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btwnprintedpgs's Reviews (1.3k)
I actually had the honour of meeting Amanda Sun at her book signing in Toronto. She was really nice, fun, a great speaker, and she got me totally pumped about her book, between the reading and the origins of the plot concept, I was ready to dive into Ink.
Although I really enjoyed this book, I felt kind of off about Katie. Where Tomohiro has a history to him, and she does everything in her power (including STALKING him) to find out about him, his past, and WHY drawings are moving whenever he’s around, we learn very little about her. After such a loss, one would suspect she’d be in mourning, or more… within herself. However, the book simply jumps right into her new life, and we learn very little about her family and what happened to them in the past. I did like her – she’s a strong protagonist – I wish there had been a little more back story and depth to her character.
Something that I wish also hadn’t been a part of the book was the insta-love. I can understand why she found him intriguing through his drawings, but this was a YA cliche I hadn’t wanted to see in this book. Also, I feel like the romance overpowered the novel’s plot, and kind of slowed everything down.
Aside from those two things, I found the setting absolutely awesome. As an Asian reader, born and raised in Canada, I rarely see a book set in an Asian country or starring an Asian character. You do not know how pleased I was with myself when I saw Jem speaking in Chinese in Clockwork Prince and UNDERSTOOD what he was saying. Then now, with Ink, I knew some of the words (thank you anime and J-drama obsession) and I was ecstatic. Amanda Sun had spent a few years in Japan studying, and that really translated into her novel when it came down to descriptions of the parks, schools, and shrines, as well as the language, in the book. I think that was one of the strongest points in the book, ’cause I felt like I was sitting in the middle of a J-drama instead of a book, and could picture everything with ease.
The concept was amazing. I loved that the ideas were drawn from Egyptian and Chinese history, as well as Japanese mythology. It really made the story unique and I was intrigued by the drawings coming alive and what the characters could do with such a power. I hope to see more of it in the second book, though, as well as a lot more action (’cause I expected way more than I got in this book…).
Something I loved about this novel, that added it it’s total specialness, were the drawings. Throughout the novel, there were drawings that illustrated the things that Tomohiro drew, and also what was happening at the time (through those little animation things where you turn the pages really fast and the pictures move (they said the technical term for it in the novel, but I kind of forgot what it was…)). I think this added to the beauty of the novel and made it more fun (:
The plot was awesome once we all got past the lovey-dovey moments (don’t get me wrong, when Tomo and Katie interacted, it was often funny and cute and I enjoyed them, but it also overpowered the story). There were Kendo fights, there were motorcycles and we got to see some action, and when it boiled down to it, the plot was definitely interesting and, at times, thrilling.
All in all, while I found the characters lacking, and the romance overwhelming, I think that the setting, the concept, and the plot of the novel really helped make the book come to life and made it a unique and captivating read~
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 4/5
GoodReads Rating: 3.60/5
-review by Between Printed Pages
Although I really enjoyed this book, I felt kind of off about Katie. Where Tomohiro has a history to him, and she does everything in her power (including STALKING him) to find out about him, his past, and WHY drawings are moving whenever he’s around, we learn very little about her. After such a loss, one would suspect she’d be in mourning, or more… within herself. However, the book simply jumps right into her new life, and we learn very little about her family and what happened to them in the past. I did like her – she’s a strong protagonist – I wish there had been a little more back story and depth to her character.
Something that I wish also hadn’t been a part of the book was the insta-love. I can understand why she found him intriguing through his drawings, but this was a YA cliche I hadn’t wanted to see in this book. Also, I feel like the romance overpowered the novel’s plot, and kind of slowed everything down.
Aside from those two things, I found the setting absolutely awesome. As an Asian reader, born and raised in Canada, I rarely see a book set in an Asian country or starring an Asian character. You do not know how pleased I was with myself when I saw Jem speaking in Chinese in Clockwork Prince and UNDERSTOOD what he was saying. Then now, with Ink, I knew some of the words (thank you anime and J-drama obsession) and I was ecstatic. Amanda Sun had spent a few years in Japan studying, and that really translated into her novel when it came down to descriptions of the parks, schools, and shrines, as well as the language, in the book. I think that was one of the strongest points in the book, ’cause I felt like I was sitting in the middle of a J-drama instead of a book, and could picture everything with ease.
The concept was amazing. I loved that the ideas were drawn from Egyptian and Chinese history, as well as Japanese mythology. It really made the story unique and I was intrigued by the drawings coming alive and what the characters could do with such a power. I hope to see more of it in the second book, though, as well as a lot more action (’cause I expected way more than I got in this book…).
