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Ink Born #1
Stolen Ink
I’m Dacian, a tattoo magician, and my life went from my biggest concern being finding a pretty guy to fall into bed with at the end of the week to everything falling apart around me.
There are two problems in my life.
Number one – I’m an ink magician, the thing of myths. A lot of very powerful people would love to get their hands on me, and I have no intention of letting that happen.
Number two – A tattoo thief came to my city, and the magical community has decided that I’m the guy to stop them.
Somehow, I have to catch the thief without letting my secret out of the bag, and that’s even harder than it sounds.
There are two problems in my life.
Number one – I’m an ink magician, the thing of myths. A lot of very powerful people would love to get their hands on me, and I have no intention of letting that happen.
Number two – A tattoo thief came to my city, and the magical community has decided that I’m the guy to stop them.
Somehow, I have to catch the thief without letting my secret out of the bag, and that’s even harder than it sounds.
212 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 10, 2017
402 people are currently reading
747 people want to read
About the author
Holly Evans
38 books272 followersHolly Evans is an urban fantasy author with an unhealthy fascination with blades, a deep love of hellhounds, and would love one day to wake up as a fae. When she isn't wrangling rogue characters and trying to tame her muse, she's researching shiny new ninja moves. During her spare time she fights crime and rights wrongs on the streets of County Kerry.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 171 reviews
February 20, 2017
This story had such a cool and unique concept that I immediately knew that I had to read it.
The premise was that certain people had parts of their soul that manifested themselves as animals. The person would feel their animal clawing to get out, go to a tattoo magician, then the tattoo magician would 'feel' the identity of their animal and tattoo it onto their skin.
Once the tattoo was complete, its owner could then press on the tattoo to 'release' it into the living world. For example, the main character, Dacian, had both a cat and a snake, which spent most of the story as real animals, much like pets would hang around the house. The tattoo animals could also push thoughts to their master, which I thought was very cool.
But there was also a tattoo thief on the loose, who was stealing people's tattoos, and since the tattoos were part of their owner's souls, the victim would die an excruciating death. So as a powerful tattoo magician, Dacian was tasked with the task of finding the tattoo thief and stopping the murders.
Then we had the council, who were the all-powerful ruling body governing all things supernatural. These were definitely the bad guys, so Dacian used every means available to keep them from finding out that he was much more powerful than they knew. They tended to make people disappear, never to be heard from again, so he wanted no part in that.
All of that sounds amazing, right? And it was, mostly. My problems with the story weren't surrounding the premise, but the execution.
The story was only around 200 pages, but felt immeasurably longer. Dacian tended to live inside his own head, so instead of most of the story surrounding actual conversations between all of the many, many characters, we're exposed to page after page of his innermost thoughts. It truly felt like too much.
I'd categorize this story as a fantasy/magical suspense, much more so than as a romance, as the romance aspects were also written more as a telling versus showing, which made it impossible for me to get many actual feels between Dacian and Isaiah.
In regards to steam, as with many fantasy stories, this book avoided sex entirely, with all of those scenes simply fading to black, which was entirely fine, as I didn't read this story hoping it would contain erotica.
The ending. What can I say about the ending? It ended? Very abruptly and much more easily than I thought it should have. For all of the powerful ink magician's skills, his defeat was quick and relatively uneventful, which left me feeling a bit hollow.
I do truly look forward to more stories in the Ink Born series, as we were introduced to a variety of different characters and flavors of magic (dreamwalkers, shifters, sorcerers, dragons, etc); however, I do hope that future books do more showing and less telling, plus provide the reader with deeper levels of connection between the MC's.
All things considered, I'd have to rate this one at around 3.5 stars and hope that the HFN ending progresses to an HEA for Dacian and Isaiah as the series progresses.
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March 3, 2017
I so, so badly wanted to give this book a higher rating but it was just too frustrating. When it started I was absolutely delighted and felt like I was stepping into a new world with its own rules where magic simply existed as a natural thing.
The idea of tattoo magic was brilliant, I could see them coming to life on the skins of the people visiting the tattoo parlour but then the story narrative went off sideways on a danger that just never really felt earnt or properly explained.
Two many concepts were thrown into the story without any real level of depth or any sense of how they fit into the world.
The supposed romance element was almost non-existent, there was more chemistry between Dan and Ethan than with Dan and Isaiah imho and Caiden's weird reaction to Dan's friendship with his tattoo partner Kiern came totally out of left field.
Oh yeah on the romance front. Everything apart from kissing, as is sadly often the case in fantasy novels, happens off page. I'm not expecting erotica or porn without plot, I do, however, expect an author to give me something on page which demonstrates two characters are supposed to be in love.
As for the ending, well let's just say that was a huge let down given everything that built up to it and as for being abrupt, if it had been any more instant cut off I'd have thrown my Kindle out the window.
There were also a few minor typos but as this an ARC they may get ironed out before publication. Because this is book one in a series, I'm hoping for a bit of better plotting and more exploration in the narrative as the series goes along.
#ARC provided by NetGalley in return for an unbiased review.
The idea of tattoo magic was brilliant, I could see them coming to life on the skins of the people visiting the tattoo parlour but then the story narrative went off sideways on a danger that just never really felt earnt or properly explained.
Two many concepts were thrown into the story without any real level of depth or any sense of how they fit into the world.
The supposed romance element was almost non-existent, there was more chemistry between Dan and Ethan than with Dan and Isaiah imho and Caiden's weird reaction to Dan's friendship with his tattoo partner Kiern came totally out of left field.
Oh yeah on the romance front. Everything apart from kissing, as is sadly often the case in fantasy novels, happens off page. I'm not expecting erotica or porn without plot, I do, however, expect an author to give me something on page which demonstrates two characters are supposed to be in love.
As for the ending, well let's just say that was a huge let down given everything that built up to it and as for being abrupt, if it had been any more instant cut off I'd have thrown my Kindle out the window.
There were also a few minor typos but as this an ARC they may get ironed out before publication. Because this is book one in a series, I'm hoping for a bit of better plotting and more exploration in the narrative as the series goes along.
#ARC provided by NetGalley in return for an unbiased review.
March 10, 2018
I want a tattoo like those!
Stolen Ink by Holly Evans is a terrific fantasy with a magical tattoos, shifters, someone stealing tattoos ( magically that causes death), lots of mystery, great characters, fun fantasy, and gay romance. Enjoyed it completely!
Stolen Ink by Holly Evans is a terrific fantasy with a magical tattoos, shifters, someone stealing tattoos ( magically that causes death), lots of mystery, great characters, fun fantasy, and gay romance. Enjoyed it completely!
April 30, 2017
Super intriguing concepts, super disappointing execution... which makes this almost more frustrating and discouraging. I looked forward to this one greatly/actually used it as a reward book - get stuff done, read the cool ink-magic tattoo-thief serial killer book with tons of gay and one example of aroace rep. Sounded amazing. And that is why it has two stars instead of a flat one. The concepts can be interesting, and non-awful aro/ace rep is rare, and that is one part of the book that doesn't disappoint. Vyx is good and I'm here for her. THE REST, HOWEVER...
Unfortunately, we've got repeated use of the phrase "spirit animal," which as we should know in the year 2017 is appropriative as all get-out - doesn't matter if it's elves or another magic system, do not write this unless you belong to a Native/Indigenous culture that uses them. Especially not as presented as an actual magic concept in an urban fantasy, with no Native characters even in the book! At first I thought this was one of the (many) awkward-phrasing issues, until we're shown that no, these elven spirit animals (which are never explained further) are deliberately different from the 'ordinary' tattoo-magic animals... and it becomes an actual plot point.
Please. Stop. This. There's really no excuse left by now. I don't even know how else to say it, just don't do this, *especially* when presenting actually plot-relevant "spirit animals" in the realm of fantasy/further reinforcing the stereotype of actual cultures/spiritualities being magical/exotic/in this case, *literally* inhuman. (Elves!) It's just... never good, and is actively harmful.
Other various problems that kept me from enjoying this:
* Many, many, many small editing errors. Wonky punctuation/missing or repeated words, or just very awkward phrasing. Unnatural dialogue and interaction - not referring to the copious touching/displays of affection that bothered someone else. I mean that characters will appear and disappear with zero explanation (Caiden and Ethan do this the most), small issues on their own, but enough of them to really take me out of a reading.
