It has admittedly been awhile since I read this one, so I don’t remember it as well as I would like. However, I definitely loved the concept as well as the execution. There's so much incredible world building, and the magic system is interesting and well-developed. The love story sometimes missed its mark a little and felt a little forced, but all in all, I think this is a great fantasy that is well worth the read. It makes some fantastic statements about racism and classism, especially how that looks across cultures, and what responsibilities belong to privileged communities to take care of those that don’t have the voice to take care of themselves.

I wish I could love this book more than I did. This book exists in a world where tattoos hold power, and in theory it looks absolutely amazing, but in practice the world building has failed me. Even though there is decent enough character development, it is the lack of their place in the world that fails this book.

**Thank you Netgalley and publisher for giving me an electronic ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

This book had a lot of potential especially with the cover and the summary. However, I wish there was more world building. There was enough world building to keep me from getting lost, I felt that the book was driven primarily by character development and relationships. I loved the ending, but the lack of world building still bothered me which is why I dropped two stars.

First off... this cover is amazing. Secondly... the description of the book sounds amazing.

Rea is a part of a tribe that can create tattoos with powers. She tries to get revenge for her fathers death and instead finds herself exposing her tribes secrets. Sébastyen is the heir to the throne and in exchange for learning Rea's secrets he will try to fulfill three of her wishes.

This was a really quick read so the world buildng wasn't great but there was just enough there that you wouldn't get lost or confused by what was going on in the story. This story put alot of stock in character building and the relationship between Rea and Sébastyen which I didn't overly enjoy. I wanted to see more. This book has a lot of potential especially with the description so I kind of want more stories from the author to help build this world.

i really enjoyed the magical tattoo idea, i'm glad I read this as I really enjoyed reading this. The characters were great and I really enjoyed the world.

I started reading this one but didn't hold my interest. I though the concept was good but I wish I could have connected with the characters more.

In Shruthi Viswanathan debut novel she shows that people from two different walks of life can fall in love:

Rae is Suveri whish means she is an artist that has the ability to ink magical tattoos. A talent that is looked down upon, yet sought after as well. Bitter about the death of her father she attempts to get revenge but fails, however, she is saved by the Archduke Sebastyen who not only frees her but offers her three wishes in order for her to teach him the Suveri secrets around the magical tattoos. The two are nothing alike yet both are seeking something, one revenge and the other power and maybe something more, maybe love.

Alright, I told myself this year that I would try to read a few books that were outside of my comfort zone and usual genres. I had great success with Katherine Center Things You Save in a Fire (highly recommend) and had high hopes for this book as well but I am sorry to say this is my second DNF this year. I mean I really really tried with this book, I made it to 70% in my kindle but I just couldn't read it anymore. There was just so much lacking in this book and I could only tell my self something would develop later so many times. So lets break this down.

The good is that Viswanathan had an interesting premise that I thought had a lot of promise. The book is described as a Fantasy Romance book but it was Rae's ability as the Suveri that I thought was really interesting. Rae has the ability to create magic tattoos that can give the bearer different strengths and ability. See very interesting. Also the cover of the book is well done, it is what drew me in to read what the premise was about.

Alright, I will admit back when I was just getting into reading I read a lot and I mean a lot of romance books. I used to alternate between a mystery and romance genres, so I get so of what needs to go into a romance book to make it have a somewhat interesting story and that is chemistry between the two main characters. Whether they love or hate each other or a bit of both there has to be something there, some sort of emotion, Rae and Sebastyen have none. Rae states she hates him for what happened to her father, but never really shows that hate (side note, he was not the one to kill her father). She seems to learn that she actually loves him but this is after they are apart for more than a year (and we don't even know what is going on with either of them in that year as Sebastyen is away at war and Rae is just there but has a change of location while he is gone). I just don't understand how those feelings materialized while they were apart . They seem to have conversations off page, as they never really seems to talk when they are together, its more about what they are doing than what they are saying, so I struggle to see how a bond between them is formed. I guess the one emotion I do see is from Sebastyen and that is in the form of obsession more than anything else. But all in all not only is their chemistry flat, them as characters is flat as well.

The world building is not there, I have no idea why the Suveri are looked down at and why the tattoos are frowned upon, but that doesn't stop the warriors/generals from getting them. Sebastyen always seems to be at war, and why they are at War I have no idea why other than his father wishes it. Honestly I know nothing of the world that Viswanathan was trying to create.

Every aspect that I look for in a book whether it be in the genre I read or not, was just not happening in this book which is a shame as the premise was really promising. I cannot even recommend this book to those who like the romance genre, because the romance/chemistry/connection was not there throughout the 70% of the book I read. Oh well hopefully the next book I read off genre will be better.

Cheers!!!