Something I loved about this novel, that added it it’s total specialness, were the drawings. Throughout the novel, there were drawings that illustrated the things that Tomohiro drew, and also what was happening at the time (through those little animation things where you turn the pages really fast and the pictures move (they said the technical term for it in the novel, but I kind of forgot what it was…)). I think this added to the beauty of the novel and made it more fun (:
The plot was awesome once we all got past the lovey-dovey moments (don’t get me wrong, when Tomo and Katie interacted, it was often funny and cute and I enjoyed them, but it also overpowered the story). There were Kendo fights, there were motorcycles and we got to see some action, and when it boiled down to it, the plot was definitely interesting and, at times, thrilling.
All in all, while I found the characters lacking, and the romance overwhelming, I think that the setting, the concept, and the plot of the novel really helped make the book come to life and made it a unique and captivating read~
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 4/5
GoodReads Rating: 3.60/5
-review by Between Printed Pages
This novel had an interesting concept behind it. After watching shows about matchmaking, as well as the k-drama, Dating Agency Cyrano, I thought that this was an interesting spin for the New Adult genre.
I really liked the concept. A person able to read people just by their movements and observations. I suspect there was some kind of magic to it all, but it was an interesting concept, having Sparks being almost like a puppet master, trying to orchestrate the perfect ending for everyone. I also liked the overall attention given to special needs people. I really enjoyed getting to know those characters especially, and I liked that it opened the door of opportunity for Ollie and other characters.
While we’re on the subject of characters, the ones in this book were extremely interesting characters to read about. Ollie is a little selfish, even towards the end he has a very “me, me, me” mindset, though it had been slowly falling away throughout the novel, it never quite finished polishing him off. However, this didn’t bother me. It just meant that while the character has made improvements, he still has room to change and grow with the new things coming his way. I also loved Greg. He’s a cute character when in the mood and his relationship with Ollie, while odd, was sweet and heartwarming at times, and fairly alarming at others. Again, I really liked him, as well as Marie, in all their appearances throughout the novel! Ollie’s friendship with his roommates was cool. While he was getting readjusted to hanging out with him, I felt like they were really cool about everything. It’s always awesome to read about friends who have each others’ back, no matter what they’ve been through.
One thing that I want to comment on is the narrator’s voice. The book is third person except in small lines here and there where the narrator would stick in a random “I” line. I’m not sure if it’s that character thinking or whether the narrator just felt like they should just plop themselves here and there to make sure you remember that they’re still there. It was just something I noticed throughout the book that I found odd, and yet interesting enough that it managed to get me to pay more attention to the narrative instead of annoying me, which is definitely something new.
Overall, this novel was really enjoyable and was a very fun read. I love the unpredictability of the story line and the fun upbeat (for the most part) characters. Definitely a book I’d recommend you pick up! I’m also really hoping that we’ll see more from Sparks soon !
Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
GoodReads Rating: 4/5
-review by Between Printed Pages
I really liked the concept. A person able to read people just by their movements and observations. I suspect there was some kind of magic to it all, but it was an interesting concept, having Sparks being almost like a puppet master, trying to orchestrate the perfect ending for everyone. I also liked the overall attention given to special needs people. I really enjoyed getting to know those characters especially, and I liked that it opened the door of opportunity for Ollie and other characters.
While we’re on the subject of characters, the ones in this book were extremely interesting characters to read about. Ollie is a little selfish, even towards the end he has a very “me, me, me” mindset, though it had been slowly falling away throughout the novel, it never quite finished polishing him off. However, this didn’t bother me. It just meant that while the character has made improvements, he still has room to change and grow with the new things coming his way. I also loved Greg. He’s a cute character when in the mood and his relationship with Ollie, while odd, was sweet and heartwarming at times, and fairly alarming at others. Again, I really liked him, as well as Marie, in all their appearances throughout the novel! Ollie’s friendship with his roommates was cool. While he was getting readjusted to hanging out with him, I felt like they were really cool about everything. It’s always awesome to read about friends who have each others’ back, no matter what they’ve been through.
One thing that I want to comment on is the narrator’s voice. The book is third person except in small lines here and there where the narrator would stick in a random “I” line. I’m not sure if it’s that character thinking or whether the narrator just felt like they should just plop themselves here and there to make sure you remember that they’re still there. It was just something I noticed throughout the book that I found odd, and yet interesting enough that it managed to get me to pay more attention to the narrative instead of annoying me, which is definitely something new.
Overall, this novel was really enjoyable and was a very fun read. I love the unpredictability of the story line and the fun upbeat (for the most part) characters. Definitely a book I’d recommend you pick up! I’m also really hoping that we’ll see more from Sparks soon !
Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
GoodReads Rating: 4/5
-review by Between Printed Pages
