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shaik's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars - i know this is part of a series but the ending didn't feel complete but it also didn't compel me to continue reading the series? i don't know.. anyways, i really enjoyed this book and was my first to try and get into the fantasy genre. i did NOT know that fantasy involved so many complex words... i was sometimes looking up three words i didn't know on a page. this book put me through my feelings and the lore of the religion in the story was really interesting. if you find yourself bored of the book wait until act 2! that's when the real part of the story starts. :)
novelhaus's review against another edition
4.0
Okay so, this book was definitely a fun read! The characters are all quirky and unique. I remember them. I actually like and care about them. The characters are strong in this book! The magic system is also something I have never seen before. Tattoo magic? Hello, sign me up!
The world building is also a strength of this book. The religion, the towns and cities, the atmosphere, it is all very tangible and believable that I found I could get sucked into the pages and appear right then and there in the middle of the story.
You have action, adventure, lies, mystery, a little dash of flirtatious romance and bam, you have an excellent book! The reason I am not giving it 5 stars is because it does take a little bit to set up. The beginning feels slow, despite the awesome information and set up you are getting. Still, this book is completely worth a read!
Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc of this book!
The world building is also a strength of this book. The religion, the towns and cities, the atmosphere, it is all very tangible and believable that I found I could get sucked into the pages and appear right then and there in the middle of the story.
You have action, adventure, lies, mystery, a little dash of flirtatious romance and bam, you have an excellent book! The reason I am not giving it 5 stars is because it does take a little bit to set up. The beginning feels slow, despite the awesome information and set up you are getting. Still, this book is completely worth a read!
Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc of this book!
thindbooks's review against another edition
4.0
*This book was given to me by the publisher to give an honest review*
WOW! It's kind of like I read Shakespeare because it was really poetic and the character P.O.Vs changed a lot. It's more of a theater read but without dialogue, you are expecting. The characters were amazing and some didn't use proper names like "The Plague Doctor" even though his name was found by Celia (the main character). The author's writing was unique and I never saw something like this. The theme in this book was more about the freedom of religion and used tattoo magic. The atmosphere was dark and complex. Readers need to focus on the story a lot in order to understand the book. I think readers who love poetic and dark books will love reading Ink in the Blood.
WOW! It's kind of like I read Shakespeare because it was really poetic and the character P.O.Vs changed a lot. It's more of a theater read but without dialogue, you are expecting. The characters were amazing and some didn't use proper names like "The Plague Doctor" even though his name was found by Celia (the main character). The author's writing was unique and I never saw something like this. The theme in this book was more about the freedom of religion and used tattoo magic. The atmosphere was dark and complex. Readers need to focus on the story a lot in order to understand the book. I think readers who love poetic and dark books will love reading Ink in the Blood.
strawberry_femme's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted to like this book but I ended up DNFing it. It just wasn’t up my alley. It was very predictable
shannonxo's review against another edition
4.0
Wow-ee! Was that ever a ride of a book! I finished it yesterday and I still don't know who to trust. I'm going to take that as a very good sign.
Let's start with the obvious, shall we? The queer representation is through the roof in this book. For instance, the main character, Celia, is bisexual. Throughout the story we meet several people who are gay, lesbian, straight, or prefer he, she or they as their pronoun. I struggle a little and get confused with the 'they' pronouns, just because my brain is still hardwired to think of it as more than one person, but I'm working on that. Further to all of that, every individual in this world possess a tenor, which is a unique and colourful aura that essentially displays your gender. While the representation is big, it is not the focal point of the plot at all.
The story itself is fascinating. Almost immediately I got a dark Caraval vibe, but from the point of view of a performer, not a spectator. Heck, even The Night Circus would be an apt descriptor, minus the delightful whimsy. The Rabble Mob was an interesting group to tag along with, and it certainly kept that dark vibe going. The Plague Doctor in particular; wasn't quite sure what to do with him but heavens did I love him.
What I really loved was the tattoo magic! It stems from religious lore, and I found the whole premise to be so neat! Celia and her friend Anya are Inklings, and they were chosen by the Divine to send messages to people via the ink. Essentially they tattoo themselves with an ambiguous visual message of warning or advice, and when they 'let it go' it appears on the recipient's skin! And the way Celia and Anya use that ability between themselves throughout the book is just as entertaining. Likewise, the role the religion they served in the progression of this book was crazy! Major plot twists I did not expect!
