Book Review – ‘Indelible Ink’ by Matt Betts

Anti-heroine assassin sisters trying to break free…

Genre: Y/A, Science Fiction, Fantasy

No. of pages: 232

From Goodreads:

It’s What’s Inside That Counts.

Something lurks inside Deena Riordan. She never once questioned her life in the criminal underworld as the star of Mr. Marsh’s illegal empire and his youngest assassin. Her ruthless demeanor and dark magical powers have kept her at the top of the heap for years. But one day she pushes the sorcery too far and something snaps. Only then does Deena realize she’s always been a puppet of that dark power with no true will of her own. 

Now, in order to get out of the crime business for good, she needs to save her sister from Marsh’s angry clutches. It won’t be easy. She’ll have to make her way through friends turned foes, dodge determined federal agents, and stay out of a particularly stubborn fellow hitman’s sights. Worst of all, Deena will have to wrestle with the darkness inside to keep it from swallowing her up again.

‘Indelible Ink’ introduces a fantastic world, a captivating plot with a sci-fi/paranormal twist. By the time I finished this novel I needed to take a deep breath from such a wild ride.

This story is told from multiple perspectives, and jumps around the timeline a bit, but mostly follows our protagonist/anti-heroine, Deena. However the theme of Deena getting her new attitude/ lease on life didn’t quite mesh for me. I felt like there was a few gaping holes in context, though I did enjoy the story arc.

Harper, Deena’s kick-ass sister, has a darker side and I felt got off too easy for some of her actions. Plus it felt like issues between the siblings never gets resolution. But these girls go through the ringer with action, espionage, crime, and killing. A real by-the-seat-of-your-pants epic.

The narrative is a completely unique story. Refreshing.

There’s so much carnage. It was hard to care about some of the characters when they get offed so quickly after being introduced into the narrative.

For as much action ‘Indelible Ink’ has, it felt like it took forever to get somewhere – which is sad for such a short book. The pacing lagged – jumping around the timeline, short chapters continually changing POV for each different cast member. It made it hard to relate to, and get invested in any single person. I put this novel down a few times for a break because of the scattered narrative.

The writing style is edgy with sarcasm and highly entertaining. I just wish the chapters were longer and remained with the sisters…

‘Indelible Ink’ reminded me of Swarm from the Spider-man franchise.

Even with the issues I had, I would still recommend this because those qualms resulted from my personal taste, and not from any failings in story, structure, or character development. Glad to add this to my collection. I might re-read this sometime in the future and see if my opinions and rating change.

Overall feeling: Intense read.

© Casey Carlisle 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Book Review – Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins

Pres is on the warpath yet again…

Genre: Y/A, Paranormal, Comedy, Romance

No. of pages: 273

From Goodreads:

Life is almost back to normal for Harper Price. The Ephors have been silent after their deadly attack at Cotillion months ago, and her best friend, Bee, has returned after a mysterious disappearance. Now Harper can focus on the important things in life: school, canoodling with David (her nemesis-turned-ward-slash-boyfie), and even competing in the Miss Pine Grove pageant.

Unfortunately, supernatural chores are never done. The Ephors have decided they’d rather train David than kill him. The catch: Harper has to come along for the ride, but she can’t stay David’s Paladin unless she undergoes an ancient trial that will either kill her . . . or make her more powerful than ever.

As fun a read as Miss Mayhem is, it did suffer ‘Sequel Syndrome’ and left me a little disappointed. It certainly did not “up the anty” with the storyline or characters. The witty banter and awkward action sequences we got in Rebel Belle weren’t as prominent in the second book of the series. Given the brevity of Miss Mayhem, I was expecting something action packed and punchy… but it still felt a little drawn out.

Harper and her boyfie were still adorable, and the tension between the two a great addition. Also with the rest of the cast, testing their friendships. But I felt it could have been more – you know really turn up the pressure some more to let them shine. There are brief moments, but all too fleeting.

Miss Mayhem was enjoyable and a quick, easy read; however it did not measure up to its predecessor. Granted it’s the middle book in a trilogy, so it can be a bit of a no-man’s land… but as an author, you should be able to make it great. Maybe Rebel Belle had gotten my expectations up? The story was great, I loved it. But it could have been condensed down to a shorter story that really shines. Maybe this trilogy should really be one book after some heavy editing?

Overall feeling: Is there any more?

© Casey Carlisle 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.