Monday, July 15, 2013

Review: Indelible

INDELIBLE
The Twixt #1
Dawn Metcalf
Paranormal Young Adult
384 pages
HarlequinTEEN
Available July 30th
Source: eARC from publisher through NetGalley

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Some things are permanent.

Indelible.

And they cannot be changed back.

Joy Malone learns this the night she sees a stranger with all-black eyes across a crowded room—right before the mystery boy tries to cut out her eye. Instead, the wound accidentally marks her as property of Indelible Ink, and this dangerous mistake thrusts Joy into an incomprehensible world—a world of monsters at the window, glowing girls on the doorstep, and a life that will never be the same.

Now, Joy must pretend to be Ink’s chosen one—his helper, his love, his something for the foreseeable future...and failure to be convincing means a painful death for them both. Swept into a world of monsters, illusion, immortal honor and revenge, Joy discovers that sometimes, there are no mistakes.

Somewhere between reality and myth lies…

THE TWIXT.


MY THOUGHTS
Indelible is a story packed with potential, a strange world of monsters and men yanking Joy into their midst with sharp claws and hissing threats, and we quickly find ourselves wrapped up in the cloak of darkness now sitting heavily on her young shoulders, waiting for both literal and figurative illumination to help us navigate through the unfamiliar. There are times when this story truly shines, small moments seeming to reflect and scatter light and thus chase away some of our shadowed confusion, but just as we try to make our way toward those moments to grab hold–moths to the flame of promised answers–we find ourselves returned the muddy grays of a world we don’t really understand.

Joy is someone who, much like the story itself, has brief moments where we see the type of character she could be–strong, loyal and extraordinarily accepting of the paranormal twist her life has taken–but before she reaches the line that would burn her into our memories, she always takes a step back, retreating into a sea of average young women who while likable, never become anything more for us. She can be hypocritical at times, criticizing her father, brother, and absent mother for keeping secrets when she does the exact same with them in the form of Ink, and while the nature of her secret is a bit different from those of her family’s, it’s completely lost on her that her own fear with regard to telling the truth might just be mirrored by her parents and older sibling.

Part of our frustration with Joy’s secret keeping in regard to Ink stems from the fact that we’re left very much on the outside of this world trying desperately to peer in, a bit clear as mud on Ink’s job as a Scribe and why his claiming of Joy has sent so many ripples through the world of the Folk. We’re given small tidbits as to what a Scribe does, but the correlation between Ink’s job and how it actually affects Joy and the human world is not drawn for us until the very end. In the final 20% of this story our questions are answered nearly in full, a near blinding light obliterating every shadow that’s dogged our every step as we’ve struggled through this tale with Joy, and a crashing sense of relief overtakes us as the many and varied threads of this story meet their match and tie themselves off.

With clarity finally granted to us in the concluding chapters, our overall reaction to Joy and Ink’s story shifts to something more positive than we’d been feeling up until that point, and we find ourselves looking forward to the next installment now that our understanding of the parameters of this world is more concrete. Joy and Ink both still have a ways to go before our hearts bear their mark, but there’s a great deal of promise in each of them, and the lack of angst in this first book has us hopeful their relationship will continue to be one of strength and growth moving forward.

Rating: 3.5/5
 

Find Dawn


This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

38 comments:

  1. Ohh boo, ideally you shouldn't have to wait until the last 20% of a book for things to finally come together! I feel your frustration. I don't like being kept in the dark for so long... but it's nice at least that it does come together at all and is satisfying enough to make up a bit for the confusion in the beginning and to get you interested in the sequel. Well, here's hoping the final 20% is just a taste of what the sequel will be like! I'm curious now to see if the sequel will be substantially better anyways, and maybe then I will consider reading this one. Very nicely reviewed, as always, Jenny!

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    1. That's what I'm hoping Aylee - that things will be clearer and will read a bit smoother in the sequel since I know what's going on now:)

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  2. Review Twins :))

    And.. I must say I liked it a little bit more than you did! I found the whole world creation incredibly unique and didn't mind so much being left in the dark. For me, the mystery was part of the allure. Truly looking forward reading the next!

