Friday 19 July 2013

Review: INK, DNF'D

INK
Author: Amanda Sun
Publication Date: July 5th, 2013
Source : Received a digital copy via Mira Ink, Harlequin (UK) Limited and Netgalley. (In exchange for an honest review. Thank you!) 
  
 

 
Ink is in their blood

On the heels of a family tragedy, Katie Greene must move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

When Katie meets aloof but gorgeous Tomohiro, the star of the school’s kendo team, she is intrigued by him... and a little scared. His tough attitude seems meant to keep her at a distance, and when they’re near each other, strange things happen. Pens explode. Ink drips from nowhere. And unless Katie is seeing things, drawings
come to life.

Somehow Tomo is connected to the kami, powerful ancient beings who once ruled Japan—and as feelings develop between Katie and Tomo, things begin to spiral out of control. The wrong people are starting to ask questions, and if they discover the truth, no one will be safe.
 
 
190 Page Thought Review
 
Ugh!
I was so so looking forward to this one with such an interesting prose, and it could have been so great.
If it wasn't for the characters.
I have to say, I gave up half way through because I couldn't stand them any longer.

I didn't even feel sorry for Katie, don't get me wrong, it's sad about her mother and everything but I just didn't feel it. It lacked emotion and was replaced with mechanical words and motions. She was a bitch to her aunt, who to be fair, is grieving too which she vaguely recognises and tries to be better, nicer, blah blah blah.
She pretty much ignores her friends, if you could call them that, they just weaved in and out when appropriate with no connections, and maybe that changed  throughout the rest but I just couldn't care less to even see if it had.
Tomo was a jerk, plain and simple with utter lack of respect for anything who tried to seem multi-layered, but was just paper thin. Sorry.
The most interesting thing about INK, is what it should have been more about, the whole plot, and the Kami. I did flick through the rest of the book and saw it did become more about that towards the end but it just felt like a sub-plot to let the romance take front stage.
And what a horrible "romance" it was. Katie with Tomo just seemed unrealistic, I didn't get it, the "love" was insta-love, and 96 pages  in, this happened. 
"As if I didn't really know him at all- and maybe I didn't."
Well, no shit Katie Greene, you've known him for what? 5 minutes.
Give me a break.
 
What I liked within the pages I read?
The cover.
It's absolutely stunning, but I rarely trust a cover anymore.
The illustrations made it interesting, and I love the intrigue of the Kami, but a pretty cover and interesting  premise doesn't just hold a book through, the characters do, and the characters in INK are just not for me.
Sorry INK, you didn't hold up to my expectations  personally, which is not to say you haven't lived up to others', but  you've been DNF'D.
 
Rating 2/5