Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I like reading books based on myths and legends, so when I saw this one offered on NetGalley, I decided to request it and download a copy.

I found this book to be a really entertaining spin on the King Arthur legend. It was nice to see Merlin used as a main character and I found the fact that his magic was more like science quite interesting, though I didn’t think that explained everything he could do.

I quite liked Jason as a character and I particularly liked his relationships with the other characters, especially with Merlin and Beverley. I also felt he came across as a really likable character. He wasn’t perfect, but he was clearly trying to do the right thing and that endeared him to me.

I didn’t think Morgana was as well-defined a character as she could have been. I might have been better off seeing a bit more of her past, but the scenes written from her perspective didn’t really show anything balanced about her.

I liked the use of the dragons and it was interesting to see the usage of the imagery in the book of Revelations in the Bible. I also felt a lot of research had clearly gone into this book. I did notice quite a lot of errors in the formatting, but the book was mostly readable and I read it fairly quickly.

I think I’d definitely be interested in reading the next book in this series at some point in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I’d probably ideally give this book 3.5 stars. It was easy to read this book, but I felt it fell somewhat flat in places.

The supernatural elements in this book were pretty intriguing and in many ways, when I read this book, it felt like I was watching a horror movie. There were some pretty creepy moments in this book and I could see a lot of the images Niles saw inside my mind. That was pretty effective.

Niles’ character did grow on me throughout the book. I wasn’t all that sure of him at first, but as the story went on, I liked him more. I could empathise with the guilt he felt over what had happened before and I felt that added a new dimension to him as a character.

I did figure out who was responsible for the murders fairly early on, but the book was still entertaining enough to keep me reading it.

I did find some errors in the writing, however. I also felt that some liberties were taken – such as a small-town police station having a lab to check DNA samples. There wasn’t really much explanation given for that.

I did think the ending didn’t really ‘end’. I’d like to read a sequel to this and find out what’s going to happen to Niles next.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This book was quite an intensely dark read. I was able to empathise with Kellan fairly quickly and easily and I was affected by the things that happened to him.

This book was very dark in places. I liked the fact that the war was very realistic and people were hurt and lost their lives. It was sad, but I felt the peril was real.

I really disliked the Empire. It was obviously a case of tyranny and I’m not sure I was very keen on the way things ended with the whole Empire.

One of the things I particularly liked about this book was the relationship between Granger and Kellan. It was nice to see them as father and son, even though they weren’t related by blood. Granger’s past was a pretty intriguing one, too, and I liked seeing the contrast of his present to his past.

I found Truman and Elan particularly intriguing characters. There were some I was confused about at first, but by the end, I knew who most of the characters were.

I did like Kellan’s relationship with Eloya, too, and I would have liked to see more of it. There were some quite sweet moments between them. And his bond with Elan worked really well, too.

It was interesting to see Kellan’s past, but I got a bit confused with the constant switching between the present and the past at times.

The descriptions worked really well in the book, but I did notice a few errors, such as ‘dieing’ instead of ‘dying’.

This was quite an original twist on a fantasy world. I would definitely be interested in checking out 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).

I like fantasy books. Fantasy is one of my favourite genres. So when I was looking at potential giveaways to enter, the front cover of this book, coupled with the blurb, drew me in.

The idea of the Arbor was a pretty intriguing one. The explanation for the Selected eventually made sense, though I still wasn’t completely happy with certain things that happened throughout the book in regards to the tree.

Although the three different timelines were a little confusing at first, I did grow used to the style of writing fairly easily. I found myself caring about what happened to the characters and I could empathise with most of them – Tahir and Osrin in particular. Sarra was, I felt, the weakest of the characters. She was very passive, rather than the strong sort of heroine I prefer.

There were a couple of characters who could be termed as ‘bad’, but they were more well-rounded than I’d expected. Of course, there were others who were completely unlikable, but at least those were few and far between.

Although there were quite a few characters in this book, there were only a few occasions where I was confused between the minor characters – and that was more in the third timeline, rather than the other two.

I really liked the relationships that formed between the characters, though there were a few contradictory moments that I noticed. In particular, I liked Tahir’s closeness to the two adults guiding him. There was something very sweet about that.

Although this book was the second in a series, I did find it easy to follow. The characters weren’t perfect, but they were well-written and I cared about what happened to them.

I would definitely read the preceding book to this and any later books in this series in the near future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I got pulled into this story fairly quickly and easily. Although not a completely unique idea, I really liked the way it was written. The characters were interesting and engaging and the book kept me reading throughout.

Jeni was quite an intriguing character. She was really quite well-rounded and wasn’t irritating like some heroines from young adult books. I did get a bit confused about what age she was at first, though.

