Ink in the Blood (and my tears)

Celia Sand and her best friend, Anya Burtoni, are inklings for the esteemed religion of Profeta. Using magic, they tattoo followers with beautiful images that represent the Divine’s will and guide the actions of the recipients. It’s considered a noble calling, but ten years into their servitude Celia and Anya know the truth: Profeta is built on lies, the tattooed orders strip away freedom, and the revered temple is actually a brutal, torturous prison. Their opportunity to escape arrives with the Rabble Mob, a traveling theater troupe. Using their inkling abilities for performance instead of propaganda, Celia and Anya are content for the first time . . . until they realize who followed them. The Divine they never believed in is very real, very angry, and determined to use Celia, Anya, and the Rabble Mob’s now-infamous stage to spread her deceitful influence even further. To protect their new family from the wrath of a malicious deity and the zealots who work in her name, Celia and Anya must unmask the biggest lie of all—Profeta itself.

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Suzie's Review ll 4.5/5 🌟

Ink in the Blood may well be my favorite read so far this year. It had everything I want in a book: beautiful writing/scenery, characters that I would fight for, people with ambiguous motives, a bittersweet ending, and, most importantly, tons of casual representation!

I am a big fan of books that make me feel enough emotion to bring me to tears, and oh boy did this book make me cry. In fairness, it probably wouldn’t have impacted me as much as it did if I hadn’t read the entire thing in one day, but eh. It is what it is. And what “it” is is tear stains now forever trapped between the pages of this book. Oops.

But it was not all sad! There were a lot of brilliantly hilarious moments within this book as well. And tons of really neat stage tricks! But I think my favorite part of this book is the duality of each of the characters. Everyone has two faces they show to the world, and it was fascinating watching them switch from one to another at a moment’s notice.

I also really loved the magic system of this book. I don’t think I’ve ever seen ink magic used quite like this in any of the books I’ve read before. And the way the entire religion centers around it? It is *chef’s kiss*