This was a mighty big story, and much to my surprise, it required a lot of reflection afterward. There are themes of religion and morality that went quite deep. They threaded throughout the entire story and really drove certain plot points with a degree of openness and unpredictability, if that makes any sense at all. I was also especially thinking on where this story is going to go next. I'm guessing this must have originally been written as a standalone, because the ending was about 95% cut and dry and wrapped up with a bow. There are very few loose ends left so I will be very interested to see where this goes in the second book.
The only reason why this book lost a star is because I really had to pay close attention, and I learned this too late. Especially at the end. It got somewhat confusing and I had some difficulty following what was going down with all the hullaballoo. I'm going to chalk much of it up to the version I read being an unfinished arc. I'm definitely buying a finished copy and if it improves my rating will definitely switch to five stars. Regardless, there are a lot of details coming at you, and no matter how small or big they are they need to be filed away for future.
Let's start with the obvious, shall we? The queer representation is through the roof in this book. For instance, the main character, Celia, is bisexual. Throughout the story we meet several people who are gay, lesbian, straight, or prefer he, she or they as their pronoun. I struggle a little and get confused with the 'they' pronouns, just because my brain is still hardwired to think of it as more than one person, but I'm working on that. Further to all of that, every individual in this world possess a tenor, which is a unique and colourful aura that essentially displays your gender. While the representation is big, it is not the focal point of the plot at all.
The story itself is fascinating. Almost immediately I got a dark Caraval vibe, but from the point of view of a performer, not a spectator. Heck, even The Night Circus would be an apt descriptor, minus the delightful whimsy. The Rabble Mob was an interesting group to tag along with, and it certainly kept that dark vibe going. The Plague Doctor in particular; wasn't quite sure what to do with him but heavens did I love him.
What I really loved was the tattoo magic! It stems from religious lore, and I found the whole premise to be so neat! Celia and her friend Anya are Inklings, and they were chosen by the Divine to send messages to people via the ink. Essentially they tattoo themselves with an ambiguous visual message of warning or advice, and when they 'let it go' it appears on the recipient's skin! And the way Celia and Anya use that ability between themselves throughout the book is just as entertaining. Likewise, the role the religion they served in the progression of this book was crazy! Major plot twists I did not expect!
This was a mighty big story, and much to my surprise, it required a lot of reflection afterward. There are themes of religion and morality that went quite deep. They threaded throughout the entire story and really drove certain plot points with a degree of openness and unpredictability, if that makes any sense at all. I was also especially thinking on where this story is going to go next. I'm guessing this must have originally been written as a standalone, because the ending was about 95% cut and dry and wrapped up with a bow. There are very few loose ends left so I will be very interested to see where this goes in the second book.
The only reason why this book lost a star is because I really had to pay close attention, and I learned this too late. Especially at the end. It got somewhat confusing and I had some difficulty following what was going down with all the hullaballoo. I'm going to chalk much of it up to the version I read being an unfinished arc. I'm definitely buying a finished copy and if it improves my rating will definitely switch to five stars. Regardless, there are a lot of details coming at you, and no matter how small or big they are they need to be filed away for future.
libellumartinae's review against another edition
3.0
REVIEW (3/5):
this read was suggested to me by a friend, insisting on the theme or religion, since I have been aching for more books that talk about the corruption inside a system based on religion.
hence I did enjoy the worldbuilding (the whole 'tenors' thing is probably the best way to show the gender spectrum I have ever read in a book and I wish that we could have this in reality as well) and the first part of the book did manage to deliver enough that it got me hyped for what it followed.
except during the second part, the constant confusion - as much as the whole worldbuilding is interesting, it isn't always perfectly explained - and the fact that we are constantly in the MC's head (which wouldn't be bad, since the author perfectly conveys her own anxieties and the claustrophobic feeling of being inside of it) but it certainly detaches us from what is going on outside.
I feel like since the second part, the author focused itself more on plot-twists (which were interesting but till a certain point, because after being stuck inside the MC's mind, you were suddenly filled with too much information to understand) than on the MC and everything around.
in fact, as beautifully-written as it seemed, the relationship between the MC and the love interest remained a bit cold and it personally lacked of chemistry (whereas I felt like the relationship between the MC and her childhood friend was utterly fantastic, and I am very happy that they focused more on that than the romantic one).
