Rosie’s #Bookreview of #YA #UrbanFantasy INK by Jobie Baldwin

Ink by Jobie Baldwin

3.5 stars

Ink is a young adult urban fantasy story and the first book in the Tribe series.

It is narrated by Christian, an English teenager, who discovers a strange tattoo parlour. Here he finds that he’s been chosen, along with four others, to save the world. The premise is a popular one, so how will this author make it his own? The action-packed plot takes Christian and the Tribe across the world as they help fight aliens who are intent on disrupting the already unstable effects of global warming.

The author packs a lot into this book, and I admired her attempt to make the serious plight of our planet into a readable storyline. I preferred the first half of the book, where we got to know about the ancient gods and Christian. The world building was okay, not too heavy―but then more teenagers were introduced, and character building lost out to an excess of action, super-powers, technology and weapons.

If you enjoy super-hero style action adventurers then this book might be for you. I liked the ancient gods theme, while the alien’s home-world was unexpected and worked well. The London setting was refreshing compared to an American one which I often come across in this genre, although the secondary one in Oxford felt a little more forced. I suspected Oxford was chosen because it might be recognised by international readers, but I didn’t feel the setting was properly utilised to enrich the story.

Christian and Ben were my favourite characters, but some of the others felt stereotyped, especially as the story galloped to an end. There’s a touch of romance, but it needed an injection of teenage hormonal angst. It was rather clinical and clichéd and thus failed to convince me.

Overall, there was much to commend about this and I believe that the author’s writing will grow with the next book. The first couple of chapters from book two were available at the end of this book and they did intrigue me.

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A powerful god, a magical tattoo and a rebellious teenager. What could possibly go wrong?

Christian, an unruly English teenager, stumbles onto a mysterious tattoo parlor. Possessed by the Rune God, Hagalaz, he becomes immortal, gifted with magical powers which allow him to harness the forces of nature.

Only problem? Hagalaz God of Disruption, is intent on making Christian’s life a living hell.

Oh, and did I mention the Settlers, a mysterious group with a dark and devastating secret?

It is up to Christian and his new Tribe of four, each gifted with their own celestial passenger, to uncover that secret.

But nothing is what it seems, and it will take much more than the powers of a few long-forgotten gods to stop the impending global disaster that threatens to destroy everyone and everything in its path.

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