Ink of Blood

Fury Rising

Posted by cat2002116 on May 17, 2017

Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: books, reviews. Leave a comment

Fury Rising

(This review may contain spoilers).

I’ve read (and now re-read) the previous two books in this trilogy. Even after reading this one, though, I would still consider book one to be my favourite.

While I did still find this book to be really engaging and I cared about more characters than just the main ones, while I was reading this, I felt like all I was doing was waiting for the real end to come.

I’ll be honest. I liked Aries, Mason and Daniel as separate characters, but I was really off the love triangle by the end of this final book. I liked seeing the survival of the characters, but I was kind of disappointed in how many of the characters seemed unable to organise themselves. I would have liked to see a bit more of the attitude in the base, rather than just being told that all of the adults didn’t really trust Aries and the other teenagers to know what they were doing.

I did feel that the characters had become complacent. I would have liked to see more details about how the plans were made, rather than just the aftermath and what seemed like characters making really poor decisions they shouldn’t have, given the world they were in at that time. I couldn’t believe one character risked an entire mission to feed a dog. I actually assumed they were lying about it at first.

I was with Clementine towards the end of the book. I couldn’t believe so much had been crammed into a day, two at the most. The appearance of the ferals was really creepy… and that was saying something. I wasn’t sure which was the worst threat: the mob of psychos, or the Baggers still able to think, feel, reason.

I was kind of disappointed there wasn’t more of a resolution. While this book was the final one in the trilogy, I felt there was still a lot of the story to be told and not enough answers. For instance, why was Aries able to bring back a Bagger’s conscience, however temporarily? And what was the whole deal with Daniel? I did enjoy seeing the friendship growing gradually between Daniel and Mason, though.

I would definitely be interested in reading more books by this author in the future; and also any more books set in the Dark Inside universe.

Ice Warriors Giveaway

Posted by cat2002116 on May 10, 2017

Posted in: Giveaway, Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Tagged: Giveaway, Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. 1 Comment

Briggs_Sarah_Jayne_IW-1_KoM-page-001

The giveaway is now live for Ice Warriors: Key of Midgard on Goodreads. It is completely free on Goodreads to enter and can be found here.

I will also be giving away one ebook of Ice Warriors through here, whether in mobi or PDF format. All you have to do is comment with your favourite myth or legend, or even just a figure from mythology. Doesn’t even have to be from Norse mythology. Next Tuesday, I’ll pick one person at random who will receive a free ebook copy.

I look forward to your responses.

Links to buy Ice Warriors

Posted by cat2002116 on May 2, 2017

Posted in: Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Tagged: Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Leave a comment

Briggs_Sarah_Jayne_IW-1_KoM-page-001

Ice Warriors: Key of Midgard is now available in paperback format on Amazon and Lulu. Both of these are print-on-demand services. Unfortunately, because printing is quite expensive, the physical books are a lot more than the Kindle versions. You can, however, get the Kindle app on both the phone and the laptop.

Amazon UK Kindle e-book

Amazon UK paperback book

Amazon US Kindle e-book

Amazon US paperback book

Lulu paperback book

Please do help me spread the word by sharing and, where possible, leaving a rating and even a review on one of these sites, or even on Goodreads.

And it’s live!

Posted by cat2002116 on May 2, 2017

Posted in: Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Tagged: Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Leave a comment

At least the Kindle version is. Paperback is still in review on Amazon, but I’m planning to also publish on Lulu with a physical copy, which will hopefully be cheaper.

The book costs £2.70 on the Amazon UK Kindle and $3.50 on the Amazon US.

The UK version can be found here: Ice Warriors Book One Kindle UK

The US version can be found here: Ice Warriors Book One Kindle US

Please help me spread the word! And if you read the book, feel free to leave a rating at least. Even if you didn’t like the book, it’ll still help to know.

I’ll post once the book is available in paperback format.

Cover Reveal: Ice Warriors Book One: Key of Midgard

Posted by cat2002116 on April 29, 2017

Posted in: Cover Reveal, Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Tagged: Cover Reveal, Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Leave a comment

This is exciting! I can now confirm that the expected publication date for the first book in my series, Ice Warriors, is to be this Tuesday – 2nd May.

Here’s the front cover:

Briggs_Sarah_Jayne_IW-1_KoM_front-page-001

And here’s the back cover:

Briggs_Sarah_Jayne_IW-1_KoM_back-page-001

And here’s the full cover, including the spine:

Briggs_Sarah_Jayne_IW-1_KoM-page-001

The cover was designed by Rebecca L. Burrows, who can be contacted here: burrowpermaculture@gmail.com

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2

Posted by cat2002116 on April 28, 2017

Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: movies, reviews. Leave a comment

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2

(This review may contain spoilers).

To probably absolutely no one’s surprise… I went to see the midnight showing of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. And to be honest, I really enjoyed it. The first one, I liked… but I thought this one was a whole lot better. And by the end, I felt like I’d been put through the wringer emotionally.