* The same phrases being repeated/hammered in - I'm not talking about the "old friend" another reviewer mentioned, or even the "other half" of another side character who is called this and only this; I can buy that. (Elves, handwave, elves.) But small-but-often things like saying tattoo cat Kyra is a "disloyal wretch" - once, okay fine? And yes, believable, cats tend to follow the food. Don't need to hear it upwards of 5 times, and this is just the first example that comes to mind.
* We're half-introduced to a ton of (interesting-sounding!) concepts, and then they're never explained - just a truckload of missing details or things that aren't fleshed-out. Did we ever even learn the name of "the city" in which this takes place? It's called "the city" around 17 times, but never NAMED. And not in a way that seemed intentional! It's in the US, and that is the extent of my knowledge. Why was the temporary truth spell not put to better use? What about the blood oath? This never comes up again, and they're both fairly significant implications. (I could go on - what's the deal with the "wild magic?" Alchemists? What is 'weaving,' specifically, aside from the small demonstration we're shown? How does ink magic differ from traditional tattoo magic, even? How does magical grading work, the different tiers? We're told so many things that have potential, but never shown specifics, and it leaves the book feeling empty.)
* Lackluster characterization. Seriously. I couldn't begin to describe individual personalities, with the exception of Vyx and Keirn. Why is Caiden here? Why is Ethan here? Put Jake in a room with them, how do they interact in ways discernible from one another? Why are several one-off, never-explained or elaborated-on side characters introduced at all if they serve no narrative purpose, and,
(SPOILER AHEAD-)
* Why is the actual murderer/thief none of these numerous characters, with next-to-zero foreshadowing or tangible suspense/mystery-crafting, with only the main character "recognizing him" from college where his (one-scene, never-elaborated) professor slept with a student? And he blames her for breaking up with him or something and this is his origin story (that and chaos magic, which again, is never really explained, and if I didn't already know what a chaote was, I'd be even more lost?). The professor slept with a student, and that student gets pissed when she broke up with him, and started killing people and taking their magic ink. Because chaos magicians are insane. Or something.
OH. KAY.
(End spoiler.)
I really wanted to like this. Entirely seriously. The fact that this is my first negative review in a streak of 20 books is just... galling. Because it really could have been great. I even got pretty fond of individual characters (Keirn, Vyx, Isaiah grew on me a little despite the fact that aside from 'abused/tentative/slowly gaining confidence', I couldn't tell you the first thing about his actual personality, or explain the chemistry/connection between him and the MC) and wanted them to be okay. Unfortunately, given the rest of the book's issues, I can't see picking up the second. Especially if it, anywhere, contains the phrase "spirit animal."
Unfortunately, we've got repeated use of the phrase "spirit animal," which as we should know in the year 2017 is appropriative as all get-out - doesn't matter if it's elves or another magic system, do not write this unless you belong to a Native/Indigenous culture that uses them. Especially not as presented as an actual magic concept in an urban fantasy, with no Native characters even in the book! At first I thought this was one of the (many) awkward-phrasing issues, until we're shown that no, these elven spirit animals (which are never explained further) are deliberately different from the 'ordinary' tattoo-magic animals... and it becomes an actual plot point.
Please. Stop. This. There's really no excuse left by now. I don't even know how else to say it, just don't do this, *especially* when presenting actually plot-relevant "spirit animals" in the realm of fantasy/further reinforcing the stereotype of actual cultures/spiritualities being magical/exotic/in this case, *literally* inhuman. (Elves!) It's just... never good, and is actively harmful.
Other various problems that kept me from enjoying this:
* Many, many, many small editing errors. Wonky punctuation/missing or repeated words, or just very awkward phrasing. Unnatural dialogue and interaction - not referring to the copious touching/displays of affection that bothered someone else. I mean that characters will appear and disappear with zero explanation (Caiden and Ethan do this the most), small issues on their own, but enough of them to really take me out of a reading.
* The same phrases being repeated/hammered in - I'm not talking about the "old friend" another reviewer mentioned, or even the "other half" of another side character who is called this and only this; I can buy that. (Elves, handwave, elves.) But small-but-often things like saying tattoo cat Kyra is a "disloyal wretch" - once, okay fine? And yes, believable, cats tend to follow the food. Don't need to hear it upwards of 5 times, and this is just the first example that comes to mind.
* We're half-introduced to a ton of (interesting-sounding!) concepts, and then they're never explained - just a truckload of missing details or things that aren't fleshed-out. Did we ever even learn the name of "the city" in which this takes place? It's called "the city" around 17 times, but never NAMED. And not in a way that seemed intentional! It's in the US, and that is the extent of my knowledge. Why was the temporary truth spell not put to better use? What about the blood oath? This never comes up again, and they're both fairly significant implications. (I could go on - what's the deal with the "wild magic?" Alchemists? What is 'weaving,' specifically, aside from the small demonstration we're shown? How does ink magic differ from traditional tattoo magic, even? How does magical grading work, the different tiers? We're told so many things that have potential, but never shown specifics, and it leaves the book feeling empty.)
* Lackluster characterization. Seriously. I couldn't begin to describe individual personalities, with the exception of Vyx and Keirn. Why is Caiden here? Why is Ethan here? Put Jake in a room with them, how do they interact in ways discernible from one another? Why are several one-off, never-explained or elaborated-on side characters introduced at all if they serve no narrative purpose, and,
(SPOILER AHEAD-)
* Why is the actual murderer/thief none of these numerous characters, with next-to-zero foreshadowing or tangible suspense/mystery-crafting, with only the main character "recognizing him" from college where his (one-scene, never-elaborated) professor slept with a student? And he blames her for breaking up with him or something and this is his origin story (that and chaos magic, which again, is never really explained, and if I didn't already know what a chaote was, I'd be even more lost?). The professor slept with a student, and that student gets pissed when she broke up with him, and started killing people and taking their magic ink. Because chaos magicians are insane. Or something.
OH. KAY.
(End spoiler.)
I really wanted to like this. Entirely seriously. The fact that this is my first negative review in a streak of 20 books is just... galling. Because it really could have been great. I even got pretty fond of individual characters (Keirn, Vyx, Isaiah grew on me a little despite the fact that aside from 'abused/tentative/slowly gaining confidence', I couldn't tell you the first thing about his actual personality, or explain the chemistry/connection between him and the MC) and wanted them to be okay. Unfortunately, given the rest of the book's issues, I can't see picking up the second. Especially if it, anywhere, contains the phrase "spirit animal."
February 24, 2021
DNF at 33%.
it's a relatively short book, so i tried to plough my way through even though i wasn't particularly enjoying it, but a third of the way through i decided i couldn't be arsed. mediocre writing with my ultimate pet hate of way too many simple sentences (not as bad as the last book i DNF'd, which was truly dire, but enough to irritate me), and the main plot didn't make any fucking sense.
someone is stealing tattoos, something which was previously thought of as impossible, but the council isn't investigating this Impossible And Ridiculously Dangerous Magic because it's only happening to poor people and not their own? i mean, that's a nice social commentary and everything, but you can't seriously tell me that the council would ignore this, again, Ridiculously Dangerous Magic under any circumstances. i mean, maybe it turns out the council knew about it all along or whatever, but i'm not going through another two-thirds of being annoyed to see if the plot holes get stitched up later.
mildly interesting idea, but mediocre writing and bad execution.
it's a relatively short book, so i tried to plough my way through even though i wasn't particularly enjoying it, but a third of the way through i decided i couldn't be arsed. mediocre writing with my ultimate pet hate of way too many simple sentences (not as bad as the last book i DNF'd, which was truly dire, but enough to irritate me), and the main plot didn't make any fucking sense.
someone is stealing tattoos, something which was previously thought of as impossible, but the council isn't investigating this Impossible And Ridiculously Dangerous Magic because it's only happening to poor people and not their own? i mean, that's a nice social commentary and everything, but you can't seriously tell me that the council would ignore this, again, Ridiculously Dangerous Magic under any circumstances. i mean, maybe it turns out the council knew about it all along or whatever, but i'm not going through another two-thirds of being annoyed to see if the plot holes get stitched up later.
mildly interesting idea, but mediocre writing and bad execution.
