Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

When I downloaded this book from NetGalley, I couldn’t actually tell what it was about. (Apparently, it still hasn’t occurred to me to cross-check on here…) But I was intrigued by the front cover of this book. It’s one of the more appealing ones I’ve seen.

I was pulled quite easily into this book. The first person perspective worked for the most part, with the only exception being Allie referring to her eyes as being hazel. I understand the whole description angle, but I honestly don’t think that anyone who wasn’t quite self-absorbed would thing, ‘He looked into my hazel eyes…’

I was able to empathise with Allie fairly quickly, apart from that, though. She was well-rounded and her struggles to deal with separated parents really resonated with me. Plus, I really liked how her relationship with Nick developed over the course of the book. I felt that was one of the strongest aspects.

Aaron and Brooke did confuse me a little at the beginning. I wasn’t clear on how Brooke knew Allie and I think I would have liked to see something of their first meeting. Plus… the love triangle thing really didn’t sit right with me. In a way, it felt forced.

I liked Damien as a character and it was really good to see the whole mystery surrounding him. I felt there was some good use of foreshadowing through the book, though there were one or two scenes I felt weren’t necessary and didn’t add a great deal to the story.

Towards the end of the book, I did find it more intense, though I felt that switching to Damien’s POV didn’t really work and jarred me out of the story. I did like the ending of this book and I did think it all really worked well by the end.

I think I would probably be interested in reading the next book in this series sometime in the future. I did enjoy it and it was a really entertaining read.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I did find this book to be quite an entertaining, fast read. It took me a little while to truly get into George’s head, but as the book progressed, I did manage to get more into it.

The dragons angle was quite a good one, though I was a bit disappointed not to see anything of one of the main characters. I did like George’s friendship with Marcus – which I think is the right spelling, but the book’s upstairs and I’m downstairs, so I can’t check.

I liked the fact that there were the two different adventures running parallel to each other. There were some things that surprised me about the motivations of the characters and what was revealed about them.

I did like Augustus by the end of the book. Brenus was quite an intriguing character, too.

I did think that the language was a bit too modern at times. (The word ‘okay’ was used a lot), but for the most part, it did make me feel like I was back in Ancient Rome. I did notice a few errors in the writing, but nothing really major.

I also really liked the glimpses of Arthur. I would have liked to see more of him. I think I’d definitely be interested in reading other books in this series sometime in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although this was a shorter book, I did find myself quite enjoying it. It was quite an intriguing paranormal romance.

I really did like the relationship between Noah and April, though I think I would have liked to see a bit more of how their relationship was formed, but I did feel like how they felt about each other came across easily and naturally.

The information about the dragon shifters and their hoard was pretty interesting, too. And I liked how many different kinds of creatures there were. I did notice, however, that there was a bit that was kind of contradictory with one of the characters.

I did think that both of the main characters in this came across as quite well-rounded, despite the fact this was a novella. I also found the main villain in this book to be quite interesting. I’d like to see a sequel focused on the particular relationship (or maybe lack of) that was hinted towards the end of this book.

I did find this book to be quite well-written and easy to read. I would definitely be interested in reading the other books in this series soon. Although it is part of a series, I feel it does work quite well as a standalone.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Ideally, I’d give this book 4.5 stars. When I first read the blurb, I thought it sounded really interesting, but I was a bit put off by the suggestion that the romance occurs very quickly.

I have to say, though, I was pleasantly surprised. From the very first page, I was drawn into this book. Kestrel was a really well-written character and I liked reading about how she interacted with the people around her. The relationship between her and Arin formed naturally and I really felt myself believing it.

I particularly liked the fact that this book was very much more about intrigue. Kestrel’s intelligence and observation skills came across really well, but she certainly wasn’t all-powerful. All in all, I felt that most of the characters in this book came across as really well-rounded, with emotions and feelings that made sense and realistic strengths and weaknesses.

The contrast between the two different peoples came across really well, though by the end, there were a lot of similarities. It was really easy to empathise with the characters and care about what happened to them.

There aren’t too many books that I struggle to pull myself away from now, but this was definitely one of them. I did notice one or two errors in the writing, but nothing that was really major. I could easily picture what was happening inside my head.