The main thing I liked about this movie was the fact that I could see more depth to Nebula’s character. It was really good to see her and Gamorra interacting with each other, but there were also times I felt a whole lot of empathy for her.

Baby Groot was adorable. Seriously. From Rocket’s comments/translations/etc., I gather that what Baby Groot says isn’t necessarily cute, but right from the start of the movie, when he’s dancing around while everyone else is fighting, I was in love.

I also really liked Rocket, though I was considerably less keen on Drax. First-movie Drax, as I recall, I thought was an interesting character. In this movie, he seemed full of contradictions. On the plus side, though, I did like Yondu a lot more in this movie. And considering how much I disliked his character in the Walking Dead, it just goes to show how good an actor he is.

This movie does fall very short of the storyline in the comics. While it was entertaining to watch on its own, there are a huge amount of differences that are noticeable if you’re a fan of the comic books.

I particularly liked Mantis as well, though I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. I had some mixed feelings about her ‘friendship’ with Drax, as I went off him quite a bit in this movie.

There were some really good visual effects in this movie and it was good to see there were serious moments to offset the elements of humour. This was a movie I thoroughly enjoyed watching and would definitely watch again in the future.

Power Rangers Dino Charge

Posted by cat2002116 on April 27, 2017

Posted in: Reviews, Television. Tagged: reviews, Television. Leave a comment

Power Rangers Dino Charge

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having watched Power Rangers Dino Charge, I think this might be my favourite of the Power Rangers franchise; though the new movie is quite close to that.

I felt this series did more to explore the characters and the relationships between them and it was good to see them interacting with their families outside of their work as rangers, for instance Chase’s relationship with his younger sister. And it was also good to see that there was an allowance made for them to be able to rush off from their job, since the café was directly connected to the museum and the secret base.

I did like the fact that this series didn’t fall into the trap of most of the previous, with one (or two) Power Rangers having gone rogue and attacking the group, only to then lose their initial over-powered status after becoming the good guy again.

I’d have to say that, out of the Power Rangers in this group, Koda is probably my favourite. While the other rangers do have depth to them (though I didn’t really like the hostility between Kendall and Shelby. It didn’t really seem to have a realistic reason), Koda was not only the one strongest physically… but also emotionally, as indicated by the fact that his friendship bonds were impossible to cut and break.

It was nice to see the origins of how Chase and Koda became rangers, but I would have liked to see a bit more detail about how Kendall got involved in the whole situation, as it wasn’t made very clear how she and Chase met. Or how they met Keeper, even after it was shown how Chase got his Energem.

I did like Ivan and Philip, though it was more that they grew on me. With the way the two of them talked, it was really hard to take either of them seriously. And I would have liked to know a bit more about the country both of them originated from.

There was a lot about this series that followed the same traits as previous series, but I did like who the original first purple ranger was. It was nice to see age wasn’t really a factor in how the Energems chose the rangers to bond with.

Compared to some of the previous series of Power Rangers, I felt the characters came across as more mature and it was nice to see the smaller friendships form within the group. I did enjoy watching this series of Power Rangers and probably would watch it again in the future.

The Belko Experiment

Posted by cat2002116 on April 26, 2017

Posted in: Movies, Open Discussion, Reviews. Tagged: movies, Open Discussion, reviews. Leave a comment

The Belko Experiment

(This review may contain spoilers).

When I initially saw this movie advertised, I was immediately intrigued by the concept, even though I knew it would basically be a slasher movie on a much bigger scale.

I did feel like the trailer gave away a lot of the movie’s events, as it was quite clear from the first voice’s speech that things would escalate.

Considering there were eighty employees (and therefore eighty characters) in the building, it was hard to fully connect to a handful. While it was good to see bits and pieces of some of the characters and their relationships with each other, I felt that, by the time they were locked inside the building, all I was doing was waiting for everyone to die.

It was Mike I felt primarily able to connect to on a moral level, but out of the characters I did get to know, at least a little, I thought Wendall was the one with a moral compass that was completely skewed. I really didn’t like Barry, but I did see that he showed some remorse, even if it wasn’t outright hesitation. As much as I didn’t want to, I could understand where he was coming from.

There were a lot of actors I recognised in this movie and it was interesting to see the way different people handled the crisis. This movie did have an 18 rating and that was definitely deserved.

While I could understand the amount of panic experienced by the people trapped in the building, I did think there were certain things they could have tried that didn’t seem to have occurred to them.

The atmosphere of the movie was very intense and there were moments I was waiting on the edge of my seat to see what would happen. There were some very gruesome and gory scenes in this movie, but I found it an interesting concept with some characters who I did care about… even if the majority of those just seemed to be cannon fodder.

For anyone reading this, I’d like to start a discussion. How do you think you’d react if placed in a similar situation? (You should get a read on the plot just by watching the trailer).

Regina’s Song

Posted by cat2002116 on April 24, 2017

Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: books, reviews. Leave a comment

Regina's Song

(This review may contain spoilers).