I enjoyed this book but I found the story a little slow with a lot of back and forth between Rae and Sebestyen. I think that there could of been so much more going on for the length of the book.
Sebestyen went to war but we didnt get to read about that at all the book just skipped the whole war.

In theory I would like both Sebestyen and Rae as characters they had the relationship that I would usually enjoy and the personalities that normally would keep me interested. I liked Sebestyen more than I liked Rae but neither of them will stand out to me going forward. It confused me that the whole story was focused 100% on just 2 characters.
I would have loved to have learnt more about Rae's world and how she grew up and then for Sebestyen to fit into that or even the other way round and Rae was taken to the palace but to be honest nothing really happened at all.

The book was a very quick read for me which I love. It was easy to get into and there wasn't too much explaining or world building but I think that is also what made it difficult to connect with the characters.
I think the main problem for me was the lack of connect to the characters and the story.

Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I probably wouldn't recommend this book over books like Siege and Storm that have similar feeling but much more world building.

I don't know why i keep reading short books because they always disappoint me. And Ink & Arrows is not an exception. The beginning was interesting, I wanted to see what will happen between Rea and Sebastyen. But I didn't expect this would be all that I would find out.

The story is focused on the romantic relationship, forgetting the characters stories and their past. Even the "hate to love" relation was too short. All happens too fast and at the end you don't understand anything. I wanted to know more about Suveri tribe and their tattoos. And i wished for some action too.

Thank you NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

3/3.5 stars out of 5.

I really enjoyed the premise of this story and the idea of tattoos having magic really intrigued me. Sadly the story doesn't centre as much on that idea as it does on the romance aspect. I quite liked the characters, I just really wanted there to be a bit more substance to them, they didn't feel fully realised. Their hate to love romance was such a quick turn around it really didn't have any build up to it and was very swift. I would have liked to have learnt more about their differing cultures and beliefs so that we had some true friction and depth to the story. But overall a quick read, with a reasonably steamy scene near the end, so if that is not your thing then you might want to skip this.

<i>I wonder why you’re so convinced I’m a villain when the rest of the country considers me a hero.</i>

Story 🌟🌟🌟
Reas tribe always felt like the wind, free, but like a big family. Everyone cared for the other.
But when they left their tribe and soon her father died, Rea suffered from pain, loss and the craving of revenge.
After a failed try to avenge her father, she was trapped in prison, waiting for her death.
But a warlord, someone powerful came and offered her a trade. Three wishes for Rae, but in return the warlord will get lessons in the craft of magical tattoos.
Even though she doesn’t want to, she agrees.
But what started as a deal soon becomes a friendship and later even more...

I need to be honest I enjoyed the story a little bit, but that’s probably because I’m such a weak sucker for hate-to-love-books.
It felt like a really really really long prologue of a story that didn’t even start.
There were things happening, don’t get me wrong, but it felt like nothing really happened. The plot was so slow.
Everything that should’ve felt dramatic, felt bleak to me. Empty.
The feelings, the war, the drama, even the passion. Everything felt so empty.
It was so weird.
All in all it was okay. But okay isn’t good and that’s really sad to say.
The idea itself had great potential, but I have the feeling the potential wasn’t fully used and the end was so... ugh. I can’t explain. I had a little hope at the end but it was crushed.

Character 🌟🌟
Even though I wanted to like Sebestyén and Rae, I felt nothing. The only thing that kept me going was the wish and the hope to see if the book would get better.
But it didn’t get better. It started as an okay book and ended as an okay book.
There was no real character development, no background story that made me love them.
It was so sad... normally I’m all in for woman that can stand their ground, who saves the men from dying and who survives even without the help from others. A woman who holds her promises and gives her own happiness up just to protect her loved ones.
But Rea was so... weird. It all felt so off.
I can’t really explain.

World 🌟🌟🌟

<i>A tattoo is not a dead thing, general, it’s art, infused with love and feelings.
That’s why, when you look at it, it’ll stir your heart, too.</i>

I can’t deny it. I’m a tattoo fan. Probably always was. I saw tattoos on people’s skin and instead of thinking the same thoughts as my oldschool Russian parents (Tattoos are for people who’ve been in prison - 😂)
I saw them as something different: art.
In my eyes tattoos are a way of expressing yourself, even if you only have a bird on your shoulder or a bike on your leg. In some way you had a feeling, a good nice feeling in your gut that made you do this.
And most of the time you’ll love it your whole life. And with every new tattoo you get, your body becomes more of an art piece, a black and white (or colorful) sculpture that maybe even shows others the depths of your soul.
When I saw this book on Netgalley I was excited. A book about magical tattoos?
Count me in.
(Like... just imagine.. if my tattoos were magical I would be a happy author, feeling worthy of everything, having a fox as my friend and being an awesome artist - how cool would that be???)

