It’s where you give the first impression of the book you are currently reading, no matter how far along you are in the book, even if it’s just a few pages. Then you are going to try and predict how you will feel about the book once you are done.
I signed up for the book tour of this one, and I just started reading it this week. Think K-Drama! We’ve got a Korean American romance here everyone and I am all here for it. I believe it’s a fake-relationship story, which is FUN when done right. I’m hoping it’s good. 🤞🏽
As the twenty-one-year-old heiress to the Le Spyre fortune, my life should consist of strawberry mojitos and golf carts. Right?
But I’m determined to forge my own path.
Desperate to escape the meaningless games of the rich, I flee my family’s estate.
Secret alias—check. Place to sleep—uh, kind of? Job—crap!
I’ve bitten off more than I can chew, but that’s the least of my worries.
My city is a giant board game. The players are supernatural— freakin’ vampires—including an overbearing crown prince whose unwanted attention could spell my demise.
Now, I must play their deadly game, or my grandmother and best friend will pay the ultimate price.
This is another Kindle Unlimited title by indie author Kelly St. Clare and I have to say I was in the mood for some vampire urban fantasy novel.
What I Liked:
It’s a different take on a vampire novel…there are two old, wealthy vampire families competing and playing a game, think Monopoly. Yes, they roll dice when it is their turn and buy property. Sound confusing? Oh I’m still a little confused, two books in, but I’m rolling with it because it’s different! The winner gets to live, the losing family…DIES. The city they are playing for IS real…and human and heiress Basilia, or Basil to some, and Bas to others…lives in. She gets caught in the middle of this crazy game.
The vampire prince, Kyros, is a hottie of course with major alpha male tendencies. And yes they are attracted to one another but Bas and Kyros go through blood exchange that has a consequences, three days of a thrall, which makes them lust for each other on a crazy level. It’s hot…but also…kinda weird because his vampire siblings has seen Bas naked…A LOT. 🤣 But she doesn’t care.
Bas is…young, so she can be naive due to how she was brought up – filthy rich. I mean she’s twenty one, she’s just been really sheltered. And thank goodness for her best friend Tommy. Love her! Tommy is real with Bas and Bas doesn’t have many people in her life. I love how close they are.
Super fast read and entertaining if you like urban fantasy stories. Hot, slow burn attraction between Kyron and Bas. And it’s a cliff-hanger ending but book two is published so that’s good!
Things That Made Me Go Hmm:
Kyros’ alpha male can be a but much at times – but he’s a vampire…so you kinda gotta let the guy be.
The dice game is a bit confusing, it supposed to be high stakes and I get that. But as long as I remember it is like Monopoly, then I just go with the flow.
What is up with Kyros’ family always seeing Bas naked during a thrall? LOL…vampires! 🤦🏻♀️
I didn’t get some of the lingo in the book, only because I thought it was British or Aussie slang, but I see the author is from New Zealand, so it’s probably slang from there? Which I am clueless about.
Last week, I inherited every cent of the multi-billion-dollar Le Spyre estate.
But tequila is far easier to swallow than the coincidence of my beloved grandmother’s death.
I’m over this supernatural game, yet walking away from Kyros isn’t simple with the damn mate thing on the cards.
The Indebted need my help. My grandmother deserves justice. And, uhm, the third blood exchange did something to me.
It’s official. I’m done playing by paranormal rules. I’m making my own–and playing to win. Because if I enter Ingenium on my terms, there’s no turning back.
Winning is the only option.
What I Liked:
Bas and Kyros finally hook up – I mean, I’m all for the slow burn but their moments in thrall was putting them over the edge and when they finally have sex I was like, okay, glad THAT’S out of the way now. 😅
We learn more about Bas’ grandmother and we move into her former life as an heiress. We get insight into where Bas grew up and how she grew up.
Kyros’ siblings are interesting characters. It was funny to see how they try and do matchmaking between Kryos and Bas by irritating Kyros.
Bas shows she has more power now that she is back in charge of the Le Spyre wealth and out from under Kyros’ thumb. She has an ulterior motive but it’s nice to see her in charge for a change. I like that she is the championed of the Indebted (basically vampire slaves).
Things That Made Me Go Hmm:
Bas is in charge but she was also kind of whiny and irritating. I get that her relationship with Kyros is mostly because of the thrall and he’s done some shady things but it’s a lot of back and forth between them. I kind of want her to make up her mind already.
