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hanrutous16's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was an intriguing premise for any book lover and had a lot of really good content. I found one big plot hole, some inconsistencies in the writing and a lack of real ‘action’ frustrating.
Plot hole:I understand there is a spell that can track Esther specifically. I understand that Nicholas is hidden away. But why is Esther such a risk to the wards of her home being breached and Nicholas isn’t to his home? And even if someone could use Esther to find the house, they’d still be sick as anything if they tried to cross the wards. For something that was so essential to the plot of splitting up the sisters and giving Esther a nomadic existence, it didn’t really feel like the system was very well thought through. I have too many questions about how it would work to accept it at face value.
There was a section where one person was smiling reassuringly and another one pacing and three pages in they had swapped actions but were still referring to the same memory. It showed sloppy writing, which was driven home by the missing words and grammatical structures that I also identified - unusual for a popular, published book.
So what redeemed this book for me? The cover is stunning. One star alone to the artist who has done a beautiful job. The premise was intriguing and the book did grip me enough to keep me reading. I liked the small connections, even the obvious ‘twist’as to who Esther’s birth mother is . I enjoyed the blended family and the naturalness that came with. And found the idea of the books made and activated by blood both repelling and intriguing at the same time.
I thought the romancebetween Esther and Pearl added to the quality of the story telling, whereas between Jo and Collins it felt really unnecessary and a little exploitive . Overall, more negative than positive feelings. I would be intrigued to see what the author produces next - so long as it’s not a sequel!
Plot hole:
There was a section where one person was smiling reassuringly and another one pacing and three pages in they had swapped actions but were still referring to the same memory. It showed sloppy writing, which was driven home by the missing words and grammatical structures that I also identified - unusual for a popular, published book.
So what redeemed this book for me? The cover is stunning. One star alone to the artist who has done a beautiful job. The premise was intriguing and the book did grip me enough to keep me reading. I liked the small connections, even the obvious ‘twist’
I thought the romance
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Murder
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
This overall wasn't for me. It felt like a whole lot of nothing happening. I think there were interesting aspects of it and the characters were okay but I wasn't invested much until more towards the middle-end of it. It didn't hold my interest very well, but I did finish it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
mandywade321's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Minor: Death
nora_jansson's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Konceptet bra väldigt intressant, tyckte dock att allt utvecklades lite för fort, hade kanske uppskattat om den var lite längre eller en duologi. Trodde ungefär första 50% att detta var första delen i en serie
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
sabrinaetc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
deez97's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Chronic illness and Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Abandonment
nyree42's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
It doesn't happen too often, but every once in a while I find a book that's very difficult to put down. When it comes to Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe, I had to pull an all-nighter while going through the most exciting chapters because I knew I couldn't sleep until a resolution was found.
I would call this fantasy-horror due to the many body-harm scenes with blood and mentions of horrific topics, but it's not scary or graphic in other ways. You just can't have an aversion to reading about blood and the way they write with it, which definitely made me uncomfortable, but I powered through since the story was so captivating overall.
(Kids, don't try this at home. It's a fantasy world in this novel, and making yourself bleed to write stuff is only going to hurt you and make you sick. You won't find "magic" that way in our actual reality. So no self-harm, please!)
I would call this fantasy-horror due to the many body-harm scenes with blood and mentions of horrific topics, but it's not scary or graphic in other ways. You just can't have an aversion to reading about blood and the way they write with it, which definitely made me uncomfortable, but I powered through since the story was so captivating overall.
(Kids, don't try this at home. It's a fantasy world in this novel, and making yourself bleed to write stuff is only going to hurt you and make you sick. You won't find "magic" that way in our actual reality. So no self-harm, please!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Self harm, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
brittawho's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
ajacobs590's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book has an interesting magic system. I like the different way that magic was incorporated in this book. It was interesting that some can write the magic but they can make the magic happen. It was almost like a separation of power to make sure to spread the wealth.
I liked the characters. They each had their own way they viewed life based on the circumstances of their experiences.
While I like these things, this book was a little slow for me and hard to get into. One thing I recommend is listening to the audio. When I was about halfway through the book I found the audio on Libby and listened to that while also reading the physical book. It helped me get through this book faster. I'm glad I got through it because many things were revealed that kept the story moving. I was able to see what was coming but glad to see how it worked out.
If you like unique magic systems, portals, and adventure; this book is for you. This book has no spice just some kissing.
I liked the characters. They each had their own way they viewed life based on the circumstances of their experiences.
While I like these things, this book was a little slow for me and hard to get into. One thing I recommend is listening to the audio. When I was about halfway through the book I found the audio on Libby and listened to that while also reading the physical book. It helped me get through this book faster. I'm glad I got through it because many things were revealed that kept the story moving. I was able to see what was coming but glad to see how it worked out.
If you like unique magic systems, portals, and adventure; this book is for you. This book has no spice just some kissing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Kidnapping
alaris's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was spooky, fun, and very creepy at times. I could have done with less detail being given on the blood-draws and more on the magic side. Took a while to really get engrossing, since the storylines were very separate at first.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship