Scan barcode
nomomstayandread's review against another edition
1.0
It was a tie between being a cautionary tale about tattoos and how it's only rape when other people do it.
SO many issues with consent.
SO many issues with consent.
pageturnpalace's review against another edition
3.0
It was better than the first book. I am though disappointed in the ending. I would have given it a four. I felt cheated with how it ended.
Don't read the rest of the review it's a spoiler rant
spoiler spoiler SPOILERS SPOILERS READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
UGH I can't even begin to say how PISSED I am. I really wanted a happy ending with Leslie and Irial. why couldn't he with her since he became human? poor poor Neil as well. I liked keenan in the first book but hated him in this. ash I couldn't stand and Seth was a love sick puppy.
Don't read the rest of the review it's a spoiler rant
spoiler spoiler SPOILERS SPOILERS READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
UGH I can't even begin to say how PISSED I am. I really wanted a happy ending with Leslie and Irial. why couldn't he with her since he became human? poor poor Neil as well. I liked keenan in the first book but hated him in this. ash I couldn't stand and Seth was a love sick puppy.
bookishwonderlandco's review against another edition
4.0
This book wasn't as good as Wicked Lovely, but it was still really good. The beginning moves slow until Niall comes into her life. The ending was good, but everything leading up to it. As depressed and a little slow. Not all the book was depressing though, every part with Niall was good, and most parts that had Seth ad Aislinn were also good. This book was showing some problems in a girls life that actually do happen, and those problems are dark, depressing, and some are embarrassing. That is where this book is coming from, and because of that it was a little sad and depressed half the time, but that only made the book better. I can't wait to read the next book!
iamhume's review against another edition
2.0
What I found was a story that started out with a lot of potential and just fizzled out somewhere in the middle. Perhaps all the raving about this book set my expectations really high, but it did not live up to what I was hoping it would be.
I wanted to feel for the characters, and I did sometimes. But it wasn't enough to make me feel sorry for any of them when things happened and the end was just flat. Perhaps there was a message to be learned at the end, but I didn't catch it.
Maybe eventually I'll feel different, but for now, this is a series that I do not want to finish.
I wanted to feel for the characters, and I did sometimes. But it wasn't enough to make me feel sorry for any of them when things happened and the end was just flat. Perhaps there was a message to be learned at the end, but I didn't catch it.
Maybe eventually I'll feel different, but for now, this is a series that I do not want to finish.
sydglove13's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed Ink Exchange far more than Wicked Lovely, probably because we get to see an even darker (literally) side of the world of the Fae. Leslie is a great character and she really embraces all of the crazy bloodshed and romance around her. She never lets Niall and Irial rule her, which is remarkable for a mortal. Bananach is my favorite character in the entire series, so it is great to see her in action. The only mark I have against the book is the ending in which Leslie finds Niall to be weak when he helps her get the tattoo removed. I did not like seeing Niall become spineless, especially since he is a member of the Dark Court and because Leslie was so much stronger than him. Leslie is one of my favorite female characters in the entire series.
fernthepanda's review against another edition
3.0
I expected more from this book. At times all I could feel for the characters was intense frustration. I realize that some people are this daft, but I don't think they all hang out together. Surely even the truly ignorant have one friend with a basic sense of reasoning and logic.
anapereira2005_'s review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
4.75
morganniemarie's review against another edition
2.0
Concept was good. Execution…? It seemed written as a draft and needed more fleshing out. Characters had large shifts that didn’t make sense, many questions were created and few were answered…
I’ll probably finish this series because that’s what I do. But it isn’t my favorite.
I’ll probably finish this series because that’s what I do. But it isn’t my favorite.
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
3.0
Bullet Review:
In some ways better than "Wicked Lovely", in some ways worse. Leslie is a way cooler character than Aislinn, and I like her struggles AND the choice she makes at the end. On the other hand, super-emo Faerie boy Niall made me laugh at how emo he was while Irial makes feminist me rage. I'm also not happy how violence and possession are mistaken for romantic intentions.