The idea behind the world was amazing and fascinating, even though the author (again) didn’t use the full potential. Of course some ground rules were dropped, but after finishing the book I couldn’t remember if there were any magical tattoos that I wanted to have. There was the one with immortality (why wasn’t anyone immortal in this story yet if there is a tattoo for this? So weird. Greedy people don’t care if someone dies for them. So why no one took the chance??) and the one who connected two people through pain (reminded me of my baby Rhys ♥️), but other ones?? Nope.
The book only gave us small description and mentioned a few tattoos sometimes, but that was it.

Relationships 🌟🌟

<i>They were like sky and earth, meant to look upon each other without ever meeting.</i>

I can’t explain the feeling I had when the Sebestyén and Rea spoke to each other.
They said that they hated each other, but I felt... nothing. It felt as if someone spoke but it came out empty.
Without feeling or emotions.
Then after they build their friendship, I still felt nothing.
After the ship sailed, I was a little bit happy for them, but I couldn’t find the feeling behind the scenes.
It was so weird. It just felt so empty.

Writing style 🌟🌟🌟
The writing was... strange. The dialogue felt abrupt stopping every few sentences.
And it wasn’t good, it felt like the first draft of a book. There were some scenes and paragraphs that I liked, so I think if the author would’ve done a few corrections and pulled out all of the potential this book would’ve been a five star read.
But the way it is now... it’s just ok.

I mean...

<i>Quietly, carefully, Rea released a breath she didn’t know she held.</i>

3.5 stars.

This was a short read and because of it, it lacked a proper world building especially more so when the book focused most of the story on the characters’ relationship from buildup to the end. The writing style is good, but it had too many commas and “ands”. Despite that, most of the sentences were pretty short.

I didn’t mind the romance nor cared about their fight but I was more interested in the world and the power of the tattoos. The ending was good but pretty convenient. Overall, it was a mediocre read for me.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy for an honest review.

This was not exactly up to snuff for me in my idea of the genre. I did enjoy parts of it but in the long run and near the end it truly lost its appeal

"You can ease your anger with revenge, but you can't ease the emptiness with anything."

Rea is a Suveri, a woman whose powers are granted thanks to the tattoos she has on her skin. She is a "human" that has the ability to handle magic. She looks for revenge for his father's death, which was in the hands of humans who exploited her tribe's magic.

After being arrested for trying to kill her father's murderer, Archduke Sebestyén of Alisia gets her free in exchange for her tattoo knowledge, and she only accepts if he grants her three wishes. As the story passes, both start to save each other, Sebestyén saves a stubborn and famished Rea while bringing her food to her somewhat cottage, and Rea saves him with her peace and companionship.

Sebastyén's royal position changes drastically when the war ends, which makes him realize his relationship with Rea is in jeopardy and that he just can't have it all because of his father and the kingdom. While Rea's feelings are clear, he has to make a choice.

The chemistry with the main characters, their acceptance to their feelings, and the sexual tension are very clear, which makes you root for them even more. Although the pace was pleasant, I would've liked more examples of Rea's powers and the tribe's traditions as well as Sebastyén's intentions to change Suveri lives and its repercussions in the kingdom. This would've been well-developed in a longer book. At the same level, I think it's a shame that we can't see enough of Sebestyén's brother, Arnold.

I felt the ending was written in a lazy way, so this book left me wanting so much more. I still enjoyed it while it lasted.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I am sure I was ready for this book. It grabbed onto me from the very beginning. I love Rea, she is strong and bold that I wanted to see her get what she wanted. When she means the prince and warrior, Sebastyen, it was intense. It was intense to see if they would end up together or even survive. When I finished the book I wanted more since the book felt like it was just a smooth read. I went to see if the author had anything else. I could not find much about them.

The cover was beautiful and of course what brought me to the book. I did enjoy reading but it was a short, fast read.
Rea, a Suveri, part of a tribe that can create tattoos with devasting powers. The tattoos can be symbolic or magical.
Sebeztyen, a warrior, and destined to be Emporer of the very people who hate her kind, and who she blames for her father's death.
I didn't really like the ending. Left me wanting to know more! More about the Suveri and their tattoos and magic.

Thank you to publisher and NetGalley for the eARC

emerald book reviews

This book held so much potential but somewhere around the halfway mark it really fell apart and lost its way entirely. It was set up well enough. Readers were given two very different but intriguing protagonists, each with their flaws and quirks, although at times their personalities seemed rather stilted and stiff, their dialogue matching those traits. The world building was interesting, the lands and people and magic, but everything just did not flow as seamlessly as I would have hoped for, when so much detail and imagination was obviously used to construct such an idea.

