Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Being a big fan of horror (especially supernatural horror), I was quite intrigued by the idea of this book. Although I thought the first part of the book was very graphic and disturbing in parts, I did find the legend a really interesting one and it was good to see how it all sprang up.

I have to say, I did have mixed feelings by the time I reached the end of this book. Although there was a lot that was good about it, I was confused about what exactly was going on. By the end of the book, I still didn’t have all of the answers to the questions the book raised.

I did get a bit confused by the fact that the book kept switching between present day, the past and somewhere in between. Since the book wasn’t split up into chapters and there was nothing about the passage of time, it took me a while to realise that some of the events had happened before.

I found it difficult to connect emotionally with many of the characters. Some of them were easy to follow and understand, but it was harder to like or care about others. Although there seemed to be a fairly large cast of characters, I felt that only some of them were developed enough to be easy to empathise with… and even the ones who were developed weren’t actually shown in a sympathetic light.

I think this book could have done with being expanded a bit more. There were lots of unanswered questions by the end and although there were some quite graphic, horrible scenes, I didn’t feel that they added much to the story. Pasi, for instance, was a character I found nearly impossible to be concerned about.

I did find parts of this book to be disjointed as well. It was a shame, because I really did like the blurb of this book… I just really didn’t think it lived up to its potential. And the cliffhanger ending didn’t really work, in my opinion.

I did find this book readable, but I don’t think I’ll be reading any more books by this author in the future unless there’s more ‘meat’ to the story.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I thought this book had a really interesting plot. It was fairly short and easy to read and I found Ellen to be a really intriguing character. I was a bit confused about what her job actually was for a while, I have to say. I got confused when it mentioned she was working in the lab.

I liked seeing Ellen’s relationship with her father, though I would have liked to see more of how she interacted with other members of her colleagues. There were certain elements I felt weren’t foreshadowed correctly, since there wasn’t enough time spent detailing certain characters.

I did think that there was a bit too much personal drama included. While the characters were well-rounded to an extent, I didn’t see anything past Sanchez being violent towards Ellen. I didn’t know what their working relationship was like before then… and although it was nice to see Ellen was attracted to her fellow police officer, I was left wondering why that didn’t crop up before, when she presumably has worked with him in the past.

The scenes with the murderers started off really well, but by the time I was seeing Joannie, I felt that their motivations were lost. I liked seeing Joannie as a character who was struggling to survive and how she tried to say what she thought was needed in order to escape. While I couldn’t help feeling a small amount of sympathy for Donovan, I found it very difficult to understand the motivations… and it would have been good to see more foreshadowing throughout the book.

There wasn’t a lot in the way of graphic scenes in this book, which I think worked better. I did find myself drawn really easily into this book and felt able to connect emotionally with Ellen in particular. It would have been good to see some of the characters expanded upon and more interactions on a whole. I had no idea who Big Harv was reaming out, for instance.

While I probably won’t read a sequel to this book as it stands, if the characters are expanded upon and the twists make sense, I’d be happy to give it a try in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I found this book to be a really entertaining read. Although I felt it was aimed more at a younger audience, that didn’t really detract from my enjoyment of the book.

I thought the writing style was interesting, with the sense I was being told the story by the author. It was also interesting to see that there was a mix of different genres. Although there was a lot going on, I didn’t find myself getting confused very much.

I would have liked to be able to see more of the different children in the orphanage. It wasn’t until towards the end that I was given the opportunity to see a few more of the children.

I really liked Edwin. Even though he was a bit dim at times in the book, I felt sorry for him and I didn’t think he was treated very nicely at times. I also thought it was interesting to see parts of the story from Leopold’s and Edwin’s POV. It was quite amusing to see how they viewed things like planes.

While it was interesting to be able to see what was going on back at the orphanage at times, I did get a bit thrown by how fast the scenes kept changing. I also found it difficult to see many of the other characters as a bit more well-rounded.