April 20, 2018
Dear author, writing is not the same thing as vomiting; unless one is endowed with prodigious facility for style and truly great powers of imagination, publishing 600 pages in 6 months can only be conducive to gross literary failure. Your concept is pretty unique, but the execution of all three instalments (so far) of the story lacks so much in virtually every department, be it it pacing, narration, characters, world-building, dialogue or action scenes, that one can only suspect you to be selling unrevised first drafts penned at enormous speed to meet a looming deadline. Ever read before about foreshadowing ? building up a mystery tale with studiously disseminated clues and a cogent cast of suspects ? balancing a book so that it has a sharply defined beginning, an harmonious middle where all the twists and turns occur, and an ending providing full closure ? fleshing up your characters to make them three-dimensional and lovable ? sticking close to a well ordained conception of your mythology (magic, ink magic, magical beings, magical classes of users and so on and so forth), so that loose ends are reduced to the bare minimum and the reader is not forced to make informed guesses, when he is not busy second guessing everything he previously took for granted from your less than explicit world building ? For you simply seem to hold that telling a tale is taking your reader for a journey from point A to point B through a mere theatre of shadows; as your narrator is an underwhelming bean counter whose focalization dulls the edge of what ought to have been foreys into a bright world of magic, there is neither flesh nor colours to your tales. You depict nothing, nor do you really tell what happens - you merely sketch the bare bones of the story. This is tantamount to a producer who promised some show featuring a ballet corps, only to deliver in its stead the corpse of the ballet dancers. Where is the literary pleasure in this dry, barren, dessicated map of an universe which held so much promise ? What you deliver is epitomized perfectly in the flat and jejune title of each novel.
September 29, 2018
My rating 4.3
Book “Stolen Ink (Ink Born # 1)” by Holly Evans is a pure YA fantasy novel, a lot of beautiful people and love events. The world in which the story is placed I must admit I liked it, the story is solid and fun. The world of the Earth, in which magic is ruled, is very beautiful, in which all races can be seen, from people, elves, fairies, wolves and various magical creatures. The story follows Dacian who tattoo magician, he does magic tattoos that are strongly associated with those who make a tattoo. These tattoos are alive and soulful are associated with the owner of a tattoo. Hiding behind the profession, the tattoo magician Dacian conceals the true truth about himself, he is ink magician, but he soon finds herself to be tempted. An unknown killer takes tattoos and thereby kills tattoo owners who are inseparable ties related to tattoos. All close to him will soon be in immediate danger, his lover, friends, and all acquaintances. The only one who can stop the killer is Dacian. But if they do, they will be caught by the powerful magic houses that control the world. I would recommend the book to all fans of YA fantasy.
Book “Stolen Ink (Ink Born # 1)” by Holly Evans is a pure YA fantasy novel, a lot of beautiful people and love events. The world in which the story is placed I must admit I liked it, the story is solid and fun. The world of the Earth, in which magic is ruled, is very beautiful, in which all races can be seen, from people, elves, fairies, wolves and various magical creatures. The story follows Dacian who tattoo magician, he does magic tattoos that are strongly associated with those who make a tattoo. These tattoos are alive and soulful are associated with the owner of a tattoo. Hiding behind the profession, the tattoo magician Dacian conceals the true truth about himself, he is ink magician, but he soon finds herself to be tempted. An unknown killer takes tattoos and thereby kills tattoo owners who are inseparable ties related to tattoos. All close to him will soon be in immediate danger, his lover, friends, and all acquaintances. The only one who can stop the killer is Dacian. But if they do, they will be caught by the powerful magic houses that control the world. I would recommend the book to all fans of YA fantasy.
March 30, 2017
3 Stars
Full Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book via NetGalley. This has not influenced my review.*
So… this book sounded cool because tattoo magic! But it ended up not quite working for me.
One of my issues was that I didn’t understand the world. I know everyone complains about info dumping, but I need a little bit of explanation. I finally got some answers in the second half of the book or so, but there’s still a lot I’m unclear on. It seemed as though the vast majority of the population were either supernatural or had magic, and different types of magic were taught at colleges, but I have no idea if you have to born with an innate skill or if anyone can learn it. I also don’t know how many different types of magic/magicians there are or what any of them do except tattoo magicians and breakers (Isaiah was a weaver, but I still don’t understand what that meant). And I guess having magical animal tattoos inside of you was a common occurrence. Also, there was a council and a guild, but I don’t know what either of them did or were in charge of.
And because I didn’t understand what the council was or did, I didn’t understand why Dacian was so afraid of them finding out about his magic. It was such an important thing, Dacian didn’t want to get involved in the murders because he didn’t want to reveal his ink magic to anyone and was constantly thinking about how he had a bag packed and could flee to Europe… but I had no clue why.
It also seemed like the author was trying to put more meaning into every relationship than was actually there. And there was so much… touching. Not that I have an issue with affection between characters in books, but this felt forced. Caressing and kissing wrists and brushing fingers over lips and rubbing thumbs over wrists/knuckles and cupping faces—between Dacian and Keirn, between Dacian and Isaiah even when they’d just met, even Ethan got in on the lip touching action at one point.
On a similar note, none of the characters felt three-dimensional. Isaiah was the scrawny-but-feisty stereotype, Vyx was kind of the same but female, Ethan was the flirtatious jerk who was actually a good guy, etc. Dacian was the only one who came close to being realistic.
Also, it took long time for anything to really happen. And then the resolution came suddenly and easily and was kind of anticlimactic. At least there was a solid resolution to the problem of this book though (with an opening for the series to continue). And I would still say this was more of a plot-driven than character-driven book.
Lastly, this is one of those nitpicky things, but I have never in my life called someone or been called or heard anyone refer to their friend as “old friend.” Like, “Thank you, old friend.” “I’m sorry, old friend.” It just grated on me until, every time it was used, I would cringe and get twitchy.
Oh! It’s probably also worth mentioning as a positive thing for anyone who likes reading about pets that there were lots of animals since Dacian had a cat and a snake (tattoos, but they came to life as corporeal things) and Keirn had a fox.
Overall, despite all my complaints, I wouldn’t say this was a bad book, and Dacian wasn’t an unlikeable character, but the characters didn’t feel real to me, and I had a hard time getting into the story.
Recommended For:
Urban fantasy fans looking for something plot-driven and uncomplicated.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
Full Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book via NetGalley. This has not influenced my review.*
So… this book sounded cool because tattoo magic! But it ended up not quite working for me.
One of my issues was that I didn’t understand the world. I know everyone complains about info dumping, but I need a little bit of explanation. I finally got some answers in the second half of the book or so, but there’s still a lot I’m unclear on. It seemed as though the vast majority of the population were either supernatural or had magic, and different types of magic were taught at colleges, but I have no idea if you have to born with an innate skill or if anyone can learn it. I also don’t know how many different types of magic/magicians there are or what any of them do except tattoo magicians and breakers (Isaiah was a weaver, but I still don’t understand what that meant). And I guess having magical animal tattoos inside of you was a common occurrence. Also, there was a council and a guild, but I don’t know what either of them did or were in charge of.
And because I didn’t understand what the council was or did, I didn’t understand why Dacian was so afraid of them finding out about his magic. It was such an important thing, Dacian didn’t want to get involved in the murders because he didn’t want to reveal his ink magic to anyone and was constantly thinking about how he had a bag packed and could flee to Europe… but I had no clue why.
It also seemed like the author was trying to put more meaning into every relationship than was actually there. And there was so much… touching. Not that I have an issue with affection between characters in books, but this felt forced. Caressing and kissing wrists and brushing fingers over lips and rubbing thumbs over wrists/knuckles and cupping faces—between Dacian and Keirn, between Dacian and Isaiah even when they’d just met, even Ethan got in on the lip touching action at one point.
On a similar note, none of the characters felt three-dimensional. Isaiah was the scrawny-but-feisty stereotype, Vyx was kind of the same but female, Ethan was the flirtatious jerk who was actually a good guy, etc. Dacian was the only one who came close to being realistic.
Also, it took long time for anything to really happen. And then the resolution came suddenly and easily and was kind of anticlimactic. At least there was a solid resolution to the problem of this book though (with an opening for the series to continue). And I would still say this was more of a plot-driven than character-driven book.
Lastly, this is one of those nitpicky things, but I have never in my life called someone or been called or heard anyone refer to their friend as “old friend.” Like, “Thank you, old friend.” “I’m sorry, old friend.” It just grated on me until, every time it was used, I would cringe and get twitchy.
Oh! It’s probably also worth mentioning as a positive thing for anyone who likes reading about pets that there were lots of animals since Dacian had a cat and a snake (tattoos, but they came to life as corporeal things) and Keirn had a fox.
Overall, despite all my complaints, I wouldn’t say this was a bad book, and Dacian wasn’t an unlikeable character, but the characters didn’t feel real to me, and I had a hard time getting into the story.
