Book Title: Ink
Author: Amanda Sun
Series: Paper Gods #1
Date Started: April 21st 2014
Date Completed: April 23rd 2014
Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Adventure
Rating: Four stars
Review:
I was dubious of Ink at first: I'd tried it a few times before but never got further than the first few pages because of the teenage break-up start which does anything but interest me. However, after pushing through the typical Young Adult start, the story really began to shape its own path and ended up being very intriguing and different from the majority of stuff out there.
After her mother's death, Katie is sent to live with her aunt in Japan. A whole new country and language is already making it difficult for Katie, but when she accidentally walks in on a dramatic break-up in her new school, she becomes the centre of some unwanted attention from some of the darker characters of the school. But as she gets more and more caught up, it seems that the mysterious Tomohiro is more than a bad boy - he might have the ability to makes drawings come to life.
Although simplistic at times, I found Sun's writing actually really interesting and gripping, especially later in the book when the plot takes a darker twist. I thought it was written very well in order to build the reader up for the more complex ideas introduced further in.
The imagery was the thing that most impressed me in the entire book, though. The ideas of illustrations becoming real is already a vivid suggestion, but the way it was described, and in such a beautiful culture as well, made it really grab me and helped the plot drastically. I was picturing the book as an animated film as I read it, as the style of ideas was quite similar I believe.
Ink was a lot more original than I had first anticipated it to be. Although some parts were predictable, I found myself being caught off guard as well, and it was really exciting to see where the plot went on its own, without the boundaries of typical Young Adult urban fantasy.
The additional combination of the dangerous and beautiful sides to Japan was amazing to read, and gave a really nice break from the typical US or European settings we're all so used to. (And I've always been interested in Japan (and Asia as a whole) so reading about it's modern and traditional culture was also quite informative.)
When I reached the final run of the book, I sighed because it was such a typical end and was very predictable, however as I was actually reading the build up to the inevitable ending, Sun convinced me that actually this was the right thing for Katie to be doing and she was standing up for herself for once.
The characters were a bit of a weak point in the book for me: I feel they didn't develop enough for my liking, and often let other people push them around (which is, obviously, just a personal taste of mine, as that's a perfectly realistic trait to have).
Katie at times annoyed me, but thankfully did stand up for herself towards the end. I just felt she was a bit dim at times, and at others was just plain stupid and was lucky not have been dead before the end of the book. I really hope that she becomes a lot stronger in the next books because she could turn out to be an awesome heroine.
I have mixed feelings, again, with Tomohiro. I felt like what he was regarded as at the start of the book wasn't really put across in his actual character (I didn't feel like he was a bad boy), and it didn't take him very long to trust Katie with a secret that his life depended on. On the other hand, he was a generally good character and he was really sweet at times.
I don't have many complaints about pace - only that I wish is had started earlier. And even then, hints are being dropped from the first few pages in. It just took me a few tries to get into this book, as the start just didn't grab me enough - but after that, things start to get crazy pretty quickly, and there's always something for the reader to get involved in.
I really enjoyed Ink, and I'm eager to see where the series is going to go. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys romance and urban fantasy. If you're interested in Japan at all, or want something a little different from the usual American locations, Ink is great for a range of settings that aren't very common in the genre.
Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17852056-ink
I was dubious of Ink at first: I'd tried it a few times before but never got further than the first few pages because of the teenage break-up start which does anything but interest me. However, after pushing through the typical Young Adult start, the story really began to shape its own path and ended up being very intriguing and different from the majority of stuff out there.
After her mother's death, Katie is sent to live with her aunt in Japan. A whole new country and language is already making it difficult for Katie, but when she accidentally walks in on a dramatic break-up in her new school, she becomes the centre of some unwanted attention from some of the darker characters of the school. But as she gets more and more caught up, it seems that the mysterious Tomohiro is more than a bad boy - he might have the ability to makes drawings come to life.
Although simplistic at times, I found Sun's writing actually really interesting and gripping, especially later in the book when the plot takes a darker twist. I thought it was written very well in order to build the reader up for the more complex ideas introduced further in.
The imagery was the thing that most impressed me in the entire book, though. The ideas of illustrations becoming real is already a vivid suggestion, but the way it was described, and in such a beautiful culture as well, made it really grab me and helped the plot drastically. I was picturing the book as an animated film as I read it, as the style of ideas was quite similar I believe.
Ink was a lot more original than I had first anticipated it to be. Although some parts were predictable, I found myself being caught off guard as well, and it was really exciting to see where the plot went on its own, without the boundaries of typical Young Adult urban fantasy.
The additional combination of the dangerous and beautiful sides to Japan was amazing to read, and gave a really nice break from the typical US or European settings we're all so used to. (And I've always been interested in Japan (and Asia as a whole) so reading about it's modern and traditional culture was also quite informative.)
When I reached the final run of the book, I sighed because it was such a typical end and was very predictable, however as I was actually reading the build up to the inevitable ending, Sun convinced me that actually this was the right thing for Katie to be doing and she was standing up for herself for once.
The characters were a bit of a weak point in the book for me: I feel they didn't develop enough for my liking, and often let other people push them around (which is, obviously, just a personal taste of mine, as that's a perfectly realistic trait to have).
Katie at times annoyed me, but thankfully did stand up for herself towards the end. I just felt she was a bit dim at times, and at others was just plain stupid and was lucky not have been dead before the end of the book. I really hope that she becomes a lot stronger in the next books because she could turn out to be an awesome heroine.
I have mixed feelings, again, with Tomohiro. I felt like what he was regarded as at the start of the book wasn't really put across in his actual character (I didn't feel like he was a bad boy), and it didn't take him very long to trust Katie with a secret that his life depended on. On the other hand, he was a generally good character and he was really sweet at times.
I don't have many complaints about pace - only that I wish is had started earlier. And even then, hints are being dropped from the first few pages in. It just took me a few tries to get into this book, as the start just didn't grab me enough - but after that, things start to get crazy pretty quickly, and there's always something for the reader to get involved in.
I really enjoyed Ink, and I'm eager to see where the series is going to go. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys romance and urban fantasy. If you're interested in Japan at all, or want something a little different from the usual American locations, Ink is great for a range of settings that aren't very common in the genre.
Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17852056-ink
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