I did think the plot of this book had quite a unique spin to it. I wasn’t sure I particularly liked the two Olives for a while, since they didn’t seem to fight very hard to stay with the children. I did like Mr. Penny, even if I didn’t get to see a lot of him.

I liked the slight element of mystery and there were quite a few bits of tension in this book. I found it easy to read and it did succeed in drawing me in. I thought that Timothy in particular was a well-rounded character… but Edwin was especially amusing, even if he was a bit pitiful at times.

I found that Thomas’s character did grow on me, even though I didn’t like him at first. It was good to see how the plots connected to each other and although I don’t think parts of this book are suitable for young children, I think older children might get something out of it. In the future, I expect I’ll be happy to read more books by this author.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

The blurb of this book was one that really drew me in. Although I wasn’t sure how well-written it would be, I still gave it a chance; and I’m really glad I did.

The plot of this book isn’t one that looks very unique at first glance… but I found myself drawn into the storyline almost from the first. It’s not always easy to connect emotionally with POV characters, but I found it impossible not to empathise with Gwen.

I liked the family relationships with Gwen and her siblings, as well as her parents. It was nice to see the way they all cared about each other, even when they were forced to become rivals. I really liked the opportunity to learn about different aspects of Atlantis and bits and pieces of the culture and technology.

I have to say… I didn’t much like the characters from Atlantis for quite a while. A number of them seemed harsh and lacking compassion. While I could understand not wanting to get emotionally attached, it made it very hard for me to trust they would keep their word.

I really liked the fact that Gwen wasn’t a perfect character. The fact that her intelligence was her greatest strength came through really well and I felt that the leaps of logic she made had thought processes that were shown correctly.

I really liked Blayne’s character. It was interesting to see a person without the full use of his legs trying to compete for his spot… and I thought he came across as a really strong person, despite the fact that he was so closed-off most of the time.

Even though I hate love triangles with a passion, the hints at one through this book aren’t too bad, especially since I didn’t feel Gwen got special treatment. And I’d like for her to ultimately end up with the other person and not the obvious one in this book.

There were parts of this book that were violent and savage and did in fact put me in mind of the Hunger Games. Then again, I’m not sure this kind of plot could be written any other way. And it was good there were good and bad people in both races.

I enjoyed this book so much, I’ve bought the second in the trilogy. I plan to read it in the near future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I really enjoyed being able to read a different genre of book from an author whose work I particularly like. While I wouldn’t necessarily go out and buy books in the military romance genre, I did quite enjoy reading this book.

I did get a bit confused at the beginning, where the book shifted back in time without me really expecting it to.

I did like both Eric and Nicole as characters, even though I thought their relationship did move a bit too fast. It was nice to have the opportunity to learn about both of their histories and family. I thought they both came across as interesting and well-rounded characters.

I did think that Nicole was a bit too hung-up on her own appearance. If it was mostly in her head, it made her come across as quite self-centred. If it did actually happen… I’m not sure I liked the implications of every guy finding her attractive. Though I did think Ryan came across as a bit of a jerk at times.

I like Kyle… Mikey… Hammond… I’m not sure which of those names actually belonged to him. But I did find him an interesting character, despite the fact he came across as a jerk some of the time. I thought his relationship with his ex-girlfriend added a new dimension to his character… and I found myself really caring about him when he ended up having to fight for his life.

I did think that the story was a little disjointed at times and it was difficult to follow everything that happened. I also would have liked to see a bit more of the minor characters and their relationships to the main ones.

I liked the fact that Nicole did come across as a strong female character, even though she felt men only saw that she was attractive. I also thought it was interesting to see the way she and Eric had to work together and the problems that kind of undercover work raised for both of them.

I was glad to see that there was a lot of terminology used and I’d like to read Mikey’s book in the future. This was quick and easy to read and I did very much enjoy this book. I definitely hope to read more books by this author in the future.