I also really liked Ice. I thought the author showed their relationship progressing really well and I could really believe in it. I also quite liked Tyler, even though I didn’t think I would at first. He was much more interesting than he came across at first.

The myths worked really well and it was cool to see the parallels between the myths of different cultures. I don’t know Indian myths as well, but I know that many cultures have myths that share common factors.

I did get a bit confused with all of the different family members at times in the book. Jeni’s aunts were referred to as ‘Jeni’s aunt’, with only a few defining characteristics being given to them. There were a couple of times I thought it was only one person, when in fact there were two or even more being mentioned.

The danger to the characters felt real and the tension in the book kept me reading, causing me to finish much earlier than I’d expected. I liked Ice’s relationship with Nik and I also liked the hints of the visions. I would have liked to see more of one of those in particular.

If there is a sequel to this book, I’d definitely be interested in reading it. I also intend to check out 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).

This book was, in a way, quite difficult to read – not due to the writing, but due to the subject content. I felt like I was pulled easily into Sue’s head and the fear, as well as the other emotions, she was feeling came through quite strongly.

I do think that the front cover of the book is particularly effective. It drew me in when I was originally looking at books to enter on the Goodreads giveaways – and even more so when I actually received the book.

There were a number of different relationships in the book that worked pretty well. I thought it was really interesting to see Sue in the present day and also her diary entries of the past. I felt the author did a good job of showing how different Sue was at both time frames.

I can imagine that something bad happening to your child is an awful thing to experience. I don’t have any children myself, but I can imagine how I would feel if a member of my family was in hospital – and how I might feel if I learned it was because of a deliberate action on their part.

The first person perspective worked really well, in my opinion. It was easy to empathise with Sue and although there were times I thought she could have made different choices, I could understand why she reacted the way she did.

The supporting characters were more interesting than I’d thought they’d be, too. I did like Brian, despite what had happened in the past. It was also nice to see that she had a good relationship with her stepson. I would have liked to see a bit more of him.

It’s interesting that this is a book aimed towards potential reading groups. Some of the questions I read really made me think about the narrative I’d just finished.

I did finish this book faster than I thought I would and it’s really left me thinking about it. I will definitely check out more books by this author in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I read a lot of romances with otherworldly elements. Some of them are really good, while others are harder to read. All three of the novellas in this book fell into the former category.

It was nice to read three different stories by different authors. I think the first two novellas were sequels to previous books, but they were still easy to follow and I didn’t run into much confusion. It was disappointing that I didn’t get to see the development of the relationship/s between the hero and heroine, but I felt that their existing relationship came across really well.

I felt that each of the novellas dealt with conflicts in really good ways – and each of them also managed to be fairly unique. The world in each story was intriguing, even though they were shorter ones, and I found the supporting characters to be quite interesting, too.

It’s difficult to say if I had a favourite story. I liked them all in different ways and they were each quite different to the others. Amnesia is something that’s always interesting to read about and although Hudson (in the second story) was kind of a jerk after he lost his memories, he did end up redeeming himself by the end of the story. I could really relate to Lake with her trust issues and how let down she felt through the course of the story.

In the first story, it was good to see the aftermath of the marriage between the two main characters. Barton was an interesting character – well, he was by the end, anyway. And I liked Pilar’s and Hakan’s relationship. There were a couple of more lighthearted moments in this book that were good to break up the tension.

The last story was quite an interesting one. It was probably twice the length of the previous stories, but I felt that worked. There was decidedly more conflict, but this time, I got to see the development of the relationship. I really did like the relationship between the two main characters and I’d like to read more with them in.

To be honest, all of these stories made me interested in looking at other works by these authors. This is a good introduction to these authors’ works and definitely worth reading – at least in my opinion.

(I received a free copy of this book – accidentally, but I’ve still read it and am reviewing).

(This review may contain spoilers).

This was actually a book I particularly wanted to read. I didn’t win it in a giveaway, but I received it accidentally and therefore took advantage of that to read it.

The blurb of this book was quite good and I read the book quite fast. The interactions between Violet and Kate reminded me of my own arguments with my sister and how we make up almost as quickly as we start fighting.

I liked the whole Senses thing and how it worked different for the twins. I did like Kate’s relationship with her husband and her children (especially Rosie) made me smile. I did think, however, that there were too many flashbacks. I kept losing track of my place in the story.

It was good to have a book written in first person that stayed with only one character, but I had a bit of trouble relating to Kate. She came across as racist and homophobic a couple of times and I didn’t really like her that much. I did like her husband and her children and I thought some of the other characters were quite well-rounded and interesting.

The book was well-written, but I did have some issues with the main character. It might have been interesting to see the events from Violet’s perspective, but although the book was an entertaining read, I don’t think I’d read it again.