The story lagged for me in the middle – but maybe because I read the books back to back so I felt like I was reading 800 pages instead of just 400? LOL…maybe I just needed a break from Kyros and Bas’ crazy relationship.
I’m pretty sure Bas is going to fall in love with Kyros and turned into a vampire. I mean…it’s heading there right?! As for who wins this Monopoly game (which at times seems silly to me haha), we shall see in the next book.
Triggers:
Blood, violence, alpha male losing his temper.
So far, I liked the first book better than the second, yet I liked seeing Bas get some control back in the second book. It’s an entertaining take on vampires playing Monopoly (I know that sounds weird) but just go with it. We shall see what happens in the third book!
Title: Faking Ms. Right (Dirty Martini Running Club #1)
Author: Claire Kingsley
Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)
Pages: 303
Categories: Romantic Comedy, Contemporary
“When I kissed you last night, I wasn’t pretending.”
Everly Dalton is a walking, talking, martini-drinking dating disaster. Forget kissing frogs. She can’t even get past the first date. But at work, she’s a badass—the longest-running assistant billionaire Shepherd Calloway has ever had. Her coworkers wonder how she handles the big bad wolf—and never gets bit.
Shepherd Calloway isn’t interested in being anyone’s sugar daddy. Tired of women who only want him for his money, he swears off dating, determined to focus on running his empire. Until his gold-digging ex hits him where it hurts, putting him in a difficult position.
His solution—to have Everly pose as his live-in girlfriend—is obviously crazy. But the timing is uncanny. It just so happens Everly needs a favor from her boss—a big and awkward one—and this could ensure everyone gets what they want.
Besides, Everly can totally survive a few months of faux romance.
Except there’s a problem. Shepherd is supposed to be a single-minded, unemotional robot boss. Not an actual human with a heart and morning wood. Between the awkward bed-sharing and tingly fake dates, lines are blurring. And as Everly gets to know the real Shepherd, she discovers there’s more to the man behind the bank account.
And faking it gets all too real.
Faking Ms. Right is a hot, STAND-ALONE romantic comedy.
It’s been awhile since I went into my Kindle Unlimited subscription to find an eBook. I was in the mood for a fake-relationship trope and I got it with Faking Ms. Right!
Everly comes off as perfect, perky, and nothing can dull her shine, but underneath she is made of steel…with a smile.
Her boss Shepherd is hard to get to know, Everly is there as his assistant and runs his daily work schedule competently. Until one night, Shepherd needs her to go beyond her assistant duties and fake being his girlfriend to save face in front of his ex-girlfriend.
Everly does her “job” perfectly but she’s also falling for her boss, and he is falling for her. This can’t turn out good…or can it? It definitely can.
Everly is Miss Positive, a ray of sunshine that was refreshing to me! She’s charming, and sweet but can stand her ground if need be. I like that she can make the best out of a bad situation.
Everly’s best friends, Nora and Hazel are hilarious, mostly Nora who is that girlfriend who is outspoken. They were so fun and it showed a side to Everly that did enjoy letting loose and having fun. But having those girlfriends get her through her tough times or them knowing she was going to fall for Shepherd and was going to be for her anyway, that’s friendship goals!
Diversity was present with Everly’s sister who had a wife and Shepherd’s brother had a husband. That was nice to see and why was I so emotional at the end when Shepherd’s brother and Everly’s sister had a “moment”? Ugh! It was a good moment and it made my heart happy.
Everly and Shepherd’s relationship I thought evolved nicely, from fake to an attraction they couldn’t deny. I mean, I can’t blame her after he lets her in. The thing I liked about Shepherd was that he wasn’t arrogant, even if he was a “billionaire”, his money status wasn’t a focus of this book. He was private and closed off yes (due to some past parental stuff) – but you could tell he cared about his brother and dad a lot.
There are steamy sex scenes in this one with a touch of kinky. Haha…not too much, but hey it’s definitely a fun time between Everly and Shepherd!
Of course it IS a fake-relationship trope and you already know they will get together so it was predictable but I loved it anyway.
Now Shepherd moves Everly into his home to make their relationship more believable and I thought wow…they are really going all in with this. I mean, couldn’t he just say he was dating her without the whole moving in thing? But I understood why it happened. Plus it made the tension and attraction between them grow much faster!
