Reviews

Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

amandalyn's review against another edition

4.0

I don’t know what I was expecting, but this wasn’t what I thought it was honing to be. But I still really enjoyed it. It’s been a long time since I’ve read an Alternative History book, and this one did not disappoint. Super interesting concepts and I really liked the characters. I’m excited to get the next ones and see where it goes!

cutenanya's review against another edition

3.0

This book took me a while to read because it's so slow, this is truly an exemplary of a book with great potential but poor execution. Reading this book reminds me of the digital vs. paper book problem. The blanks are like kindles (sorry but that's how I picture it) and the world is one where only the mega privileged, a.k.a. scholars are entitled to reading REAL books made from paper. The rest of the world, we can only see words floating on blanks if we want to read. While this may seem absurd from our perspective as we are used to be surrounded by real books and not digital blanks, nonetheless, this maybe the reality of our future generation. As a book lover, (like most of you who are reading my review :D) I can totally relate to the sad reality that not only is the number of real books gradually declining, we also see fewer thoughts being poured into the creation of books today. A few centuries ago, books are beautifully bound, with leather and occasionally bindings. Today, hardcovers cost so much I feel myself being a spendthrift just collecting this books.

Anyway, I have been sidetracked so I shall come back to Jesse's adventures in Ink and Bone. I think this book fails in the following aspects (and thus just 3 stars despite the awesome world building):

1) PACING: This books is SO SLOW I keep wanting to DNF it but I can't just because I feel a book with such a wonderful background world should not be dumped into my DNF shelf. Still, though it's action packed in a way, the actions don't really grab my interest. This is probably due to the poor development of the cast, bringing me to my second problem with this book.

2) CHARACTERS: I think Ms. Caine should REALLY work on character development. Frankly, the whole cast has potential to be lovable, realistic characters but I end up disliking Jesse and Morgan toward the end of the story and that's a HUGE problem when they are the main characters. Jesse is conflicted and inconsistent.

Spoiler

He's been used by other people his whole life - his family, the library, and even his girlfriend and hates it but he's doing exactly the same thing to Morgan. If that's not the works of a hypocrite, I don't know what is.

The rest of the cast though is awesome and I truly like Thomas and scholar Wolfe (MVP of the book). I adore Thomas for his intelligence and loyalty to Jesse and I adore Wolfe because he's intelligent, innovative, kind and caring. I also like the other characters but sadly, their screen time is too limited for me to develop any emotion for them.

3) ROMANCE: Again, I can't believe how Jesse and Morgan's romance can be SO BADLY developed.

Spoiler

It was okay halfway and maybe even a bit sweet immediately after their escape from Oxford and explosion on the train. However, things just went downhill when Jesse betrayed Morgan even if he had the best of intentions. She would be captured anyway if left alone, maybe even tortured so this is really the logical thing to do. Yet, the logical thing may not necessarily be the right thing to do. Jesse's too logical to border being insensitive and I guess that's what frustrates Morgan.

While Jesse and Morgan's relationships is disappointing though, the romance between other characters are more appealing, especially between Wolfe and Santi. I've seen many reviews expressing fondness for this couple (they're cute), supportive and caring for each other. Hopefully, they would form a model for the younger generation. Dario is not the best character for sure but he has potential to become a better person in the future and his crush (?) on Khalila is just SO CUTE!

Spoiler

When Jesse said Khalila is too good for Dario, he admits it. Imagine that !? An arrogant prick like Dario humbling himself and striving to be better for Khalila! Darn, that's adorable!!!

Overall, this is a book with a promising premise. The poor execution and poor characterization of the main character though is a problem for me. I'm still struggling as to whether I should continue reading the next books in the series but I definitely won't read it immediately.

melissa300594's review against another edition

informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

bookwormalley's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Title: Ink and Bone
Author: Rachel Caine 
Page Count: 362
Time Length: 10H 26M
Dates Read: 4/28-4/29
Format: Audiobook 
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review: This is a book I read for a challenge with my online bookclub.

This was such an interesting story. The importance of original books is something I can see happening. The story was intense from the beginning. The pacing is quite fast which keeps you drawn in. 

harleyrae's review against another edition

3.0

This book was certainly interesting. I wouldn't say it was a bad book, but it was nowhere near being a favorite. I might have decided to pick this book up at a bad time, especially since these last couple weeks have been incredibly chaotic but I was bored for most of this book. I was confused at first, and this isn't necessarily a slow book but how it was written made it feel like a slow book. I didn't like the romance, at all, actually I don't think this book needed it. Personally there is a lot of things I would change about this book, but overall it was a decent book.

ejthomas's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

tckcallahan's review against another edition

4.0

Interesting concept. I really wasn’t expecting a dystopian read when I picked up the book but it was definitely fascinating and gripping. The fact that it isn’t too far removed from a truth is what made this a book I could put down. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

baldwinme40's review against another edition

4.0

I wrote a review of this at the public library, but the internet "mysteriously" crashed and ate it. Shoulda been expecting it, I guess! They're onto me. Will review later, if the Garda don't catch me first.

sarahp85's review against another edition

4.0

My sister has been telling me that I HAD to read this series and I finally started. Took me longer than I thought but that's because life got very busy.
Can not wait to read the rest. Did warn my sister that I will be mad at her if these do not have a happy ending

magikspells's review against another edition

4.0

Very creative and unique view on the written word and power of knowledge