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ijm358's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Murder and Violence
Minor: Torture and Kidnapping
ethuiliel's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Love the characters, love the relationships (especially familial, but also friendship, romance, employer/employee, and more) between the characters and how they develop. The worldbuilding is fascinating as well. And the plot is... I'm not sure how to describe it. It slowly unfolds, I couldn't predict until near the end what the final climax would involve (unlike some books where the goal is clear just way of approaching it and whether the goal succeeds in the way the character intended are what are surprising). However, none of the several twists and turns hit me out of the blue, there were little hints throughout so I gradually saw things unfold.
The ending does leave me wanting more, but not in a "wait that's it?" sort of way. In some ways it's open ended about the future, but the arc of the story is resolved. I would love to see what happens next to these characters and this setting, but also the pieces that are open ended are fun to speculate on, not leaving me unsatisfied.
The ending does leave me wanting more, but not in a "wait that's it?" sort of way. In some ways it's open ended about the future, but the arc of the story is resolved. I would love to see what happens next to these characters and this setting, but also the pieces that are open ended are fun to speculate on, not leaving me unsatisfied.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Kidnapping, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, Grief, Murder, and Colonisation
I listed a lot of trigger warnings but I will say that I didn't find any of it to be treated in a problematic waybbbllllbbbllll's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence and Murder
silversparkles50's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse
sassacass11's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This book was so great to read! The world comes to life and every aspect of the lore is explained beautifully within the story itself. An adventurous, dark story about sisters, this story grabs onto you and hangs on as the story twists and unearths the unexpected.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse and Murder
Minor: Death
asahome's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
TL;DR: Sisters, one who can never stay and one who can never go, learn why their family has been torn apart by the books they protect. A young man learns the lengths people will go to control his talent for writing magical books .
I found the first part of the book boring. I know it is intended to set up the rest of the book so you can understand the action when it gets there, but it felt too long to me. I also really struggled to understand when we were in the present versus when we were looking at the past. If there had been a format change or something to indicate we were not in the present, it would have felt less jarring to me.
I found the first part of the book boring. I know it is intended to set up the rest of the book so you can understand the action when it gets there, but it felt too long to me. I also really struggled to understand when we were in the present versus when we were looking at the past. If there had been a format change or something to indicate we were not in the present, it would have felt less jarring to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent, Self harm, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Medical content
apoppyinthewind's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It took a while for me to get into this book and it wasn't until Nicholas was introduced that I felt my interest pick up. Nicholas and Collins were the most fun to read characters and their chapters felt like it advanced the story while Esther & Joanne's chapters felt like the wheels were spinning on the same mud.
Basically Esther & Joanna's chapters could be summarized up as "They each miss their sister, their family trauma and secret keeping screws with their mental health, paranoia, people being suspicious" rinse repeat. While Nicholas & Collins chapters made me feel like I was learning more about the magical world the story was set in. The book could have just been Nicholas & Collins and I wouldn't have missed Esther or Joanna which is unfortunate since they're the main titular characters.
That said, overall it was enjoyable enough and I appreciate that the story was contained to one book. If you like books about books and magic, you might like this one.
Basically Esther & Joanna's chapters could be summarized up as "They each miss their sister, their family trauma and secret keeping screws with their mental health, paranoia, people being suspicious" rinse repeat. While Nicholas & Collins chapters made me feel like I was learning more about the magical world the story was set in. The book could have just been Nicholas & Collins and I wouldn't have missed Esther or Joanna which is unfortunate since they're the main titular characters.
That said, overall it was enjoyable enough and I appreciate that the story was contained to one book. If you like books about books and magic, you might like this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Torture, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Murder, Stalking, and Confinement
tracylou's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I actually did.
Törzs' gift in the book is the dialogue between characters. She crafts conversations that read honestly, cover various emotions and situations, and feel authentic to the character she's crafted. For me, these patches of dialogue were the saving grace of the novel.
The biggest problem for me, though, was a lack of focus. Any of the four main characters could have been the hero or the anti-hero, and given the book title, it probably should've been the sisters. Sadly, the sisters are the characters who feel the flattest. The friendship between Nicholas and Collins is far more interesting than the estrangement or reconnection between the sisters.
The pacing of the novel felt uneven, dragging in some places and racing to the finish in others. I found myself wishing the author would have followed a more chronological timeline, allowing the reader to follow the events, appreciate the intricacies of the magic, and enjoy the characters more.
Törzs' gift in the book is the dialogue between characters. She crafts conversations that read honestly, cover various emotions and situations, and feel authentic to the character she's crafted. For me, these patches of dialogue were the saving grace of the novel.
The biggest problem for me, though, was a lack of focus. Any of the four main characters could have been the hero or the anti-hero, and given the book title, it probably should've been the sisters. Sadly, the sisters are the characters who feel the flattest. The friendship between Nicholas and Collins is far more interesting than the estrangement or reconnection between the sisters.
The pacing of the novel felt uneven, dragging in some places and racing to the finish in others. I found myself wishing the author would have followed a more chronological timeline, allowing the reader to follow the events, appreciate the intricacies of the magic, and enjoy the characters more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, and Violence
readwithria's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a debut I’m unlikely to forget, but not for the right reasons.
