Teen/YA Fantasy- Book 1 of The Betwixt and Between Chronicles.

Will receives a signed first edition of his favorite book in the Byrrus series from an anonymous gifter. He opens the book and suddenly finds himself in the setting of the book. He learns that he is there to help the World of the Written survive. His friends from school also receive magical powers to help fight off the evil witch Raina. Will they be able to save the World of the Written?

This book is very appropriate for the age level. It has a very clever and creative plot. It ends on a cliffhanger to set up for the next book in the series. For me, the characters seemed to lack personality. I also lost interest in the reading quickly. I found myself mostly reading the dialogue to get to the end of the story faster. I wasn’t really in the mood to read a fantasy so that could have been why it was so difficult for me to connect with the story.
If you enjoy reading fantasy, you will enjoy this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Smith Publicity for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This book has a lot of good points and I think it would be perfect for those just starting out in the YA genre. Although the premise for this book has been used in other series, I liked what the author did with this.

The characters were a bit flat in some places, as was the dialogue, but for the most part that didn't kill the overall enjoyment of the story. This book has a lot of redeeming qualities. For one thing, I liked the descriptiveness of the author and the way the story moved from one point to the next without getting bogged down by minutia. This will likely hold the attention of a young reader without issue.

I also enjoyed the way ideas were explored in this story, as it said a lot about the future potential for development in this series. The author left certain avenues open, making me, as the reader, wonder what might happen next. That is important for the first book in a series.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I think young readers will approve.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

this was such a well done young adult novel, it was a great start to the series. It did what I wanted it to do, it built this world and made me care about the characters.

While this is a cute story. It has been done before but I do believe younger kids would still love this. Like mid/right befo ya

I am so grateful to be valley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

The story started put very exciting and foreshadowed some interesting things. A boy who suddenly can enter the world where stories live is a great premise. I lost interest when too much of the initial mysteries were explained early on and the 'rare' ability was easily conferred on the main characters best friends. With no clear, immediate problem to be solved I just couldn't keep reading. I hope to return to it but for now the storyline just didnt hold my attention.

3/5 stars for good writing and great voice.

This middle grade read was enjoyable as an adult. It was well written, enjoyable characters, and didn't talk down to younger readers.

The Kingdom of Ink and Paper has a great premise - Will Morgan's favorite book is actually real - as is everything written and remembered. The idea behind this book and the series to come is a fun concept perfect for Middle School readers. Most Middle School readers will enjoy the story for what it is, although older readers and adults who enjoy reaming Middle Fiction will notice some inconsistencies that might annoy.

Will Morgan gains a rare power - but then so do all of his friends - if it is so rare, how do they all get these powers? Will and his friends are 14, but behave as if they are much older. The adults in the story often have a very childish aspect) although perhaps this is due to them being written this way originally?)

Overall, it is an easy read with a fun central concept.

A few weeks ago I learned about Netgalley. I was searching for an arc (advanced reader copy) of a book due out this summer and was led to Netgalley. This was the first book to take a chance on me and give me a copy for my review. The story sounded like a pretty awesome read. Almost like the television show Once Upon a Time.
As I began reading my excitement ended. The main character is 14 but is written much older. Some of the older characters have a very juvenile feel to them. The whole book has a middle-grade feel to it and should not be marketed to young adult readers.
When the author came across a problem in the plot he explains it away by adding more characters and giving them magic that they shouldn't have. The entire storyline of the characters going to school and doing homework felt very unnecessary. There is also a lot of info-dumping early in the story. The plot was very confusing to follow.
The book began to drag on and on until I never thought it would end. When it did finally end it was a massive cliffhanger and was not satisfying at all.
I really wanted to like this book but it just wasn't good.

The premise, a parallel world populated and created by authors from this world, is fairly common. Newman also has his hero, Will, follow the 'Harry Potter' conceit, one young man must save his world. After all, who wouldn't want to visit the setting of their favorite book? Newman has taken the wise path building his world as realistically as he can. The World of the Written is visually concrete, as is the portrayal of our contemporary America. The adults, both fictional and 'real' are in the back ground save for Tam.Tam is a powerful figure who guides Will and the reader into this tale of expanding magics. At times the exposition brings the action to a screeching halt, which may put off the reluctant reader. The ending is satisfactory leaving enough tales untold for another day. A good first effort.


Full disclosure: I received this ARC from netgalley and Sandcrast Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for this opportunity.