This was exactly what I needed to get me out of a fantasy slump. It’s always refreshing to switch genres and this one has a happily ever after, definitely what I was looking for! I love all the characters in this book except Svetlana of course. I want Nora and Hazel’s stories to be written too – it would be interesting to see what kind of guy they would end up with. (Actually, I see that Hazel’s story was just published!! So I will be reading that very soon.) 😍 I’m very excited to continue reading about these fun characters.
Categories: Gaming, Young Adult, Contemporary, Coming of Age
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Divya Sharma is a queen. Or she is when she’s playing Reclaim the Sun, the year’s hottest online game. Divya—better known as popular streaming gamer D1V—regularly leads her #AngstArmada on quests through the game’s vast and gorgeous virtual universe. But for Divya, this is more than just a game. Out in the real world, she’s trading her rising-star status for sponsorships to help her struggling single mom pay the rent.
Gaming is basically Aaron Jericho’s entire life. Much to his mother’s frustration, Aaron has zero interest in becoming a doctor like her, and spends his free time writing games for a local developer. At least he can escape into Reclaim the Sun—and with a trillion worlds to explore, disappearing should be easy. But to his surprise, he somehow ends up on the same remote planet as celebrity gamer D1V.
At home, Divya and Aaron grapple with their problems alone, but in the game, they have each other to face infinite new worlds…and the growing legion of trolls populating them. Soon the virtual harassment seeps into reality when a group called the Vox Populi begin launching real-world doxxing campaigns, threatening Aaron’s dreams and Divya’s actual life. The online trolls think they can drive her out of the game, but everything and everyone Divya cares about is on the line…
And she isn’t going down without a fight.
Thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
Don’t Read the Comments hit home for me because my son, he’s 7, wants to be a YouTuber, gamer, streamer – and I’m trying to learn the lingo. Can you tell? 😂 My hubby is a PC Gamer and my son is already following in his footsteps so the fact that this story is about the gaming world – is awesome.
Divya is an online gamer and she streams herself playing this one popular game. She’s built a big enough following that gaming companies send her product to advertise, which is helpful because she sells it to help pay the bills. Yes she’s a teenager, but her dad left and it’s just her and her mom.
Aaron Jericho loves gaming too but he’s not a pro like Divya, in fact he wants to work in the video game industry writing stories and scripts for the game itself! Of course his parents want him to be a doctor, sounds about right!
These two teens have a moment where their online worlds collide and maybe, just maybe they can actually have a relationship in real life. But first Divya has to help her mom and deal with these trolls trying to ruin her life.
Just this being about the gaming industry was interesting to me because my son and hubby are gamers. I own a Nintendo Switch lite so I’m not big on it – but it’s eye opening to see the problems that are present in the gaming world with the trolls bothering Divya and ruining her reputation to seeing the process of Aaron and his friends creating a game. I like how we see two sides to the gaming industry.
Diversity is a given in this book and I like that.
This book shined a light on girl gamers in this masculine world – it’s amazing what they have to put up with in the online world and the real world. Some real world problems that arose in the book was connected not only to Divya but her best friend, Rebekah, who was assaulted by a group of boys at her college. The fear is there in Divya and Rebekah and I’m glad the story didn’t shy away from what they felt. The story also brought up issues like bullying, trolling and doxing.
Divya and Aaron’s relationship is a slow burn and they don’t meet in real life until late in the book. But their relationship is cute because it starts off as friendship. I enjoyed watching the two of them get to know each other.
Love that no matter how hard it got for Divya, with those trolls harassing her – she kept fighting back. Even though she was scared, she fought back. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Aaron’s family dynamics seems like what most parent/teen relationship would be like when said teen wants a career in gaming. Already I have talks with my son trying to point out that games are made and created, someone takes the time to illustrate the graphics, the story line, the big companies that make them, etc…and he’s 7!! I relate to Aaron’s mom wanting the best for your child and a steady path, a steady career…you know – with benefits and a retirement package. 😂
I was interested in this book because I have gamers in my life. For people not into gaming, I don’t know how much this story would interest them. There is a lot that takes place in a virtual world, the online game that Divya plays. I found it fun and interesting, but I don’t know if that is everyone’s cup of tea.
