A review by eyeowna
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious slow-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

3.75

This is a dark academia (?) type of fantasy novel set in a contemporary world like ours in which some people can use magic through certain books/book making. The novel first follows two sisters from a family that protects their library of magic books from the world (and some secret enemy) before things get twisty. 

I feel like this book was brewed in a cauldron of hot book soup (blood in this case) specifically for me. There’s beautiful libraries, bookbinding, making ink out of blood, sisters, twists and secrets on secrets, magic spells, and a general love for rare books and reading. This would’ve been the perfect novel for me if the pacing didn’t feel bloated and uneven. There’s a lot (about 150-200 pages) of build up to a certain event. After the middle/two thirds of the book, the pay off was fun but very quick and didn’t match the first half of the book. 

I loved the writing style, descriptions, and dialogue, though! I’m going to keep an eye out for whatever Torzs writes next.