A Blogger's Bookshelf: Ink and Bone

Well hey there!

Before I dive write in, I apologise if the format doesn't look too great- I'm restricted to writing this on my iPad, in some rather delightful 30c heat and sunshine (yay!).

Anyway. Earlier today, I finished a book for the first time in a couple of weeks. Not only was it the book to get me out of my reading rut, but it was also pretty darn amazing and had me hooked pretty badly. The book in question is Rachel Caine's new book, Ink and Bone, which is also the first book of a new series for her- Novels of the Great Library. 

As a rating, I give it a definite 9/10 (or 4.5/5 as I marked on Goodreads). It missed out on the full monty simply because I felt like it missed something, though I can't pinpoint what that something may be. The beginning of the book also took a little while to draw me in, though this could be because of my rut, and it wasn't really any longer than any other book would've taken. 

This novel really does have everything though. It's set in a futuristic World, only by 15 years or so, and yet the way you'll look at it will be completely different with how you see the World in front of you. There's a lot more control over the information which is allowed to be (legally) accessed, and in a result there's more of a black market. Who is it controlled by? The Great Library. I won't say much more, I don't want to spoil it to any of you who do go and read it (which you should...)!

All of the characters are realistic, likeable or dislikable depending on their position, and quite simply amazing. They all face challenges, mistakes, wounds- the usual. 

Skipping back to when I said the novel has everything- I wasn't kidding. There's an element of competition. It's not quite a brutal hunger games kind of competition, but it's also not simply a poker match either. You can also find action, and quite a lot of it too, described in great detail but not so much as to bore you with it whilst reading. Just the nail biting kind. Adventure is also there a little, as the characters travel a few times. It may or may not be surprising for me to tell you that there is also an element of romance in the novel- one of the relationships being super shocking due to the way it was announced and how it was so blindingly obvious yet not so at the same time... I suck at explaining these things. There's a teeny glimpse of magic thrown in too, which I'm pretty sure will be more of a focus in the next book.

So in summary, this book is pretty well-rounded, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you from going to sleep. All I can say now is that you should go and read it. I think you'll particularly like it if you also liked The Bone Season. 

Oh, and the ending is like, all the feels. Literally, all the feels. 

And finally, thank you Rachel Caine for writing an amazing book, the beginning of a new series for me to love, and for getting me out of my reading rut. And also for the nice conversation we had from my personal Twitter account. 

The second book of the series is expected to be out Summer 2016, so make sure you've all read up by then, or I... Correction- Rachel Caine- will feed you to the automatons.