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    1. *high five*

      I really did like the world and I liked Ink and Joy, I just was confused as to how Ink's job as a Scribe related to everything. I wish that was clearer earlier on because it was a complicated relationship:)

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  3. I have seen so many mixed reviews on this one, it sort of seems to be one of those that you don't necessary love or hate but instead mostly inspires indifference.

    Lovely review as always!

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  4. I can only imagine how frustrated you are Jenny, especially if things looks finally getting it's momentum and then suddenly crashed & back to square one. Hate it when that happens to character or story. It's like never getting the climax. As always, great review.

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    1. It was frustrating for me, especially because the world was so imaginative and I saw so much potential there, I just didn't understand how certain things related. In the end though, I think I'll give book 2 a try!

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  5. I've seen this around on NG, but I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it. From what you've said, this seems like a promising start, but one with many flaws as well. I think I'll probably skip this for now unless the sequel is significantly better. Great review, dear!

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    1. Probably a good one to wait for book 2 before deciding to read...I'm hoping the sequel starts out as strong as this one ended:)

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  6. Hmmm I've been avoiding this one because of the mixed reviews, and I think I might have to continue to do so. I don't like when I have to struggle to find the heart of the novel, so I'm not sure reading and finding answers and clarity at the very end would be for me. Thanks for the wonderful review though, Jenny!

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    1. I would have liked a few more answers as we went along for sure. I liked finally understanding at the end, but there was plenty going on that it still would have been a page turner even with us a bit more in the know:)

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  7. I've noticed the mixed reviews for this book and I'm glad now that I didn't request the book from NetGalley. It's such a shame that the main character isn't as memorable as you would have wanted her to be. At least, she does show a good side to her. I have to admit though, the idea of her being hypocritical doesn't really appeal to me. I especially don't like that questions about the world only clear up towards the ending chapters. I don't think this is the book for me. Thank you for the lovely honest review, Jenny! :)

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    1. She was a touch hypocritical with her family and that was bothersome, but she at least fixed it with her brother and I had to applaud her for that. I'm curious to see where the series goes, I'm hoping there are less question in book 2!

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  8. *taps fingers on chin* This sounds like there's a lot of waiting for answers. I don't know if my impatience would tolerate that, especially if the character connection was quite where it could have been. Hmm.

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    1. I think maybe part of it was my mood - I was not in a patient place while reading and I wanted to understand Ink's job a bit better. It was a fascinating Job, I just didn't get why it changed Joy's life so drastically.

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  9. JENNY!!! MY JENNY!!! How I've missed you. I kinda want to cuddle up with your blog for a bit because I haven't been here in so freaking long.

    *sniffle*

    I'm glad you liked this one. I was a bit on the fence and kept bumping it down my TBR stack, but admittedly I'm not a fan of waiting for answers and reveals. Sigh.

    Since you liked it, I'm going to give it a go. But you may be fielding texts and phone calls of me ranting and lamenting while I read. ;)

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    1. HANNAH!!!! My blog has been lonely without you. *pounces on you and gives you a hug*

      This one was definitely a middle of the road read for me, I liked many things about it, but there were definitely things that didn't work. Ink's job is confusing (though cool) and I just didn't get how it related to the human race in general until the very end. He had a sense of urgency about the villain when we learn what they're up to, but I didn't feel that because I didn't understand what the effect would be.

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  10. As much as I enjoyed this story and its fantastical elements, I didn't understand why Joy being brought into Ink's world was such a huge deal. Still, I liked the story as a while so much more than I expected. Very fantasy/Alice in Wonderland-ish!

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    1. THANK YOU!!!! Same here! All of a sudden everyone is was in an uproar and I just didn't get why. Or why Ink's job was so important. I understood by the end, but I was confused up until that point.

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  11. Finally a story that provides answers, even if not until the very end. I'm a bit confused about Joy as an MC, but she seems mostly likeable. The story itself sounds intriguing and the cover.. Oh well, let's not even talk about that lol. It's g-o-r-g-e-u-s!!!!! 3.5 is a very decent rating in my eyes and I'm glad you enjoyed it in general :-) Can't wait to read it myself.

