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readwithria's review against another edition
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: Self harm and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Alcohol, and Classism
someryarns's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Blood, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Self harm, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
palmkd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This story is about many things, perhaps you'd think Ink would be the biggest as it's listed first but really that's Blood. Then it's possibly a tie between Ink, Sister and Scribe.
This is a captivating fever dream type tale where books are magic but only if the book was written with a special ink. The kind imbued with blood.
Joanna and Esther, sisters, were raised in a house that admired and protected the books, but when Esther turned 18 everything started to be weird and the secrets started piling up.
This book has major dark academia vibes as it explores the bounds of family and secrets and what people are willing to do for power and magic.
It was a very easy story to get lost in and devour in just a few settings. It's one of those where I feel it's best to not know too much going in. Know that it is dark, there's a lot of blood and lack of self care, and there's magic blended in with the regular world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Self harm, Blood, and Classism
bencaroline's review against another edition
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, Death, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, Pregnancy, and War
Does the [dog] die?ink_at_heart's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Violence, Blood, and Vomit
blewballoon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was great! I think this is my favorite Book of the Month read so far this year. I will say that there are a lot of twists and reveals that I figured out very early, but it didn't detract from my reading experience. It was fun to see the characters put together what I'd already figured out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Blood
Moderate: Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Medical content, and Abandonment
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: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Self harm, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Body horror, Torture, Vomit, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
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