bananeez's review
i really liked the themes of religion and family, but i think it could have been executed better. the story and ideas were there, but the writing could be improved on. if you are good at imagining the story in your head, this might be more enjoyable for you. you can take some creative liberty - i could not take them seriously with top hats so i forgot about it
theelizabethjoy's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
dongu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
browndingdong's review
This book was just SO BORING and was not fun or enjoyable. It became more of a chore instead of something fun. Nothing about any of the characters made me want to stay invested. If the book was to say, “everyone just vanished” I would say FAIR.
avocados_from_mexico's review
dnf sadly :(
i wanted to like this book so badly!! i thought the tattoo magic was a cool concept but something about the writing style just put me off for some reason? it was a chore to get through.
as a queer person i'm all for queer rep but i just thought the language to describe being lgbt was just so... flowery, if that makes sense? though i did like the casual use of they/them pronouns for characters :)
i'd love to come back to this someday!! it's just not for me right now
ijsselmeer13's review
4.0
Definitely checked this book out because it had a really aesthetic and cool cover - but I'm glad I did decide to judge a book by its cover! Ink in the Blood is the perfect combination of fantasy, spooky vibes, slow burn romance, plague doctors, and some good ol' political statements! I also particularly appreciate the unique way in which the author incorporated lgbtq+ character representation into the fantasy world of the story! I can't wait to read the sequel.
sierrakevans's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
zahramclin's review
5.0
4.5 stars.
this book was w i l d. y'all i just--i need to wait a few days to /really/ put my review together. but yeah, queer rep was great, wild end, those twists freaked me out they were so great.
this book was w i l d. y'all i just--i need to wait a few days to /really/ put my review together. but yeah, queer rep was great, wild end, those twists freaked me out they were so great.
shrinkingmary's review
3.0
*Pros: unique and fresh storyline, interesting and diverse characters, dark and macabre, suited for more mature readers than typical YA books, ending was good.
*Cons: confusing plot, ambiguous pronouns (which could be a pro for gender-fluid inclusivity), long-ish chapters (12-20 pages), too many characters makes it hard to keep who is who straight, really hard for me to get into.
*Cons: confusing plot, ambiguous pronouns (which could be a pro for gender-fluid inclusivity), long-ish chapters (12-20 pages), too many characters makes it hard to keep who is who straight, really hard for me to get into.
areaderintime's review
4.0
This is such a unique YA fantasy that I really enjoyed!
I had a great time reading this book. It is simply a book to read and have a good time with. I found the magic system in this book to be unlike anything I have read about before and found it fascinating. I love the idea of magical tattoos and this book does that wonderfully! I will admit that the characters in this book aren't my favorite but I didn't outright dislike them. The main character in this book does have an interest in both boys and girls which I thought was awesome to see.
Another cool aspect of this world is that all children use the pronouns "they/them" until they choose what fits them best. I love the idea of this and had never read a fictional book with that in it before. In real life, this would be so cool to implement. I thought this was really interesting to read about in this book.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a fair bit. I thought the ending was kinda weak and lessened my enjoyment of the book. But the rest of the book is done well and kept me entertained throughout. I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you like a pretty diverse cast of characters (in terms of LGBTQ+ diversity, I don't think there is much POC rep in this book, if any) and a different take on YA fantasy. It is a great read and super fast too!
I had a great time reading this book. It is simply a book to read and have a good time with. I found the magic system in this book to be unlike anything I have read about before and found it fascinating. I love the idea of magical tattoos and this book does that wonderfully! I will admit that the characters in this book aren't my favorite but I didn't outright dislike them. The main character in this book does have an interest in both boys and girls which I thought was awesome to see.
Another cool aspect of this world is that all children use the pronouns "they/them" until they choose what fits them best. I love the idea of this and had never read a fictional book with that in it before. In real life, this would be so cool to implement. I thought this was really interesting to read about in this book.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a fair bit. I thought the ending was kinda weak and lessened my enjoyment of the book. But the rest of the book is done well and kept me entertained throughout. I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you like a pretty diverse cast of characters (in terms of LGBTQ+ diversity, I don't think there is much POC rep in this book, if any) and a different take on YA fantasy. It is a great read and super fast too!