2.5 stars graciously rounded to 3 (mostly because of Leslie and her final choice). While this is an OK series, it's dark and rather dull. I won't be pursuing sequels.
Full Review:
Leslie is Aislinn's friend, but she has absolutely no clue about the world of Faerie. Not that she really cares - she's too preoccupied with her alcoholic father and drug-addled and horrible brother (who drugged her and let his druggie friends rape her). What she wants most is a tattoo and to snuggle up next to the hot Emo Faerie guy that hangs around with Keenan, Asilinn and Seth. But Irial, the Dark King, has other plans.
It seems like eons ago since I read Wicked Lovely, a book that I read and mysteriously rated 4 stars, even though I distinctly remembering feeling iffy about the whole thing. I really didn't like it enough to continue, but I had heard that book 2 was better so I bought it.
Fast forward to today and I realize I need to clean out a ton of these books from my library - particularly all these sh!tty YA books. So I beebopped to my library and picked up audiobooks, because I can read them way faster than paperbacks or hardcovers.
A part of me likes "Ink Exchange" more because it is way more memorable (I barely remember the plot of "Wicked Lovely" - and for those who are thinking about starting the series here, I say go ahead, background details you need will be provided and it's about a totally different character anyway) and Leslie is a far more interesting character. In "Wicked Lovely" you think Leslie is going to be yet another Regina, a blonde, blue-eyed, popular high school b!tch:
Instead, Leslie is a bruised and battered girl. Her family is torn apart after her mother leaves - her father an alcoholic and gambler, her brother a drug dealer, who thinks nothing about setting his sister up for rape. It's tragic and disheartening. No wonder Leslie flees to "Pins and Needles" (horrible, cliched name BTW) for a tattoo. No wonder all her conversations are light and frivolous.
The problem ultimately with the novel is that it is less about the protagonist Leslie and more about the Irial/Niall dynamic. You see Irial and Niall were best buds back in the day, sleeping around, partying, that sorta thing. Only Niall grew a conscious and become emo:
I swear, I can hear Amy Lee in this picture
And Irial decided that consent was optional:
Seriously, this isn't sexy. AT ALL.
Both guys want Leslie, only Irial will be creepy and force her to go with him. Which is why Niall, Asilinn, and Keenan, the three people that know that Irial is looking at Leslie, don't tell Leslie about her stalker.
Because THAT'S gonna turn out well.
Why are we not surprised that Leslie is captured, her emotions are stripped away from her to fuel Irial and his people, and she is basically forced to do numerous things against her will - such as watch as fellow mortals are forced to have sex and are killed?
This book is unnecessarily dark, and Leslie is forced into doing things more than she makes the choices she purports she does - until the end, that is.
While I liked the initial Niall/Leslie dynamic (it's really the only romantic relationship, as I do NOT consider Irial a viable romantic option), it's nice to end a YA book withOUT the prerequisite romance.
I would have preferred that Leslie became the Shadow Girl and REVELED in it. She rose to her position of evil and became a force against Keenan and Asilinn and Donia, forcing the Summer and Winter courts to band together against Irial and Leslie. Now THAT would have been interesting.
But instead, it's a man's story disguised as a woman's story, where the woman is coerced and forced to do things against her will. All the while being as sappy and overdramatic as possible - because if you don't have Amy Lee wailing in the background, you aren't doing it right.
Oh, and the narrator is sh!t. He sounds like a droning history professor...or economics teacher.
"Bueller. Bueller. Please save this book..."
"Ink Exchange" is not a bad book, but it's incredibly dark, dreary and more importantly: BORING. Having a slightly better protagonist and an interesting faerie mythos doesn't make up for its many faults. I'm sure many will love this, and it is better than many other faerie/pixie stories, but I can honestly say I am done with this series. I have zero desire to find out "what happens next".
In some ways better than "Wicked Lovely", in some ways worse. Leslie is a way cooler character than Aislinn, and I like her struggles AND the choice she makes at the end. On the other hand, super-emo Faerie boy Niall made me laugh at how emo he was while Irial makes feminist me rage. I'm also not happy how violence and possession are mistaken for romantic intentions.
