Ink by Alice Broadway

Star Rating: 3/5 stars
The first half of this book was quite slow and slightly boring. I found the main character boring at the beginning and as the book went on I found her to be quite whiney. However, at the end of the book, she starts to become a stronger character which gives me hope that as the series goes on she will lose her whiny nature. I had real difficulties connecting completely to this character as the writer dwell on the death of her father and the relationship Leora has with her friend Verity. Both of which are main plot points but I still felt that her character just needed to be generally more developed. That said I did like the character of Obel as he was mysterious and driven although slightly detached from the other characters. Obel is a really interesting character and I really want to know what happens to him in the next book.
There is a small romance in this book but it's not rushed at all so the reader can see the beginning of the relationship but the characters act as friends first which I found quite refreshing.
The main reason I gave this book 3 stars rather than 2 was because I really liked the ending as it dealt with Leora's first tattoo that she has chosen for herself which is mentioned throughout the book and Leora finally accepted who she was which meant she became less whiny (thank god for that). The book also attempts to navigate the struggles of what it means to be a teenager when they are becoming completely independent and pursuing their own careers. The novel gave a really positive representation of Leora's aspirations and drive (which was one of her only redeeming qualities for me) and shows the transition at the end of the book from teenager to young adult well.
There is a slight cliffhanger but it could be read as a stand alone book as the cliffhanger Broadway has used sets up a rough idea of the plot of the next book but resolves the plot of this book at the same time.

Quote of the Book:

“We're all a bit bad. We all have things in our lives that bring us shame and regret. Things that have hurt our souls or hurt the people we love. But we're all a bit good too. I reckon we're mostly good actually. And life is about trying to learn the balance, plot our place on the continuum... We're not just made up of good and bad: we're everything else too.”


Happy Reading,
Mizza xx

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