It’s been a while since I read this book. I picked it up again today and while it took me a while to get back into it, I did find it an enjoyable read. Unfortunately, by reaching the end, I didn’t feel I could give it 4 stars, more like 3.5.

One thing I’ve noticed since re-reading the books by these authors is that there are lines that crop up that have been used multiple times. I felt like I was reading repeats of the characters from the Belgariad, for instance.

I did like the slight mix of genres, but I never really felt like the main characters were in any real danger. I liked Twinkie’s character and I would have liked to see more of the interactions between her and the other characters, instead of so many of those conversations being glossed over.

I did find Mark an interesting character, but so much of his early life was glossed over that it was difficult to connect to him emotionally, even though the book was written from his point of view. It wasn’t really until towards the end that I felt he really did anything. Up until the last couple of chapters, it seemed like all he was doing was ferrying around Renata and bantering with his housemates. Plus, it felt like there were a lot of dead-ends when it came to romance. There was an indication of jealousy (told not shown) later on that seemed to make no sense, given there were no reasons for the girls to be jealous of Mark’s supposed girlfriend.

It was really good to get glimpses of how Twinkie’s mind worked, but although there were a few tense moments involving her, I felt a lot of her interactions with the characters, when shown, fell somewhat short.

While the book was billed as a part ghost story on the blurb, those supernatural elements didn’t really come into play until towards the end.

I also felt that the characters had it a bit too easy, especially towards the end of the book, when it felt like there were no conflicts or problems. The resolution would have been infinitely more satisfying if they’d had to work for it.

Blog Tour: Wintersong

Posted by cat2002116 on February 18, 2017

Posted in: Blog Tour, Books, Reviews. Tagged: Blog Tour, books, reviews. Leave a comment

Wintersong

by S. Jae-Jones

Publisher: Thomas Dunne

Release Date: February 7th 2017

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings, Romance

Synopsis:

Beware the goblin men and the wares they sell.

All her life, nineteen-year-old Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, mysterious Goblin King. He is the Lord of Mischief, the Ruler Underground, and the muse around which her music is composed. Yet, as Liesl helps shoulder the burden of running her family’s inn, her dreams of composition and childish fancies about the Goblin King must be set aside in favor of more practical concerns.

But when her sister Käthe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue her sister and return her to the world above. The Goblin King agrees to let Käthe go—for a price. The life of a maiden must be given to the land, in accordance with the old laws. A life for a life, he says. Without sacrifice, nothing good can grow. Without death, there can be no rebirth. In exchange for her sister’s freedom, Liesl offers her hand in marriage to the Goblin King. He accepts.

Down in the Underground, Liesl discovers that the Goblin King still inspires her—musically, physically, emotionally. Yet even as her talent blossoms, Liesl’s life is slowly fading away, the price she paid for becoming the Goblin King’s bride. As the two of them grow closer, they must learn just what it is they are each willing to sacrifice: her life, her music, or the end of the world.

My Review

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I really liked the blurb of this book. I thought it was interesting to see the contrast between Liesl and her sister, though I found it hard to really care about Kathe. I particularly liked seeing the relationship between Liesl and her brother Josef, though. Their relationship gained a new dimension with certain things revealed towards the end of the book.

I did feel that this book moved very slowly in the middle. Even in Liesl’s world, I had the impression that reality was more of a dream, long before the Goblin King started exerting his influence.

While it was good to see that Liesl wasn’t the stereotypical heroine, I did feel that too much was made of the fact she wasn’t pretty. It got to the point of being too repetitive.

It was good to learn about the legends of the goblins and their king and it was interesting to see Liesl’ feelings towards Thistle and Twig, who, even by the end of the book, I was really unsure about.

I did feel this book was particularly dark at times, but I also felt there wasn’t much of an urgency where there should have been. Long passages of time were glossed over, during which I felt there could have been character development. It was good to see something of the world outside where Liesl’s brother and sister were, but I didn’t get a strong impression of her relationship with her parents, even at the start of the book.

I did find the Goblin King to be the most intriguing character and I would have liked the book to focus more on him. I felt that Liesl didn’t push as hard as she might have done to learn about him and while the blurb had promised a relationship forming between them, I found it harder to believe in those emotions, as the two of them didn’t spend nearly as much time together as they probably should have done.

I did feel there were parts of this book that were moving and I would have liked to see more time spent on the relationship between the characters. The ending was somewhat disappointing, even though it was perhaps the best possible outcome. I would be interested in reading the sequel to this book, as it would be good to see more of a resolution.

S. Jae-Jones, called JJ, is an artist, an adrenaline junkie, and the author of Wintersong, forthcoming from Thomas Dunne in February 2017.

Born and raised in sunny Los Angeles, she lived in New York City for ten years before relocating down to Dixie, where she is comfortably growing fat on grits and barbecue. When not writing, she can be found rock-climbing, skydiving, taking photographs, drawing pictures, and dragging her dog on ridiculously long hikes.