Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having read a book by this author in the past, I was quite interested in reading this collection of stories in the horror genre when offered the opportunity to do so, even though it took me a little while to actually get round to reading it.

There was a nice variety of different stories and I really liked that, in some of them, what happened was left to the reader’s imagination. The one with the Caribbean meat was one of those… but unfortunately, it also suffered from multiple POVs. While many of the other stories did keep switching POVs without warning, it was particularly obvious with the Caribbean story. While I enjoyed reading about the relationship between the two main characters, I was left with more questions than answers by the end.

One thing I thought was good about this collection was that there wasn’t any supernatural element. While one of the stories did have some science fiction aspects to it, I liked the fact that they were all about horrible things ordinary humans can do to each other.

I thought that the two stories about the second World War were particularly difficult to read, though the second was more moving. The first one afforded a glimpse into the horrors a bit closer to home, which I thought was particularly effective.

There were actually quite a few central characters who I found to be really unlikable. The main characters in the story about the former careworkers was one that springs to mind. However, in the absence of any sympathetic characters, I did end up wanting to see the survival of the person who was the ‘lesser evil’.

I particularly liked being able to see a couple of stories where the tables were turned and what I thought was going to happen wasn’t what ended up happening. It was nice to get a few surprise twists.

I liked the story with the diary, though by the end of that one, I had some questions. That was another instance where I felt the changing of POVs didn’t really work, as rather than there being a twist, there wasn’t much that seemed logical.

A lot of the short stories did contain some really good elements of tension and I was kept reading throughout. I was able to picture a lot of the events and characters in my head.

The first story in particular had some good elements of foreshadowing and I figured out what was going to happen fairly early on. Still, the journey to the end of the story was an interesting one.

Despite the fact there were some minor issues, such as the switching between different POVs and not a lot of background always provided, I did find this collection of stories entertaining to read and I would be interested in reading 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).

When I first saw this book, I was immediately drawn to the cover… and when I read the blurb (though it’s hard to read on the print copy of the book), I was immediately interested… so when I won a copy of this book, I was very happy.

While there were some cliches during this book, such as tension between Tehi and Teger at first, I found this book fairly easy to read. I liked seeing the evolution of Tehi’s character through the course of the book and it was good to see that her work as a healer was so at odds with her contempt towards the other races.

As I read more of the book and learned more of the world Tehi and the others inhabited, I could actually understand why Tehi felt the way she did. A lot about their religion seemed dangerous (and it was good to get some explanations by the end of the book), but I felt the worst part was the non-consensual aspect… and I would have liked to see that accepted as being wrong, as I could tell how negatively it affected Tehi.

It was interesting to see how the hakoi’s views of Tehi began to change. I liked the fact she was a healer first and foremost and that she was a strong person… strong enough to do what was right, even if it meant breaking the Protocol.

I would have liked a bit more background on the Moreva and their rituals. I didn’t really understand the makeup masks and how the Moreva came into being. I did find it easy to empathise with Tehi’s problems, both at the start and later on as she and Teger grew closer. While I didn’t really like the almost immediate declarations of love, I did feel that their relationship seemed to evolve naturally.

I especially liked Tehi’s friendship with Hyme and it was good to see them pooling their knowledge. It was also good to see that Tehi did have to fight and things didn’t come easy for her… and as I learned more of her past, my empathy for her grew.

While there were occasions this book moved slowly, I did find it fairly easy to read and I’d be interested in seeing more of the world and the characters… particularly given what was revealed towards the end.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

While Thor has been a long-time favourite of mine since the movie, I didn’t feel that this book was as good as the blurb had implied.

I liked the opportunity to see something of Thor and Loki as children, though it was a bit sad to see how early on Loki’s resentment of Thor began… though to be honest, I didn’t feel that Thor acted very brotherly towards Loki. While they referred to each other as such, I didn’t feel that there was much sincerity on either side.

While it was good to have the opportunity to learn more about Frigga’s background, I felt there was too much summarising of the history between the characters. Volstagg’s defeat of the trolls towards the beginning made me laugh… and it provided some good relieving of tension.

I really liked the fact that, although the book was based on Marvel’s Thor, there was a lot involving the world tree and different Norse myths, though I didn’t really feel like Loki came across as a very complex villain. I was a bit disappointed not to see more of his plans and that he only played a very small part in the whole thing. Plus, I felt that his resentment of Thor was just that… without any of the complexities in being raised as a brother to someone. I did feel the movies did a good job in showing that complicated relationship between them.

I did really like seeing Frigga acting capably and being able to defend herself. I enjoyed seeing her work her magic in an offensive way… but I was disappointed that Gudrun didn’t play a big part in that, either, and there seemed to be an element of ‘the woman stays at home with the children’ in the narration.

I did especially like seeing the final short story and something of how Sif began training to be a warrior. I liked that Thor was one of the only ones who wanted to accept her… and I especially liked how gracious Fandral ended up being. I would have liked to see this book expanded upon and less information dumping, but it was entertaining to read.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I found this book a really entertaining one to read. While it seemed to start partway through a plot, I thought that the opening scene did a good job of establishing the characters and something of the relationships between them. It was good to see the tensions between the group… and the fact that, even though they were allies (and even friends), there were still some very real conflicts between them. While it was disheartening to see the group split up, there didn’t seem any other way to resolve things.

I particularly liked seeing the friendship between Rocket and Groot and how it was easy to see what Groot was really saying, beneath the only three words he could actually say.

While it was easy to see that Quill regretted what had happened, I found it difficult to see what was so different about this time… while it might have been one of the only times they’d been stranded on a planet, I couldn’t imagine it was the first time Quill had got them into awkward situations.

I did really like the fact that I could tell the Guardians were all conflicted characters… even Quill, beneath the exterior of a rogue. While I would have liked to see something of how Quill fought his way to become the Duke’s righthand man, it was good to see that his skills didn’t make him perfect… and I did care about his safety while he was battling. And the first scene was difficult to read, with how alone he seemed to feel.

I liked the opportunity to see more of the planet and the different races that peopled it. It was also good to see how the different crew members found temporary places… but I especially liked that the call of friendship was still strong enough to bring them all together.

I did think there was a lot of buildup and there was a lot of tension during the battle, but it was good to see more of the natives able to stand up for themselves. And I liked being able to get some answers about the history of the planet and seeing the Guardians work together.

I probably would read more book/s about the Guardians of the Galaxy in the future, whether comics or novels.