(I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review).
I was immediately intrigued by the blurb of this book and when I received the copy, I immediately found it a really easy read. I really found Claire an interesting, engaging character and it was great to get an insight into her history and past with her younger sister.
There were a lot of really tense moments in this book right from the start. I felt bad for Claire when reading about her strained relationship with her mother and I have to say, the more I saw of Tina, the less I liked her. Not that she deserved what happened, but I felt very little sympathy for her throughout the flashbacks that revealed more of Tina and Claire’s relationships.
While I felt that Claire, Rob and her partner were really well-written characters, I did find it a bit hard to picture some of the secondary characters, particularly the other officers in the police precinct. I could understand why they weren’t as developed, considering everything else going on in the book, but I would have liked to see more of the other officers involved.
I had a lot of theories throughout the book about what was really going to happen, or who was really responsible for what was going on. There were a few moments where I did struggle to suspend my disbelief, but on the whole, most of the book felt quite real and gritty. It was also interesting to see the forensic psychologist and her profile of the killer, given the evidence she had to work with.
I liked the relationship between Claire and Rob. I liked that they had that history together and that they were both really competent in their own fields. And it was really great to see Claire make the decisions to share her history when it was appropriate, rather than hide her own personal history.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy, engaging read with a main character I could really root for and a relationship that made a lot of sense and really worked for the characters. I would definitely seek out the next book in this series.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I was really happy to get the opportunity to read this novella and have the chance to see the world and the characters again… though I particularly liked being able to see another group of Watchers.
I thought it was particularly interesting to see something of the culture of the Lash demons, though I was a bit confused about how everything worked with them going into heat… or that’s what it seemed like, anyway. While there was an element of love at first sight, I really liked the relationship that grew between Saige and Tanner and it was good to learn bits and pieces of Saige’s past… though I was a bit disappointed not to learn very much of Tanner’s past.
While this book was a novella, I did like being able to see some of the interactions between Tanner and his fellow Watchers. I would have liked to see a bit more of Arawn and his team of Watchers, as well as the Solsti, but I did especially like being able to see more and different demons.
I found Saige really easy to empathise with and I felt a lot of sympathy for her as I got to know more about her history and what she was forced to do. While I would have liked to see more depth to the villains, instead of a group of bad guys, I thought that the hints of mystery with the disappeared demons a really interesting one. It was really good to see that Tanner wasn’t willing to let things go and just assume that Saige was acting of her own volition.
I liked seeing Saige’s relationship with her brother and I would have liked to see more of their interactions. It was good to know what the limitations to Saige’s abilities were… and I also especially liked the fact that Tanner didn’t try to push her into anything, even though they had had some erotic interactions at the beginning.
While the threat in this book wasn’t as worldwide as some of the others, there was real danger that made me care about the characters and the situation. I’d definitely like to see more of the world and the characters in the future.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I have some kind of mixed feelings about this book. I did think that the idea was a really interesting one, but I found it very hard to form any real emotional connection to any of the main characters. Even when I thought some of them were intriguing, I found it very difficult to care about what was going to happen to them.
I was interested in the details about the planet and the fungus that grew there. I didn’t really have a clear mental image of any of the characters, so I wasn’t entirely sure how the radiation had changed them physically. I did find it strange (though intriguing) to see how old-Earth language was used. I found myself sounding out the words at times, to see how the language spoken had evolved.
I would have liked some more details about how the clone-children worked and how creating one as a mate could be considered different to the type of relationship Cain had with his mother/stepmother, considering mating a clone-child with the original would kind of be incest… but also a very extreme form of narcissim.
It was interesting to see that marriage had become an outdated practise, since I felt that came across as quite a natural evolution of the society. I was also intrigued by the AIs… and I really liked But-A-Fly, though some of Cain’s interactions with Lucifer were quite amusing to read.
I did feel some sympathy for Lilith, but I couldn’t say I liked her as a character. She seemed very much of an anti-hero than Cain, who at least seemed somewhat bothered when allies were killed… even if I doubt he cared very much about them.
Probably my least favourite character was Eve, as I felt, by the end of the book, she was putting herself first. While I had some sympathy for what she’d gone through, I lost most of that when I felt she hadn’t given the children a real chance to have normal lives and normal relationships.
There was potential in this book, but I felt a lot of it fell by the wayside. I don’t intend to read a sequel to this book if one exists.
