Reviews with content warning for Confinement - Ink Blood Sister Scribe

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.

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apoppyinthewind's review against another edition

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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.

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readwithria's review against another edition

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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.

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aksmith92's review against another edition

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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!

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