Leora is reeling: questioning everything she has ever known about her family and herself. As half-Marked and half-Blank, will she ever wholly belong in either community? She sets off to find Featherstone, home of her mysterious Blank birth mother, but will she find solace and safety or a viper's nest of suspicion?
A very classic dystopian sequel, it gave a completely different perspective from the first. Wish the stakes had been a little higher, but maybe that's being saved for the finale!
Might I say that every leader in this book are terrible human beings! The Featherstone society freaking sucks and the city stinks. No one is good except for Ruth who sadly died and I was super sad. Also how they almost let Gull almost drown to death was really messed up! I gawked at them and how the mayor is still alive. Are you kidding me? Why won't that bastard die! How Sana was the one who poisoned the water, got rid of the food, and stabbed the mayor was shocking. I was completely surprised that she was the monster like the mayor. Also I still can't believe that the mayor is still alive and he's like a God now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Męczyłam tą historię ponad pół roku. Nic wciągającego ani odkrywczego, dość nużące, szybko się czyta przez dużo światła na stronach. Przeczytam ostatnią część żeby skończyć trylogię, może będzie lepsza.
I struggle with this one a bit. I still really like the world building, and I do find Saintstone and Featherstone to be very interesting places, however the pacing with the was aggravatingly slow. I remember having some issues in the first one and this was even worse, I don't feel like the plot advanced at all until the last 30 pages of the book and it just made most of the book very boring to get through.
Also, Leora confused me. I found many times that her internal monologue really didn't match up with her actions. She kept going on about how awful she was and how she was betraying everyone, but really she didn't even do much of anything, so it just seemed weird.
ALL OF THE STARS. I am not sure how to process that ending. The whole story with Leora’s story woven with the legends of the past, her inner turmoil with the outer unrest. Man what a story. I just, can’t manage to find words to be honest.
3,5🤩 Ogólnie cały zamysł historii bardzo mi się podoba, najciekawszym elementem tej książki dla mnie są zdecydowanie historie związane z kulturą ludzi ( tatuaże i ich znaczenie taka jakby ,,religia,,) bardzo fajnie jest pokazane jaka jest różnica pomiędzy kulturą w dwóch innych ale podobnych środowiskach. Niestety główna bohaterka strasznie przewidywalna aczkolwiek nie irytuje swoim zachowaniem więc jest dobrze🤙🏻 Giga wciąga oraz szybko i przyjemnie się czyta polecam❄️🤍
I’ve waited for this book for ages, and now it’s here I’m really disappointed!
From the beginning, I knew that this book was going to be “a filler”. Just one of those stories that has to be there to lead up to the events of the next, and because of this nothing much happened😓
Don’t get me wrong, it was a good book. But that was all, just plain old good🤷♀️The storyline was VERY predictable as were the characters, however there was like two shocks that seemed to be the not so climatic climax.
That is literally all there is to say about the book... so I hope you find it much more entertaining than I did.
Ehm... What so say... The writing is not too great, the story is derivative and really not very well thought through (even though... maybe it's overthought? not sure), characters not very bright and people-like and... and... the mythology is stupid. And the geography/history is lame. Are the people in this world living on an island or something? How to explain the lack of people and the incredibly small scale of everything? And I do enjoy the genre from time to time, so that's not it. Anyway, I'm bound to read it at least 2 more times, maybe I'll change my mind.
Миналата година прочетохме „Мастило” от Алис Бродуей и романът се оказа концептуално грабваща YA дистопия за общество, в което няма тайни и всеки един от нас е буквално като разтворена книга за останалите. Началото на трилогията Skin Books определено събуди любопитство и ни остави с немалко въпроси. А дали ще открием отговорите в „Искра” (изд. „Дуо Дизайн”)? Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...
Not only is Spark one of the prettiest books you'll see this year but it's also a cracking read! This sequel to Ink by Alice Broadway is every bit as outstanding as her debut novel covering issues such as segregation, fear and sense of belonging. Familiar characters are back and gaps in their history are filled in for some, while questions are raised for the motivations of others? Leora is learning more of her history but at the same time is still vulnerable and I like that this character, while strong, still shows her humanity and flaws and hasn't transformed into some unbelievable Goddess of some rebellion like characters can be wont to do. The world is expanded beyond the boundaries of Saintstone as we learn more of the settlement of Featherstone and it's history and get to read more of the tales/legends that make up the foundation of what these two groups believe in.
