Rain (The Paper Gods, #2)

by Amanda Sun

[jeannamichel]

Can I make that 4 1/2 stars? I love this book. But there's something about the ups and downs of the characters that make me hesitate in giving it 5 stars. It certainly does not suffer from sequel syndrome, I can tell you that.

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In Ink, the first of the Paper Gods series, Katie chose to stay in Japan. She felt a connection there that she would not feel anywhere else. However, her decision to stay may have not been the wisest one. Ink no longer stays on the page, seeming to have a mind of its own when it starts raining, bleeding, and biting ink. Katie and Tomohiro need to figure out how to stop the ink from destroying them and their relationship.

Rain is the sequel to the fantastic book, Ink. With sequels, most readers shy away from reading them right away because expectations fly high. Most sequels are known to be letdowns—not as good as the first. However, Rain is definitely not one of those sequels. It does not suffer from sequel syndrome.

Amanda Sun is able to bring the intricacies of what comes with a traveler in a foreign country. She tackles issues like understanding another culture’s language, as well as its traditions. As foreign as Japan’s culture may be to some readers, she makes the characters quite relatable in discussing issues like bullying, jealousy, and more.

Unfortunately, not all of the characters win your heart. Even in the first book, I felt it was difficult to warm up to the male lead, Tomohiro. I constantly questioned the romance between Katie and him because something didn’t add up. Why does Katie like him so much? As much as their romance isn’t explained, except for the experiences they have shared, the two characters continue to be madly in love. To be fair, Ink deserves a reread before any more judgment upon their relationship. I just never found myself routing for Tomohiro. Ever since the instance in Ink involving the love hotel occurred, Jun seemed like a much better candidate for Katie’s love interest. In Rain, the certain love hotel scene [from Ink] is mentioned several times, brought up by Tomohiro, usually making some joke about “that one time” but I didn’t like it then and I don’t like it now. I still haven’t gotten quite over it yet. Despite my character preferences, I enjoyed reading Rain.

Amanda Sun certainly has a gorgeous series here that I wish was given more attention. Not only is the premise captivating and beautiful, but Sun pairs the story with water paint sketches that take your breath away. Also, it is set in Japan. Think a culture seeping with beauty. Think history that goes deeper than most realize. Think awesome.

It is the perfect continuation to the series. Rain is an extremely fast read, so fast that if you blink, you may miss the whole book. Sadly, the book was over to0 quickly but I look forward to reading the next in the coming weeks.