Recommended For:
Urban fantasy fans looking for something plot-driven and uncomplicated.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
April 24, 2018
Oh shit... just finished this and I'm a F-ing mess. I thought my heart was gonna explode... talk about an incredible, intense and an amazing ending. Ms. Evans has a fan for life. This is the 3rd book of by her I have read and each one has been extraordinary. The people she created for this book are just breathtakingly real. She had me so invested in their lives and what would happen to them that it was almost impossible to turn the last 20 pages of the book. I love the world of magic that she has created for this and the Forged in Blood series. It is so complex and diverse that she will very likely to write years and years of books in it. The more the better as far as I am concerned. I loved the relationships she wrote in this book, definitely Dacian and Isaiah's first and foremost but also the family that she created around them of Vyx, Keirn, and so many others. This book is just over the top awesome and anyone who loves paranormal fantasy would love it!!!
March 3, 2017
Tattoos and magic – two of my favourite things. It goes without saying that I would jump into this one. When you see a combination of your favourite things thrown together, you always jump at such books.
However, it also leaves you with very high standards. As the book contains your favourite things, you expect something wonderful.
Did this book deliver me the amazing story I had been hoping to receive? Unfortunately, it didn’t quite make it. I know I have given the book a four star rating, but in reality it is more of a three-point-five read. I had an extremely lengthy internal debate as to whether I should give it three or four stars, but in the end the voice in the back of my head whispered ‘tattoos and magic’ which bumped it to the four star round up instead of the three star round down. A part of me still believes I should have rounded it down, but I’m going to stick with the gut reaction of rounding it up.
As the first book in the Ink Born series, this book does a lot to leave you interested in the story. We get to see a decent amount of the world, we’re introduced to many aspects, and we’re left with a lot of curiosity about many things. In terms of leaving me interested in reading more of the series, this book has certainly achieved something. Whilst it’s not at the top of my ‘grab the next in the series’ list, it’s certainly sitting on the list. I’m interested in where this series will head from here, and I want the answers to all the questions in my mind.
Although I am curious about where the story is to go, a part of me feels this story didn’t quite deliver all it could have. I feel as though many aspects of the story weren’t given the depth that it should have been given, with things entering the story to simple be rather than allowing us to truly appreciate the aspect of the story. Certain things may be developed upon in future books, but some parts I wanted to understand in this story. I’m a lover of understanding the world I’m thrown into, a lover of understanding the complexities of magical systems and the laws of the world, but in this one I feel as though my understanding wasn’t quite up to what I usually like.
Don’t get me wrong, the magical system was a lot of fun. I just wanted to understand it more. I wanted to be left in awe of the system, but I never quite reached that point. I just accepted that two of my favourite things were connected, without them coming together in the mind-blowing way they could have. In part, this is my own fault. I really did have such high standards in my mind for the tattoo and magic link – in many ways I was destined to be let down.
Nevertheless, it was an interesting story. It was far too quick for my liking, but there was everything you needed to make an engaging read. I found myself picking up the story whenever I had the chance, interested to see where things would head next. It really did pull me in, even if I do feel as though it was over too quickly. I also feel as though certain themes were given more attention than they should have been. The romance, for example, took up a decent portion of the story but felt rather weak and clichéd. It wasn’t a romance that I cared much for: it simply seemed to exist to add another element to the story. I would have been much happier had the romance not existed, and the magic was given more attention.
As a whole, though, I enjoyed this one. It was an interesting introduction to the series and I’m interested to see where things go from here.
As a final note, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for a review.
However, it also leaves you with very high standards. As the book contains your favourite things, you expect something wonderful.
Did this book deliver me the amazing story I had been hoping to receive? Unfortunately, it didn’t quite make it. I know I have given the book a four star rating, but in reality it is more of a three-point-five read. I had an extremely lengthy internal debate as to whether I should give it three or four stars, but in the end the voice in the back of my head whispered ‘tattoos and magic’ which bumped it to the four star round up instead of the three star round down. A part of me still believes I should have rounded it down, but I’m going to stick with the gut reaction of rounding it up.
As the first book in the Ink Born series, this book does a lot to leave you interested in the story. We get to see a decent amount of the world, we’re introduced to many aspects, and we’re left with a lot of curiosity about many things. In terms of leaving me interested in reading more of the series, this book has certainly achieved something. Whilst it’s not at the top of my ‘grab the next in the series’ list, it’s certainly sitting on the list. I’m interested in where this series will head from here, and I want the answers to all the questions in my mind.
Although I am curious about where the story is to go, a part of me feels this story didn’t quite deliver all it could have. I feel as though many aspects of the story weren’t given the depth that it should have been given, with things entering the story to simple be rather than allowing us to truly appreciate the aspect of the story. Certain things may be developed upon in future books, but some parts I wanted to understand in this story. I’m a lover of understanding the world I’m thrown into, a lover of understanding the complexities of magical systems and the laws of the world, but in this one I feel as though my understanding wasn’t quite up to what I usually like.
Don’t get me wrong, the magical system was a lot of fun. I just wanted to understand it more. I wanted to be left in awe of the system, but I never quite reached that point. I just accepted that two of my favourite things were connected, without them coming together in the mind-blowing way they could have. In part, this is my own fault. I really did have such high standards in my mind for the tattoo and magic link – in many ways I was destined to be let down.
Nevertheless, it was an interesting story. It was far too quick for my liking, but there was everything you needed to make an engaging read. I found myself picking up the story whenever I had the chance, interested to see where things would head next. It really did pull me in, even if I do feel as though it was over too quickly. I also feel as though certain themes were given more attention than they should have been. The romance, for example, took up a decent portion of the story but felt rather weak and clichéd. It wasn’t a romance that I cared much for: it simply seemed to exist to add another element to the story. I would have been much happier had the romance not existed, and the magic was given more attention.
As a whole, though, I enjoyed this one. It was an interesting introduction to the series and I’m interested to see where things go from here.
As a final note, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for a review.
October 8, 2019
Unsettling
I have too many questions. You're kind of dumped into this world and it's immersive which is great. It's visceral, raw, kind of dark, and a little terrifying. Everything has weight, but there's almost too much story with too little explanation.
The book gods know I hate an info-dump, but I also want to know why things are significant if it's not obvious. In this case there's all this inferred doom and gloom with no explicative reasoning for it. Ugh. Without the reasons and motivations behind these characters' actions, personalities and behaviors as they pertained to each other, to Dan, and to the surrounding world, they [and their society] were almost universally hard to swallow. That took away from the success of this story in my opinion.
The world is intensely interesting. Unfortunately, we don't get to see much of it. The details are too sharp and too vague at the same time. It's ... odd and unsettling. I am a massive ball of anxiety right now. At points I was almost nauseous.
Add in the character interactions and I felt like I got dropped into a scary alternate universe without any information or introduction. Like I said, unsettling.
Now, I won't say I enjoyed it because it's too ... mmm hard-edged for that. I am reluctantly fascinated but I don't hold out much hope that future books will untangle these foggy impressions and offer much clarity.
I'm a pretty smart cookie, and generally, I intuitively understand that reading is often about more than just the words on the page; there's also what's written 'between the lines'. I typically gain a sense of the author's intent through their voice. It's brain-muscle memory for me to just 'get' those impressions. Sometimes that's the only thing that smooths over jagged edges left in black and white, but I simply wasn't getting a clear grasp on intent here. Instead it felt like I was flailing and floundering my way through. It either takes a genius or something seriously skewed to confound me that way. I'm still not sure which I'm dealing with here.
It's very well-written and extremely evocative. At the same time, I feel a bit like a fine steak that's been pulverized into ground beef by a meat mallet instead of tenderly marinated. Kind of ruins the dining experience.
So I came away from this one bleeding ink from a thousand cuts and with too many questions to be satisfied. It won't stop me from continuing because it was good even though I'm an angst-xiety ridden mess. But I'm proceeding with caution and prepared to cut bait if it comes to it.
I have too many questions. You're kind of dumped into this world and it's immersive which is great. It's visceral, raw, kind of dark, and a little terrifying. Everything has weight, but there's almost too much story with too little explanation.
The book gods know I hate an info-dump, but I also want to know why things are significant if it's not obvious. In this case there's all this inferred doom and gloom with no explicative reasoning for it. Ugh. Without the reasons and motivations behind these characters' actions, personalities and behaviors as they pertained to each other, to Dan, and to the surrounding world, they [and their society] were almost universally hard to swallow. That took away from the success of this story in my opinion.
