have more of the science fiction elements explored in it.

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Anna (The Starseed Series Book 1)