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notthatkat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Antisemitism
_teoeo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
It took me a few chapters to get into the story but after that I enjoyed it so much!! But I have to agree with another review here: Collins and Nicholas should've been endgame :// I didn't see any chemistry between Joanna and Collins except "oh I think they are attractive (also him being the first man I ever spoke to in my life besides my father), now I'm in love"
Cw: This book tiptoes the line of blood libel, especially with some of the protagonists being Jewish. That made me really sceptical at first! I think in the end it didn't fully cross the line but other opinions may differ. (Also, I'm not sure but I think the author is Jewish herself?) I'm certainly no expert in this and will still see this from a critical point of view!
Cw: This book tiptoes the line of blood libel, especially with some of the protagonists being Jewish. That made me really sceptical at first! I think in the end it didn't fully cross the line but other opinions may differ. (Also, I'm not sure but I think the author is Jewish herself?) I'm certainly no expert in this and will still see this from a critical point of view!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Death, Blood, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Antisemitism
bencaroline's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Not ready to write much about this yet! But I really loved this book. Extremely fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Medical trauma, Blood, Death, Trafficking, and Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Death of parent, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Torture, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Colonisation, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Self harm, and Stalking
Minor: Vomit, Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and War
Does the [dog] die?beforeviolets's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Now, I think this mayhaps have been a "right book, right time" kind of thing, but wow I fell in love with this. I found myself absorbed in this book's pages and struggling to pull myself away even to sleep or eat. And upon closing the book, I found myself disappointed to leave the world behind. That certainly is not an occurrence with everything I read. Lately, reading has felt like meandering through a thick forest, trudging along different paths, but Ink Blood Sister Scribe felt like finally finding the perfect little spot to settle down in, like Celia in the forest of Arden: "I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it."
In a magical world not unlike our own, we follow three characters:
Joanna, a young woman protecting and caring for her late father's personal library of magical books. Though in her attempt to protect the books from the outside world, she's holed herself in. And despite her expertise on her own collection, she can't seem to figure out where these books come from. Especially the book that killed her father.
Esther, Joanna's older sister who has been on the run for 10 years, after her father commanded her to move to a new location every November. Estranged from her family, and in a constant state of motion, she has no ties. But in Antarctica, she's decided to stay another season. She's happy and comfortable and has a girlfriend she's really starting to feel something for. What could possibly go wrong?
Nicholas, who is absolutely sick of his life. He's been giving his blood, sweat, and tears (quite literally) to the Library since he was a child, creating new magical books. But as the world's last and only Scribe, he's resigned to his fate. At least his uncle–the head of the Library–and his girlfriend care about him, and at least he lives in a mansion out of a fairytale. At least he's safe.
But when all three of these characters discover the secrets that define their lives, they're thrown together on an unexpected and emotional journey.
Emma Törzs has crafted a brilliant little sandbox. This story was filled with the type of magic often reserved for children. One of mystery and whimsy and one that feels graspable and close to the heart. This feels like a world I could dream in, and it made me want to play pretend again. Any fellow fantasy-loving adults wanna meet up and play Magical Library with me? We can pull up weeds and mix them together as the herbs for spells and use Kool-Aid and leaves as we pretend to write magical books with our blood. And we could even set up a little frame and pretend it's a magic mirror.
It's incredible that any fantasy book, especially an adult anti-colonialist fabulism tale, could make me filled with such childhood joy and imagination. This is a huge testament to the author's accomplishments.
This book's Jewishness also took me by surprise. In fact, I had no idea it had any Jewish characters, and was so pleasantly surprised to see the casual representation for most of the story, but even more so to see the characters' connection to Judaism emotionally move the story in a moment of need. It meant a whole lot to me. In general, I was really a fan of this book's diversity. Two of the three main characters were queer (likely bisexual), and one of the characters was half-Mexican, and another was disabled, using a prosthetic eye.
I must say, this is not a story of twists and turns, but one of nooks and crannies. Rather than dramatic surprises and mind-blowing reveals, it felt more as though the plot of this story was a picture slowly coming into focus. All of the "twists" were less shocking and more like a puzzle piece clicking into place. Some of them were easily spotted, but never felt predictable in a way that dragged. And I've always said that I'd rather read a well-laid and obvious twist than a shocking one that feels out of nowhere. I don't need to be caught off guard, I just need to be caught up in a story. And I was certainly swept off my feet by this one.
