Sunday 7 July 2013

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.

Rating:

18 comments:

  1. I have this one coming to me...excited to read it though I've seen a lot of mixed reviews. Glad to see you enjoyed it overall. Great review

    My Friends Are Fiction'

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  2. The two things I was worried about seem to be things you enjoyed! I'm relieved, I'll be reading this soon and I've seen too many DNFs (okay, maybe just 3) that are making me on edge. Shame on the world building- or should I say lack thereof.

    Lovely review, Renu! <33

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  3. I agree Renu! I really enjoyed the romance between Ink and Joy, but I spent a lot of time being confused about the world and the whys of some of the things that were happening. It wasn't until the showdown at the end that everything became a bit clearer, so I thought this book did end really strongly. Still, I would have liked a little more information scattered throughout so I wasn't so lost. Definitely looking forward to the next book though! Fantastic review:)

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  4. I just started this and I'm a bit let down so far. But maybe Ink will grow on me if he grew on you. World building for me is usually a problem

    Krazyyme @ Young Readers

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  5. oh it sucks that the world building wasn't that great! Joy still sounds like a great MC, and I like the sound of the romance between Joy and Ink. Great review, Renu!
    - Farah @ MajiBookshelf

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  6. Ohh, awesome review sweetie. <3 I need to read this book too. Think it sounds pretty awesome, though :D Have seen lots of people enjoying it. Hope I do too :) And omg. Romance sounds so sweet :D Glad you loved this book, despite the lack of world building :\ <3

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  7. I like the sound of this romance, Renu! I love that Ink is just discovering human emotions and it probably makes their romance quite interesting. I don't always mind if the world building is sparse as long as it makes sense. It sounds like there was some confusion here. Glad to see you mostly enjoyed this, Renu. Wonderful review! :)

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  8. I have been waiting for this one forever, I am really excited to read it! As long as the romance was enjoyable and the MC was tolerable, I think I will like this :) Nice review!

    Alise @ Readers In Wonderland

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  9. Characters are important for me to get into a book, so It's nice to hear the mc is a good one. Especially when it comes to the romance! :)

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  10. I have a feeling the romance is what's going to make this for me. I'm a character girl and if the characters are remarkable that can be enough for me. WHICH MAKES ME SO HAPPY.

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  11. I'm glad you reviewed this! I wanted to get a few opinions before I downloaded it without thinking (which I do far too often!). The romance does sound pretty adorable, and I'm glad that Joyce and Monica stood out for you too. It's a shame that the worldbuilding wasn't quite as thorough as it could have been, though. Lovely review, Renu!

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  12. Thanks for the fantastic review, Renu! I've been wondering about it for a while, and I'm glad to see that, despite a few flaws, it sounds pretty darn good. I'm a huge fan of excellent world-building though, so I really hope that doesn't put me off too much!

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  13. I am on the tour for this, fingers crossed for a good read. I am bummed the world building isn't stronger, but happy there isn't a cliffhanger!

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  14. I saw this one on NetGalley a few days ago but now it's gone, I think. I really want to read it because it sounded so original. If the romance is worth it, I can ignore the lack of world-building, I suppose. It's been a while since I've read about a sweet romance. Everythink has to be "hot and heavy" lately...

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  15. Yay for the characters standing out! It's so hard to find those kinds of characters nowadays, especially characters who have romances that are genuine and given time to develop. Too bad about the world building, though. I think that would irk me quite a bit as well. Thanks for such a helpful review, Renu!

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  16. I love solid worldbuilding so when that's lacking, it definitely affects my enjoyment of a novel. But, I still think this sounds like a worthwhile read because of the supportive friendship, likeable MC and cute romance. Awesome review, Renu.

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  17. Great review, I'm looking forward to this but disappointed about the lack of worldbuilding! Yay for stand out characters tho! That's a relief!

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  18. Indelible does sound good. I'm a romance junkie so I'm glad to see it was good. These kinda books do require some world building so I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it that much. Maybe I'll give it a try :)

    Janhvi @ The Readdicts

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