Magdalena's gift is a double edged sword in this intriguing novel. It's a well written entertaining read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book very much, in part because it was so unique. The storytelling was unique in it's flow but the author handles that part extremely well.

This is a well-written and imaginative novel with interesting characters. The premise is unique and unusual. The book is an enjoyable read.

Once again, I must apologize for having requested this book in the first place because I can't finish this. I'm over 20 pages in and I am just not enjoying myself. The paragraphs are too long winded and I've already forgotten who everyone is/was.

This was a very strange and very sad little book, but one I quite enjoyed. Compulsively readable despite the formatting problems with my ebook, with mysteries I longed to untangle and characters I rooted for. The slightly nonlinear storytelling and alternating viewpoints could have been confusing or annoying in hands less deft, but Saunders navigates them well here.

As a lover of magical realism novels like Water For Chocolate or Love In The Time of Cholera, I thought that this book would be similar to those tales. It started off promising and I went into it intrigued by the characters, expecting more of Magdalena's story. Unfortunately, this book took me longer to complete. The pacing was a lot slower than I'm used to. I think the author is very talented. There was just a disconnect for me that I couldn't pinpoint.

This is truly a breathtakingly beautiful book. Even thinking of it now, I get goosebumps. There aren't many novel I slow to read because I don't want it to end; this was one of those books.
A rich family saga with magical elements, the interwoven relationships of the characters are so layered and true, it really did take my breath away. This book has everything: mystery, romance, realisation of the self, heartbreak, redemption. It's a glorious read. I miss Magdalena in particular already. She is written so honestly, she could walk off the page.
I cannot thank you enough for this joyful read and cannot wait to purchase copies for purchase library service. My only gripe is the cover, as it feels marketed for YAD readers and I strongly feel this would appeal to adults across the spectrum.

Lovely meditation on how our bodies tell stories, even the ones we wish to keep secret. Layered with world travel and scenes of archival research. Basically all the things I love.

What would it be like to know the most important facts of any person’s life just by looking at them? Not because of any psychic ability per se, but because to your eyes their skin is covered in words and sentences—psychic tattoos if you will. This is life for Magdalena. She doesn’t see people the way the rest of us do. What she sees is every person’s life written out on their skin—tattoos of the critical information of their personal histories. As a child this trick is laughed off, but as she gets older she learns to stay quiet with what she sees on people’s skin. In Adelia Saunders’s debut novel, Indelible, this ‘gift’ comes at a painful price that leads Magdalena into the path of two men she’s never met, one of whom has her name just above his cheekbone.

Neil, and his father, Richard are the two men. From these three characters Indelible moves backwards and forwards, holding onto its humanity even in the face of the magical realism of Magdalena’s abilities. The story converges in London where Saunders brings all three into contact, but without any full understanding of the other’s importance. Richard does not know that Neil is in Paris nor does Neil know his father is there. Each is on a mission: Neil to deliver a gift from his father to Magdalena’s mother and Richard is ever on the hunt for the famous mother who abandoned him as child to relatives. Even Magdalena is traveling through for a reason. She is returning her childhood friend’s ashes to the Lithuania and is burdened with the knowledge that she foresaw her friend’s death, but did not understand what it meant in time to save her.

Indelible takes place in locations as dissimilar as the Colorado prairie and Lithuania, but the overall atmosphere is subdued and rainy. This is not a criticism, more a recognition of how well Saunders does her job. If your eyes reflect the truth and fortune of every single human you see then the only way to cope is to not see clearly. Magdalena accomplishes this by not wearing her glasses unless absolutely necessary. The world is grey and blurry to her—otherwise it is impossibly painful.

A similar kind of blurring takes place as Saunders moves from character to character. Each has a substantial backstory and at various points the intersection of plot and narrator becomes confusing. Looking so closely at the intimate details of each one causes a bit of ‘not seeing the forest for the trees’ effect—until you step back, it’s hard to get a sense of how everything works together. It is enough to be disorienting, but not enough to impact the novel as a whole.

Despite how unusual it is, Saunders does not make Magdalena’s condition the main-tent attraction of Indelible. Her self-imposed myopia is in contrast to Richard, whose tunnel vision of obsession over his mother blinds him to the living people around him. In this way vision permeates Indelible—what we see, what we chose to ignore, where we focus. It is an integral part of the novel’s larger theme—people longing for connection. And how, sometimes, even when we look hard we may still miss what’s most important.

DNF @ 69%

I was really intrigued by the premise but after picking this novel up I can say 100% that it didn't live up to my expectations. I thought the novel would be more about Magdalena's gift than anything else but her gift felt like it was only a small part of the story. Most of the time I was bored with the novel and had a hard time caring about the characters or the plot development.

The opening chapter was confusing and rambled on without giving enough details about the skin writing to keep me interested. I had to stop.

