Ink of Blood

(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, as well as the front cover. While the plot wasn’t an entirely unique one, I thought it was an interesting twist on the ‘person/group of people find themselves in another world’.

I did think it was interesting to see the characters and how capable they were when they were playing the game. While I’ve never LARP-ed myself, I didn’t have any problem picturing the teams in my mind. What I didn’t like, however, was the listing off of the characters… and that I had no idea what any of them looked like, which made it difficult to differentiate between them at times.

While it was good to see that the characters had different names, it would have been good to see more explanations as to why some of them were chosen.

I did feel that the plot was very simplistic in places. There was a lot of potential, but I felt that the connections between many of the characters weren’t given the time to develop. I felt that Raina especially wasn’t given much of a personality outside of her crush on Bohair… and speaking of Bohair, I actually didn’t like him very much by the end of the book. At the same time, I thought that Piper’s changed feelings towards Bohair were random and not foreshadowed at all.

There were some quite good elements in this book, especially where the fight scenes were concerned. However, I found it very difficult to believe the characters from modern-day Earth could defeat warriors apparently training for actual fighting in a fantasy world. I was also disappointed not to see much of a culture shock… or for the characters to have any sort of reaction to actually having to kill people.

I would have liked to see more of the world and the interactions expanded upon, rather than glossed over. I found it very difficult to care about the characters who were wounded, because I hadn’t connected emotionally to them.

As it stands, I don’t think I’ll read a sequel to this book, since I found it difficult to connect to the characters… but I would read one if it was changed and expanded upon, allowing me to connect to the characters and care about them.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I’d ideally give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. I was drawn into the storyline, but I did have a lot of confusion while I was reading it. In many ways, I felt like I was being thrown into the middle of a plot… and it took a while before I could figure out exactly what was going on with all of the characters.

While it was interesting to see the different characters and how their storylines came together, it did seem a bit disjointed at first. I did think Marcus was an intriguing character, though I would have liked a bit more detail about his history. I was confused about just why Marcus and his knight had magic, though… and although Shyla was an interesting character during her first appearance, I did kind of go off her quite a bit when the storyline switched to her perspective.

There were a lot of things in the book that I felt weren’t expanded. While some of the characters’ motivations were explored, there were too many of them for me to be able to get to know the secondary characters very well.

I thought this book was quite short and while it was easy to read, I do think it could have done with being longer. There were some elements of foreshadowing I felt could have been utilised that weren’t.

I did find it interesting to see the different kinds of magic and I would have liked to know a bit more about how it all worked. I really didn’t like the witch who Kenthal went to see… but I found it hard to care much about the queen, especially given what was revealed later on.

There were some good elements of tension in this book and towards the end, there was a lot of good action and fighting, although I found it hard to care about many of the characters who died, since I couldn’t get to know many of them.

I’m not sure I’d read a sequel to this book, though I might read other books by this same author in the future, depending on the plotline. I wouldn’t read this book again, I have to say.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although I haven’t read the previous two books in this series, I did find this really quick to read… but it wasn’t exactly easy, even though it did draw me into the world and the storyline really easily.

I did like Aulen’s character. It was interesting to see his views on using his blood to heal those patients under his care. I found it really easy to understand his motivations, even though I did think that his friend had a point with what he said about making the choice to save people. And I did think that the author did a really good job of showing the problems Aulen’s addiction caused, not only personally but also professionally.

I liked seeing Aulen interacting with the other characters, especially with his wife and daughter. I enjoyed seeing his relationship with them and I did feel a lot of sympathy for Genevieve especially. It was good to see the contrast between her wanting to be an adult, but also needing her father.

It was easy to see Aulen’s compassion for the people who needed his help, though I didn’t really like him as much after his downward spiral, even though I did feel a lot of empathy for him, especially after Alessandra got her hands on him. (I didn’t have any sympathy for her even in her first appearance… much less so towards the end of the book).

I did think that this book was really well-written. It was easy to be drawn into the world Aulen inhabited and I thought he was a really intriguing, well-rounded character. I also liked Philip, even though I haven’t read his book… but it was good to see a bit of the main characters from the previous books.

There were a lot of really dark scenes in this and there were times I did find it hard to push through. Aulen really did hit rock bottom and that came across really well.

In the future, I would definitely like to read the previous two books in this series. I also would like a bit more detail about how these three different people developed their abilities.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although I haven’t actually read the previous books in this series before, I did find this book really easy to follow and I was drawn fully into the storyline. I liked Cordelia’s character, though Siliva made me roll my eyes with what she was saying to Cordelia.

It was interesting to see that Cordelia was in disguise and how she’d changed from being royalty to a commoner. I was confused by her disguise at first, but as I read more of the book, it did make sense.

I liked being able to see Cordelia interacting with Liam and Riona, even though I spent a lot of the book confused about why she didn’t want to see her parents. I did like Raheam as a character. I felt a lot of sympathy for him and the way he was almost childlike in his desire to be Cordelia’s friend. While I did feel bad for him, though, I could understand Cordelia’s suspicions and although I would have liked to see a bit more of her interactions with some of the other characters (like the guards), it was amusing to see Cordelia having to deal with the problem of having her disguise suddenly fall away.

I would have liked the opportunity to see more of the kingdom and the other residents, though I could see a huge difference in Cordelia’s home compared to Riona’s father’s kingdom. While I did enjoy reading some of the bantering Cordelia exchanged in, I did find myself growing concerned for her safety. However, at the same time, I felt she came across as quite immature and it wasn’t until towards the end of the book that she seemed to be starting to grow up. A lot of what she said was valid… but the execution left a lot to be desired.

I would have liked to see more of Alan and Robin. I did think they were both intriguing characters, but I didn’t really get how amiable Alan’s relationship to the others was.

I liked being able to see something of the politics involved and although I didn’t much like Cornelius, I did appreciate the position he was in.

I would be interested in reading the previous book/s in this series, but I would like to see more of Cordelia and Raheam. And it would be good to see if Corderlia can grow and mature more by the end of the book. Plus, I would like to see more of her relationship with her mother, at least.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I have to be honest… I kind of struggled with this book. While I thought the concept was a really intriguing one, I found it very difficult to follow many of the events. They didn’t really feel real to me and I found it hard to engage with the main character who was the main focus of this book.

While I thought it was an interesting idea for Laurus to be focused on trying to live his life for Ustina’s sake, I didn’t really have the opportunity to get behind their relationship. The first time they’re together, there seems to be nothing but attraction… and nothing is revealed about Ustina and what her personality is; only when she becomes pregnant. In many ways, she seemed to be a figment of Laurus’ imagination and the reactions of those around him were really hard to follow.

The idea of the holy fools was one I found really confusing, such as the whole idea of the territory. I felt a lot of sympathy for Karp, considering his apparent inability to communicate. It was also interesting to see how Laurus degenerated into madness and eventually pulled himself back out again… and how the different names he was given related to his personality at the time and the different stages of his journey.

It was interesting to see some of Laurus’ interactions with the other characters. I was confused by several scenes that took place in the future, since most of them didn’t seem to have any relevance to the scenes that had preceded them. And even though I had read the translator’s note, I still found the use of modern language to be really jarring and unnecessary… as well as the times when present tense was used instead of past.

One of the things I did find good was the references made to the mythological creatures apparently discovered in other countries. It was amusing, in some ways, to see the almost wonder-filled way Laurus listened to these ‘tall tales’. I also thought it was interesting to see the way the story almost seemed to come round full service.

I probably wouldn’t read this book again, but once I got into it, there were some good elements, despite what I’ve mentioned above.