The world is intensely interesting. Unfortunately, we don't get to see much of it. The details are too sharp and too vague at the same time. It's ... odd and unsettling. I am a massive ball of anxiety right now. At points I was almost nauseous.
Add in the character interactions and I felt like I got dropped into a scary alternate universe without any information or introduction. Like I said, unsettling.
Now, I won't say I enjoyed it because it's too ... mmm hard-edged for that. I am reluctantly fascinated but I don't hold out much hope that future books will untangle these foggy impressions and offer much clarity.
I'm a pretty smart cookie, and generally, I intuitively understand that reading is often about more than just the words on the page; there's also what's written 'between the lines'. I typically gain a sense of the author's intent through their voice. It's brain-muscle memory for me to just 'get' those impressions. Sometimes that's the only thing that smooths over jagged edges left in black and white, but I simply wasn't getting a clear grasp on intent here. Instead it felt like I was flailing and floundering my way through. It either takes a genius or something seriously skewed to confound me that way. I'm still not sure which I'm dealing with here.
It's very well-written and extremely evocative. At the same time, I feel a bit like a fine steak that's been pulverized into ground beef by a meat mallet instead of tenderly marinated. Kind of ruins the dining experience.
So I came away from this one bleeding ink from a thousand cuts and with too many questions to be satisfied. It won't stop me from continuing because it was good even though I'm an angst-xiety ridden mess. But I'm proceeding with caution and prepared to cut bait if it comes to it.
April 19, 2018
DNF and a yawn at 38%
This sounded promising but doesn't work. There's all kinds of supernals (unexplained, term just thrown in there) and I think some humans too, pretty sure there's cars, know there's magic and wild magic. Which gives a chaotic insubstantial image of the world. So many things introduced but thrown at the reader without any development, it somehow manages to be lots and lots of wordy often repetitive info dump without actually sharing any information!
It's about tattoos - how can I have read so far without having one described? Does the ink move or the animal? are they coloured? independent?
Worse is the lack of personality. First person and I've no concept of anyone, distracted by the spirit animals and tattoo animals and feral human/animals. There's very little description, hair colour if you're lucky; there's more detail about a sip of fancy wine. No humour nothing to make the reader care or be interested. I don't feel I know Dacian or care to. A few random names and introductions, feels like a mid-series book, as though we should know these people and their story already.
The telling moves along, it doesn't pause to become real. No causal conversation just imparting of info.
And the romance if you can call it that was squicking me out. They met at a bar, screwed and suddenly they're dating? There's no attraction. He's too skinny, malnourished, lips too thin, covered in bruises... he reads vulnerable and childlike. Once you've noticed the fresh marks of abuse, the thrill from bruising his too narrow hips in a tryst seems bad taste. To me anyway!
He's not eaten for an undisclosed amount of time yet Dacian says 'it's too early' to prepare dinner?! major connection there, been treating the feral kinder.
No. Nope. don't care whose doing the bad-thing, don't care what tier he gets tested at, don't care about his oh so special blood or ink or the people with the stupid names or whatever.
This sounded promising but doesn't work. There's all kinds of supernals (unexplained, term just thrown in there) and I think some humans too, pretty sure there's cars, know there's magic and wild magic. Which gives a chaotic insubstantial image of the world. So many things introduced but thrown at the reader without any development, it somehow manages to be lots and lots of wordy often repetitive info dump without actually sharing any information!
It's about tattoos - how can I have read so far without having one described? Does the ink move or the animal? are they coloured? independent?
Worse is the lack of personality. First person and I've no concept of anyone, distracted by the spirit animals and tattoo animals and feral human/animals. There's very little description, hair colour if you're lucky; there's more detail about a sip of fancy wine. No humour nothing to make the reader care or be interested. I don't feel I know Dacian or care to. A few random names and introductions, feels like a mid-series book, as though we should know these people and their story already.
The telling moves along, it doesn't pause to become real. No causal conversation just imparting of info.
And the romance if you can call it that was squicking me out. They met at a bar, screwed and suddenly they're dating? There's no attraction. He's too skinny, malnourished, lips too thin, covered in bruises... he reads vulnerable and childlike. Once you've noticed the fresh marks of abuse, the thrill from bruising his too narrow hips in a tryst seems bad taste. To me anyway!
He's not eaten for an undisclosed amount of time yet Dacian says 'it's too early' to prepare dinner?! major connection there, been treating the feral kinder.
No. Nope. don't care whose doing the bad-thing, don't care what tier he gets tested at, don't care about his oh so special blood or ink or the people with the stupid names or whatever.
February 26, 2017
2.5
I was seriously disappointed in this book. There is such a cool idea here. The connection between characters and their tattoo/companion animals is really interesting. Unfortunately the author did not pull it all together in a complete, engaging story.
The biggest problem is the writing. Sure, it's readable and the dialogue isn't such that it feels amateurish, it's even pretty, but it all feels very shallow, like the reader is only given access to the surface of a much deeper story. I felt cheated. For a long time, after starting the book, I thought this must be a latter book in a series, because I wasn't sure what was going and the characters seem to have so much history that we're not given. Further, so much of the writing is tell, instead of show. I just never felt connected or invested in anything or anyone. Then it climaxes suddenly and is over.
I was left with some really basic unanswered questions, like what was the fundamental difference between and Ink and Tattoo Magician? Why did being an Ink magician need to be hidden from the council. Why was the council so scary and useless? What were the tattoo animals if not spirit animals, which they weren't as a spirit animal is something different? And if it's the bearer's, say, soul, which it is kind of inferred they may be, how can they have more than one? It all led to a deep feeling of dissatisfaction. I didn't hate it. In fact, I really wanted to like it because I liked the idea of it. I'd probably be willing to give the author another shot, but this one was a bust for me. Oh, and the cover doesn't match the dark tone of the book or main character at all.
I was seriously disappointed in this book. There is such a cool idea here. The connection between characters and their tattoo/companion animals is really interesting. Unfortunately the author did not pull it all together in a complete, engaging story.
The biggest problem is the writing. Sure, it's readable and the dialogue isn't such that it feels amateurish, it's even pretty, but it all feels very shallow, like the reader is only given access to the surface of a much deeper story. I felt cheated. For a long time, after starting the book, I thought this must be a latter book in a series, because I wasn't sure what was going and the characters seem to have so much history that we're not given. Further, so much of the writing is tell, instead of show. I just never felt connected or invested in anything or anyone. Then it climaxes suddenly and is over.
I was left with some really basic unanswered questions, like what was the fundamental difference between and Ink and Tattoo Magician? Why did being an Ink magician need to be hidden from the council. Why was the council so scary and useless? What were the tattoo animals if not spirit animals, which they weren't as a spirit animal is something different? And if it's the bearer's, say, soul, which it is kind of inferred they may be, how can they have more than one? It all led to a deep feeling of dissatisfaction. I didn't hate it. In fact, I really wanted to like it because I liked the idea of it. I'd probably be willing to give the author another shot, but this one was a bust for me. Oh, and the cover doesn't match the dark tone of the book or main character at all.
April 16, 2017
This book had so much potential but it was quite flat. The emotions the MC was feeling were all superficial because the author didn't get too deep on explaining how and why Dan felt the way.
For starters, as other said this isn't a romance but fantasy/paranormal with romantic elements. Which is fine, I'm all for that!
However,
But even then I just find it weird. I really I am not that invested in them. Because I don't know enough about them.
I am being repetitive but in the end now that I'm trying to write the review all that comes to my mind is *I don't understand. I'm missing vital information* . It seems the words dictated the action of our heroes and not the opposite.
For starters, as other said this isn't a romance but fantasy/paranormal with romantic elements. Which is fine, I'm all for that!
However,
But even then I just find it weird. I really I am not that invested in them. Because I don't know enough about them.
I am being repetitive but in the end now that I'm trying to write the review all that comes to my mind is *I don't understand. I'm missing vital information* . It seems the words dictated the action of our heroes and not the opposite.
April 6, 2021
A grudging 3 stars
I felt like I was reading a book written via telegram STOP The story had the minimum description needed to tell a story Stop Not enough to draw me into the world Stop
If you're writing a book about a new concept, in this case, the "ink network" you should spend some time actually thinking about how that concept works to the point you can explain it to your readers. While I thought I had an idea, I'm still not sure how it works or why. Holly Evans failed on this score.