I'd say that I'd personally found this book more interesting, if it had focused more on the themes around it, instead of offering action-after-action (but this is my own personal thought, based on my own personal taste), but aside that it was a nice 'start-of-the-year' book, although I am unsure about whether I'll continue the series.
this read was suggested to me by a friend, insisting on the theme or religion, since I have been aching for more books that talk about the corruption inside a system based on religion.
hence I did enjoy the worldbuilding (the whole 'tenors' thing is probably the best way to show the gender spectrum I have ever read in a book and I wish that we could have this in reality as well) and the first part of the book did manage to deliver enough that it got me hyped for what it followed.
except during the second part, the constant confusion - as much as the whole worldbuilding is interesting, it isn't always perfectly explained - and the fact that we are constantly in the MC's head (which wouldn't be bad, since the author perfectly conveys her own anxieties and the claustrophobic feeling of being inside of it) but it certainly detaches us from what is going on outside.
I feel like since the second part, the author focused itself more on plot-twists (which were interesting but till a certain point, because after being stuck inside the MC's mind, you were suddenly filled with too much information to understand) than on the MC and everything around.
in fact, as beautifully-written as it seemed, the relationship between the MC and the love interest remained a bit cold and it personally lacked of chemistry (whereas I felt like the relationship between the MC and her childhood friend was utterly fantastic, and I am very happy that they focused more on that than the romantic one).
I'd say that I'd personally found this book more interesting, if it had focused more on the themes around it, instead of offering action-after-action (but this is my own personal thought, based on my own personal taste), but aside that it was a nice 'start-of-the-year' book, although I am unsure about whether I'll continue the series.
flippingthepages's review against another edition
1.0
You know when you've been wanting to go to a restaurant and dream that the food tastes delicious and you'll leave happy? Then when you actually get there all the food is wrong and the server is horrible? That was this book to me.
The cover and the description was so hooking that I knew that I had to read it. The idea of the book was promising. The writing style was so odd that I was constantly rereading sentences, I wasn't sure if it wasn't making sense or that I just wasn't getting it.
I didn't feel that I cared about the characters.
I was just really confused the entire time.
The cover and the description was so hooking that I knew that I had to read it. The idea of the book was promising. The writing style was so odd that I was constantly rereading sentences, I wasn't sure if it wasn't making sense or that I just wasn't getting it.
I didn't feel that I cared about the characters.
I was just really confused the entire time.
juliterario's review against another edition
3.0
Ink in the Blood estaba entre mis lecturas más esperadas del 2020, y de seguro moría por leer este libro. La novela de Kim Smejkal es una verdadera aventura dentro de la fantasía juvenil oscura, con un toque retorcido y atrapante que sin duda le pone a la audiencia los pelos de punta. Magia relacionada a los tatuajes, fes y religiones, el arte y el teatro... Ink in the Blood sin duda es algo nuevo dentro de la literatura juvenil, una ambientación fantástica hecha de mentiras, tatuajes, historias y ficciones. Les recomiendo a montones esta historia, en serio, y de seguro es algo sumamente original, adictivo y novedoso que lxs dejará sin palabras.
¿Por qué las 3 estrellas, entonces? No sé, simplemente no encontré mucho en este libro. Si, de seguro me encantó leerlo para llegar a conocer este mundo, devorar la increíble escritura de Kim Smejkal y consumir este tipo de contenido artístico, esta magia y esta fantasía y un mundo tan especial como este. Sin embargo, no disfruté de nada más en Ink in the Blood. Fue más que nada un problema de gustos personales, pero no me gustó esta lectura :/ Me dejó bastante que desear y, a fin de cuentas, me dio igual :(
¿Por qué las 3 estrellas, entonces? No sé, simplemente no encontré mucho en este libro. Si, de seguro me encantó leerlo para llegar a conocer este mundo, devorar la increíble escritura de Kim Smejkal y consumir este tipo de contenido artístico, esta magia y esta fantasía y un mundo tan especial como este. Sin embargo, no disfruté de nada más en Ink in the Blood. Fue más que nada un problema de gustos personales, pero no me gustó esta lectura :/ Me dejó bastante que desear y, a fin de cuentas, me dio igual :(