Fourteen-year-old Phoebe Quinn is surrounded by magic, but she can’t muster any of her own. Her sister is a fairy keeper. Her best friends are merfolk. And all she does is dishes and housework.
When Phoebe finds out a terrible sea creature is awakening that preys upon the peace-loving merfolk, she becomes determined to help them, even though it means going with Tristan and Mina to their home deep in the sea.
Beneath the waves, Phoebe learns she’s more like her sister than she realized. The merfolk are drawn to her, and she can sense the magic of the sea all around her. Magic is finally at her fingertips, but that’s precisely why the stirring dark power under the waters decides it wants her most of all.
Now she must not only help the peaceful merfolk escape this ancient enemy, she must master her out-of-control powers. If she fails, she will die and darkness will rise and enslave the merfolk once more. But embracing her full power could cost her the very people she loves the most.
Review
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Having read and enjoyed Fairy Keeper, I was happy to have the opportunity to read the second book in the series.
I liked being able to see Phoebe in this book and it was really easy to empathise with her as a character. I thought it was especially good to see her relationship with her sister and the other characters from the first book… though I felt Sierra didn’t really come across as a very nice person in this book, given the way she didn’t care about the humans breaking the treaty with the merfolk.
I liked seeing Phoebe with Tristan and Mina. It was nice to see how close the three of them were… but it was also good that the merfolk didn’t just accept Phoebe and what she could do. I liked being able to see Phoebe’s conflicts about whether or not she was forcing Tristan and Mina to be friends with her… and I did think it was intriguing to read about the mer-tears and the mystery surrounding them.
I found it easy to empathise with Phoebe’s fear that carried over from the first book. I would have liked to see some of her earlier exchanges with Tristan and Mina, but I did really like seeing their friendship and I felt that the romance came across as real and natural. I did like being able to see a bit more of the merfolk’s culture… and while I really didn’t like a couple of the elders (and would have liked to see more variety in their personalities), I did feel that their attitudes made sense and I wouldn’t have liked the book so much if everything had just come easy to Phoebe.
I thought that the descriptions in the book worked really well and I was drawn really easily into the world and the relationships between the characters. The wraiths were creepy enough, but it was good to see the other creatures that made the ocean their home as well… and there was a lot of tension that kept me reading the book, wanting to find out what would happen next.
I found this book easy to read and I enjoyed being able to see the characters from the first book and meet new ones. In the near future, I would really like to read more book/s in this series and by this author.
About The Author
Amy writes stories for tweens and teens. She is a former reading teacher with a Masters in Library Science. As an Army kid, she moved eight times before she was eighteen, so she feels especially fortunate to be married to her high school sweetheart. Together they’re raising two daughters and are currently living in Germany, though they still call Texas home. A perfect day for Amy involves rain pattering on the windows, popcorn, and every member of her family curled up in one cozy room reading a good book.
Curiosity Quills Press (CQ) is a small hybrid publishing company specializing in genre fiction of the highest quality. With 150+ titles in our catalog already and approximately 6 new books coming out each month, there’s never a dull moment at CQ. We work with major retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Audible to ensure that you, the reader, can find whatever you are looking for at your convenience.
Founded in 2011 by Eugene Teplitsky and Lisa Gus, CQ was initially a resource portal for writing and publishing, created in an effort to help writers, like themselves, survive the publishing industry. After rapid success, CQ morphed into publishing press that over time has solidified its share in the market. Now we spend our days searching for the next great escape!
Paige Donovan is an ambitious college graduate who aspires to reach the top of the corporate ladder. She’s climbing fast when given the promotion of a lifetime at a prestigious fashion magazine in New York City. Her bright future comes to an unexpected halt after news of her father’s death. She inherits his old cabin in the Colorado Rockies, and just when she thinks her luck couldn’t get any worse, she has a car accident in the mountains and awakens in the small, remote community of Black River.
Soon, she’s engulfed in the mystical world of Varulv—wolves descended from 13th century Scandinavia and blessed by Norse gods with the ability to appear human. Paige is desperate to return home, but never expects to fall for her rescuer, Riley Gray, a charming young werewolf from England who offers her an alternate future with his pack.
Now, she must choose between the career she’s always wanted and the love she’s always dreamed.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I did actually think that the premise for this book started out quite well. I had a lot of sympathy for Paige’s character as a child and it was sweet to see her trying to make friends with a puppy… even if I did feel that her thought processes made her come across as a bit too adult at that point. It was also good to see her brief interaction with the boy and it would have been good to see them able to interact a bit more before Paige’s parents took her away.