Trigger warning: suicide, suicide attempt, and sexual harassment

The premise of this novel greatly intrigued me. What would it be like to see words on someone's skin and know their fate? How would I respond to that kind of gift? How does Magdalena respond? I thought this would encompass the bulk of the novel based on the synopsis but the story centers more on Magdalena, Richard, and Neil and how their paths intertwine.

Magdalena lives a diminished life because of her gift. She quickly learned as a child it wasn't normal to see words written on skin and that no one else could see them. She stops telling people the stories written on their skin and she even starts wearing strong prescription glasses so the world becomes blurry and she can't see the words at all. She carries a great deal of guilt with her after her best friend dies, feeling the clues were there all along on Lina's skin and she could have prevented it. This was the most interesting part of the novel, though trigger warnings abound. The tone of the novel made some of the content choices extremely unexpected and hard to read at times and for that reason, I recommend this with reservations.

Magdalena, Richard, and Neil are all waking up to their lives in different ways and much of this awakening predicates on how their paths cross. There was strong character development throughout, particularly as Magdalena grappled with her ability, but the story moved slower than I would have liked. I did, however, like how the author lets us come to our own conclusions about each character's history and choices. There are no tidy conclusions But as they began to move forward, I was left with a sense of hope.

Very unique. Haunting, at times very bleak, poignant. It then has very inspiring moments. Sometimes I had to just stop and read a paragraph or sentence again and again because it resonated so much with me and it was so beautifully written. I really look forward to reading whatever else this author comes up with! It's not quite perfect and some parts bothered me, I wished a few things were different, but it was really a great story and deserves a strong four and a half stars. Make sure to give it all of your attention, this is not a book to speed read.

Magdalena has an interesting and heartbreaking ability: she sees words written on everyone's skin. They can be names of those important to them, dates, events, and even the cause of their own death. How terrible it would be to know exactly how most everyone you see will die. What a crushing reminder of mortality! Thankfully, her vision requires glasses. She regularly chooses to leave them off so the words on everyone are blurred, even though it makes travel difficult. She would rather take photos of people, since the words don't show up on film.

Neil is an American student studying in Paris. He meets Magdalena in order to exchange Christmas presents from his father to her mother, who know each other. He feels strangely drawn to the woman who removes her glasses as soon as he gets close. Magdalena is left confused by what she did manage to see on Neil's skin: her own name written on his face.

Richard, Neil's father, is also in Paris. He's a teacher who retired after some kind of scandal with a student. Neil doesn't even know he's in Paris. Their relationship seems fairly strained. He's there researching his own mother... a famous author who gave him away as soon as he was born and wanted nothing to do with him. Richard is convinced that she returned once when he was a child, and seeks proof... even though everyone, including the author of the newest biography of his mother, insists he's mistaken.

These three very interesting people all come together and separate in different ways. It seems they're meant to have an effect on each other's lives... and we wonder exactly what will happen the whole book. Very intriguing.

I was given an ARC of this book from Net Galley and Bloomsbury USA, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

Indelible by Adelia Saunders

Indelible by Adelia Saunders is the story of Magdalena, and Richard and Neil and how their fates intertwine. Magdalena sees people’s lives literally written on their skin. As a child, the sentences looked like funny markings but she can still remember when she first learned to read and blurted a horrible truth to her teacher. She was delighted when her vision blurred at a young age and uses her glasses only when absolutely necessary. Her battered shins may hate her but her soul, at least, finds a certain peace in this solution. When Richard sends a Christmas present to her mom, he uses his son Neil as a carrier. Magdalena is happy to pick up the package but less delighted when she is forced to put on her glasses and sees her own name clearly on his skin. What can that mean?

An interesting take on how magical gifts can come with high prices, Indelible offers a slow burn romance within a literary fantasy/paranormal novel.

Memorable moment: When Neil and Magdalena meet:

Suddenly, she leaned in, looking right at him with strange intensity. Either he had something on his face or she was going to kiss him. Neil thought he might pass out. But instead she smiled, like something there had pleased her.

magdalena was born with a special gift. a terrible gift, actually. she can see words describing a person's fate written on their skin. she crosses paths with neil and richard beart, an estranged father and son, and what she sees written on their skin intrigues her. because somehow she is connected to them, but how?

and here's the thing. if you really want the answer to that question, this book won't answer it for you. but if you like books about journeys. about figuring out how the past informs the present. about how there's always more to the story than we think, then this is the book for you.

i enjoyed neil and magdalena's perspectives best, in part because their stories are more connected than richard's. richard spends most of his time investigating his biological mother's life and her final days in paris. his memories of her not jiving with the stories every one else tells. eventually he figures out a part of the story, but as readers we realize something more, the real truth. though if he will ever have the chance to figure that out for himself is a question mark too. but this quest of his feels very separate from the story that links magdalena and neil. and this made it feel like we were actually reading two separate stories. in some ways this book reminded me a lot of possession by a.s. byatt. which i had mixed feelings about. i liked indelible, but i also wanted both more and less. in the end though it is definitely a book worth reading.