Indelible by Dawn Metclaf

GoodReads Summary: 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…

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Expected publication: 30/07/13

The two things that stood out most to me about Indelible was the romance and the characters. Joy was a likable mc. Even after being nearly stabbed in the eye, and being exposed to the world of Twixt (not to mention dealing with family issues) she soldiers on. She was strong through and through, and I loved that she didn't abandon any of these traits when the romance between her and Ink bloomed. Joy's best friend Monica is the kind of best friend I want to see more of in YA. She was always there to listen and support Joy, she didn't turn into the 'jealous bf' or the the 'bf that abandons the mc' which I really appreciated.

The romance between Ink and Joy was different to say the least. When Ink is first introduced he comes of as a bit distant because he seems devoid of any feelings and incapable of emotions. You soon learn, however, that this is because he hasn't had much interaction with humans. He himself was not born, but made, and can mold his body into whatever shape he fancies, so you see he's not a conventional love interest.  When he meets Joy he slowly learns what it means to be human, he starts feeling things, and he because he doesn't quite know what to do with these feelings he completely puts himself out there. There was a lot of 'exploring' and uncertainly between Joy and Ink, and honestly it was just down right adorable. Suffice to say I was 100% invested in the romance.

What let Indelible down, however, was the lack of world building. The concept was very interesting and unique, but the scarce information that was provided was confusing to the point where, occasionally, I had to re-read it.

The ending was satisfying (yay for no cliffhanger!) and in my opinion it can be read as a standalone. Overall, even though it didn't quite blow me away I still found it be an enjoyable read.

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