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.

It took me a few chapters to get into the story but after that I enjoyed it so much!! But I have to agree with another review here: Collins and Nicholas should've been endgame ://

I didn't see any chemistry between Joanna and Collins except "oh I think they are attractive (also him being the first man I ever spoke to in my life besides my father), now I'm in love"

Cw: This book tiptoes the line of blood libel, especially with some of the protagonists being Jewish. That made me really sceptical at first! I think in the end it didn't fully cross the line but other opinions may differ. (Also, I'm not sure but I think the author is Jewish herself?) I'm certainly no expert in this and will still see this from a critical point of view!