A review by sophiemeink
Ink in the Blood by Kim Smejkal

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Ink in the Blood

"the darkness wrapped around him as if even his shadow wanted to stay as close to him as possible."

CWs: torture, public torture, murder, abuse, public execution, death, arrest, parent's death.

★★★★★

I loved this book.
It had...
🖤 ah-mazing tattoo magic. It is unique and utterly awesome.
"How to ink the omen?"

🖤 art
 *through tattoos*, I savoured those details.

🖤 an epic female friendship at the front
"you two are the perfect package; threaten one with a knife, and the other bends in half trying to take the knife herself."

🖤 a queer fantasy where people get to be themselves, it had a lot of things from gender and sexuality. I loved seeing this in a fantasy


🖤 a world focusing on religion. It links heavily to angel and devil imagery which created a great atmosphere.
"the louder you shout, the more devilish the devil looks"
"maybe I do work in the currency of mercy, after all."

🖤 it opens up discussions about fate and choice which I really liked and I thought it was well explored. It also gives the book an extra dimension which added depth and I LOVED it.


🖤 it deals with a theatre troupe *night circus vibes* but I LOVED this setting, it was magical and fun and MAGICAL.

🖤 the writing was sublime -- there was a definite magic about it and I LOVED getting wrapped up in it.
"when the rest of the world flees, we become the unfortunate mask of any remaining humanity."

🖤 found family galore !!


🖤 the main romance (m/f) was slow burn and it was all about the little details. *when I say slow burn, I mean there is a lot more to know but what we did know was great*

""I don't passionately want you"......"liar""

"I didn't pay admission fee; I don't leave when the gates close."

"Trying to call him out on his bullshit had only highlighted her own."

"alas, it's my burden to be misunderstood."

🖤 that ending ?!?!
 *gimme that sequel please*

🖤 It isn't an action-packed fantasy but something is always happening and I loved the slow build of this whole book.



"So lets; agree to do as much damage as possible before we go."

★★★★★
This was a great debut and I loved the characters, the writing, the atmosphere, the themes, the world, the magic, the relationships and everything. SO GOOD.
I do think the writing had some things where the flow had some discontinuities but it seemed to be only small things so overall, I would still rate it 5★.