Ink of Blood

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I did like the general plot of this book, but I have to say, I had to take a star off the score, due to the pretty major similarities to the television series Smallvilles.

I thought it was interesting to learn about the geodes and how they affected the environment around. It was interesting to see that two halves apparently had the ability to heal, while another half had the ability to evolve a computer.

I did find Gretchen to be an interesting character. She was the only one I couldn’t name a Smallville counterpart for and it was interesting to see her having to deal with moving to a new town. I also liked seeing her relationship with her parents… I would have liked to see a bit more of them as a family unit. And I would have liked to see Derek’s relationship with his parents a bit more, too.

It was interesting to see that Justin had had asthma as a child. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get out of seeing him as a version of Lex Luthor. Whether this was intended to be a fan fiction modified for print, or the similarities were just coincidence… I think it’s hard not to picture the show while reading this. When I mentioned some of the plot points to my sister, she immediately agreed… and she’s seen hardly any of the series.

I felt that this book could have done with being expanded somewhat. It was short and it was easy to read. Some of the characters were well-defined, but it would have been nice to see more of their history together.

It was interesting to see the way Gretchen’s computer interacted with her and I did think the author did a good job of showing how Gretchen’s ability seemed to develop through the course of the book. I did like that this book was a self-contained story and didn’t really end on a cliffhanger.

I’m not sure I’d read the next book in this series, I have to say. It would have been a four-star read… but it just didn’t seem all that unique and most of the characters seemed to have mirrors in Smallville. It was disappointing to see so much that was the same.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Considering that I’ve had some different experiences with young adult books, although I really wanted to read this, I was also a bit hesitant, due to many falling into the same category.

First of all… there wasn’t a love triangle involving Cara. Well, not exactly… but it was nice not to see a girl torn between two guys. Though I haven’t read the synopsis for the sequel, so for all I know, there could be a love triangle there.

I blame being absolutely shattered yesterday for the fact that I missed some very obvious clues about the identities of some of the characters. There was nothing wrong with the writing… it was very much more because I was missing all sorts of things. I liked Lance, Percy and Wyn as characters. It was interesting to see that Cara could see things when she touched one of the boys… though I didn’t actually clock the reason for some of those memories until much later and the explanation was one that I thought really worked well. The events towards the end of the book tied in really well to those at the start.

I liked Cara as a character and I could empathise with her really well. I had a lot of sympathy for her, due to her being treated as an outcast. It was nice to see her become friendly with Lance when he started treating her like a person and not a freak.

I found myself drawn really easily into the writing and I liked the fact that Cara didn’t just believe everything off the bat. Her exchanges with the voice inside her mind were really sweet and I liked the opportunity to get to know more of this version of the characters and the legend. I was also really happy to see there wasn’t love at first sight, even if there was some form of attraction.

This book did end on something of a cliffhanger, but it was good to see that a lot of the plot was resolved. I would be interested in reading the sequel to this book in the future… probably enough to purchase it when I have the money to do so.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I have read the previous book in this series, though it was a little while ago. It was good to have the opportunity to meet Katrina again and see her relationships with the other characters, both her work colleagues and others.

I didn’t really like Alexis as a character, I have to admit. Even though I could understand why she was acting the way she was and why she had that kind of moral compass, I thought that the way she treated her mother was really awful.

There was a lot happening in this book and I felt that there were parts of it that were really intense to read. I was a bit unclear as to why Chuck was so convinced it was Katrina he was supposed to target, though. Since there was so much happening in this book, I did find it somewhat hard to follow at times… even though I was drawn really easily into the storyline.

I liked Katrina as a character and I did find myself liking Jason, too. I thought the two of them were really good, well-established characters. It was interesting to see that Jason was quite a contradictory character. I liked that aspect about him.

I did feel that some of the characters weren’t established as well as they could have been, since there was so much going on. I had a couple of moments where I had to pause to remember which character was being referenced. I didn’t really like Gilman, I have to say. He seemed single-minded and not really all that intelligent. I liked his partner somewhat better, but I felt both were very much ruled by their personal slants on the case.

It was good to be able to learn more about the science behind the anthrax, though I did find myself getting a bit lost at times. The danger in the book felt real and I found myself growing more tense as I read further into the book.

Some of the characters were well-defined and it was good to see those ones. There was an air of mystery to the book that didn’t get derailed due to how much was going on. In the future, I hope to read more books by this author.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although I haven’t read the first book in this series, I still found this one more or less easy to follow. It was interesting to read and put me in mind of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

It was interesting to see the differences between Dielle and Louie, though I couldn’t really see how Dielle was supposed to be Louie. Presumably, there were some things that Dielle knew on a subconscious level from Louie, but I would have liked to see more of them interacting together.

The concept of Sis wasn’t really unique, but I liked seeing how everyone was connected through the computer system. And it was cool to see Sis interacting with the different characters. Some of the acronyms were a bit amusing, I felt.

I didn’t really like Kiki’s character. I did only get to see her in this book, so she could have been a nicer person in book one… but I really felt that she was only out for herself in this.

I liked Dielle more than I did Louie. It was good to see Dielle trying to learn about the culture he’d found himself in. He almost came across as quite an innocent character. And it was a bit sad to see that he was unable to continue with the band.

It was good to see something of the different cultures on the ship, but I found it a bit confusing about how they all fit on there and how parts of the atmosphere could be so different. I was emotionally invested enough in Dielle to become upset on his behalf when he was taken… no matter that he was able to deal with the situation. It was interesting to see the other people through his eyes, but I would have liked more background and history to everything.

I did think there was a lot happening in this book and it was somewhat difficult to follow all of the events. There were a few amusing parts in this book and I did find it entertaining to read. I liked getting a glimpse into this world and although the ending was a bit confusing, it triggered my interest in seeing more of the world and in learning the history of the characters.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Okay, so I did start off actually liking this book more than the previous one. Unfortunately, I had some very mixed feeling by the end of this book.

I liked how Ariana was interacting with Zane at first and it was good to see how he was trying to do the right thing. There were times that he came across a bit too good to be true, but he did make mistakes at times and he wasn’t perfect. Of course, he did kind of come across as quite whiny and I ended up rolling my eyes a lot through his part of the book.

I did find Isla to be an interesting character, despite the writing setting her up as an awful person… which was probably subjective, since Isla seemed to be a better character from Zane’s perspective.

It was fairly obvious who the bad guys were in this, which took away a lot of the mystery. And I can just about tolerate love triangles… I DO NOT like books where the main characters are basically lust objects. Or where they’re in love with someone, yet noticing how good-looking members of the opposite sex are in really over-the-top ways.

I did like seeing a bit more of Cal in this book and I couldn’t help feeling a lot of sympathy for him… even if there were times I cringed at what he admitted. I liked some of the minor characters in this book and, in particular, Deacon and Mel. I would have liked to see more of them. Unfortunately, I found Ariana to be reaching Mary Sue proportions.

Although it was interesting to see Ariana developing her powers, I also felt she made some really appalling choices. It was a shame, because she could have been a much stronger character… and there were elements of that in the first book.

I thought it was interesting to see Ariana’s connection with her mother and I would have liked to learn a bit more about that. I did think it was good to see Cal’s father come across as a bit more human in this book. Although I wasn’t sure if I trusted him, I would have liked to see more of a redemptive-arc with him.

Despite the problems I mentioned, the last line has really piqued my interest to see how everything will end. I just don’t want to see more of the same, so I don’t think I’ll be purchasing the final book.