I want to thank Netgalley for giving me early access to this book. I was very intrigued by the description of this book but unfortunately just couldn't relate to the characters and found myself consistently drifting to other things. I'm saddened that I wasn't able to finish this but am very grateful for the chance to read it.

omni sent pov was not the way to go and the character did not act his own age which pulled from the story. You can see my full review on goodreads

This is definitely a middle grade book. I must say, I was disappointed. I have read other middle grade books with a similar basic plot that have immensely interested me (Inkheart for example). This was just ok. The characters weren't that exciting, and the big developments seemed even far fetched for middle grade fantasy. The storyline wasn't awesome, and it didn't seem to get resolved (yes, there is a cliffhanger). I think that the author had too many ideas that needed to be crammed into the first book. I would have liked to see a more meager, less cliff-hanging first book that excited me into reading book 2.

Thank you publishers and Netgalley for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review was written by my 12-year-old son:


In my opinion the quality of this book was fair. While the plot and characters were interesting, it reminded me of Here There Be Dragons, and there were several smaller plot holes. In the story the characters gain their powers much too quickly, and there isn't much of a real challenge. However, I did like the involvement of Characters, or people from the story that the Writers are in. Overall I would say that there was not a lot of character development outside of powers/abilities. I would give Kingdom of Ink and Paper a 3 out of 5 stars.

Kingdom of Ink and Paper
by Matthew Newman
Sancrest Publishing LLC
Middle Grade | Sci Fi & Fantasy | Teens & YA
Pub Date 02 Mar 2021



I am reviewing a copy of Kingdom or Ink and Paper through Sancrest Publishing and Netgalley:


What if every book you read, every story you heard was true?


Will Morgan is a high school on a school trip to Boston, he does not expect to witness a murder. But after best selling author Arthur O’Neill is found dead, Will realizes there’s more to this writer’s books than just words.


Will receives a a mysterious package: a copy of The Redstone Keep, one of O’Neill’s famous novels, after O’Neill’s death. When reading the book, Will passes out and is introduced to a man named Tam Desmond, The Redstone Keep’s protagonist. It is then that Tam explains that he is a resident of the World of the Written, a universe parallel to our own where everything ever published by humans comes to life.


In his conversations with Tam, Will learns that something was targeting Arthur, and the same force that killed Arthur is now after Will. Once armed with new powers and a sword that is magical, Will sets out on a journey to solve the mysteries surrounding the murder; however, all the while, Arthur’s death may have just been the start of something much more sinister.



I give Kingdom of Ink and Paper five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

I would like to thank NetGalley for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thought the concept was brilliant! You have people that live in the world of the writers, and characters from stories, that inhabit their own unique world. I enjoyed the friendships portrayed, but would have liked to see a bit more character development. For an adult, there were many plot holes, and it was difficult to stick with it. How is it possible for so many to become Writers, when it is a rare power? Perhaps, it will be explained in Part 2 since it ends in a cliffhanger. I am curious to see what direction the next book will take us in. I could see students in 5th or 6th grade enjoying this book. I can imagine creating some fun classroom activities to accompany the reading.

I’m going to call it quits. DNF
I’m not getting into the story or the characters. Clunky dialogue. And, if I’m being honest, I don’t really understand the premise despite being relentlessly explained. Disappointed as it seemed like a good concept and others have rated favorably. Thanks to Net Galley for the advance copy.

Have you ever wondered about what the characters of your favorite books are doing when you close the cover? For most of us Readers, there is nothing more, but for a few born with the talent of Writers, those worlds and characters have a life of their own that continues even after the pages are shut.

Kingdom of Ink and Paper follows Will, a fourteen year old who suddenly comes into the Writer's Eye. It turns out that the world from his favorite series is in danger, and he is the only one with the power to intervene. Kingdom of Ink and Paper follows Will and his friends as they learn how to navigate their new powers and the new world.

Although the concept of this book is intriguing (who hasn't been curious about the rest of their favorite characters' lives?) , the story itself falls flat. Too much is contrived, conveniently falling into place by the hand of the author. The five teenagers (Will's friends all manage to become Writers as well, despite everyone in the story talking about how rare it is) do not have distinct enough personalities to feel as though we know them.

TLDR: Interesting concept, lacks depth that would make it great literature.

This felt like a pretty standard middle grade fantasy featuring characters learning that their favorite stories and characters are real. The pacing and plot was solid and would keep younger readers' attentions. I felt that this book did a good job of not being overbearing or repetitive as well. I wish the characters had been a bit more fleshed out and developed personally, but can see how that might slow down pacing and be a turn off for some.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Kingdom of Ink and Paper in exchange for an honest review.

Kingdom of Ink and Paper is a well plotted "characters find out book world is real" story (yes, that's basically its own genre at this point). I like the way the magic was explained without being over explained and the plot structure made a lot of sense, if a bit cliche at times. This would probably be best enjoyed by the lower-aged end of YA audiences and I think could serve better with more developed characters. Yes, younger YA/middle grade sometimes has very blank-slate style MCs to allow readers to project onto them, but since there are so many books with similar plots, this story really needed to be carried by its characters to stand out from the crowd and was really lacking on that front.