Triggers: memories of assault, harassment, online trolling/bullying
Like I said earlier, this one hit close to home for me and it made me learn a lot of things I didn’t know about the gaming world. I loved how it show cases the gamer and the game creator. Most importantly it brought up the issues of the toxic online culture that is present in the gaming world and social media and it talks about boundaries too. I enjoyed this one and it was a super quick read for me. I look forward to reading more books from this author!
Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Family, Contemporary, Holiday
Sophie wants one thing for Christmas-a little freedom from her overprotective parents. So when they decide to spend Christmas in South Louisiana with her very pregnant older sister, Sophie is looking forward to some much needed private (read: make-out) time with her long-term boyfriend, Griffin. Except it turns out that Griffin wants a little freedom from their relationship. Cue devastation.
Heartbroken, Sophie flees to her grandparents’ house, where the rest of her boisterous extended family is gathered for the holiday. That’s when her nonna devises a (not so) brilliant plan: Over the next ten days, Sophie will be set up on ten different blind dates by different family members. Like her sweet cousin Sara, who sets her up with a hot guy at an exclusive underground party. Or her crazy aunt Patrice, who signs Sophie up for a lead role in a living nativity. With a boy who barely reaches her shoulder. And a screaming baby.
When Griffin turns up unexpectedly and begs for a second chance, Sophie feels more confused than ever. Because maybe, just maybe, she’s started to have feelings for someone else . . . Someone who is definitely not available.
This is going to be the worst Christmas break ever… or is it?
I know Christmas is over but I saw this at my library and decided to pick it up because I heard many good things about it.
Sophie and her boyfriend Griffin is on an unintentional break from one another. Broken hearted, Sophie heads to her grandparents house for Christmas. And holidays at her grandparents house is always a chaotic event. When all her family hears of her break-up, they want to cheer her up and devise a way for her to keep her mind off her sadness by making her go on blind dates. But what makes it even more interesting is she doesn’t pick the dates, her family signs up for a day and pick the guy for her. So there are 10 dates Sophie agrees to go on, will Sophie have a horrible Christmas? Or will she find what’s been missing in her life?
What’s not to like about a young adult romance book set during Christmas? This story is wholesome and filled with family, friendship, fun and bad dates.
The thing that stood out to me a lot is Sophie and her large, loud, chaotic family because that’s what I’m used to. Christmas was that wild for me growing up with 8 aunts and uncles and so many cousins. It was crazy fun! So I loved when Sophie is at her Nonna’s house and hanging with her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins (around her age and the littles). I enjoyed seeing her renew her bond with her cousins Charlie and Olivia. It’s so awesome having cousins who are your age and you can be friends with. And not all the cousins get along, you always have some that you have drama with and for Sophie it’s the Evil Joes.
The dates are fun, and funny, especially the ones in the beginning. The ones at the end seemed rushed but we already know who Sophie wants to date by then!
Sophie’s sister, Margot, is in a different town and dealing with pre-eclampsia during her first pregnancy. Their closeness is evident and sweet in their conversations through the phone. I enjoyed their sisterly bond.
The story seemed rushed at times but there was a lot going on! Sophie had to get through 10 dates, worry about her older sister and deal with Griffin. Plus there was her family in her business so there was a lot going on.
It’s obvious who Sophie is going to eventually end up with. But I like that there wasn’t too much drama with the boys. Even with Griffin her ex, there was minimal drama. She’s young, found her carefree self again and looks like she’s going into her college years with the same mentality, which is nice.
I loved Sophie’s loud, crazy family because it reminds me of mine. It had funny moments and touching ones too. Overall, 10 Blind Dates is a cute holiday romance, perfect for teens.
It’s where you give the first impression of the book you are currently reading, no matter how far along you are in the book, even if it’s just a few pages. Then you are going to try and predict how you will feel about the book once you are done. So this should be interesting!
This is my netgalley arc read currently and I’m trying my very best to get through it. I’m barely halfway through, I think I’m almost 20% through. I even read a sample of it from Bookishfirst before I requested it on NetGalley. And whoa…the first few pages read like it was going to be a fast paced, crime story, but right now I am struggling. The crime has been done and we are in the aftermath of it…and it is slow going. I’ve put it aside for now but I hope to finish before the book is released on February 18th.
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Emilie des Marais is more at home holding scalpels than embroidery needles and is desperate to escape her noble roots to serve her country as a physician. But society dictates a noble lady cannot perform such gruesome work.
