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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
After her mother dies, teenager Katie Greene is sent to live with her aunt in Japan. She is far away from everything and everyone she knew. While she struggles to fit in at her new school and her new life, she meets Tomohiro. He’s aloof and cold and someone who she should not associate with. So of course she falls head over heels in love with him. However, he’s hiding a dark secret. He’s a Kami, a Japanese God that controls ink. There’s something about her that is making his powers become out of control. If they don’t find a way to gain control of the powers, it could destroy them both.
I’m torn between liking this book and wanting it to be so much more than what it is. The world-building is wonderful. You can tell that this author has spent time in Japan and appreciates its culture. I really wanted to walk down the streets or watch the cherry blossoms fall with Katie and her friends. Those parts of the story were well done. I also liked the action at the end. I wished that some of that action was in the front of the novel.
The novel is a slow-starter. The beginning sets up the tension between Katie and Tomohiro, but the tension seems to quickly dissolve and they start dating. Katie appears to quickly adjust to her new life in Japan and completely forgets about wanting to go back home to live with her grandparents. This makes her flighty. The way she stalks Tomohiro is also a bit annoying. She seems incapable of making good life decisions.
While some parts of the story Katie might be considered brave, I felt she spent most of the story as selfish and foolish. Tomohiro is a complicated character, and I felt that the author portrayed him better than she portrayed the narrator. I kept hoping that Katie would grow in the story, but she just didn’t seem to strike me as growing or becoming braver. She’s determined to help Tomohiro, so I give her points for that.
I do like the twist at the end with Jun. It really heightens the suspense and it leaves Katie and Tomohiro with no one to trust. However, I’m still not sure what Katie’s relationship is to the ink and wish we got a better clue as to why she’s so special. I love the illustrations and the little flip animation in the bottom corner. That was great!
All in all, a good book and I’ll probably read the next installment. I would give this to those who love manga/anime or have a particular fascination with Japan. It’s also a good book to give to Twilight fans that are looking for something new. Another read-alike is The Iron King by Julie Kagawa.
I’m torn between liking this book and wanting it to be so much more than what it is. The world-building is wonderful. You can tell that this author has spent time in Japan and appreciates its culture. I really wanted to walk down the streets or watch the cherry blossoms fall with Katie and her friends. Those parts of the story were well done. I also liked the action at the end. I wished that some of that action was in the front of the novel.
The novel is a slow-starter. The beginning sets up the tension between Katie and Tomohiro, but the tension seems to quickly dissolve and they start dating. Katie appears to quickly adjust to her new life in Japan and completely forgets about wanting to go back home to live with her grandparents. This makes her flighty. The way she stalks Tomohiro is also a bit annoying. She seems incapable of making good life decisions.
While some parts of the story Katie might be considered brave, I felt she spent most of the story as selfish and foolish. Tomohiro is a complicated character, and I felt that the author portrayed him better than she portrayed the narrator. I kept hoping that Katie would grow in the story, but she just didn’t seem to strike me as growing or becoming braver. She’s determined to help Tomohiro, so I give her points for that.
I do like the twist at the end with Jun. It really heightens the suspense and it leaves Katie and Tomohiro with no one to trust. However, I’m still not sure what Katie’s relationship is to the ink and wish we got a better clue as to why she’s so special. I love the illustrations and the little flip animation in the bottom corner. That was great!
All in all, a good book and I’ll probably read the next installment. I would give this to those who love manga/anime or have a particular fascination with Japan. It’s also a good book to give to Twilight fans that are looking for something new. Another read-alike is The Iron King by Julie Kagawa.
This book was ok. At first I seemed to enjoy it and wanted to read it A LOT. But after a while, it got sort of plain and started to turn out with a typical YA book. I read on a review about this book a few chapters before I finished it. The review said it was a terrible book and was just like Twilight. That review sort of ruined the rest of the book for me, but I couldn't help but notice how similar Ink is to Twilight. The only difference is the paranormal-ish twist to the book Ink. The characters were plain and the main character Katie was obsessed with her "boyfriend" I guess you could call him. There wasn't really any time she didn't think about him and all of her decisions were based around him and his safety. She never did anything for her "friends" and really only seemed to focus on him. Anyways, I would not recommend this book, even though this seemed like it would be such a good book to read, but no.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The reason INK was so bad was because it was so average. There wasn't anything unique about it other than the premise of paper gods. It's a very standard YA paranormal romance. The story was hard for me to get into and I am usually open minded to everything. I did not hate the book it just was not for me. I think I will have a hard pass in the future from anything that is like this book. While you can't often escape clichés and tropes, I really hate when the entire book is such walking cliché like INK is. There isn't a single point that makes this book even sort of redeemable unless you count the fact that it's set in Japan. Katie is an extremely annoying character and the romance is so insta that you just need to add water. I think the cliche's that turned me completely off. I honestly think I would actually rate it 2.5 stars but for the benefit that I did not DNF it I will round to 3 but it is a weak three for me. Like I said I really don't hate the whole book just parts of it that made me not like the story that much and the insta love bit it getting old in romance stories.
Check out my video review to see why I rated this book 3/5 stars!
http://youtu.be/qGH6gecRofY
http://youtu.be/qGH6gecRofY
When I read Shadows by Sun, I just knew that I was going to love this. Unfortunately I did not. I thought I was going to learn so much about Japanese mythology but most of my questions went unanswered in the end.
What I most disliked about the book, was the first third of it. It was a bit confusing and the switching of Japanese and English and back and forth was weird for me. I felt like it needed a smoother transition. Then, the biggest drama filled thing that I remember from the first part of the book was what happened between Myu and Tomo, and after that I was a little disappointed.