Unfortunately, after the intriguing dream, I felt that the plot of the book went downhill considerably. I wasn’t given much of an opportunity to get to know the secondary characters… and when Paige’s father died, I wasn’t able to see any of her relationship with him. There was too much telling rather than showing going on.
I thought that Paige’s relationship with Riley was a particularly dangerous, emotionally manipulative one. It would have been good if it had been portrayed as that… but I felt that Paige spent a lot of the book as a weak character who let everyone else walk all over her. Even when she had problems with the way things were run, she didn’t seem to care beyond making a token protest… and her final decision towards the end of the book didn’t seem to be about her choosing the best path; rather that she took the easy way out.
I felt it could have been really interesting to see Paige challenging archaic stereotypes in a wolf pack that treats females as less than males, but there was a dangerous sexist undertone to most of the book that I felt was accepted even by the supposedly strong female characters. Very few of the secondary characters were expanded upon and those who were seemed to change personality at the drop of a hat.
I found it very hard to take the romance seriously. By the end of the book, I actually knew very little about Paige or Riley and I felt there was some quite juvenile language used at times. I was disappointed that the romance didn’t feel real… even though I was intrigued by the Norse mythology surrounding the changing of the wolves.
For those of you thinking of reading this… there are elements of bestiality in this. While those might have been handled well… I couldn’t stop cringing whenever it was mentioned.
Due to a massive slew of problems with the romance and the characters, I strongly suspect I won’t be reading any more books that might be in the series… which is a real shame, since the premise held a lot of promise for a potentially unique take on the werewolf myth.
April Bostic is a New Jersey-based, Adult Romance author who enjoys unleashing her creativity and letting her imagination run wild. Her love of romance books inspired her to become not just a reader, but also a writer. In December 2008, she self-published her first novel, a contemporary romance with a supernatural twist entitled “A Rose to the Fallen”.
Her first short story, “Right Here, Right Now”, released in January 2012, is an erotic romance with a dash of S&M. The following year, she released two more short stories: a romantic urban fantasy inspired by the Greek myth of Eros and Psyche entitled “Eros, My Love”, and a sexy romantic comedy entitled “Love Addiction”.
After five years, she released her second novel, “The Howling Heart” in August 2013, a paranormal romance that delves into the mystical world of werewolves and Norse gods. To end her busiest year in publishing, April also released her fourth short story in December 2013, a historical paranormal romance entitled “A Dark Scandal”.
I felt feverish, and I couldn’t move. I tried to open my eyes, but something heavy weighed on my eyelids.
Although I couldn’t see or move, I heard voices around me. The first one was female, and she had an English accent like Sheriff Gray. “She’s still got a fever.”
Then, I heard a male voice. “What if she doesn’t wake up?” He had the same accent, but he wasn’t the sheriff.
At that moment, I realized they were talking about me. “Don’t worry…she will.”
“It’s my fault. Dad’s going to bloody kill me.”
“It’s not your fault. Stop saying that. She’llbe okay, and Dad will understand.”
“I shouldn’t have brought her here.“
“You did the right thing by bringing her here. I can take care of her.“
There was a momentary pause. “What if she finds out?”
“That’s for Dad to decide.”
The voices faded in and out. Sleep bore down on me, but the last words I heard from the man stuck in my head. “I’ll watch over her.”
A severely dry mouth and splitting headache interrupted my peaceful sleep. I couldn’t hear the two voices, but I heard breathing in my left ear like someone was sleeping next to me. I tried to open my eyes so that I could ask them for water and medicine for my headache. The weight on my eyes was gone, so I tried to open them, but they felt sticky this time. I struggled to peel them open, blinking rapidly to loosen my eyelashes.
When I finally opened my eyes, they felt swollen. The pain in my head spread throughout my entire body. Dim light surrounded me in this strange room. I lay on a bed and looked up at the ceiling. I tried to speak, but my throat was dry. Only a quiet wheeze escaped. A low groan followed as my headache pounded against my temples. I still felt hot and sweaty. Layers of blankets covered me, and I wanted to yank them off. When I touched my abdomen, I wore nothing but my bra and panties.
