Ink (The Paper Gods, #1)

by Amanda Sun

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

Ink is most definitely a unique book, but I think my expectations were a bit too high. Don't get me wrong, I did like it. It's just that while it was very different, and interesting, there were also several things that bothered me about it. It also took me awhile to get into. The story kicks off with Katie forgetting her shoes at school, and having to go back even though there's a very public break up going on. Of course, she eavesdrops a bit, and then when angry exgirlfriend throws down jerkwad exboyfriend's (Tomohiro, who'd you have met already if you read Shadow) sketchbook, Katie sees the drawings move and confronts Tomohiro. He essentially blows her off and tells her to stay away. Does she? Of course not, because she knows something weird is happening and she wants to know what.

Katie spends the first part of Ink stalking Tomohiro. Seriously, this girl follows him everywhere. She even asks her aunt for a bike, since stalking while mobile is more effective. I get that she was really curious to see what he was hiding, but it was still weird. She doesn't know him at all, and really whatever he's up to is none of her business. Yes, I'd be concerned if I saw drawings move, and if my own doodles attacked me before my pen exploded, but still, stalking is a little extreme. Tomohiro also does that typical, broody "you should stay away from me" spiel, which I think just made Katie more determined. Eventually he shares his secret and they start dating. I wasn't really into the romance either after their strange beginning, but at least it wasn't instalove. They hang out a lot before doing any kissing, and don't pull out the "I love you"s.

I absolutely loved the setting and the premise. It's nice to get out of the US for awhile and experience a different culture. Katie has come a long way into fitting into Japan, but she was still learning as she went about everyday life. It was interesting to learn more about everything from the language, food, school, living, transportation, history and more. It was also easy to picture the cherry blossoms covering everything. There's also a lot of information about the gods, or kami. Tomohiro is one, which is why his drawings can come to life. But he's extra powerful in that his drawings can leave the page. This is why some dangerous people are after him, in order to use him as a weapon.

The plot of Ink was something else I'm a little conflicted on. While I loved the idea of paper gods and Tomohiro struggling with his power. I was a bit annoyed that Katie had to be super special, too, and have a connection to the ink. She's not a kami, thankfully, but I would have liked it better if she was a regular, American girl and let the Japanese have their own supernatural race. Then about halfway in, the Yakuza come into play. They're the ones who want Tomohiro in order to gain more power. This did get exciting at times, but for the most part it just made me want to sign into my fake Facebook account and play Mafia Wars. I just found the war between kami and a gang to be strange.

Overall, I did enjoy Ink. The plot and romance could have been better, but I loved the world building and mythology! The ending was also extremely predictable, and I had to roll my eyes at Katie's behavior. It is a bit of a cliffhanger. Nothing too huge, but it does end in what seems to be the middle of a scene. I have no clue where the story is going from there, but I'll probably continue the series to find out.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.