Annette Boucher, overlooked and overworked by her family, wants more from life than her humble beginnings and is desperate to be trained in magic. So when a strange noble girl offers Annette the chance of a lifetime, she accepts.
Emilie and Annette swap lives—Annette attends finishing school as a noble lady to be trained in the ways of divination, while Emilie enrolls to be a physician’s assistant, using her natural magical talent to save lives.
But when their nation instigates a frivolous war, Emilie and Annette must work together to help the rebellion end a war that is based on lies
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
Belle Revolte is set in a French inspired world where magic use is known as the noonday arts and the midnight arts. Emilie a noble girl wants to be a physician but only men can aspire to that profession. So Emilie swaps lives with Annette a commoner who wants to elevate her station by studying the midnight arts. Emilie sneaks away to learn noon day arts and train as a physician as a rebellion is growing in theirkingdom. The rebellion is lead by someone named Laurel. They find out that everyone who is in the rebellion is called Laurel and they are ready to change things for their kingdom.
Which side will Emilie and Annette take in this rebellion and will they see their dreams become reality?
The magic system in this book was interesting, to a point. We have the noonday arts which is used by soldiers and physician. The magic is used for fighting and healing. Midnight arts is used for divination and scrying among other things. The midnight arts is in some form usually present in other fantasy books with a magic system but the noonday arts was somewhat different. I thought the medical training Emilie undertakes was more fascinating than the usual midnight arts. I can see why she says the noonday arts changes lives – especially in that sense.
There is trans and ace (asexual) representation in this book and honestly, I think this is the first young adult fantasy I’ve read with asexual representation! There is some romance in the book, but this story is not romance driven.
Strong female characters are featured in this book which is always great. We have Annette and Emilie trying to make their dreams a reality. Emilie especially in her male dominated field but Annette takes a big risk as well posing as a noblewoman.
The beginning of the book kept me interested but by the middle I felt my attention waning. The magic system didn’t keep me interested, they either had magic for healing or fighting and magic for divination and scrying. We see how Annette and Emilie use it to help in time of war but other than that…I’m not sure there was anything else special about it.
I’m all for the life swapping trope, it’s a chance to have someone on the other side experience a different role and life, some good, some bad. But I felt no connection to the characters. It was a life swap but not a name swap – I think it threw me off a little. Annette was posing as Emilie and being called Emilie. But Emilie was still Emilie, but with Annette’s last name! So…they were both Emilie. 😟
Triggers: War, death
The story of two girls trying to change their fate and a kingdom on the verge of revolution is inspiring. Unfortunately I failed to connect to the characters and I lost interest midway into the book. Despite my experience, I think others will enjoy this story very much.
Categories: Drugs, Dating Abuse, Self Harm, Mental Illness, Young Adult
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
The girls at North Bay Academy are taking sides. It all started when Mike Parker’s girlfriend showed up with a bruise on her face. Or, more specifically, when she walked into the principal’s office and said Mike hit her. But the students have questions. Why did she go to the principal and not the polcie? Why did she stay so long if he was hurting her? Obviously, if it’s true, Mike should be expelled. But is it true?
Some girls want to rally for his expulsion—and some want to rally around Mike. The only thing that the entire student body can agree on? Someone is lying. And the truth has to come out.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
First and foremost, this book has triggers all throughout the story. It delves into the thoughts and actions of two teenagers, one who is a girl who reports that her boyfriend abused her. The other girl is her friend, who is a cutter, dealing with life’s pressures in unhealthy ways.
But the way it’s written in the beginning can get a little confusing. There is more than one perspective being told but no name, just a label: The Girlfriend, The Popular Girl, The Bulimic, The Burn Out. The more you read on you understand this is the girlfriend, Mike Parker’s accuser. We get into her thoughts a lot about what happens when she tells her secret. People question her, blame her and in turn she also questions herself and blames herself. It’s no wonder why people who are abused don’t report it when it occurs. We also see her thoughts about how she felt about Mike, how he made her feel, how she had to question if what they had was love? Can it be love still, if he hit her? We are there in her thought process and it’s frustrating but eye-opening, and we eventually learn her name is Maya.
Then in part two we get a different perspective from Maya’s best friend, Juniper, but she too has issues. She’s a cutter. She’s dealing with anxiety, OCD and panic attacks. We get into her head as well and it’s stressful in there.