My eyes darted around the unfamiliar room. On the wall, I noticed a shadow of something next to me. What the hell is that? I turned my head and saw a candle in the window, but what cast the shadow scared me to death. A large, white wolf lay on the floor beside me. There was no mistaking it for a dog. The bed was low to the floor, and its head was close to mine. I opened my mouth wide, prepared to scream, but wheezes and weak gasps escaped, instead. I thrashed my head against the pillow, as if the motions would turn up the volume in my voice. Finally, a shriek pushed through my sandpaper throat. It was a high-pitched squeal at first, but then, it burst forth and filled the room. I sat up quickly. Aching pain tore through my body, and I heard my bones crack.
The wolf awoke with a start. It jerked its head up, and glowing, yellow eyes blinked until they settled on me. I shrank away from it, nearly falling off the bed, screaming until I went hoarse and gasped for breath. The wolf stood on all fours, its size definitely that of a Great Dane. Our gazes locked for a brief moment before the animal ran out the room. I sat against the headboard, clutching the blankets against my chest. I was alone and terrified. Within seconds, tears trickled down my cheeks.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
So, again… I was really happy to have the opportunity to read the second book in the Watcher series. Although it had been a little while since I’d read the last one, I was drawn really easily back into the world.
I felt a lot of empathy for Scorpio with the first scene. It was difficult to see any way around what he’d been ordered to do, even though I thought that the witch had a point in her decision to curse him. While I’m not a fan of love at first sight, it didn’t actually feel like that when I saw Scorpio’s and Tessa’s first meeting… and I really liked the fact that the author took the time to allow me to get to know the characters.
I did think that it would have been nice to see more of the individual characters in Tessa’s people, but I did enjoy seeing her relationship with her father. It was good to see that she was a strong female character… but still had weaknesses and made mistakes. I enjoyed getting to know more of both her and Scorpio’s past.
I really disliked Damien in this book. Unlike Tessa’s best friend, I couldn’t see any redeeming qualities in him at all. I was a bit confused with why he was so obsessed with Tessa, though. And I did feel that the reasons behind her decision to marry him weren’t made completely clear.
I liked the fact that this book was very much focused on Scorpio and Tessa, rather than switching constantly to the other characters from previous books. I especially enjoyed seeing Jinx take a shine to Scorpio… but that’s probably also because I love cats.
I did also really enjoy seeing more of the world, but a bit more concentrated. While I was confused about the crystals, I did enjoy the opportunity to see some of the witches lose their hostility towards Scorpio and it was good to see him begin to think of them as his people.
I felt that there was real danger in this book and the storyline was engaging, with realistic and likable main characters who each had hidden depth to them. I very much hope to read the next book in this series some time in the future.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I wasn’t completely sure what to make of this book when I first read the blurb. Even though I do like logic in my stories, I was drawn by the concept of these short stories.
The first short story did a really good job of setting the tone of the rest of the collection. I thought the connection between Mary and Millie was creepy, but also a bit sad at times… even though it took me a little while to figure out exactly what was with them.
I felt All The Devils was an interesting version of the Jack the Ripper and it was easy to see the fear the main character experienced… but also her emotions later, in being drawn into something she didn’t understand, but felt the pull towards.
Skin was especially disturbing. I had a lot of sympathy for Patricia’s character, but by the end of the short story, I did develop a strong dislike for her. Then again, I could understand why she flipped so much, due to what she was driven towards.
I did find Mermaids quite a confusing read. Although it was intriguing and had some nice imagery, the ending raised a lot more questions.
Phantom Pain had a couple of surprises that I wasn’t expecting, but I felt that a lot of the story was missing.
I felt a lot of sympathy for the main character in Unbreakable Heart. The ending was gruesome… but also understandable. I would have liked to know a bit more about the world she was in, but I found her easy to empathise with.
Syren was another character I felt sympathy for. It would have been good to get some background on her in Saltwater Assassin, but I still found her easy to empathise with. And the ending was violent, but I felt it did fit.
In Her Image was another confusing story at first, but by the end, I thought it succeeded in becoming quite creepy. It was an interesting concept, though.
I liked the fact that Undead Girl was a bit longer. I felt a lot of sympathy for her and it was nice to see her able to connect with someone… though there was a lot of mystery still to be expanded upon.
Don’t Touch Me was an interesting concept. There were a couple of things I wasn’t expecting and I thought the idea was a fairly unique one.
Although I don’t normally read poems, Three Poems was interesting with some good imagery. I didn’t really understand what was going on, but they were still well-written.