This book has the bones of a really good story, but it felt like she was putting in the minimum of effort to produce it. I wanted more description and action. I would have liked to actually see how Dacian and Isa's relationship developed beyond what we're told. Why did Dacian's feelings change toward Ethan? What shifted his negative view of someone he considered an invader into his home to one of respect?
The "council" is a typical, cliched, bunch of people who act menacing and are not above taking what they think they should have, but it would be nice if we got more of the politics and the people in the council. More of the whys and wherefores to explain their presence beyond needing a shadowy government type agency to menace the characters with their presence and threat ...
I felt like I was reading a book written via telegram STOP The story had the minimum description needed to tell a story Stop Not enough to draw me into the world Stop
If you're writing a book about a new concept, in this case, the "ink network" you should spend some time actually thinking about how that concept works to the point you can explain it to your readers. While I thought I had an idea, I'm still not sure how it works or why. Holly Evans failed on this score.
This book has the bones of a really good story, but it felt like she was putting in the minimum of effort to produce it. I wanted more description and action. I would have liked to actually see how Dacian and Isa's relationship developed beyond what we're told. Why did Dacian's feelings change toward Ethan? What shifted his negative view of someone he considered an invader into his home to one of respect?
The "council" is a typical, cliched, bunch of people who act menacing and are not above taking what they think they should have, but it would be nice if we got more of the politics and the people in the council. More of the whys and wherefores to explain their presence beyond needing a shadowy government type agency to menace the characters with their presence and threat ...
April 20, 2017
3.5
Can't help it, I'm all for urban fantasy where it's completely normal to have supernaturals mixed among the human citizens, getting an idea how that might work out, how the different magic is handled as well as the tensions the different view on life is causing and I always appreciate when I'm not buried under chapter-long explanation and detailed world building. I like it when an author trusts herself and her art and let me explore more or less on my own.
Here I get that aplenty, so much so that it would suffice a novel but here on less pages all those creatures and magic sometimes becomes a bit a blur. That together with fact that we get only Dacian's view which often means his inner dialogue, his ideas and impression makes the relationships and emotions more a telling than a showing. That is somehow okay for the friendships but does no good for the romance. I don't necessarily need steam in a fantasy story but I need to feel emotions in a romance.
Those missing emotions and an end-fight that didn't live up to the promise the story created so convincingly made me decide regretfully to round it down to 3 stars ... but nevertheless that world is too rich, the characters too interesting and the magic concept to tempting that I already downloaded the next part.
Can't help it, I'm all for urban fantasy where it's completely normal to have supernaturals mixed among the human citizens, getting an idea how that might work out, how the different magic is handled as well as the tensions the different view on life is causing and I always appreciate when I'm not buried under chapter-long explanation and detailed world building. I like it when an author trusts herself and her art and let me explore more or less on my own.
Here I get that aplenty, so much so that it would suffice a novel but here on less pages all those creatures and magic sometimes becomes a bit a blur. That together with fact that we get only Dacian's view which often means his inner dialogue, his ideas and impression makes the relationships and emotions more a telling than a showing. That is somehow okay for the friendships but does no good for the romance. I don't necessarily need steam in a fantasy story but I need to feel emotions in a romance.
Those missing emotions and an end-fight that didn't live up to the promise the story created so convincingly made me decide regretfully to round it down to 3 stars ... but nevertheless that world is too rich, the characters too interesting and the magic concept to tempting that I already downloaded the next part.
May 22, 2018
Kind of all over the place. Feels like it starts in the middle of the story and then you never get filled in on what you missed. The bad guy is decent but he's off the page entirely too much and then he's handled pretty easily. Was the random stalker ever explained? The romance aspect was lackluster. It's not really even there, but what is it more told than shown. I'm not sure why they had in common. I don't think they ever even truly spoke. There was just a lot of "let's go to bed." which does not a relationship make. The idea of tattoo and ink magic is so interesting and this book just doesn't do it service. I'm mildly curious about where the series ends up but I don't think I'm going to go out of my way to read them and find out.
November 23, 2017
Original story
This tale is filled with a great cast of characters, a gripping plot, and a series premise interesting enough to ensure future books will be devoured. This does have some romance, so it's really not true urban fantasy, for those who are sticklers about the traditional definition. It's s worthy read, in any case.
This tale is filled with a great cast of characters, a gripping plot, and a series premise interesting enough to ensure future books will be devoured. This does have some romance, so it's really not true urban fantasy, for those who are sticklers about the traditional definition. It's s worthy read, in any case.
March 3, 2017
Nachdem dieses Buch vor ein paar Tagen in meinem Newsfeed auftauchte, bin ich neugierig geworden. "Ink Born", also Magier, die mit Tinte ihre Magie ausüben? Das fand ich eine tolle Idee. Prompt war das E-Book gekauft.
Hauptfigur und Ich-Erzähler der Geschichte ist Dacian Corbeux, ein Mann von etwa Mitte-Ende 20, der zusammen mit seinem besten Freund, dem Elf Keirn, ein Tätowierstudio betreibt, das Kunden aufsuchen, wenn sie spüren, dass sich unter ihrer Haut ein neues Tattoo regt. Dacian und Keirn holen diese magischen Tattoos - Tierwesen, die eine eigene Persönlichkeit haben - an die Oberfläche und verbinden so Träger mit dem Tattoo. Dacian selbst hat zwei Tattoos, eine eigensinnige schwarze Katze namens Kyra und eine Schlange namens Aris. Keirn besitzt einen spirit fox, einen schneeweißen Fuchs, und einen Bären.
Dacians und Keirns heile Welt wird jedoch eines Tages empfindlich gestört. Nicht nur dass ein Kunde mit einem Drachen-Tattoo die Aufmerksamkeit des Councils auf sie lenkt, während Dacian sich jahrelang bemüht hat, als mittelmäßiger Magier auf dem Gebiet des Tätowierens durchzugehen, auch Albträume machen ihm zu schaffen. Als dann jedoch noch einige Tätowierte gewaltsam sterben, weil jemand ihnen ihre Tattoos gestohlen hat, scheint es, als hätten sich die Götter gegen Dacian verschworen. Denn nur er kann den Täter aufhalten. Doch dafür müsste er offenbaren, dass er einer der legendären ink magicians, ein Tintenmagier, ist ...
Die Idee fand ich klasse. Die Welt ähnelt unserer, nur mit magischen Wesen wie Sidhe, Gestaltwandlern, Magiern und Ferals (Tiermenschen). Das Urban Fantasy-Setting und die Idee hinter der Tintenmagie haben mir gefallen. Neben den Fantasyelementen gibt es auch ein paar Krimielemente, denn Dacian muss den Dieb und Mörder aufspüren, doch die Fantasyelemente überwiegen. Sie überwiegen auch die schwule Liebesgeschichte, die sich zwischen Dacian und dem weaver Isaiah anbahnt. Dass die Charaktere homosexuell, bisexuell - oder in einem Fall auch asexuell - sind, ist so selbstverständlich (die Sexszenen sind angedeutet, aber nicht detailliert beschrieben), dass mir die Entwicklung der Liebesgeschichte beinahe schon etwas zu oberflächlich war. Hier und an einigen anderen Stellen hätte ich mir etwas mehr Tiefe in der Geschichte gewünscht.
Insgesamt hat das Buch aber sehr viel Spaß gebracht und ich bin schon gespannt auf den 2. Band der Reihe.
Hauptfigur und Ich-Erzähler der Geschichte ist Dacian Corbeux, ein Mann von etwa Mitte-Ende 20, der zusammen mit seinem besten Freund, dem Elf Keirn, ein Tätowierstudio betreibt, das Kunden aufsuchen, wenn sie spüren, dass sich unter ihrer Haut ein neues Tattoo regt. Dacian und Keirn holen diese magischen Tattoos - Tierwesen, die eine eigene Persönlichkeit haben - an die Oberfläche und verbinden so Träger mit dem Tattoo. Dacian selbst hat zwei Tattoos, eine eigensinnige schwarze Katze namens Kyra und eine Schlange namens Aris. Keirn besitzt einen spirit fox, einen schneeweißen Fuchs, und einen Bären.
Dacians und Keirns heile Welt wird jedoch eines Tages empfindlich gestört. Nicht nur dass ein Kunde mit einem Drachen-Tattoo die Aufmerksamkeit des Councils auf sie lenkt, während Dacian sich jahrelang bemüht hat, als mittelmäßiger Magier auf dem Gebiet des Tätowierens durchzugehen, auch Albträume machen ihm zu schaffen. Als dann jedoch noch einige Tätowierte gewaltsam sterben, weil jemand ihnen ihre Tattoos gestohlen hat, scheint es, als hätten sich die Götter gegen Dacian verschworen. Denn nur er kann den Täter aufhalten. Doch dafür müsste er offenbaren, dass er einer der legendären ink magicians, ein Tintenmagier, ist ...
