A review by hanrutous16
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

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 romance
between 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!
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