Ink and Bone
Author: Rachel Caine
Series: The Great Library #1
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Publisher: NAL
Summary:
Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly — but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.
Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service.
When he inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life — and soon both heretics and books will burn….
First Sentence: “Hold still and stop fighting me,” his father said, and slapped him hard enough to leave a mark.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review.
My Review:
I’ve never read any of Rachel Caine’s books before, nor had I ever planned to. Vampires are old news now and have never interested me. Caine’s other book, Prince of Shadows, didn’t interest me either for some reason even though I’m a huge fan of retellings. I wasn’t remotely interested in Ink and Bone either, until I saw all the hype building around it and thought hey, why not give it a try?
“Call it a business deal, boy; it gets you what you crave, and it lends us advantage. Give it an honest go. Fair warning/l should you go and give up, or fail, you’ll get nothing else from this family from this day on. Not a penny.” (28)
I was very surprised how well-written Ink and Bone was. I know I sound snobby and rude when I say this, but I automatically assume books about vampires – with the exception of Richelle Mead since her books are so popular – are not written well since a majority of vampire books I’ve read before are under par. Ink and Bone, meanwhile, was written extremely well; the writing of the book made it a fluid and enjoyable read. Reading Ink and Bone makes me tempted to read Rachel Caine’s vampire series – as long as there are no love triangles in it of course.
The world-building in Ink and Bone was amazing too. Rachel Caine went in depth with everything related to the world-building – I can literally feel and picture the world she created without a problem. I am in awe with the descriptions Caine used and have no questions left about the world she created. I am most certainly eager to learn more about the world Caine created in the sequel.
“You should be more careful,” she said.
He froze cold inside. She knows. She knows about my family. (129)
Even though Ink and Bone is classified as a fantasy with a bit of historical fiction, the majority of Ink and Bone felt like it was a dystopian to me, especially after I finished reading the book. The Great Library of Alexandria in Ink and Bone felt like the evil government suppressing everyone in dystopians – the library has the same strict rules, same methods to deal with people who don’t fit their ideals, and all the same restrictions and violence used to control people like the evil government in dystopians do.
Overall, I really enjoyed Ink and Bone and I think a majority of you guys would really enjoy the book too. In addition, Rachel Caine will definitely be an author whose books I’ll definitely be checking out.
I just started reading this one last night – I’m so glad that it’s well written and lives up to the hype!
Hannah recently posted…Review: Dumplin’ – Julie Murphy
i’m glad you end up really enjoying this one coz the reviews so far has been awesome and i think the world building sounds epic! i can’t wait to get my own copy soon!
Yay :D I’m so glad you ended up surprised by this book, in a good way. Gorgeous writing is always a plus :) I’m happy you liked this one sweetie. I’m curious about it :) Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it. <3
Carina Olsen recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday #196
I’m glad you enjoyed Ink and Bone! I’m a big Rachel Caine fan (although I haven’t read any of her books in while) so I’m pretty excited to get my hands on a copy of this. I’ve read that the world-building is great in a lot of reviews, which is always nice to know. Great review!
Zareena @ The Slanted Bookshelf recently posted…Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
never read this author before either; interesting about the Great Library of Alexandria
I may give this a try. So hard to find vampire books I actually like!
Hannah Davies recently posted…Review: EMMY AND OLIVER by Robin Benway
I have read this book! I hadn’t heard or read anything from Rachel Caine before but I really enjoyed this book! It had it’s faults, but the thing that made it wonderful in my eyes is the diversity of the characters and the alternate history could have actually happened! Both are just awesome things to read about! Can’t wait until the second one comes out.
I am in agreement about seeing a book is about vampires and assuming right away thats its not going to be written very well(I’ve read enough and have seen a pattern). But your review has given me hope that that genre can be saved. Cant wait to give this book a go :)
Glad you enjoyed this book. I just bought it recently, and I’ll now move it up on my TBR list. Cannot wait to read it! I hadn’t heard of her either, except recently I saw a few book bloggers add her book to their TBR list, etc. So glad I decided to buy the book.
Not going to lie, I’m a huge Rachel Caine fan and I’m totally, ridiculously excited to get my hands on this book, but I’m not buying books right now because my TBR is huuugggeee! Anyway, I think I need to take a leaf from your book with reviews, yours is concise while still covering all bases and getting your opinion and feelings on the books across. I also liked the quotes you chose to include. You’re also quite chatty, I felt like you were talking to me to be honest! While still being professional!
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In glad you liked this! I was unsure myself when I grabbed it but I’m seeing a lot of good things and I’m excited to read it!
I’m glad you enjoyed it. I thought about this one for a while. I know there’s a lot of hype about it. But sometimes all the hyped books fall flat for me. I’ll definitely give it a try after this review. Thanks so much for your honest opinion. Have a great one and happy reading!
Helena Reads (@BookNerdAddict) recently posted…TTT: Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession
This is a book I’m excited to read. After reading your review i’m even more excited!! Thanks!