Die Idee fand ich klasse. Die Welt ähnelt unserer, nur mit magischen Wesen wie Sidhe, Gestaltwandlern, Magiern und Ferals (Tiermenschen). Das Urban Fantasy-Setting und die Idee hinter der Tintenmagie haben mir gefallen. Neben den Fantasyelementen gibt es auch ein paar Krimielemente, denn Dacian muss den Dieb und Mörder aufspüren, doch die Fantasyelemente überwiegen. Sie überwiegen auch die schwule Liebesgeschichte, die sich zwischen Dacian und dem weaver Isaiah anbahnt. Dass die Charaktere homosexuell, bisexuell - oder in einem Fall auch asexuell - sind, ist so selbstverständlich (die Sexszenen sind angedeutet, aber nicht detailliert beschrieben), dass mir die Entwicklung der Liebesgeschichte beinahe schon etwas zu oberflächlich war. Hier und an einigen anderen Stellen hätte ich mir etwas mehr Tiefe in der Geschichte gewünscht.
Insgesamt hat das Buch aber sehr viel Spaß gebracht und ich bin schon gespannt auf den 2. Band der Reihe.
June 7, 2017
The summary had me at Ink magicians! What a cool and interesting premise! Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to the idea of it in my head. The execution was a little shaky but still, so much potential to improve in later stories.
Just a little more rounding out on some of the ideas and characters would have helped me a lot. I would have loved more explanations on the differences between tattoo magics, why it was so bad to be an Ink Magician etc.. It was almost like the author was scared of info-dumps, so we got the bare bones instead, leaving me with a lot of questions. Questions that may still get answered in later books, mind you.
Anyway this was a quick read, and might be worth checking out despite it’s roughness, for anyone who is in to tattoos and magic.
2.5 stars
Just a little more rounding out on some of the ideas and characters would have helped me a lot. I would have loved more explanations on the differences between tattoo magics, why it was so bad to be an Ink Magician etc.. It was almost like the author was scared of info-dumps, so we got the bare bones instead, leaving me with a lot of questions. Questions that may still get answered in later books, mind you.
Anyway this was a quick read, and might be worth checking out despite it’s roughness, for anyone who is in to tattoos and magic.
2.5 stars
March 5, 2017
DNF at 59%
I really wanted to like this one but I was so bored/confused. Those two don't mix. So many characters whose name just would not stick with me. Every time if I wanted to continu reading I had to scroll back to see who was what. I tried 3, separate, times to remember what 'the breaker' name actually was and why he was in the story. For something I started just a few days ago... not good.
But the story concept is still very cool in my opinion and maybe somebody else would enjoy it.
p.s. Oh the romance! Not very convincing to me...
I really wanted to like this one but I was so bored/confused. Those two don't mix. So many characters whose name just would not stick with me. Every time if I wanted to continu reading I had to scroll back to see who was what. I tried 3, separate, times to remember what 'the breaker' name actually was and why he was in the story. For something I started just a few days ago... not good.
But the story concept is still very cool in my opinion and maybe somebody else would enjoy it.
p.s. Oh the romance! Not very convincing to me...
March 6, 2017
I absolutely loved this book! Not only were the characters extremely interesting, but the world they inhabited was completely incredible. What a fascinating concept! Who ever heard of an Ink Magician? WOW!!! Holly Evans created a book that I didn't want to put down, and when it was completed, all I wanted to do was get the next book in the series and see what was going to happen. Incredible!! Holly is now on my one click.
April 17, 2017
Davian is a tattoo magician – a man who can sense the magical tattoos under people’s skin and bring them to life. He’s spent most of his life hiding the true extent of his powers, hoping to avoid the attention of the Council and live a quiet life with his friend and business partner Keir and, hopefully, find a cute guy to have some fun with.
Except someone in the city is killing people with tattoos and stealing them – an agonising and terrible way to die. With his power, Dacian is perfectly placed to stop him and people are pressing him to get involved – but can he stop the killer and stay under the Council’s attention?
I really like the world building of this book – it does a really good job of taking a modern world and making it feel like a Dungeons and Dragons town. We have wizards and cars. We have elves and modern technology. It all seems to work – part of that may be not going into too much unnecessary detail at this point: it does an excellent job of hinting and shaping a lot without going into lots of details
Which is good because we can already see many many kind of wizards each of which are clearly very different from each other. We have elementals. We have fae. We have elves. We have wereanimals. We have a lot – and a whole lot of them are repeatedly touched on with excellent little details that are there to give an impression of a wider, different, broad culture (like the social nature of elves, the personalities of elementals etc etc)
This applies to government as well – we have so many hints of how this is worked related to the Council, how they treat powerful magic users and some indications of the way powerful supernatural forces interact with this organisation
Again, no-one sits down and starts expositioning lots of information about the society – because that would make absolutely no sense at all and would really clutter up this beginning book. But it does an absolutely awesome job of portraying an amazing world without dragging down the story
On top of that the actual focus – tattoo magic, the magic that Dacian and Keir have and the very foundation of the plot of this book. This shows how much imagination and detail can actually go into world building when it’s necessary to the plot
Unfortunately the story does kind of drag in the middle. Dacian spends a lot of time not knowing what to do, he’s kind of been tapped by several people as the one who should do something about the serial killing. He’s understandably reluctant since he’d rather keep his magic secret (and pretty much everyone seems to know he’s more than he seems) and he definitely doesn’t know what to do. So I can get that there’s a bit in the middle of the book where Dacian figures out what he can actually do
But it kind of waffles. What’s there is good – it’s Dacian’s normal life with his excellent relationships with Keir his best friend and Isaiah his love interest and Vyx who joins them. And it’s all fun but the fact there’s a serial killer on the loose seems to be too low a priority.
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Except someone in the city is killing people with tattoos and stealing them – an agonising and terrible way to die. With his power, Dacian is perfectly placed to stop him and people are pressing him to get involved – but can he stop the killer and stay under the Council’s attention?
I really like the world building of this book – it does a really good job of taking a modern world and making it feel like a Dungeons and Dragons town. We have wizards and cars. We have elves and modern technology. It all seems to work – part of that may be not going into too much unnecessary detail at this point: it does an excellent job of hinting and shaping a lot without going into lots of details
Which is good because we can already see many many kind of wizards each of which are clearly very different from each other. We have elementals. We have fae. We have elves. We have wereanimals. We have a lot – and a whole lot of them are repeatedly touched on with excellent little details that are there to give an impression of a wider, different, broad culture (like the social nature of elves, the personalities of elementals etc etc)
This applies to government as well – we have so many hints of how this is worked related to the Council, how they treat powerful magic users and some indications of the way powerful supernatural forces interact with this organisation
Again, no-one sits down and starts expositioning lots of information about the society – because that would make absolutely no sense at all and would really clutter up this beginning book. But it does an absolutely awesome job of portraying an amazing world without dragging down the story
On top of that the actual focus – tattoo magic, the magic that Dacian and Keir have and the very foundation of the plot of this book. This shows how much imagination and detail can actually go into world building when it’s necessary to the plot
Unfortunately the story does kind of drag in the middle. Dacian spends a lot of time not knowing what to do, he’s kind of been tapped by several people as the one who should do something about the serial killing. He’s understandably reluctant since he’d rather keep his magic secret (and pretty much everyone seems to know he’s more than he seems) and he definitely doesn’t know what to do. So I can get that there’s a bit in the middle of the book where Dacian figures out what he can actually do
But it kind of waffles. What’s there is good – it’s Dacian’s normal life with his excellent relationships with Keir his best friend and Isaiah his love interest and Vyx who joins them. And it’s all fun but the fact there’s a serial killer on the loose seems to be too low a priority.
Read More
March 4, 2018
A pot full of magical beings, loved it.
I received a copy of this book by the author for an honest opinion.
When I read the blurb for this book I was like fantastic, magical, romance and a bit of mystery and yes we got all of the above.