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  12. The cover is beautiful! I would love to have that as something to hang on my wall!

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  13. Hmm I think this one might drive me crazy. Feeling like you are in a haze and don't know what is going on for 80% of the novel only to get everything thrown at you in the last 20% would really annoy me. I am definitely curious about the family dynamic in this one, it sounds like there is potential for a lot of layers there.

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  14. Okay, don't laugh but when I saw the series name, I though of the candy bar. LOL! I didn't think this book was for me so I didn't pick it up. Thanks for sharing your review.

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  15. I've been looking forward to this one, but now I'm not sure about it. But the cover is so pretty!

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  16. Hm, I like being confused up to a point, but this seems like too much even for me. Plus, it would bother me that Joy doesn't make any progress as a character, especially since you're able to SEE who she could be. That makes it so much worse.
    I almost fell victim to that beautiful cover, but I think I'll save my time for a safer bet.
    Thank you for such a well rounded review, Jenny. It helped me make my decision. :)

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  17. I do not like books where I wait...wait and then wait some more

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  18. I have this one coming up and now I'm prepared to be frustrated. So, perhaps it won't bother me as much knowing I WILL get those answers. I can see why you are looking forward to the second book. Often after a world is established the second book shines. I hope it is with this one! Brilly review!

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  19. It's a shame this world and its rules were so muddy for most of the book. I think that would really frustrate me, especially without a strong connection to Joy. I had this one on my maybe pile, and now I think I might just skip it. It sounds like an interesting story, but I think I'd have a hard time staying interested long enough to find out the answers. Thanks for this informative honest review Jenny! :-)

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  20. Muddled world building always frustrated me too. At least the romantic relationship is a bright spot, I am on the tour for this at the end of the month so I will be reading it soon.

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  21. I remember DNFing Metcalf's debut novel, Luminous, because of her extremely odd ideas that weren't comprehendible in any manner for me, and it seems like there might be a minor case of that in her second novel as well. The concept certainly sounds different, once again, but that unexplained world is making me very wary. I don't think I would have the patience to wait for the last couple of chapters for the answers. I'm going to look for more reviews of this one, but I'm glad you enjoyed it overall. Fabulous review, Jenny!

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  22. I disagree! I ADORED this world and everything about it! LOVED this just as much as I loved Marr's Wicked Lovely series and Black's Faerie series! I have been waiting, and waiting for a book along these lines for forever I feel like! LOVED IT!

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  23. Hmm, this one sounds like it has potential but having to wait forever to get a clear understanding of the world can become frustrating. And the MC sounds just okay. I'll probably give this one a try, Jenny, but I'm in no rush to get around to reading it. Thanks!

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  24. This was never really on my radar before. And it sounds like one I'll probably skip. I hate when characters are really close to being great, but just don't quite reach it.

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  25. I'm glad that you liked this one overall. I'll admit that I'm curious about this one, but I can see where this one could either be really good or frustrating and that it leaned towards frustrating at times. I'm with Aman in being worried that the lack of information - and also the difficulty of the main character would really bug me. I think this is a series that I will keep my eye on for the future! If the next book stands out, I would like to read it.

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  26. I find myself both curious and apprehensive, the world sounds captivating and different. I am glad that you liked it, despite the issues you faced, I may read this one yet. Great review Jenny!

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  27. Hmm..it seems like if thing were revealed a little earlier or maybe in increments as the story progressed you may have enjoyed this story more. I think I'll wait until the next book comes out to pick this series up. It's not "wowing" me yet. Lovely review, Jenny. :)

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  28. Nice review Jenny! I couldn't follow Luminous so I was hesitant about this novel. Seems like it delivered in the end. I'm not sure if this one is for me.

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  29. Now this is a book where I wouldn't have minded if there was insta-love. I would've understood it 100% just because of Ink. But I loved the tension and everything. I loved the feels I got from this book. So I recommend it to everyone. This is an amazing book. It really is.

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