I really like how the story evolved. I’ve often wondered why people stay with abusers, even though I’ve seen it happen to my own friends and family members. And Maya’s character gives us a chance to see how someone can waver, blame herself, see people question her and then she in turns question herself. I mean Mike is the star athlete at school with everything going for him. People wanted to take his side and given the chance they totally did. But we see Maya is also dealing with other things like her parents’ divorce and bulimia.
Then we see questions come from Juniper as well. They are best friends but even Juniper judged Maya on the situation. Juniper has issues of her own trying to balance her parents expectations, trying to figure out if she’s good enough for her girlfriend Tess, and cutting helps release the pressure from her daily life. She plans a protest to get Mike expelled but things don’t go as planned and it pushes her over the edge.
There was a little relief for me when the best friends finally told each other their secrets. They needed each other and didn’t know what they were going through individually. In the end these two girls choose another label for themselves, the kind of girl who stands up for their truth. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
It is a story that brings up relevant issues about dating abuse, self harm and mental illness. Overall it’s an engaging and emotional read about some hard subjects.
Categories: Jane Austen Retelling, Space, New Adult, Second Chance Romance
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Engagement season is in the air. Eighteen-year-old Princess Leonie “Leo” Kolburg, heir to a faded European spaceship, only has one thing on her mind: which lucky bachelor can save her family from financial ruin?
But when Leo’s childhood friend and first love Elliot returns as the captain of a successful whiskey ship, everything changes. Elliot was the one that got away, the boy Leo’s family deemed to be unsuitable for marriage. Now, he’s the biggest catch of the season and he seems determined to make Leo’s life miserable. But old habits die hard, and as Leo navigates the glittering balls of the Valg Season, she finds herself failing for her first love in a game of love, lies, and past regrets.
Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for giving me chance to read this eARC.
I did not realize this was a retelling of Persuasion, by Jane Austen, until almost the end. 🙆🏻♀️ I felt like it was familiar but for some reason didn’t put two and two together.
Princess Leonie, or Leo, is nineteen years old and single but she is about to take part in the Valg, which is an event that takes place every five years to bring together other young singles looking to make a power match marriage. Basically it helps them avoid marrying their cousins. 👀 At the end of the event, couples will announce their engagement. If Leo could avoid it she would but her family needs her to marry for money in order for them to survive because though they have royal titles, the money is basically gone.
And all of this happens in space! Yes, humans are now living on space ships which made this book even more intriguing to me. But just like Persuasion, someone from Leo’s past named Elliot, comes back and participates in the Valg as well. Can Leo bear to see Elliot marry someone else? Will she have to marry for money or can she make money for her family in another way? With space as the backdrop, there are balls, speed dating, gorgeous dresses, lots of drinking and dancing and of course, romance drama. The past comes back to haunt Leo and her future looks dire.
I love Jane Austen so the second chance romance between Leo and Elliot is great. Leo and Elliot was secretly engaged in the past but her family nixed it because he was too poor. He comes back rich and now her family and everyone else thinks he’s a catch. The attraction between Leo and Elliot builds again and I was just waiting for them to find their way back to one another!
Outside of the romance story is the tones of political intrigue. Princess Leonie’s aunt captains the Scandinavian, like it’s name, many of the residents there are Scandinavian or European descent. Learning about the different ships in space and the captains of the ships was interesting. We get a sense there is divide between the royals and the common people, who are starving on some of the other ships.
Leo and Elliot are both trying to help their people in different ways. Though Leo is “royalty”, because her family has no money she feels pressured to do everything to help her family get money, even if it means marrying someone she doesn’t love. Elliot is helping people on a bigger scale, though in an illegal way. He’s like Robin Hood but his scheme could endanger many people around him. I like them as characters, it definitely felt very “Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth” from Persuasion. Except Leo has more back bone than Anne Elliot I think.
One of my favorite characters in the book was Evgenia who was Elliot’s friend and was brimming with life. She was the life of the party! And they partied a lot in this book.
Just because the setting is in space, there is not much sci-fi in this book unless you count the scene where they do a space walk. So if you want a sci-fi book you will be disappointed.
The political intrigue part of the story felt weak. I felt there was no urgency – there was a protest and secrets Elliot was keeping but the issue of people with discontent and starving wasn’t resolved in the end. The love story between Elliot and Leo was fixed, yay, but the larger issues at hand? Not much – so will there be a sequel? The ending was rushed.