I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. Sisterhood, familial magic, and dark secrets are usually things that I enjoy in books. However, it took about 300 pages to get through the setup and to the main plot. Those first couple hundred pages were interesting, but easy to put down. The last 85 pages were much more action-packed, but almost to the point of going by too quickly.
Other than the pacing, it also bothered me that it felt like the decisions the three POV characters made were because of the plot, and I prefer books where the plot happens the way it does due to decisions made by the main characters.
Things that I did enjoy included
- the magic system
- Pearl, Collins, Sir Kiwi, and the little cat
- the themes of colonial deconstruction
- the division of information through the different POVs
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy books that deal with family secrets, generational trauma, and objects of power. I would not recommend this book to people who are sensitive to self harm (CW: graphic bloodletting for magical purposes)
This was interesting, but missed the mark in a few key ways. 3.5 stars.
I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. Sisterhood, familial magic, and dark secrets are usually things that I enjoy in books. However, it took about 300 pages to get through the setup and to the main plot. Those first couple hundred pages were interesting, but easy to put down. The last 85 pages were much more action-packed, but almost to the point of going by too quickly.
Other than the pacing, it also bothered me that it felt like the decisions the three POV characters made were because of the plot, and I prefer books where the plot happens the way it does due to decisions made by the main characters.
Things that I did enjoy included
- the magic system
- Pearl, Collins, Sir Kiwi, and the little cat
- the themes of colonial deconstruction
- the division of information through the different POVs
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy books that deal with family secrets, generational trauma, and objects of power. I would not recommend this book to people who are sensitive to self harm (CW: graphic bloodletting for magical purposes)
This was interesting, but missed the mark in a few key ways. 3.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Self harm
Moderate: Murder, Grief, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Cursing, Kidnapping, Gore, Colonisation, Medical content, Death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Minor: Classism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Cursing
aksmith92's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Sometimes, there is nothing better than a book about books!
The setup: The novel follows two sisters, Esther and Joanna, born and raised in a magical family - those who can read magic from books and cast certain spells. While Joanna can produce this magic when reading it, Ester seems untouched by the magic. When she reads the books, nothing happens. More perplexing, magic seems to have no impact on her. Esther and Joanna's family is complicated, and we are met with many fascinating tales about mothers, fathers, stepmothers, and overall familial ties.
In addition, we also travel alongside the tale of someone named Nicholas and his bodyguard, Collins. We know little about Nicholas and his ties to Esther and Joanna's story, but he lives in The Library, a heavily guarded magical library in London. Nicholas is a Scribe, meaning that he writes magical books.
Throughout the novel, we learn of the characters, the magic, and their connection through many ups and downs.
What I liked: I found this novel quite innovative and original. The theme of magical books has no doubt been done before, particularly in witchy settings, but I just thought this one was unique. Additionally, the writing style and prose were just lovely. I found it atmospheric but still grounded in modern times, which was an interesting touch. To me, this seemed to sway to the side of magical realism versus fantasy, but it is about magical books and spells, so I can see why it wouldn't necessarily be too close to real life. Either way, I just thought it worked so well. There were also a couple of twists and turns throughout this novel that I didn't see coming, which I always LOVE!
What didn't hit the mark: The beginning was slow, and while I loved the character development, once the connection was there between plots, I felt some things were a little rushed. That said, I gave this 4.5 stars, so it didn't impact my overall reading experience and love for the book.
I recommend this as a nice in between of magical realism, contemporary literature, and fantasy. It was super readable, yet poetic at times, and I loved the plot. I look forward to checking out this author's other works in the future!
The setup: The novel follows two sisters, Esther and Joanna, born and raised in a magical family - those who can read magic from books and cast certain spells. While Joanna can produce this magic when reading it, Ester seems untouched by the magic. When she reads the books, nothing happens. More perplexing, magic seems to have no impact on her. Esther and Joanna's family is complicated, and we are met with many fascinating tales about mothers, fathers, stepmothers, and overall familial ties.
In addition, we also travel alongside the tale of someone named Nicholas and his bodyguard, Collins. We know little about Nicholas and his ties to Esther and Joanna's story, but he lives in The Library, a heavily guarded magical library in London. Nicholas is a Scribe, meaning that he writes magical books.
Throughout the novel, we learn of the characters, the magic, and their connection through many ups and downs.
What I liked: I found this novel quite innovative and original. The theme of magical books has no doubt been done before, particularly in witchy settings, but I just thought this one was unique. Additionally, the writing style and prose were just lovely. I found it atmospheric but still grounded in modern times, which was an interesting touch. To me, this seemed to sway to the side of magical realism versus fantasy, but it is about magical books and spells, so I can see why it wouldn't necessarily be too close to real life. Either way, I just thought it worked so well. There were also a couple of twists and turns throughout this novel that I didn't see coming, which I always LOVE!
What didn't hit the mark: The beginning was slow, and while I loved the character development, once the connection was there between plots, I felt some things were a little rushed. That said, I gave this 4.5 stars, so it didn't impact my overall reading experience and love for the book.
I recommend this as a nice in between of magical realism, contemporary literature, and fantasy. It was super readable, yet poetic at times, and I loved the plot. I look forward to checking out this author's other works in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Child abuse, Body horror, Grief, Violence, Confinement, Blood, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Medical content, and Medical trauma