The story really is only getting better and better and everything is not as it seems, either for the characters or for the reader. There are some awfully surprising twists which left me eager for the next instalment and unsure as to who Leora should trust or not.
⭐️Remember Leora no marks, no secrets, no lies. The mayhem of ink is in full swing. Leora is running away from everything she once believed and is now seeing a new way of life amongst the unmarked and marked.
⭐️Love the writing, it is so descriptive and really draws you into the world and into the ink.
⭐️Leora was a relatable protagonist and I liked seeing how she delt with her fathers death and the ink of others around her.
⭐️imagery’s was beautiful.
-1 slow going. Took awhile to get the story going but once the action got started and the adventure of marked and unmarked it picked up and got really good.
3.5 STARS This book just didn't have the edge that the first did? I think my favourite thing about book one was the set-up and the lore behind the society, and how fresh and interesting that was. But with this one, we kind of just relied on the action, which didn't excite me as much. Don't think I need to continue on with this series.
I haven't been in the biggest reading mood lately. But everytime I picked up Spark I ended up not wanting to put it down again. That says a lot about the quality of the writing imo. I loved the additions of the new characters and learning more about the blanks, although I do wish we'd seen a bit more of some of the old characters. I really appreciated the complexity in the portrayal of Leora's struggles with her beliefs as well. All in all a good follow-up that has me excited to pick up the final book in this trilogy!
przyznam, że byłam dosyć uprzedzona do tej książki, pierwszy tom był świetny, a po przeczytaniu opinii na temat drugiego odkładałam przeczytanie jej w czasie, jednak cieszę sie, że w końcu zdecydowałam się za nią zabrać
bardzo podobała mi się ta książka i w sumie trochę nie rozumiem tak dużej ilości negatywnych opinii, na pewno przeczytam ostatni tom i skończę trylogię :)
The initial reason I picked up these books was the absolutely *gorgeous* cover of the first one, and I liked it enough to stick with the series. Now I've read the second book and I really liked it! Slowly, this series is growing on me!
Spark is in many ways the complete opposite of Ink: Leora has left Saintstone and is on her way to Featherstone, home of the Blanks, to find out more about her family. I liked getting to know this new community and meeting new characters, and I think it was very cleverly done. The parallels between the two communities were clearly visible, but so were the differences. As a reader, it was very interesting to get to know everything through Leoras eyes.
As in the first book, I enjoyed the little stories woven into the story of the actual book. Mythology and stories are very important to the people in this series and it was cool to see everything from a different perspective in this book!
The characters were well developed and I liked Leora (love that name btw!!). There were also a bunch of new characters. I loved Gull with her open mind and her desire to learn new things! Her brother Fenn though wasn't exactly likeable, but that's kind of the point. What I didn't like about him/what was kinda unrealistic to me was his complete moral change he undergoes throughout the book. And I hope the author won't take him as a possible love interest in the final book because he was certainly not nice to Leora (speaking of all the unhealthy relationships we have in ya...). We also met some of the characters from the first book again.
So overall I really enjoyed Spark, but sometimes it suffered from a bit of middle book syndrome: lots of building up, explaining and planning, but no real action in the end. I guess everything that's happened in this book will lead to a lot of less talking, more doing in the final one (which I'm definitely gonna read).
4 stars and I'd recommend this series. I'd like to see more people talk about it because even though it's 'just' another dystopia, the idea and world are unique and beautifully brought to life by the writing!
Ritroviamo Leora dove l'avevamo lasciata, dopo aver sfidato l'autorità. Ora, da quella stessa autorità viene mandata in quanto spia nel villaggio degli intonsi, i non marchiati, per carpire i loro segreti e chissà, forse per conoscere anche se stessa.