2.5 stars graciously rounded to 3 (mostly because of Leslie and her final choice). While this is an OK series, it's dark and rather dull. I won't be pursuing sequels.
Full Review:
Leslie is Aislinn's friend, but she has absolutely no clue about the world of Faerie. Not that she really cares - she's too preoccupied with her alcoholic father and drug-addled and horrible brother (who drugged her and let his druggie friends rape her). What she wants most is a tattoo and to snuggle up next to the hot Emo Faerie guy that hangs around with Keenan, Asilinn and Seth. But Irial, the Dark King, has other plans.
It seems like eons ago since I read Wicked Lovely, a book that I read and mysteriously rated 4 stars, even though I distinctly remembering feeling iffy about the whole thing. I really didn't like it enough to continue, but I had heard that book 2 was better so I bought it.
Fast forward to today and I realize I need to clean out a ton of these books from my library - particularly all these sh!tty YA books. So I beebopped to my library and picked up audiobooks, because I can read them way faster than paperbacks or hardcovers.
A part of me likes "Ink Exchange" more because it is way more memorable (I barely remember the plot of "Wicked Lovely" - and for those who are thinking about starting the series here, I say go ahead, background details you need will be provided and it's about a totally different character anyway) and Leslie is a far more interesting character. In "Wicked Lovely" you think Leslie is going to be yet another Regina, a blonde, blue-eyed, popular high school b!tch:
Instead, Leslie is a bruised and battered girl. Her family is torn apart after her mother leaves - her father an alcoholic and gambler, her brother a drug dealer, who thinks nothing about setting his sister up for rape. It's tragic and disheartening. No wonder Leslie flees to "Pins and Needles" (horrible, cliched name BTW) for a tattoo. No wonder all her conversations are light and frivolous.
The problem ultimately with the novel is that it is less about the protagonist Leslie and more about the Irial/Niall dynamic. You see Irial and Niall were best buds back in the day, sleeping around, partying, that sorta thing. Only Niall grew a conscious and become emo:
I swear, I can hear Amy Lee in this picture
And Irial decided that consent was optional:
Seriously, this isn't sexy. AT ALL.
Both guys want Leslie, only Irial will be creepy and force her to go with him. Which is why Niall, Asilinn, and Keenan, the three people that know that Irial is looking at Leslie, don't tell Leslie about her stalker.
Because THAT'S gonna turn out well.
Why are we not surprised that Leslie is captured, her emotions are stripped away from her to fuel Irial and his people, and she is basically forced to do numerous things against her will - such as watch as fellow mortals are forced to have sex and are killed?
This book is unnecessarily dark, and Leslie is forced into doing things more than she makes the choices she purports she does - until the end, that is.
Spoiler
At the very end, Leslie decides she's had enough of Faeries and cuts off relations to both Irial and Niall. Even when Niall is all, "I am yours", she's like, "I want to be on my own, thank you very much.While I liked the initial Niall/Leslie dynamic (it's really the only romantic relationship, as I do NOT consider Irial a viable romantic option), it's nice to end a YA book withOUT the prerequisite romance.
I would have preferred that Leslie became the Shadow Girl and REVELED in it. She rose to her position of evil and became a force against Keenan and Asilinn and Donia, forcing the Summer and Winter courts to band together against Irial and Leslie. Now THAT would have been interesting.
But instead, it's a man's story disguised as a woman's story, where the woman is coerced and forced to do things against her will. All the while being as sappy and overdramatic as possible - because if you don't have Amy Lee wailing in the background, you aren't doing it right.
Oh, and the narrator is sh!t. He sounds like a droning history professor...or economics teacher.
"Bueller. Bueller. Please save this book..."
"Ink Exchange" is not a bad book, but it's incredibly dark, dreary and more importantly: BORING. Having a slightly better protagonist and an interesting faerie mythos doesn't make up for its many faults. I'm sure many will love this, and it is better than many other faerie/pixie stories, but I can honestly say I am done with this series. I have zero desire to find out "what happens next".