This book is about Dacian whose an ink magician which is rare and who can more easily work the ink network that helps create tattoos that can become alive and realistic in the mortal realm. The ink network is a sentient magic which is imploring Dacian to find the person who is corrupting the magic and stealing peoples tattoos leaving them to die in agony due to the separation and its up to Dacian to solve these murders with the help of kairn whose an elf and his friend, vyx a feral (a hybrid of human and shifter but caught between permanently) and his tattoos kyra and aris as well as numerous others. This is the story of them all battling to save people and there tattoos but also a growing relationship between Dacian and Isaiha (a weaver, who can do construction magic ( can reinforce objects to make them strong and also create barriers.)
This story is a well imagined plot as I've never read anything like it, with lovable characters that I just adored with bits of humour and sarcasm. Though I enjoyed reading about this magical world there were a few little things I would of liked more detail on.
At the start of the book we are thrust straight into the world but I would of liked more world building so we could see how its governed and ran so we could better understand the social hierarchy and obviously the council who Dacian was afraid of. Another thing is how did Dacian know he's an ink magician when no one else knows. I also wanted to know more on Dacian and kairns friendship and history and how it came to be and of course kairns mysterious elf who he feels tempted by.
I think because I wasn't so sure at the beginning what a ink magician was I think it could of done with a prologue to set out the world so we knew before getting into the plot, maybe with the prophesy to set the scene.
But all in all I'm looking forward to what's in store for Dacian and the gang.
I received a copy of this book by the author for an honest opinion.
When I read the blurb for this book I was like fantastic, magical, romance and a bit of mystery and yes we got all of the above.
This book is about Dacian whose an ink magician which is rare and who can more easily work the ink network that helps create tattoos that can become alive and realistic in the mortal realm. The ink network is a sentient magic which is imploring Dacian to find the person who is corrupting the magic and stealing peoples tattoos leaving them to die in agony due to the separation and its up to Dacian to solve these murders with the help of kairn whose an elf and his friend, vyx a feral (a hybrid of human and shifter but caught between permanently) and his tattoos kyra and aris as well as numerous others. This is the story of them all battling to save people and there tattoos but also a growing relationship between Dacian and Isaiha (a weaver, who can do construction magic ( can reinforce objects to make them strong and also create barriers.)
This story is a well imagined plot as I've never read anything like it, with lovable characters that I just adored with bits of humour and sarcasm. Though I enjoyed reading about this magical world there were a few little things I would of liked more detail on.
At the start of the book we are thrust straight into the world but I would of liked more world building so we could see how its governed and ran so we could better understand the social hierarchy and obviously the council who Dacian was afraid of. Another thing is how did Dacian know he's an ink magician when no one else knows. I also wanted to know more on Dacian and kairns friendship and history and how it came to be and of course kairns mysterious elf who he feels tempted by.
I think because I wasn't so sure at the beginning what a ink magician was I think it could of done with a prologue to set out the world so we knew before getting into the plot, maybe with the prophesy to set the scene.
But all in all I'm looking forward to what's in store for Dacian and the gang.
October 10, 2017
Dacian’s a tattoo magician. He’s got a business that pays well enough to let him put his feet up and keep the door closed every so often if he wants to, and a good business partner. Going unnoticed is exactly what he likes best. Unfortunately, it looks as if the gods aren’t content any more with merely raining on him; his tattoos are collecting strays, and someone else is apparently collecting other peoples’ tattoos. The words ‘ink magician’ are flying around a lot more than Dacian’s happy with, but when the tattoo thief strikes close to home, any choice Dacian can live with is going to get him noticed...
The first thing you’re going to notice about Stolen Ink is its strong, unique, cynical voice, and that it’s laugh-out-loud funny in places. The second thing, probably, will be that it’s a couple of hours later than you expected. Author Holly Evans has created a deeply-detailed fantasy world with a rich variety of species and magic types loose in it, and all the conflict points you could want to spark a story. The characters are memorably individual, and, impressively, the author manages to include companion animal spirits without in any way coming off as a Philip Pullman impression. This book truly puts the ‘fantasy’ in urban fantasy – highly enjoyable.
Reviewed for By Rite of Word.
The first thing you’re going to notice about Stolen Ink is its strong, unique, cynical voice, and that it’s laugh-out-loud funny in places. The second thing, probably, will be that it’s a couple of hours later than you expected. Author Holly Evans has created a deeply-detailed fantasy world with a rich variety of species and magic types loose in it, and all the conflict points you could want to spark a story. The characters are memorably individual, and, impressively, the author manages to include companion animal spirits without in any way coming off as a Philip Pullman impression. This book truly puts the ‘fantasy’ in urban fantasy – highly enjoyable.
Reviewed for By Rite of Word.
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February 11, 2018Not rated for now. Stolen Ink was a quickly read urban fantasy with a modicum of suspense, mainly because I was unclear whether it was heading towards the fantasy-romance construct or urban fantasy with a romantic subplot. (The difference for me being whether or not an established love interest can be killed off/replaced as the series progresses. I've appreciated both kinds of series.) Evans has incorporated some intriguing ingredients, one's I've enjoyed in other series: animated tattoos (The Magpie Lord), and animal-soulmates (Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials), shifters who control their shifts, and "the chosen one"/MC who has hidden powers/talents that are feared/coveted by others. I've especially enjoyed the interactions between the main character(s) and his/their tattoos/animal-soulmates. It's also refreshing to have most of the sex off-screen. So quibbles? Did I find the first book to be a bit too formulaic? The same story could be written with m/f protagonists, and love-interests. Is that a + or - ? Well, I'm reading the second book now to help me decide.
January 14, 2019
This one is really difficult for me to rate for the following reasons:
I definitely liked the story - the world building is interesting and so complex, I am sure there will be more information on it in the next books. and there are a lot of things which need more explaining
I liked the secondary characters - they are interesting and complex and something to look forward to
now my problem with the book: for most of the book I did not like DAcian. for me he was very self-absorbed and only looking out for himself and maybe his best friend
some parts of the plot are not explained
the mystery part was good but somehow not so important
the romance part was not really a romance because realistically we never get to see a development, we just got told that it is there
so all in all, I am not sure what to think - the last quarter was better and improved my opinion and maybe I will read the next one
I definitely liked the story - the world building is interesting and so complex, I am sure there will be more information on it in the next books. and there are a lot of things which need more explaining
I liked the secondary characters - they are interesting and complex and something to look forward to
now my problem with the book: for most of the book I did not like DAcian. for me he was very self-absorbed and only looking out for himself and maybe his best friend
some parts of the plot are not explained
the mystery part was good but somehow not so important
the romance part was not really a romance because realistically we never get to see a development, we just got told that it is there
so all in all, I am not sure what to think - the last quarter was better and improved my opinion and maybe I will read the next one
December 8, 2017
I really love the premise of this book, the idea of sentient tattoos and that a tattoo magician such as the MC can bring them to life. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions, though I would have liked to get to know them all a bit better. My favorite character is by far Keirn, Dacien's tattoo partner and ex-lover and I love their relationship which to me seems pretty intimate but in a non-sexual kind of way. Also, Kyra is a total floof and a stinkbug which is the most accurate depiction of a cat ever, she's so adorable!
You can tell the author put a lot of thought into creating this world and the various magics within it, though I felt that it could have been expanded upon within the narrative.
The ending could have been longer I think and I wish the tattoo thief was someone we'd been introduced to earlier in the story, but all in all, it was an enjoyable read. I love the world, the voice, and the character dynamics, and would like to see where the author takes them in future.
You can tell the author put a lot of thought into creating this world and the various magics within it, though I felt that it could have been expanded upon within the narrative.
The ending could have been longer I think and I wish the tattoo thief was someone we'd been introduced to earlier in the story, but all in all, it was an enjoyable read. I love the world, the voice, and the character dynamics, and would like to see where the author takes them in future.
December 11, 2020
3.25 stars
I don't know if this is part of a larger world, since I got that 0 to 60 mph feeling without any explanation from the start, but I had at least a bit of a feel for it by the time I finished. Very interesting characters with fascinating gifts and abilities, but I'm not sure when I'll makes my way back to more of this series. Possibly next year, but definitely not right now.
I don't know if this is part of a larger world, since I got that 0 to 60 mph feeling without any explanation from the start, but I had at least a bit of a feel for it by the time I finished. Very interesting characters with fascinating gifts and abilities, but I'm not sure when I'll makes my way back to more of this series. Possibly next year, but definitely not right now.
January 27, 2018
This book..... Omg this book, it grabs you, holds you. It makes your mind wonder, can be, will he, does he. Take the time read the book!!! I can't wait for the next one!!! I WANT IT!!
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