Spark, secondo libro della serie di cui il primo libro è Ink, esplora la storia da un punto di vista differente. Questa volta il focus principale sono gli intonsi, coloro i quali in Ink erano stati identificati come i diversi, quelli pericolosi, la minaccia. In Spark, invece, si assiste a un capovolgimento totale dei ruoli che lascia passare un messaggio molto forte che ho apprezzato: la ragione sta nel mezzo e la storia è fatta di punti di vista in cui ognuno porta i vantaggi dalla propria parte identificando come sbagliato ciò che sta combattendo quando, in realtà, sono due facce di una stessa medaglia... in alcuni casi con un nemico comune. Bella, dunque, il focus sui pregiudizi, sul fatto che esistono in ogni società e che una stessa storiapuò essere raccontata in mille modi diversi in base a chi la racconta e quando.
L'entrata in scena di nuovi personaggi, intonsi, e la ricomparsa di personaggi giò conosciuti, marchiati, a dividersi le attenzioni del lettore è stata un punto in più che la storia si merita, uno sviluppo e un incoraggiamento verso l'eliminazione della parola diversità.
Però... c'è un però. Se, nonostante la sua immaturità, avevo sopportato Leora nel primo libro, stavolta non posso soprassedere. Dovrebbe essere cresciuta, dovrebbe prendere decisioni migliori e più ponderate, invece continua a fare gli stessi errori e non pensa con l'acume che ci si aspetterebbe da un personaggio inserito in una storia del genere.
Lo stile rimane scorrevole, ma le difficoltà di Leora, purtroppo, non mi hanno fatto apprezzare Spark quanto avrei voluto e potuto.
I am in love with the covers of these books, look how p r e t t y they are.
Since the goodreads rating system doesn't share my love for working with numbers after a comma, I'll say my actual score here: probably somewhere around 3,5.
I defenitely enjoyed this one more than the first book, especially the stories that are told in it. Every story indeed has two sides in this book, and I found it really smart of the author to divide these stories over the - so far - two books.
The ending of the book defenitely left me curious for the third book, so I'm looking forward to the release!
1. Bardzo szybko się czyta, ale w moim odczuciu książka jest dosyć nierówna - często wybijałam się z rytmu i nie mogłam w pełni wejść w ten świat, 2. Pod koniec można było też zauważyć takie skakanie po różnych wątkach (rozdziały miały po kilka stron) i to było dosyć słabe, 3. Zakończenie? Wyglądało jak zakończenie słabego kryminału, a to przecież nie ten gatunek (w poprzedniej części też było „dziwne”, więc może taki był zamysł), 4. Czasami książka chyba chce nawet jakieś fajne wartości przekazać, ale ostatecznie ten temat nie jest dalej pociągnięty
I did expect the story to have a faster pace and more depth than INK, but it just felt a tiny bit short, the story started out strong but fell into a slow pace before it picked itself up toward the end.... and that ending is what is going to make me read the 3rd book once it out (hopefully soon)
I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first one, but it was still enjoyable to dive into the world that Alice has created. I love the history, and the two worlds colliding. I just wasn't sure how I felt about some of the new characters, one in particular seemed very rushed and not flushed out.
But I do so love the history between this world's people and Leora's search for truth within that history and her own.
I hate splitting hairs this much but I'd probably rate this one like 2.75 stars. She had the second book syndrome hard (or I am going to call it that now with the assumption that book 3 will be much better). I will continue on with the series for two reasons. The first reason is that I already have the third book. The second reason is that the ending of this one was rather explosive. A ton of really cool things happened in the last 4 or 5 chapters.
This is a pretty classic dystopian. Leora is part of the marked community residing in Saintstone, these folks live with the events of their lives tattooed on their skin thus allowing everyone in the community to see you successes and shortcomings in life. There is a second community called Featherstone where the blanks (the people who don't have their life stories tattooed) and for reasons that I will not spoil here Leora finds herself headed to Featherstone in the beginning of this installment. Once there she learns their side of the story and that, of course, not everything she thought she knew growing up is the gospel truth.
