OH. MY. AMAZING. Kim Smejkal has masterfully created complex, multi-layered characters, a hauntingly lovely setting, and a new and unique type of magic. Her writing is mesmerizing--the kind that completely pulls you out of reality and keeps you turning the page. INK IN THE BLOOD is light and dark, love and lust, life and death--all set within a Venician-esque backdrop where the shimmery veil of theater and illusion battles the iron fist of religion and law and you never quite know who's playing the tricks on who. Basically, this book is pure magic. It will not disappoint. I can't wait until book 2!

Kim Smejkal has masterfully created complex, multi-layered characters, a hauntingly lovely setting, and a new and unique type of magic. Her writing is mesmerizing--the kind that completely pulls you out of reality and keeps you turning the page. INK IN THE BLOOD is light and dark, love and lust, life and death. This book is queer, and the magic system is unique. Which makes it stand out in our world of ever-revolving door of fantasy books. Thanks for a great one!

This is an interesting concept.
It combines both fantasy and tattoos in a magical way and it's unique and cool. Unfortunately the plot is both weak and confusing and the characters aren't strong enough to hold your interest. It has its moments here and there and it is a quick read but it's just not enough to hold that spark. This is only part one of a series so I have faith and hopefully the next installment will be much better. I'm looking forward to it!

This book was received as an ARC from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group - HMH Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I fell in love with this book right from the beginning. The concept and execution Kin Smejkal took with this book was very unique and different which made me like it more. I myself have never been a huge fan of tattoos but when these tattoos reveal a lie that has been told for generations and the teachings Anya and Celia have learned all their lives have all been lies and things were not exactly as they appear, the story got more shocking than the next. Because this book was so different focusing on a whole alternate concept, our teen book club is bound to sure love this.

We will consider adding this title to our YFiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

A very interesting concept but a hard read. The writing doesn't flow well and the wording is awkward. I think it has a lot of potentials but needs some reworking.

This book was not at all what I thought it was going to be. The world building did not paint a clear picture and the character development was lacking. I was so excited for this book but was disappointed it was not what I was hoping for. It reminded me a little of my feelings of Furyborn but I know many really enjoyed that book. So if you loved Furyborn then I say check this book out!

This book was not my cup of tea. Others may love it. It was high/dark fantasy with *content warning* violence, torture and emotional abuse. The concept was great, however the story did not develop for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

So what started out as an interesting concept with solid bones turned into one of the of the most disappointing and convoluted plot disasters I’ve ever read? The title was a quick read that I finished in one night which is the only good thing I can say about this book.

It was interesting and a nice change to see the acceptance of all kinds of queerness and respected by the society in the book. However it was overly pushed in the book and did not need to be used as such a strong focus point.

Also how is there gonna be a sequel???? highly disappointed in this title. Will not be reading the next.