Great post, Kelly! I received an eARC for review, but I’ve been putting off reading for awhile now . . . as you were, I am also a bit hesitant to pick up this book. After reading your review, I definitely think I should at least give it a try. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Julia Anne @ Peach Print recently posted…#BookProbs: Ten Struggles Bibliophiles Face
I’m also not a huge vampire fan but I’ve been looking for a good vampire related fantasy book to change my mind, so hope to pick this up soon :)
Great review! I totally love this book and I admit I fell in love with the cover first so I’m very happy when I read the story, it was so good!
I’ve never read any of Rachel Caine’s books before either. The summary is interesting and I appreciate detailed world-building. Thanks for your review, I’m adding Ink and Bone to my TBR list.
Rachel Caine is one of those authors I keep thinking I should check out and since there’s been so many great reviews for this, I think I’ll have too! Glad to see you enjoyed this! Good world building is always a plus! Great review, Kelly.
Cyn @ Book Munchies recently posted…Teaser Tuesday: The Art of Sinning
I have been DYING to get my hands on this book!! I can’t wait to read it. I haven’t read Caine’s vampire series either, though I’ve heard it’s good. I do want to read Prince of Shadows, too, rhough I haven’t gotten to it ywt. But this book — from the moment I read the synopsis I was NEEDY. I have it on hold at my library, but apparently they still haven’t gotten the order yet (well, either that or the library staff is passing it around before it goes in circulation!). If I have to wait much longer I’ll probably just break down and order it!
Glad you were surprised in a GOOD way when you read this :-) That’s always a good thing, to have your expectations exceeded rather than falling short. And yes, I agree with you (even though I haven’t read it, ha!), based on what I’ve read I’d say the book is definitely a dystopian. I guess it can be that AND historical fantasy!
Super excited for this book! I’m glad you liked this book. Thanks for the great review.
Emma recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday: All We Have is Now
I actually got this book a while ago because the hype, the cover, and the blurb–all of it caught my attention. It sounded so different from things I’ve read. I tried starting it, and while I agree that it does have amazing writing, I felt it would be really slow, so I put it on hold. Amazing review, by the way! Kind of makes me want to pick it up now.
It’s good to hear you’ve enjoyed this one as well. I’ve seen only good reviews about it and I can’t wait to read it myself (when I find the time with school and all, that is). Great review, Kelly! Brief and on point. :D
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Can’t wait to read this!
Okay I want to read this one also, but I haven’t picked it up yet. The world that is described sounds fascinating.
Lisa Bretherick recently posted…Book Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray
I had no idea this was based off the Great Library of Alexandria! I haven’t read a lot about it and it’s history but it’s definitely an interesting topic. I definitely need to make sure this is on my Goodreads TBR though because I’m okay with it feeling more like a dystopian.
Skylee @ thenightgirl recently posted…Surprise Mini Haul!
This book has been getting some mixed reviews, but I still can’t wait to read it! Nice review!
Omg this is one of my I NEED TO READ ASAP Books and i am so glad you liked it!
The only Vampire books i liked was of course Twilight *yeah just the first* and vampire Academy and The Vampire Diaries and I LOVED watching Buffy lol.
Your Review made me even more Excited i love when book assumptions are proven wrong.
I haven’t read any of the other books by the author either. They really haven’t interested me all that much. Until Ink and Bone, which I am very much looking forward to it. Even more so now that I have read your review!
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I really liked your review. I agree, I read the first book of the Morganville Vampires and I never really got into it. I enjoyed your opinion on the writing and the plot. Thank you!
Catchy title and a very interesting book! I also haven’t read books written by Rachel Caine but I will look it up. :) Great review! Thank you for this recommendation!
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I’m really glad you enjoyed this! I was somewhat torn at first but I can’t wait to read it now!
This book has been on my TO BUY list for a while now and I really should get it ASAP. Great review!
Kayla (Michaela) recently posted…Grey by E.L. James (Fifty Shades #4)
I am really looking forward to reading this one! I’ve heard a lot of great things about it!
Denise H recently posted…Book Review → Vision in Silver
I’m glad you liked this book. Before reading this review, I wasn’t sure about this book, but now I’m really looking forward to this book!
Emma recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday: Queen of Shadows
So this books sounds very interesting and intriguing and I love love love the cover! I really can’t wait to read this book, but your review made me want it even more!
Fantasy Angel recently posted…Join Me For #ARE15
I use to be such an huge fan of her The Morganville Vampires series. It was one of the first YA PNR series I read. After discovering urban fantasy/adult PNR I kind of stepped away from PNR YA. This review/book makes me want to jump right back in, so THANK YOU for that
While this book looks interesting I have heard both good and bad reviews so it makes me nervous as to whether or not I would like it but I think I may give it a try to see if I like it or not.
I am so happy to see how much you liked this book! I have read quite a few of Rachel Caine’s books and this one definitely sounds good to me. What’s not to like about a book about a library and books, right? I like dystopians, historical fiction and fantasy and this seems like a bit of everything. Thanks for your great review!
I’m glad you liked “Ink and Bone”! I have a copy of it on my bookshelf, but I have been too busy to read it! Crossing my fingers that I can make time for it soon…
Great review!
Yes I completely agree with you! The world building and characters were fantastic! Glad you liked this! Great review :)