The reason that I'm not raving over this series yet is that it is just very typical. Typical is not necessarily bad but as of this point there is nothing super new, innovative or unique about the heart of the story. I felt like I have read this one before, more than once. The thing that is keeping me hanging in there with the series is the characters. Broadway wrote them very well and I feel strongly for them. We have been introduced to new characters in this one and I still love Obel but I very much love Gull now too. At the close of book two I was really rooting for our protagonists and invested in them succeeding. Notice how in both of my reviews now I have not mentioned the actual main character as one that I really care for? Yea, Leora is suffering from classic YA super boring and surface level female protagonist curse here peeps. Why does this happen in YA so much?! I want to feel strongly for my main character even if I don't agree with their choices, thoughts or actions every step of the way. Dear YA authors, it is ok to have faults and flaws in your main characters, we will not shun you forever because of it ok?
We really didn't get any more world building in the second installment as we got in the first, which means we basically got none. I still have but just the faintest grasp on what Saintstone and Featherstone really look like. These books read really fast so it wouldn't have hindered the book at all to have had more world building thrown in there.
I think so far my most favorite thing about both books has been the huge events at the climax of each one. Broadway is really good at pulling all the punches to create an excellent finale. Both times she creatively worked in aspects of the books that seemed small into being really important aspects of the ending, which is the other thing keeping me going with this series so good job Alice Broadway.
Anyway, there it is for Sprak. I will be back with Scar in the next few days to go with one of the prompts in the medieval-a-thon (yay!).
Not sure if I’ve ever read a book this fast. It took me 5 hours to go through all 344 pages. I loved this book even more then the first one! Leora flees to featherstone ( the home of the blanks), questioning everything she believed. This was a great sequel and even if you couldn’t understand the first one very well this one was a lot clearer. I loved Alice’s use of the stories of Moriah and Belia and the competition between the blanks and the marked. Definitely a must read!
Parcă un pic mai decentă decât primul volum, ori mi-am coborât eu nivelul așteptărilor. Cert e că autoarea lasă deoparte comunitatea de însemnați din care face parte Leora Flint și abordează comunitatea neînsemnaților, cea a părinților adevărați ai Leorei, trimisă de primarul Longsight, care conduce comunitatea celor care-și tatuează viețile pe piele, să-i spioneze pe neînsemnați ca să le afle slăbiciunile. Numai că aceștia sunt lihniți de foame într-o pădure în care nu se poate cultiva nimic și abia se țin pe picioare de epuizați ce sunt, plus că în casele lor e un frig continuu, deși pădurea e alcătuită din copaci, nu, care pot fi tăiați și transformați în lemne de foc? Iar ei tremură rebegiți de frig, dar țin cu dinți de tradiții și trăiesc mai rău ca-n Evul Mediu... Dar ce zic eu Evul Mediu, sunt indulgent, că n-au descoperit nici focul. În fine, Leora se plânge iar tot timpul și habar n-are ce vrea, ba ține cu însemnații, ba cu neînsemnații, ba și neînsemnații sunt răi și înapoiați și i-au omorât mama, dar nici însemnații conduși de un asupritor ordinar și înapoiat nu sunt mai breji, și tot așa. Noroc că se citește ușor. Și aș citi volumul trei doar din pură curiozitate, căci autoarea, deși nu știe să strunească un fir narativ și să creeze un personaj credibil, lasă un cliffhanger de zile mari și la finalul acestui volum doi. Iar sado-masochistul din mine mă va îndemna să citesc și volumul trei. Mai multe, pe Bookblog: http://www.bookblog.ro/recenzie/sa-ne....
Pointou celej tejto knihy, je cesta Leory, ktorá musí prekonať zábrany, spoznať nové veci a zistiť čo najviac o svojej minulosti a mame + spraviť veľké rozhodnutie na, ktorú stranu (a či vôbec) sa pridať. Autorka hlavne vykresľovala zmýšľanie daných ľudí, a tak sme ich mohli viac pochopiť a poznať, no mala som pocit ako keby sme sa vrátili tam kde sme boli, lenže z druhej perspektívy. To viedlo niekedy k pomerne nudným častiam, no keďže ma kniha krátke kapitoly (ktoré tak milujem), číta sa to ľahko a rýchlo. Preto, som sa rozhodla dať 4 kačičky, aj keď som dlho váhala aj nad 3,5. No ak vezmem celkový dojem, kniha je stále zaujímavá a dúfam, že autorka sa už konečne dostane aj ku nejakému posunu v deji.