Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Ink Blood Sister Scribe

"Ink Blood Sister Scribe" by Emma Törzs is a good urban fantasy for readers who love books and libraries. The story follows two estranged sisters, Esther and Joanna, whose family watches over a collection of magical books. To protect the books and her sister from a mysterious force, Esther must move every year, which has led to a life with few deep connections. But this year, Esther is enjoying her life and budding relationship with Pearl so she decides to stay longer than the one year mark. When this decision backfires, Esther begins to learn the truth of her family's history and the danger that threatens them.
I really enjoy the magic that Törzs has created as well as everything related to the library. I cared for the sisters but I do think that I will quickly forget them. There is a big part of this story (and a main character) that isn't mentioned in the synopsis and I'm not quite sure why. I found them to be the more interesting part and I felt like they had more character development. I will be interested to see if Törzs writes any companion novels since the world she sets up feels far vaster than the story in this standalone. This feels like it might have been better set up as a series with this book as the first installment and a future installment that would further explore the world outside of the main characters' lives.

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sab_rose's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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deleore's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

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luckystard's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

3.0

I had to struggle through more than 50% of the book to get to the interesting part. I didn’t like constant povs jumping back and forth.

Also Nicholas is there essentially like a lote dump character which is meh

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missgarceau's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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litlifeguide's review against another edition

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4.0

This was such a unique story, y’all. I really enjoyed this fantasy standalone. It was an interesting concept, kept me intrigued, and kept me gasping plenty. I figured out a few of the plot points, but that didn’t take away from enjoying the book. Familial secrets, separated sisters, lovable characters, magical books, and a dog named Sir Kiwi? Say less.

My only problem with this one was it started really slow. I was never bored, but it felt like it took a long time (~65% in) for it to pick up. Overall, really enjoyed this one though.

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emrockwell14's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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_teoeo's review against another edition

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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!

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