Unfortunately, just as the story reached a point where I thought it was going in a truly exciting and wonderful route it ended abruptly. At first I thought the author was going to leave us on a cliffhanger for what would be a trilogy, so imagine my surprise when the entire plot wrapped up in a short and peculiar epilogue. I was left floundering and slightly confused, due to the fact that all of these issues, disrupted our protagonists in a big way and had just been introduced to corrupt to equilibrium a few sentences beforehand. So the reader was told how things were rectified and put to bed, yet never shown and that is the death knell for a fantasy romance book. Readers want to experience it all, not be told how it played out, past tense.

For me this book showed a lot of promise but it did not ignite that spark inside me, when it comes to falling in love with the fantasy quest. Even the passion and romance between Rea and our hero was lacklustre. There was no great connection for me, between the two. Although I didn't enjoy this story, I would still give the author another chance as the plot showed some potential for the future.

I loved the concept of this book. The magical elements and the tattoos were interesting and I found myself wanting to know so much more about Rea and her culture. The writing was good, although the lack of world-building was a little disappointing. It felt like I didn't really get enough to connect with the story. The ending was also an issue - it felt extremely rushed. That all being said, it was an overall pleasant experience reading this book and it flowed well.

Ink & Arrows is Shruthi Viswanathan’s debut novel. That stunning cover is what originally caught my attention here, but it was the description that made me curious enough to give this one a read. This is a world in which magic and tattoos merge into one.
Rea is a Suveri, and she is the one who makes the tattoos. The tattoos she makes can be either symbolic – or magical. Mourning the loss of her father, Rea takes a dangerous risk for the sake of revenge – and in that one moment, her entire life is changed.
Sebastyen is the prince, and one day he will be king. In the meantime, it is his job to ensure that the military is safe and led to victory. It may not be the most pleasant job out there, but he is good at it. But that is not the deepest desire of his heart.

“Even her own heartbeat froze as she said those words.”

Warnings: Ink & Arrows covers some intense subjects, including starvation, inhumane treatment, and death of a child (teenager?). The book itself says that it is only suitable for readers 18+, and I’m happy for that warning.

Ink & Arrow is a novel that had an absolutely stunning cover, and an interesting description. I instantly wanted to know about Rea and her plight – as well as the magic that she can ink onto skin. That was the real draw for me, if I’m being honest.
Unfortunately, the rest of this novel didn’t really hold up to my expectations. This might be my preference shining through. But this story honestly read like a quick foundation for a romance (and that is NOT a dig on romance, to be clear).
What I’m trying to say is: the romantic element in this story was the most thought out, while everything else seemed to slip by the wayside. For a novel that had some serious potential, that’s fairly disappointing.
There were some great elements here. Rea’s backstory and her ability to create magical tattoos, for example. But those parts weren’t really used nearly as much as I would have liked. Again, they felt more foundational than integral, if my distinction makes sense here.
I honestly would have liked to enjoy this story more, as the writing itself was quite good. I’ll be curious to see what else Shruthi Viswanathan comes up with, as I believe this is her debut novel (it’s the first one listed on Goodreads, at any rate).

'Ink & Arrows' is one of those titles that just grabs your heart with both hands, unapologetically, right at the start of the story and then never lets go.

It's no exaggeration to say I loved, LOVED this story, the richness of the main character and her romantic interest to be, and the odds against them even surviving. Let alone, doing so together.

Rea is a member of a tribe called the Suveri, absolutely loathed by the people in the city neighboring her small home. Her tribe specializes in tattoos with magical properties, both highly sought after and simultaneously scorned as something hideous. Sebestyén is a decorated General, a warrior, and a man destined to be Emperor of the very people who hate her kind. And she hates him.

Though Rea blames his kind for the death of her father, they strike a bargain. In exchange for teaching him the tattooing artistry of her people, he saves her from a dire circumstance and agrees to fulfill three wishes for her.

Their relationship is complicated, rife with conflict. They both harbor ideas of the other going into the agreement that may or may not be accurate and while she lives a life mostly free of restraints, his is quite the opposite.

Admittedly, I fell for him instantly. Though he was sometimes standoffish, there's also just a sense of rather adorable wickedness about him when we first meet him. The more she rails against him, the more amusing he seems to find her. And fine.. fair.. characters like that are a bit of a weakness for me.

The story is beautifully written, the dialogue feels easy, and honestly.. I was emotional and invested through the entire book. I have no idea if there will be more. I can barely find any information about the author, but that just intrigues me further.

I have only one complaint.. and upon looking back at the rest of the story, it's a small one. There's a point where things wrap up rather suddenly.. like the author just decided.. "that's it, I've done enough." We're sort of forwarded through a series of events that impact everyone pretty dramatically and just given a neat little ending. I really feel the events were important enough we should have experienced some of them.. but there's just.. 'decision' - 'time passes' - 'end.'

Nonetheless, I can tell you.. I hope there will be more. I want to see what the future holds for the people in the world of Ink & Arrows. I want to read more work by this author and only yesterday will be soon enough. No later.