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A review by romanticalrj
Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst
5.0
SPOILERS LATER IN REVIEW - WILL GIVE WARNING
I previously read Of Fire and Stars by the same author, and liked it, but wasn't supremely impressed by it. I wasn't expecting much more from this book, but I was really craving some sapphic fantasy, so I picked it up anyways.
I am SO glad I did.
I wasn't immediately drawn in by the characters at the beginning of the book when I started it over spring break, and so I stopped reading it for several weeks. The book begins with Ina and Asra already in a relationship, and without any build up, I couldn't really find a connection to their relationship or story. However, I ended up pushing through a couple weeks later, and completely changed my mind.
The book evolved into an epic story of fantasy, betrayal, love, and family, and it was AMAZING. I actually can't get over how surprised I am that I loved this book. The writing was absolutely gorgeous; every description allowed me to taste the world inside the book. The writing of the characters was absolutely splendid, and really took into account the reality of humanity for every single character, in the sense that people make choices based on what they believe is good in the moment even if it turns out to have disastrous consequences.
Basically I loved absolutely everything about this book, from the fantasy, to the writing, to the characters, to the character arcs, the plot development, the lessons learned, the observations on humanity, and the discovery of family. Did not seem trope-y or cliche at all, despite having some well known story tools (like chosen family, chosen one gets pushed out of home by extenuating circumstance). Everything about it was simply and completely lovely. I was pleasantly surprised by how hard I fell for this book.
SPOILERS
I also absolutely adored how Asra's relationship with Hal evolved throughout the story, and how he ended up becoming her family after becoming her best friend. I also loved how Asra ended up with the little baby (despite Ina being.... Ina). The little family they made was so sweet, and I absolutely fell in love with the three of them.
And despite hating Ina from the beginning, I actually grew to kind of like and understand her by the end of the book. And I was strangely glad when it was revealed that she had grown to love Hal's sister. It was another one of those moments that revealed that even villains can find love, and no one is the villain of their own story. Ina wasn't doing evil for the sake of it - she believed she was doing what was right, even though it hurt Asra.
END OF SPOILERS
I previously read Of Fire and Stars by the same author, and liked it, but wasn't supremely impressed by it. I wasn't expecting much more from this book, but I was really craving some sapphic fantasy, so I picked it up anyways.
I am SO glad I did.
I wasn't immediately drawn in by the characters at the beginning of the book when I started it over spring break, and so I stopped reading it for several weeks. The book begins with Ina and Asra already in a relationship, and without any build up, I couldn't really find a connection to their relationship or story. However, I ended up pushing through a couple weeks later, and completely changed my mind.
The book evolved into an epic story of fantasy, betrayal, love, and family, and it was AMAZING. I actually can't get over how surprised I am that I loved this book. The writing was absolutely gorgeous; every description allowed me to taste the world inside the book. The writing of the characters was absolutely splendid, and really took into account the reality of humanity for every single character, in the sense that people make choices based on what they believe is good in the moment even if it turns out to have disastrous consequences.
Basically I loved absolutely everything about this book, from the fantasy, to the writing, to the characters, to the character arcs, the plot development, the lessons learned, the observations on humanity, and the discovery of family. Did not seem trope-y or cliche at all, despite having some well known story tools (like chosen family, chosen one gets pushed out of home by extenuating circumstance). Everything about it was simply and completely lovely. I was pleasantly surprised by how hard I fell for this book.
SPOILERS
I also absolutely adored how Asra's relationship with Hal evolved throughout the story, and how he ended up becoming her family after becoming her best friend. I also loved how Asra ended up with the little baby (despite Ina being.... Ina). The little family they made was so sweet, and I absolutely fell in love with the three of them.
And despite hating Ina from the beginning, I actually grew to kind of like and understand her by the end of the book. And I was strangely glad when it was revealed that she had grown to love Hal's sister. It was another one of those moments that revealed that even villains can find love, and no one is the villain of their own story. Ina wasn't doing evil for the sake of it - she believed she was doing what was right, even though it hurt Asra.
END OF SPOILERS