Some things about the world building made me pause. For example, this is set in the future, 170 years from now and they still have issues with gay relationships? Evangie had trouble finding a girl to meet on the Scandinavian. Were they just super conservative? I wanted more of the history of the ships and how people came to be on them.
This book has more romance than sci-fi. I adored that it was a Persuasion retelling and I definitely felt it with Leo and Elliot’s storyline but I think on the other spectrum, there wasn’t much urgency about the state of the people living in space though it’s mentioned there is a lot of trouble brewing. I wanted more of that. Maybe there will be sequel?
Overall, I think it’s still an enjoyable story and having it set in space was very interesting.
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
A lush, dark YA fantasy debut that weaves together tattoo magic, faith, and eccentric theater in a world where lies are currency and ink is a weapon, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Kendare Blake.
Celia Sand and her best friend, Anya Burtoni, are inklings for the esteemed religion of Profeta. Using magic, they tattoo followers with beautiful images that represent the Divine’s will and guide the actions of the recipients. It’s considered a noble calling, but ten years into their servitude Celia and Anya know the truth: Profeta is built on lies, the tattooed orders strip away freedom, and the revered temple is actually a brutal, torturous prison.
Their opportunity to escape arrives with the Rabble Mob, a traveling theater troupe. Using their inkling abilities for performance instead of propaganda, Celia and Anya are content for the first time . . . until they realize who followed them. The Divine they never believed in is very real, very angry, and determined to use Celia, Anya, and the Rabble Mob’s now-infamous stage to spread her deceitful influence even further.
To protect their new family from the wrath of a malicious deity and the zealots who work in her name, Celia and Anya must unmask the biggest lie of all—Profeta itself.
Thank you to HMH Books For Young Readers and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.
Ink in the Blood caught my eye on NetGalley because of the cover and the concept of magic tattoos. What I got as I started reading was a story about religion and a theater troupe! Celia and Anya are “inklings” – unfortunately every time I read the word “inkling” it reminded me of the video game Splatoon 2. 😂🤦🏻♀️ Maybe that’s why my reading experience of this book felt strange. Anyway, inklings have the gift of creating tattoos for people through their religion Profeta. But Celia and Anya, realize as they grow older they are trapped in servitude in their roles as inklings and want to escape. They find a way to join the Rabble Mob, a performance troupe and they think they have escaped Profeta but they learn in a sinister way, they haven’t left it behind.
Diversity abounds in this book, there is queer romance everywhere and I like that it’s a normal part of this dark fantasy world. It isn’t questioned or explained, it just IS.
The world building is interesting – the religion Profeta has these inklings conjuring up tattoos to guide the masses, but through Celia and Anya’s memories of their childhood, they are tortured a lot by their superiors. It was almost like a mixture of Catholicism and Hinduism (with the statue of the Divine and Diavala peeking out beneath and 6 eyes). There is an order to Profeta with the mistico being the holiest and the inklings being the lowest level on the pyramid. Celia and Anya escape and join a theater troupe called the Rabble Mob. The setting reminded me of Venice with the masks, gondolas and houses on stilts.
I enjoyed Celia and Anya’s relationship, they had each other’s back to the surprising and bittersweet end. They balanced each other out and went through so much together from their childhood as inklings to running away and becoming part of the theater troupe.
Celia and Griffin’s relationship was what kept me interested in this book because there was amazing tension between them. Now this is a slow burn…there is a lot of distrust, and hiding behind masks and innuendos. But they were my favorite part of the book.
There was something about the story that just kept me unengaged. I felt like the explanation of the religion and magic in the beginning was confusing to me. Maybe my reality wasn’t suspended enough for me to be immersed in this world of the Divine and Diavala the trickster god.
Because the story didn’t engage me right away, it took me awhile to get into this story. I put this aside for two months! I picked it up again because I know it’s being published soon. But I did find the second half of the book moved much faster t
The tattoo magic wasn’t what I expected. I thought it was kind of weak because it was like painting a tattoo on a body part and transferring it through magic. I guess I wanted more blood and needles involved. 😅 The tattoos were the only magic in the book.
Triggers: physical abuse, torture
This was an okay read for me. I think the world building with the religious aspects and the tattoos was interesting but something was missing for me in the story. My favorite parts were between Celia and Griffin who brought the tension and intensity that stood out in this book. I think many people who enjoyed books like Caraval will enjoy Ink in the Blood.
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