Set in the dystopian village of Saintstone, where every individual’s life story is permanently tattooed on their skin, Ink by Alice Broadway follows main character Leora as she struggles to make sense of her father’s death.
In Saintstone, when someone dies, their tattoos are preserved in a Skin Book to commemorate their life: the good, and the bad. But when Saintstone’s government starts to suspect that one of Leora’s father’s tattoos was stolen, her father’s character-–and the fate of his soul–are called into question. It’s up to Leora to figure out the truth of her father’s history, and her own.
The exquisite cover art that decorates Leora’s story is what initially drew me to this book, but the shiny metallic cover does nothing to enhance the bland, unmemorable story within. Though the novel has a dynamic and intriguing concept, Leora herself doesn’t seem to know what she wants, which leads to a slow-paced plot laced with confusing character motivations. By the time the plot finally picks up, the book ends, making Ink seem more like an extended prologue for the sequel, Spark, than its own stand alone story.
Though originally promising, the content of this book unfortunately doesn’t live up to the incredible cover, leaving readers with unfulfilled expectations and a lack of interest in future novels.