Leora, the main character, was not sympathetic to me. Very whiny and self-centered. It was an intriguing premise but while being remembered through tattoos seems to me to actually be a good way to be forgotten. You see the cover of the book and know a summary of the plot but do you know the whole story? No, you have to read and really get into the story to know what and who and why. Book covers are only glimpses (if they relate to the story inside at all) and so the books of the skin of dead relatives, definitely a bit creepy, aren't telling the whole story.

I also felt the creation myth for Sainstone and getting marks was so improbable and even a bit unrealistic. Blaming the "blanks" (people who don't get tattoos and the "enemies" of the society) reminded me of certain periods in history and even ongoing events.

Yes, I have the book four stars but only because the author drew me and made me want to see what would happen. The writing was also fairly decent. Leora was all over the place, especially once truths start to be revealed. The ending was actually pretty predictable.

Hopefully, this isn't a drawn out series. The author could probably finish the predictable plot in one more book. ( )

Presto la recensione. ( )

What little worldbuilding was established in the beginning completely fell apart in the last quarter of this book. The characters' actions and motivations made no sense, and I wondered WTF was happening. So many characters did illegal things, but not only are none of them punished by the strict government, the main character is...rewarded beyond belief? She switches back and forth every other line in her loyalties. She goes through all that work to save her father, knowing somewhat why he needed saving, only to be shocked by the reveal and completely betray his memory? The unambiguous hypocrisy of the government doesn't raise any flags for the main character? What a frustrating mess. ( )

Listened to the audio book of this with my mom and we both very much enjoyed it and I look forward to reading the rest of this trilogy in the future with her. ( )

Ink is the first novel in the Skin Books trilogy by Alice Broadway.

Plot:
In Saintstone, everyone is tattooed and every important life event is recorded in tattoos. When a person dies, their skin is preserved in a book that chronicles and pays hommage to their life. This thought gives Leora, who dreams of becoming an inker herself, much peace when her own father dies. But then she glimpses a mark that should not be there, something that marks him as a traitor. With that realization, Leora’s entire life starts to unravel.

Ink is not exactly subtle in its metaphors about surveillance states and populism. It doesn’t need to be to be a good read – and that it certainly was. Even if you aren’t as into tattoos as I am.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2019/05/24/ink-alice-broadway/ ( )