I would recommend this book as one to read. It’s well-written with engaging characters, at least in my opinion. And I will definitely be reading the next two books in this trilogy when they come out.

(I received a free copy of this book from Curiosity Quills Press in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

This book was actually longer than I’d expected. I was really intrigued by the plot idea and as I began reading, I found that it was as good as I’d expected.

Although the ideas in this book weren’t original ones, they were utilised in a really original way. I did get a bit confused with all of the characters at times, but by the end of the book, things made a lot more sense.

I really liked Nina and Joey especially, though Joey did take a little while to grow on me. It helped that he wasn’t just all about the money and taking on the mercenary jobs.

I wasn’t really sure what to make of Alex, though. He was a strange character. I would have liked to see a bit more of him in the real world, so I could get a better read on him as a person.

I also really liked Masuro and Katya. I would have liked to see more of both of their history, though there were hints about it throughout the book.

The idea about the dolls and AI were really intriguing, though I did get a bit confused with all of the different types and trying to keep it all in my head. There were also periods where I was confused between the real world and the virtual one.

The food idea was a bit cringe-worthy. That’s definitely not the kind of thing I would find appealing, whether it was changed from its original appearance and texture or not.

I particularly liked the relationships that formed through this book. I found them all believable and that they evolved in a way that made me want to read more and see how things went with them.

A lot of what happened in this book, I wasn’t expecting. I didn’t see many of the things coming. I also found myself getting amused by various comments that were made by characters.

I felt that the characters did have their own lives outside of the story and that came across really well – especially Kenny with his daughter. Their emotions and feelings were really and made me able to empathise with them.

I would definitely be interested in reading a sequel to this book 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 had to think about what rating to give this book. In the end, I decided on four stars. This book was fairly well-written and easy to read, but I had a few minor issues with it.

Archie’s character was fairly interesting, but I felt there wasn’t really much revealed of his character. It almost felt as if I’d come in partway through the storyline, though I’m not sure if there were any books preceding this one.

The other characters were fairly well-written, though a few seemed unnaturally hostile. The police work was quite intriguing and the mystery kept me engaged long enough to keep reading throughout the book.

I do think there wasn’t enough information given about the Children of Eli. Even by the end of the book, I didn’t know much more about their history than I had while reading.

I did like the fact that not all of the characters’ motives were black and white. A few acted in unexpected ways that still worked for them, sometimes even going completely against the opinions I’d formed of them. There were parts of this book that managed to surprise me. I didn’t see everything coming.

I did really like Delia as a character. I would have liked to see more of her. Streya was a really strange character. I’m still not sure what to make of her.

The supernatural/paranormal elements were fairly interesting, though I would have liked to see a bit more of them. I did also notice a lot of summarising of what people were saying, rather than their dialogue being written out.

I would probably be interested in reading the other books in this series at some point in the future. It would be nice to see more of the characters.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I sometimes find that sequels aren’t quite as good as the first book. Often, the sequel contains a similar plot to the first book, just changed around to look shiny and new. (Kinda like the updated technology that actually isn’t all that different from the previous version/s…)

Anyway. This book wasn’t like that. I knew the background, from having read book one, but this was quite different from book one.

I liked how the main focus was on female characters in this book. It made sense to have a separate area for the girls, particularly in light of what was in the first book. It was really intriguing how the world the characters inhabited was so different from the one the boys had. There were parts of their world that I found to be particularly creepy.

I did get a bit confused with the different characters at first, though by the end, I knew who everyone was. There were some parts of the book I saw coming, while others still managed to surprise me, despite coming up with all kinds of theories as I read.

Although this book is a sequel, I personally feel it can be read as a standalone. You don’t need to have read book one to know what’s going on here, because the characters wake up with no idea of who or where they are.

This book does end on something of a cliffhanger and I’m now eager to read the next book, to see how everything fits together and if the characters from both books will end up meeting each other later on.

I personally feel this book and the previous one are worth reading. It’s not quite dystopian in the way you might expect, but it still has some of those elements. It’s definitely an original spin on some older storylines.