Ruby was especially disturbing to read. There was a good air of mystery in the story, but it was still gruesome… and I didn’t really understand why Ruby had to get her cut.
I would have liked to see UnTamed expanded upon. Leana was a sympathetic character, but the story seemed to have a rather abrupt end. There were hints and elements of the world that were really interestng to read.
Made For This was particularly disturbing at the beginning, but it was interesting to see how the man had to deal with what happened.
From The Inside was another fairly intriguing story in a world I would have liked to see more of. Anika was an interesting character, but I was confused about her self-mutilation. The concept of the tattoos coming out from inside, with living ink, was interesting.
Rudy and Deirdre was an interesting look into the thoughts of two different people. It was really short, but still an entertaining read.
I would have liked some more explanation in Daedalus’ Daughter. The concept of the feathers was interesting and it was good to see how someone else viewed what was happening to Isha.
The world of The Zealot was interesting and it was good to get something of the background of the storyline. While I still felt like I was missing a lot of the story, the characters were interesting and it’s a world I would have liked to see more of.
The Well-Rounded Head was an interesting concept, though I really hated the wife. I felt sorry for her husband.. but she was extremely dislikable.
I also really liked Reserved. There were some really sweet moments between Pete and Rory, even though I did think Rory was quite a stereotypical character. It was nice to see Pete respond to Rory and that the two of them seemed really good together.
Scars: First Session was really hard to read, but it did draw me in and I had a lot of respect for Abigail by the end.
All in all, this anthology was really interesting to read and I think a lot of the authors are ones I’d happily read more work from in the future.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Although I generally don’t really like multiple first person POVs, I did them tolerable to read in this book. It was interesting to see the four different characters and how they had to deal with the death of a person so close to all of them.
I found each of the POV characters to be really interesting and although they each seemed shallow and somewhat vapid from the outside, when I was inside their heads, I felt like I was able to get to know the characters better as the book went on.
It was interesting to learn the secrets the different characters were keeping and I had a lot of sympathy for Val… even though I didn’t think she was a very nice person to Haddie. Reggie was probably the person I found the most interesting… although her apparent obsession with Jackson kind of made her seem less intelligent than she probably was.
I also found Livia to be an interesting character… vastly different to how she came across in her first appearance. I did feel some sympathy for Haddie… but although her father did come across as overbearing, I did think that she was making some bad choices.
I couldn’t really understand why Jackson had managed to draw so many people to him, since he didn’t come across as very charming/nice from what was revealed about him during the course of the book.
While it was interesting to see the police officers questioning, I did think they weren’t exactly professional. While that could have been due to seeing them through the eyes of the other characters, it would have been good to see more of their personalities.
There were a lot of elements of tension in this book and I did find it really easy to read, if quite complicated due to everything that was going on. I did kind of like Marcus at first… but I went off him by the end of the book.
I did think that the book ended quite abruptly and I was left with more questions than answers by the end. I would like to read a sequel to this.
When her escape pod falls to earth, crashing in Ypsilanti Bloc, privileged seventeen-year-old Alice Walshe is dashed from the wonderland of wealth and prosperity into a ruined, walled city overrun with militias, gangs, and even cannibals. On top of this horror, her younger brother’s escape pod is missing.
Alice isn’t naïve – she’s always known blocs like Ypsilanti exist, left behind after a foodborne illness ravished the country decades earlier and left pockets of severe urban decay in its wake. Men like her father – a major player at Cerulean Holdings – renew the devastated blocs and bring stability back into the areas. But, Ypsilanti is even worse than the tales she’s heard, and rumor has it the bloc is faced with the threat of extermination by Cerulean, not renewal.
Trapped within Ypsilanti’s borders and left for dead, Alice teams up with a pair of teen scavengers who tracked the wreck of her pod. Despite their rough exterior and vulgar speech, they’re her only option for navigating the hostile and violent environment of Ypsilanti, finding her brother, and getting out of No-Man’s-Land alive..
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I was quite taken by this story. Although I did have some moments of confusion while I was reading the book to begin with, I very quickly found it easy to care about Alice as a character. While I would have liked some more detail about the training she’d had (it was mentioned only briefly), I found her easy to empathise with and it was interesting to see how she had to deal with a world so vastly different to the one she was used to.
