Katie Greene is lost in the wake of her mum's death. Sent to Japan, she meets gorgeous but aloof artist Tomohiro, whose tough attitude intrigues and scares her. Then things get really strange. When they're near each other, Tomohiro's drawings start to come to life…
Soon the wrong people begin to ask questions, and Katie and Tomohiro must risk everything to protect the truth.
The thing that made me want to read Ink so much was the gorgeous cover and the Japan setting. This book sounded like something brand new and refreshing with an original and absorbing setting. My issue with this book - and it's not just this book but a lot of the YA that I'm reading lately - is that it just didn't do that much to separate itself from other books in the genre, meaning that it isn't all that memorable and by the time the sequel comes out I'll likely have forgotten what happened here.
Not that it was a bad book, not at all, I really did enjoy it. There were a number of things that annoyed me but there were an equal number of things that I enjoyed. I was a little confused by how the Kami abilities worked, but the whole idea was so original that I was in awe of how creative Amanda Sun was. Also the Japan setting worked so well, the little snippets of Japanese were so nice for me, since I speak some Japanese and I could understand it though I was a little confused over whether they were all speaking Japanese, since Katie seems a little too fluent or English since the Japanese characters all seemed to be fluent.
The romance was a little typical, it was sexy and quick developing and Tomohiro was the typical "Don't come near me, I'm too dangerous!" YA boy. He was a bit of a jerk and Katie was too trusting and seemed pretty stupid, putting herself in dangerous situations from him. I liked it though, and I usually don't enjoy Bella and Edward-esque romances since they seem unhealthy. Katie and Tomohiro's romance didn't seem unhealthy at all.
Overall, I did enjoy Ink but it won't stay with me for too long. The writing was good and the plot was original but the execution wasn't anything new. The romance was pretty typical as well but I did enjoy it. Will I read the sequel? More than likely, but there are books that I'll put above it on the 'must-read' list!
Book released 5th July 2013 by Mira Ink (UK)
Book received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. (NetGalley)
I have heard a lot about this book. Sadly, most of the review about it say it is just an okay book. Do you think it is worth buying?
ReplyDeleteNice review :)
~Sydney@Pika Pages
The cover is also what initially drew me in too. The Japanese culture was really interesting to read about but I there was a little too much romance for me. Thanks for an honest review!
ReplyDeleteAlise @ Readers In Wonderland
And this, "it just didn't do that much to separate itself from other books in the genre" is the exact reason I didn't request or accept this one for review. I think the cover is astonishingly gorgeous, I love the idea of a Japan setting and I'm intrigued by the title but it's not enough. Just hasn't caught my eye enough.
ReplyDelete