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littleobsidian 's review for:

The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish
3.75
challenging dark informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book felt long and arduous for the first 300 pages. I couldn't tell if I liked it, felt no personal connection to or fondness for the characters, and was overwhelmed with the excessively flowery language and details. 
But by the halfway point I was definitely hooked and started to engage and care about how it would all pan out. Ultimately a satisfying and compelling read! And great vocab words to boot. 
That being said, I couldn't stand the way romance between men and women was depicted - yuck. So male gazey, cliche, overly romanticized as to be totally unbelievable. It did not touch my heart. 
Anywho. Learned a lot about Jewish history in a way I had never been able to picture it before. And always love a feisty stubborn lady protagonist. 
In some ways this book reminded me of The Dictionary of Lost Words (which I wanted to love on principle, but it was insanely boring.)