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ijm358's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence and Murder
Minor: Torture and Kidnapping
ethuiliel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Love the characters, love the relationships (especially familial, but also friendship, romance, employer/employee, and more) between the characters and how they develop. The worldbuilding is fascinating as well. And the plot is... I'm not sure how to describe it. It slowly unfolds, I couldn't predict until near the end what the final climax would involve (unlike some books where the goal is clear just way of approaching it and whether the goal succeeds in the way the character intended are what are surprising). However, none of the several twists and turns hit me out of the blue, there were little hints throughout so I gradually saw things unfold.
The ending does leave me wanting more, but not in a "wait that's it?" sort of way. In some ways it's open ended about the future, but the arc of the story is resolved. I would love to see what happens next to these characters and this setting, but also the pieces that are open ended are fun to speculate on, not leaving me unsatisfied.
The ending does leave me wanting more, but not in a "wait that's it?" sort of way. In some ways it's open ended about the future, but the arc of the story is resolved. I would love to see what happens next to these characters and this setting, but also the pieces that are open ended are fun to speculate on, not leaving me unsatisfied.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation
I listed a lot of trigger warnings but I will say that I didn't find any of it to be treated in a problematic wayavacadosocks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, and Violence
raginsagein's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
silversparkles50's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Murder
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Love a good book about books, and about sisters grappling with the complexities of their relationship.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence and Injury/Injury detail
sassacass11's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
This book was so great to read! The world comes to life and every aspect of the lore is explained beautifully within the story itself. An adventurous, dark story about sisters, this story grabs onto you and hangs on as the story twists and unearths the unexpected.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse and Murder
Minor: Death
asahome's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
TL;DR: Sisters, one who can never stay and one who can never go, learn why their family has been torn apart by the books they protect. A young man learns the lengths people will go to control his talent for writing magical books .
I found the first part of the book boring. I know it is intended to set up the rest of the book so you can understand the action when it gets there, but it felt too long to me. I also really struggled to understand when we were in the present versus when we were looking at the past. If there had been a format change or something to indicate we were not in the present, it would have felt less jarring to me.
I found the first part of the book boring. I know it is intended to set up the rest of the book so you can understand the action when it gets there, but it felt too long to me. I also really struggled to understand when we were in the present versus when we were looking at the past. If there had been a format change or something to indicate we were not in the present, it would have felt less jarring to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
tracylou's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I actually did.
Törzs' gift in the book is the dialogue between characters. She crafts conversations that read honestly, cover various emotions and situations, and feel authentic to the character she's crafted. For me, these patches of dialogue were the saving grace of the novel.
The biggest problem for me, though, was a lack of focus. Any of the four main characters could have been the hero or the anti-hero, and given the book title, it probably should've been the sisters. Sadly, the sisters are the characters who feel the flattest. The friendship between Nicholas and Collins is far more interesting than the estrangement or reconnection between the sisters.
The pacing of the novel felt uneven, dragging in some places and racing to the finish in others. I found myself wishing the author would have followed a more chronological timeline, allowing the reader to follow the events, appreciate the intricacies of the magic, and enjoy the characters more.
Törzs' gift in the book is the dialogue between characters. She crafts conversations that read honestly, cover various emotions and situations, and feel authentic to the character she's crafted. For me, these patches of dialogue were the saving grace of the novel.
The biggest problem for me, though, was a lack of focus. Any of the four main characters could have been the hero or the anti-hero, and given the book title, it probably should've been the sisters. Sadly, the sisters are the characters who feel the flattest. The friendship between Nicholas and Collins is far more interesting than the estrangement or reconnection between the sisters.
The pacing of the novel felt uneven, dragging in some places and racing to the finish in others. I found myself wishing the author would have followed a more chronological timeline, allowing the reader to follow the events, appreciate the intricacies of the magic, and enjoy the characters more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Self harm, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
readwithria's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a debut I’m unlikely to forget, but not for the right reasons.
I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. Sisterhood, familial magic, and dark secrets are usually things that I enjoy in books. However, it took about 300 pages to get through the setup and to the main plot. Those first couple hundred pages were interesting, but easy to put down. The last 85 pages were much more action-packed, but almost to the point of going by too quickly.
Other than the pacing, it also bothered me that it felt like the decisions the three POV characters made were because of the plot, and I prefer books where the plot happens the way it does due to decisions made by the main characters.
Things that I did enjoy included
- the magic system
- Pearl, Collins, Sir Kiwi, and the little cat
- the themes of colonial deconstruction
- the division of information through the different POVs
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy books that deal with family secrets, generational trauma, and objects of power. I would not recommend this book to people who are sensitive to self harm (CW: graphic bloodletting for magical purposes)
This was interesting, but missed the mark in a few key ways. 3.5 stars.
I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. Sisterhood, familial magic, and dark secrets are usually things that I enjoy in books. However, it took about 300 pages to get through the setup and to the main plot. Those first couple hundred pages were interesting, but easy to put down. The last 85 pages were much more action-packed, but almost to the point of going by too quickly.
Other than the pacing, it also bothered me that it felt like the decisions the three POV characters made were because of the plot, and I prefer books where the plot happens the way it does due to decisions made by the main characters.
Things that I did enjoy included
- the magic system
- Pearl, Collins, Sir Kiwi, and the little cat
- the themes of colonial deconstruction
- the division of information through the different POVs
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy books that deal with family secrets, generational trauma, and objects of power. I would not recommend this book to people who are sensitive to self harm (CW: graphic bloodletting for magical purposes)
This was interesting, but missed the mark in a few key ways. 3.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Alcohol, and Classism