Ink of Blood

(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.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I was a bit surprised by how entertaining I found this book to read. I wasn’t sure what I expected when I first started reading this book, but it was better than I expected.

There were a number of different POV characters, but in this book, I felt it did actually work. It was interesting to see how different people experienced the different hallucinations, but there were some moments of confusion – I wasn’t sure why some of the people in the hallucinations were aware of the people from the modern time and why others weren’t.

The idea of creating a machine that would become self-aware was a pretty interesting one, though it isn’t an original concept. I thought the different types of disorders were interesting as well. I don’t know how scientifically accurate the information was, but it was still pretty interesting to read about.

I felt the book was quite well-written and I could see a lot happening inside my mind. The ending didn’t surprise me – I was expecting it – but I think it still worked quite well. I don’t think a sequel would make a lot of sense, but I would be interested in reading other books by this same author in the future.

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

Open Minds: I felt that this was a fairly good book to start off the collection. The blurb was intriguing and I found myself getting so invested in reading it, I’m writing this review at 4am.

Telepathy isn’t a unique concept and neither is the idea of everyone sharing each others’ thoughts and emotions. I did think that this was a really good spin on that, though. Almost right from the start, I found myself able to relate to Kira as a character. The first person POV worked quite well and it didn’t keep shifting, like so many first person POV books I see.

The idea of Mindjacking was a pretty cool one, but also scary in many ways. It was good to see that none of the characters were truly good or evil. Well, apart from maybe one or two.

I found it easy to relate to Kira feeling like she was an outsider. I think that’s a feeling people tend to go through a lot in any case, without adding mind reading to the mix.

I definitely preferred Raf to Simon, although Simon did start growing on me towards the end of the book. I really liked Laney. Next to Kira, she might be my favourite character.

I’d definitely be interested in reading the other books in this trilogy in the future. Although the book did have a proper ending, I know there’s more of the story to be told.

 
The Moon Dwellers: The concept behind this book was a pretty intriguing one. It was nice to get a bit of background about the history of the world, from the perspective of one of the main characters.

I did get a bit confused about the switching between two different POVs at first, but by the end of the book, I was more used to it. It was good that the switching was more or less consistent.

I felt the strongest part of this book was the relationships the main characters had with others. I liked Cole and Tawni. I also liked Adele’s sister. And I really liked Roc.

There were a couple of things in the book that made me smile and even laugh out loud. I loved Cole’s banter with Adele and, of course, Roc’s banter.

I was also pleased to see that the characters weren’t perfect and did suffer consequences, as well as their skills coming into play when it made sense.

I wasn’t too keen on Tristan and Adele’s connection. I felt it was a bit too convenient – though at least there wasn’t any kind of profession of undying love.

I would be interested in reading the next books in this series in the future. If you like young adult dystopian books, then this one is worth reading – in my opinion.

 
Prison Nation: The plot of this book was a really interesting one. The idea of a whole prison nation, where babies born to convicted parents have to stay until their eighteenth birthday, was quite an intriguing one.

I quite liked Millie as a character. The way she reacted to things came across really well and I was able to easily empathise with her throughout the course of the book.

The concept of how the prison nation came into being was really interesting, though, of course, it’s not a fair system. Take out the lawyers, juries, etc. and all you have is one person’s word against another’s.

I did like how Millie’s relationship with Reed came across. I particularly liked Eddie as a character. I also felt really sorry for a lot of the people in the prison. It sounded like there was no hope for anyone who wasn’t a complete and utter jerk.

If there was a sequel to this book, I would be interested in reading it. This was quite well-written with an interesting storyline and the whole culture comes across really well. I do recommend reading it.

 
Daynight: I struggled a bit more to get into this book. It was a bit harder to read, due to the switching between different view points and changing of tenses.

The plot was a pretty good one, when I was able to figure out how everything linked together. Although I wasn’t too keen on the love triangle (I think things moved too quickly/were glossed over), I did think that both Ethan and Blake were fairly interesting characters and I liked that neither of them were bad, which would have put a damper on the love triangle thing.

The two different worlds were really interesting, though I would have liked some details about how the Second Chancers were brought to Thera.

I did like reading about the history of the Light and Dark members. The characters did all come across as really well-rounded, but the constant flashbacks did get a bit confusing after a while.

For the most part, the book was well-written, though I do think the tenses shouldn’t have switched so much. There were a few times I found myself having to keep reading just to find out what would happen.

I think I would be interested in reading more books in this series at some point in the future. The book kept me reading, despite the things I mentioned above.

 
Stitch: I think this book might be my favourite of the set so far. I was really intrigued by the start, though since I’d read the author’s commentary at the beginning, I really couldn’t see how everything was going to all fit together.

I thought I would find the connection between Alessa and her ghost difficult to believe, but I found it easy to get into as the book progressed. I did like the book better when it seemed like just a paranormal, but I still liked it even as the reality was revealed.

The dreams were pretty creepy, but when the source of them was revealed, it wasn’t quite what I’d been expecting. There was enough of a mystery to keep me reading and I liked reading about the relationships forming between the characters.

There were some things that happened in the book that did surprise me. This was a fairly good crossover of different genres and this first book has really made me want to read the other two in the trilogy – when I have the time.

 
The Annihilation of Foreverland: This was a fairly intriguing book as well. It was nice to see one with teenaged boys as the main characters – there are very few young adult books that I’ve read where the main character is male.