(Though a note for the editor: there's no airport in Brattleboro, and NYC is a 3.5-5.5 hour drive from Vermont, not 8 hours.)
I'm so grateful to have found this story at this point in my life, when I needed to be convinced that just a sprinkle of imagination reveals so much magic in the mundane. I can't wait to dive back into these pages someday, and I can't wait to see what Törzs does next.
CW: violence, gun violence, blood, self-harm (for magic), dead body, death of parents (past), grief, alcohol consumption, fire, emesis, abusive guardian, character death, kidnapping (past, recounted), torture (past, recounted), hospitalization (past, recounted), antisemitism (brief mention)
Now, I think this mayhaps have been a "right book, right time" kind of thing, but wow I fell in love with this. I found myself absorbed in this book's pages and struggling to pull myself away even to sleep or eat. And upon closing the book, I found myself disappointed to leave the world behind. That certainly is not an occurrence with everything I read. Lately, reading has felt like meandering through a thick forest, trudging along different paths, but Ink Blood Sister Scribe felt like finally finding the perfect little spot to settle down in, like Celia in the forest of Arden: "I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it."
In a magical world not unlike our own, we follow three characters:
Joanna, a young woman protecting and caring for her late father's personal library of magical books. Though in her attempt to protect the books from the outside world, she's holed herself in. And despite her expertise on her own collection, she can't seem to figure out where these books come from. Especially the book that killed her father.
Esther, Joanna's older sister who has been on the run for 10 years, after her father commanded her to move to a new location every November. Estranged from her family, and in a constant state of motion, she has no ties. But in Antarctica, she's decided to stay another season. She's happy and comfortable and has a girlfriend she's really starting to feel something for. What could possibly go wrong?
Nicholas, who is absolutely sick of his life. He's been giving his blood, sweat, and tears (quite literally) to the Library since he was a child, creating new magical books. But as the world's last and only Scribe, he's resigned to his fate. At least his uncle–the head of the Library–and his girlfriend care about him, and at least he lives in a mansion out of a fairytale. At least he's safe.
But when all three of these characters discover the secrets that define their lives, they're thrown together on an unexpected and emotional journey.
Emma Törzs has crafted a brilliant little sandbox. This story was filled with the type of magic often reserved for children. One of mystery and whimsy and one that feels graspable and close to the heart. This feels like a world I could dream in, and it made me want to play pretend again. Any fellow fantasy-loving adults wanna meet up and play Magical Library with me? We can pull up weeds and mix them together as the herbs for spells and use Kool-Aid and leaves as we pretend to write magical books with our blood. And we could even set up a little frame and pretend it's a magic mirror.
It's incredible that any fantasy book, especially an adult anti-colonialist fabulism tale, could make me filled with such childhood joy and imagination. This is a huge testament to the author's accomplishments.
This book's Jewishness also took me by surprise. In fact, I had no idea it had any Jewish characters, and was so pleasantly surprised to see the casual representation for most of the story, but even more so to see the characters' connection to Judaism emotionally move the story in a moment of need. It meant a whole lot to me. In general, I was really a fan of this book's diversity. Two of the three main characters were queer (likely bisexual), and one of the characters was half-Mexican, and another was disabled, using a prosthetic eye.
I must say, this is not a story of twists and turns, but one of nooks and crannies. Rather than dramatic surprises and mind-blowing reveals, it felt more as though the plot of this story was a picture slowly coming into focus. All of the "twists" were less shocking and more like a puzzle piece clicking into place. Some of them were easily spotted, but never felt predictable in a way that dragged. And I've always said that I'd rather read a well-laid and obvious twist than a shocking one that feels out of nowhere. I don't need to be caught off guard, I just need to be caught up in a story. And I was certainly swept off my feet by this one.
(Though a note for the editor: there's no airport in Brattleboro, and NYC is a 3.5-5.5 hour drive from Vermont, not 8 hours.)
I'm so grateful to have found this story at this point in my life, when I needed to be convinced that just a sprinkle of imagination reveals so much magic in the mundane. I can't wait to dive back into these pages someday, and I can't wait to see what Törzs does next.
CW: violence, gun violence, blood, self-harm (for magic), dead body, death of parents (past), grief, alcohol consumption, fire, emesis, abusive guardian, character death, kidnapping (past, recounted), torture (past, recounted), hospitalization (past, recounted), antisemitism (brief mention)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Grief
Moderate: Death, Self harm, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Torture, Body horror, Alcohol, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Antisemitism
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