Scan barcode
A review by freadomlibrary
Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
4.0
Actual rating 4.5
Critically
Plot - 4.5 out of 5 stars
Slow in pace. Incredibly dark, twice as dark as the first book. A lot of different POV's. Full of intrigue, magic, really tough subjects are discussed and an unusual ending.
Writing Style - 4 out of 5 stars
Deliberate, detailed, and dark. Really sultry and mysterious. It helps to keep you guessing as to the plot. The whole time it feels like there's something lurking right around the corner.
Characters - 4 out of 5 stars
Overall, the characters in this book are incredibly complex and complicated. They all have so many facets to their personalities and so many reasons for why they do the things they do. Leslie, our main character, is incredibly vulnerable and somewhat naive in the beginning. She gets easily manipulated by different people and gets herself in a tough situation but she grows and becomes stronger and more decisive. We have two other male point of views who are both very different and at the same time similar to each other. They both want Leslie for personal reasons and they go about ways to get to her. They also have a strange dynamic with each other and it's all so crazy and intense.
Emotionally
The plot of this book really took me by surprise. I was expecting dark but not as dark as it actually, twice as much as the first book. We learn about something called Ink Exchange which is basically a process that allows a person to become a conduit of emotions to feed the members of the Dark Court. Leslie undergoes this process and the whole process is, for lack of a better word, dirty. What makes it even worse is the fact that Leslie has no idea what is really going on. She thinks she's getting a tattoo that she likes and them BAM! you don't feel anything anymore because all you feel gets sucked out of you and feeds creepy and scary court members. Intense. The aftermath of that process is even more devastating, for all the characters involved, and Marr has a talent of letting the reader feel everyone's reasons for their actions and reactions, no matter how awful they are.
Leslie is a touchy character. In the first book, we saw some of her and learned a little about her, just on the surface stuff. I am really glad we got to go more in depth in this book even though she is dealing with a lot. There is some hints of her suffering from sexual abuse (pre first page) at the hands on one of her brother's drug dealers and she's still dealing with the aftermath during the book, one of the reasons she chooses to stay with the Ink Exchange for awhile. That trauma made her susceptible to a lot of the horrors that she faced with the Dark Court but her personal character development and growth is insane. Who she starts out with in the book and how she ends is completely different.
Niall is one of my favorite characters in this book. He is so complex. He has so many facets to his character that you don't really know all of them even at the end of this book. He wars with himself a lot and on how she should act and his destiny is open ended at the end of this book and I can't wait to see what happens with him.
Irial is such an intense character. He is the Dark King and obviously makes some questionable choices (starting the Ink Exchanges for one) but you sort of understand where he is coming from, he's trying to do his best for his court but he goes a little too far to do so. Although he's really rough and ruthless, he is still affected and begins to care for Leslie which causes him to give him spot to Niall as Dark King.
Loved that the ending was not your usual cookie cutter happy ending. Not everyone was satisfied with it but a now strong and independent girl made a decision and stuck to it and I have to give props to Melissa Marr for doing something out of the box and unexpected.
Critically
Plot - 4.5 out of 5 stars
Slow in pace. Incredibly dark, twice as dark as the first book. A lot of different POV's. Full of intrigue, magic, really tough subjects are discussed and an unusual ending.
Writing Style - 4 out of 5 stars
Deliberate, detailed, and dark. Really sultry and mysterious. It helps to keep you guessing as to the plot. The whole time it feels like there's something lurking right around the corner.
Characters - 4 out of 5 stars
Overall, the characters in this book are incredibly complex and complicated. They all have so many facets to their personalities and so many reasons for why they do the things they do. Leslie, our main character, is incredibly vulnerable and somewhat naive in the beginning. She gets easily manipulated by different people and gets herself in a tough situation but she grows and becomes stronger and more decisive. We have two other male point of views who are both very different and at the same time similar to each other. They both want Leslie for personal reasons and they go about ways to get to her. They also have a strange dynamic with each other and it's all so crazy and intense.
Emotionally
Spoiler
The first time I tried to read this story, I only got a few chapters in and I didn't like it. So happy and glad that I gave it another chance.The plot of this book really took me by surprise. I was expecting dark but not as dark as it actually, twice as much as the first book. We learn about something called Ink Exchange which is basically a process that allows a person to become a conduit of emotions to feed the members of the Dark Court. Leslie undergoes this process and the whole process is, for lack of a better word, dirty. What makes it even worse is the fact that Leslie has no idea what is really going on. She thinks she's getting a tattoo that she likes and them BAM! you don't feel anything anymore because all you feel gets sucked out of you and feeds creepy and scary court members. Intense. The aftermath of that process is even more devastating, for all the characters involved, and Marr has a talent of letting the reader feel everyone's reasons for their actions and reactions, no matter how awful they are.
Leslie is a touchy character. In the first book, we saw some of her and learned a little about her, just on the surface stuff. I am really glad we got to go more in depth in this book even though she is dealing with a lot. There is some hints of her suffering from sexual abuse (pre first page) at the hands on one of her brother's drug dealers and she's still dealing with the aftermath during the book, one of the reasons she chooses to stay with the Ink Exchange for awhile. That trauma made her susceptible to a lot of the horrors that she faced with the Dark Court but her personal character development and growth is insane. Who she starts out with in the book and how she ends is completely different.
Niall is one of my favorite characters in this book. He is so complex. He has so many facets to his character that you don't really know all of them even at the end of this book. He wars with himself a lot and on how she should act and his destiny is open ended at the end of this book and I can't wait to see what happens with him.
Irial is such an intense character. He is the Dark King and obviously makes some questionable choices (starting the Ink Exchanges for one) but you sort of understand where he is coming from, he's trying to do his best for his court but he goes a little too far to do so. Although he's really rough and ruthless, he is still affected and begins to care for Leslie which causes him to give him spot to Niall as Dark King.
Loved that the ending was not your usual cookie cutter happy ending. Not everyone was satisfied with it but a now strong and independent girl made a decision and stuck to it and I have to give props to Melissa Marr for doing something out of the box and unexpected.