What I did enjoy was the romance. We all know I love me some swoony scenes, and this one definitely has some. I loved the way that Tomo and Katie interacted together. Well once they gave in and stopped avoiding each other.
All in all, I'm not a huge fan of books that take a long time to get going, so I was a little disappointed when this one did. I wanted so bad to love it, but I just couldn't get into it. Then, as I reached the end, there were still some things I did not understand. I just couldn't get into it like I wanted.
What I most disliked about the book, was the first third of it. It was a bit confusing and the switching of Japanese and English and back and forth was weird for me. I felt like it needed a smoother transition. Then, the biggest drama filled thing that I remember from the first part of the book was what happened between Myu and Tomo, and after that I was a little disappointed.
What I did enjoy was the romance. We all know I love me some swoony scenes, and this one definitely has some. I loved the way that Tomo and Katie interacted together. Well once they gave in and stopped avoiding each other.
All in all, I'm not a huge fan of books that take a long time to get going, so I was a little disappointed when this one did. I wanted so bad to love it, but I just couldn't get into it. Then, as I reached the end, there were still some things I did not understand. I just couldn't get into it like I wanted.
So much wasted potential! I got the sequel on sale for $4 so I'm going to give it a go. I just keep hoping this will get better!
This book was pretty awesome. It combines alot of things that I like: Japan, Japanese, hot guys, superpowers, drama; yeah so good!
I do admit the story doesn't pick up until 1/3 of the way there, and the first 1/3 reads like a Japanese school drama. The type with friends, love triangles, breakups and the like.
The story is about Katie Greene who went to live with her aunt after her mother died. There, she struggles (not much) to learn the language, fit in, etc. One day, she witness a bad breakup with a hot guy named Yuu and saw a drawing of his that....moved.
Katie couldn't believed what she saw, and pursues the matter relentlessly, until she falls for him and he, for her.
Turns out he's a Kami and whenever Katie is around, his power goes haywire (even more so than before). There they have a run-in with the Yakuza and a secret society.
I like how the book integrates a lot of Japanese language and culture, it makes it a lot more believable. As a student of Kendo, I say, the author have done her research well! Though, there's some minor details that are wrong (not enough to hurt).
Overall, this book a nice find. More books like this should exist! Can't wait till the sequel! Yuu and Katie are a good couple, even if he tries to protect her too much :)
I do admit the story doesn't pick up until 1/3 of the way there, and the first 1/3 reads like a Japanese school drama. The type with friends, love triangles, breakups and the like.
The story is about Katie Greene who went to live with her aunt after her mother died. There, she struggles (not much) to learn the language, fit in, etc. One day, she witness a bad breakup with a hot guy named Yuu and saw a drawing of his that....moved.
Katie couldn't believed what she saw, and pursues the matter relentlessly, until she falls for him and he, for her.
Turns out he's a Kami and whenever Katie is around, his power goes haywire (even more so than before). There they have a run-in with the Yakuza and a secret society.
I like how the book integrates a lot of Japanese language and culture, it makes it a lot more believable. As a student of Kendo, I say, the author have done her research well! Though, there's some minor details that are wrong (not enough to hurt).
Overall, this book a nice find. More books like this should exist! Can't wait till the sequel! Yuu and Katie are a good couple, even if he tries to protect her too much :)
Completely LOVED this book. If you've ever watched a Japanese drama, you know exactly what to expect. Cute bad boys, a gutsy girl, silly friends, and DRAMA. Throw in a paranormal twist and you've got a blockbuster. It was so authentic too, this author obviously lived and breathed in Japan and it shows. Everything was meticulously researched down to the food, kendo, the customs, the language, how real Japanese teens talk ... everything. It made me miss my Japanese classes so much to read about how these things looked through a gaijin's eyes, just like I had for so long. And I've been to Tokyo and it's one of the most welcoming, bizarre, lovely, crazy busy, and wonderful places I've ever been. (I'm sure Shizuoka is just as beautiful.)
The absolute worst thing about this whole book though? Giving me one chapter of the next book at the end.
ARGH.
Forgot to add, the arc was given to me by NetGalley. ありがとうございました。
Reading the negative reviews, I understand now why they're so up-and-down. Japanese (and Korean) dramas are definitely an acquired taste. They're formulaic. They're basically soap operas, but I ate them up for years while I was studying Japanese and fell in unabashed love.
And this book pulled up those memories and made me long to visit Japan all over again.
Here's a link to Toro Iseki, so you can see where Tomo and Katie spent so much time together. And jeez,
Can't wait for the next book.
すき。。。
じゃ。次回までは、またね。
The absolute worst thing about this whole book though? Giving me one chapter of the next book at the end.
ARGH.
Forgot to add, the arc was given to me by NetGalley. ありがとうございました。
Reading the negative reviews, I understand now why they're so up-and-down. Japanese (and Korean) dramas are definitely an acquired taste. They're formulaic. They're basically soap operas, but I ate them up for years while I was studying Japanese and fell in unabashed love.
And this book pulled up those memories and made me long to visit Japan all over again.
Here's a link to Toro Iseki, so you can see where Tomo and Katie spent so much time together. And jeez,
Spoiler
no wonder people saw the dragon!Can't wait for the next book.
すき。。。
じゃ。次回までは、またね。
It had so many questions raising through my head! But I totally saw it as an anime series. Some of the characters I didn't relate to. But I loved the culture build. It was so accurate, I actually think its one of the things that saved the novel.