I liked being able to see Alice interacting with her brother, though I didn’t get much of an idea of her relationship with her father. It was good to see how she was dealing with her father’s girlfriend, though… and it was good to see that Greta was actually a nice person and did try to help Alice and Cody out, even at the cost of herself.
It was interesting to see bits and pieces of the society at the beginning of each chapter and to get some idea of how people viewed the squatters. While the other society was clearly a vicious one, I did think that they were clearly just trying to survive… and even though there were aspects that were vicious, I could relate to the survival instinct. At the same time, it was easy to see why Alice would find many aspects of their culture difficult to deal with.
I really liked Basilio as a character, though I found his apparent romantic interest in Alice very difficult to believe in. I preferred Maya’s interactions with Alice and I felt that the friendship between them evolved in a real, natural way.
There was a lot of violence in this book, but I felt that it did fit in with the society. I thought it was good to see that, although Alice was intelligent, she did need help to survive… and she didn’t know everything about the other society.
There were a lot of good moments of tension in this book and I found it really easy to read. I think I would be interested in reading a sequel to this book… and checking out more books by this author in the future.
About The Author
James Knapp was born in New Hampshire in 1970, and has lived in the New England area since that time. He developed a love of reading and writing early on, participating in young author competitions as early as grade school, but the later discovery of works by Frank Herbert and Isaac Asimov turned that love to an obsession.
He wrote continuously through high school, college and beyond, eventually breaking into the field with the publication of the Revivors trilogy (State of Decay, The Silent Army, and Element Zero). State of Decay was a Philip K. Dick award nominee, and won the 2010 Compton Crook Award. Ember, The Burn Zone, and Fallout were all written under the name James K. Decker.
After two members of The Freedom Front are arrested and interrogated by the UZTA’s tyrannical President Nicks, Rain Hawkins and her friends face the alarming reality that their plans to liberate the mixed zones across the United Zones of The Authority might not come to fruition. While the resistance movement is growing outside the walls of the zones, the president’s forces are strengthening and putting citizens everywhere in more peril than ever. When Rain receives warnings that her cousin, Calista, has agreed to support plans to kill the mixed zones, and that her life could be on the line at the upcoming pure zone initiation ceremony, she must decide where her loyalties lie and if all of her allies can be trusted. As The Freedom Front use their abilities to unravel the mystery of the ceremony, The Authority captures some of their friends, forcing TFF to either go into hiding, or plan a rescue mission that could jeopardize everything they’ve been fighting for.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I’d probably give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. Although I did like it better than the previous books, I didn’t really like the fact that the book slipped between two different first person perspectives.
I liked that this book picked up immediately from where the last one ended. It was really good to see a much more serious side to Marcello as he tried to protect Rain… but it was really disappointing to see that Rain hadn’t learned much, to the point where she put not only herself in danger, but also other people.
I continued to find Rain’s dreams intriguing. While it was good to be able to see the potential for good in Nata and I did feel a little bit of sympathy for her, even though I did feel that she was completely beyond help. And it was interesting to see the way the dreams had to be interpreted, rather than just everything they needed to know.
I also found it interesting to see more of Niyol. I liked his character and it was good to see him trying to help all of them, though I did feel there was some element of him swooping in to save the day.
There were some really horrible scenes in this book (and the whole of the series) and I felt the tension became more pronounced the more I read the book. Even though Daktair was able to heal people really well, it was also good to see that the characters did get hurt and did suffer. Plus, it was good to see more of the other kids using their own abilities as well as those from the TFF.
I did find this book easier to read than the others and I couldn’t help feeling sorry for the kids who Nata had been brainwashing. I also felt a lot of empathy for Calista and it was good to see more of her as well as Grandma Julia.
In some ways, it was a bit disappointing to have this series end, but I did like the ending. Then again, it seems like there’s more of the story to be told… and I’d like to see more of the characters like Marcello and Calisto; and Cole and Adrienne.
About The Author
Young-adult fantasy and women’s fiction author, Sarah Elle Emm, is a native of Evansville, Indiana and graduate of The University of Evansville. She has lived in Germany, England, Mexico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and traveled extensively beyond. Sarah is the author of the Harmony Run Series, which includes PRISMATIC, OPALESCENT, CHATOYANT, and NACREOUS. She is also the author of MARRYING MISSY, a #1 Amazon Best Seller. Sarah currently resides in Florida with her family. When she’s not walking the plank of her daughters’ imaginary pirate ship, she is writing.
Ink of Blood 