Ink - Book Review

Ink – Book Review

Amanda sun

YA Paranormal Romance

Synopsis:

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive…

Review:

I truly love all things Japanese, so when I found out this book was set in Japan, it became one my instant must reads. Not only did the story have a refreshingly unique concept that was based upon ancient Japanese myths and legends, but it also gave the reader a brilliant insight into the everyday workings of Japanese language and culture.

The story begins with Katie. Recently orphaned, she has moved to Japan to live with her aunt and facing the trials a new country, a new culture and a new language brings, she finds herself struggling to make a new life for herself. Not only is she a gaijin – an outsider – in her small Japanese town, but after witnessing the school hottie, Tomo, break up with his long term girlfriend she finds her world becoming more and more complicated, when suddenly drawings around her begin to move.

On the surface, Tomo is a cold hearted bad boy with the face of an angel. Yet for some reason Katie keeps running into him. However the more she gets to know him, the more she realises that his cool façade is just an act, because Tomo hides a deadly secret. He is a Kami, a descendant of the old Gods. With the ability to make his drawings come to life, he can create real beauty, except he has little control over his creations and for some reason, the ink is drawn to Katie… and it’s after blood…

I really enjoyed this book. I’m a big fan of manga and Japanese dramas and this book read much the same way. It had an authentic Japanese feel to it and the descriptions were done in a way that made everything very realistic and easy to imagine. I also liked the page drawings that were spaced throughout the story – it added a nice touch to the book.

I liked the characters, especially Katie as you really felt her mixed emotions of being thrown into a foreign culture. Her attraction to Tomo was curious; it was one of those ‘I know I should stay away from him, but…’ kind of romances, which in the end worked out well.

Tomo was also great character, blowing hot and cold, it wasn’t always easy to read his intentions but he had a sharp wit and I couldn’t help but like him. I’m looking forward to seeing how his and Katie’s relationship develops in the next book.

Yet the secondary characters were also interesting too, particularly Yuki’s brother, who I hope we get to see more of in the future. There’s also Jun, who not only looks awesome, but has a whole mysterious thing working for him too. Yet while I think I see a love triangle developing between him, Tomo and Katie, I can’t wait to see what fates going to throw at them next. Then there is Ishikawa, he’s Tomo’s best friend, but one who has ulterior motives. I couldn’t help but like him, even though he was technically a bad guy…however I’m interested to see if that will change in the future. He is definitely a character to watch out for. So overall, I really did like the cast.

Plot wise, I loved how Amanda Sun incorporated so much Japanese culture and myth into the story. It was a paranormal romance, but one set on the realm of ‘what if’ and I like books where it’s easy to imagine such things happening, only hidden from the real world. Yet, while I think there were moments when Katie made stupid decisions and sometimes seemed a little stalkerish, it didn’t really take away my enjoyment of the book. Yes there were quite a few clichés and while this book did have many of the typical YA elements (irresponsible guardians, plenty of hot guys and a deadly love interest) ultimately, I still enjoyed.

So overall, I would say Ink has a unique setting and an interesting new concept that most fans of YA paranormal will enjoy. Bursting with intrigue, danger and romance, Ink will sweep you away. 4 stars!



Published in the UK on the 25th June 2013 by Mira Ink!