Waking up without knowing for sure who you are must be a really scary thing to experience. I thought it was interesting how, instead of not having any memories, the characters had too many of them; so it was constant confusion over what was real to them and what was fake.

For the most part, I did find the characters interesting. The girl was especially fascinating and I did like Danny and Reed. (I really empathised with Reed at times).

I did figure out what was going on fairly quickly, but the book still succeeded in keeping me entertained throughout reading it. The idea of Foreverland was quite an interesting one. The Investors were creepy.

I do have another Foreverland book waiting to be read on my Kindle. I already wanted to read it, but reading this first book has just made me want to read the next one even more. I did notice one or two errors in this book, but for the most part, it was a really good read.

 
The Girls from Alcyone: This was almost a dystopian within a dystopian. There were some glimpses of what the world the characters came from was like, but for the most part, the main focus was on the girls.

I felt this book was also interesting in that the main characters were mostly female. I could relate fairly quickly to Sigrid and I did like Suko. The way the relationship formed between the two came across as really realistic and natural – it made sense that their relationship would develop in that way.

I would have liked a bit more information about what exactly made the girls so different. They weren’t similar in appearance and I was somewhat confused about how the genetic thing worked. I would have liked some more background on that.

The writing of this book came across really well and I found it really easy to picture what was going on inside my mind. I liked the friendships Sigrid formed with other characters and the loyalty that came across really well.

There was a point in the book where I was somewhat worried that everything would become too easy. I think the author did a really good job of avoiding that, though – the characters weren’t perfect and did suffer through consequences when things went wrong.

I would probably be interested in reading more books by this author and in this series in the future.

 
The Narrowing Path: I’ve always had some fascination with the concept of fighting for survival. The first Hunger Games book was quite entertaining, though the second and third a little less so.

I found the character Bowe to be quite a difficult one to get behind at first. He certainly wasn’t the conventional hero and there were a few times at the beginning where I didn’t like him very much.

I didn’t think it was necessary to have the first part of the book be written in first person. The first chapter was intriguing, but it did throw me a bit to have the rest of the book written in third person.

The society was quite an interesting one. It was strange how many of the characters seemed to just accept their inevitable demise. Although I couldn’t figure out how the society had got to that point, it was quite a unique spin.

By the end of the book, I did like Bowe as a character much more. Although his ideas were really dangerous and potentially suicidal, I really did admire how he stuck to his ideals through everything.

I felt this book showed Bowe’s journey as a character remarkably well. Although I had some confusion over what all the words meant, I was less confused by the end.

I particularly liked Bowe’s relationships with the other characters, too. It showed quite well that he had to rely on his wits and didn’t have much fighting prowess. And he wasn’t perfect, either, which is always good.

There were some moments in the book where I found myself laughing or smiling. I’d definitely be interested in reading the other two books in this series.

 
The Rain: I don’t think many people like it when it starts raining – particularly when the rain comes down heavily. But I don’t think I’ve ever thought about what it might be like to have the rain falling constantly, day in and day out, for years.

I felt the author depicted the breakdown of society particularly well, though I couldn’t quite figure out how so many people became cannibals.

I did find the book a little difficult to read at times, if I’m honest. Quotation marks were missing a lot more than they were used and there were several times I couldn’t figure out when the main character was speaking or just thinking.

The flashbacks were pretty interesting to read, but they did keep striking without warning, which is a bit hard to understand. I also found it interesting how differently Tanner and Russell viewed things, given that one remembered the time before the rain and the other didn’t know anything else.

I thought it was good that the author did show the consequences of the constant rainfall – people becoming ill and suffering from infections.

I liked the fact that there was a dog who joined the group, too. I wasn’t so sure about Dusty. I think I’d have to read the next book to decide if I do like this world and the characters.

 
Virulent: The Release: I thought it was good that this book dealt with the breakdown of society with the virus that was released.

I felt that the author did a good job of establishing the characters before the virus hit. It meant that I cared about them much more as everything broke down all around them.

I didn’t think much of any of the surviving teachers, I have to say. In my opinion, they didn’t care even one jolt about the students who were in their charge, even before one of them turned worse.

I think it was good that there was quite a variety of different reactions to the virus. I was a bit confused about just how long the technology was active for, though – it gave out much slower than I would have expected.

I think being left alone in the world is a feeling that’s particularly scary. The main characters did do a good job of surviving, but I felt there was less foreshadowing than there could have been. Flashbacks were suddenly used right before they became relevant.

I did really like Darla as a character, even though I wasn’t sure about her motives when she first appeared.

This book was mostly well-written and I did really enjoy reading it. I’d definitely be interested in reading the next book/s in the series.

 
Well… this was a really long read. I figured out that, combining all the books, it took the total amount of pages to 3000. I think this has beaten the Bible for the longest book I’ve ever read – though the Bible might work out at the same amount of words, given the tiny print and use of columns in a lot of versions.

Young adult dystopian books aren’t always the sort of genre I would choose to read, but when this selection was offered, I couldn’t resist. Some of the books were a bit easier to read than others and there were books that I liked more in this selection.

On the whole, I do think it’s worth getting this collection. It’s a good introduction to a lot of different authors and series and all of the books are different in their own way. I’ve met a lot of different characters and I think there are many things about all of these books that will stick in my mind for a long time now that I’ve reached the end.