Name: Ink in the Blood
ISBN: 9781328557056

Kim Smejkal

Celia and Anya, friends who use tattoo magic to send divine messages, must rely on one another to survive when they discover the fake deity they serve is very real--and very angry.

Ink in the Blood

Nicole Dykeman

It has been a long time since I’ve fallen in love with characters like this. Closing the finished book and feeling that heart-wrenching, wonderful thing in my chest. The whole experience of reading this was just really special and I can’t even explain why, but I’ll do my best with the few words I have. 

The cast of characters is literally incredible. I loved every single member of the Mob, I loved the Inklings at the temple, I adored Celia and Anya. Those two, in particular, had a beautiful, genuine friendship, and it’s honestly rare to find such a strong and positive bond between two YA ladies. 

In fact, a bunch of the most central characters are strong women—Celia, Anya, Lupita, Kitty Kay, the other Mob gals. I really appreciated that, just as I appreciated the subtle world-building and magic system. There are plenty of characters who use they/them pronouns and it’s a completely normal aspect of life. If only we could give off auras that told people who we were, showed them our identities, without us having to explain ourselves. 

I have a lot more thoughts about this but I don’t think I’ve ever written a coherent book review so I’m gonna quit while I’m ahead. Please pick up this book and read it, I loved it so. I need to talk about it with somebody!!!!!!!!

Reread 3/8/2022: I still think this book is really special. Normally, I'm not a fan of theatrical performances within books - it's difficult to capture the emotions and atmosphere of performance in words, and not many authors can do it so successfully as Kim Smejkal has. I'm also not typically a fan of the whole "corrupt religious organization" trope, but I love the way it gets handled here. I'm excited to see what the sequel has to offer, and get more of Griffin and Celia.

Savannah Winchell

So what started out as an interesting concept with solid bones turned into one of the of the most dissapoint I g and convoluted plot disasters I’ve ever read???? 
I mean it was a quick read I guess so there’s that
Also it was p cool to have all kinds of queerness by accepted and respected by the society

Also how tf is there gonna be a sequel????

Aleena Korell

It's been a long time since I've been this conflicted about a book. 

It took me a good while to get into Ink in the Blood. The first few chapters-- maybe even first third-- felt like all heavy-handed worldbuilding and backtracking to explain things after they've actually happened rather than characterization/story. But once we got to the story, nearly at the end of Act I, I was tracking, and I was interested.

 Smejkal has a very interesting premise here, that's for sure-- a religion where The Divine communicates by tattooing her followers to guide their decisions. We see this world through the lens of Celia, an Inkling (one of the few with the gifting of actually creating these tattoos) who doesn't believe there is actually a Divine. 

I'm not even sure I ever quite decided to like our main character, Celia. I do think I came to understand her and root for her, especially because of her deep friendships that she develops-- first with Anya, another Inkling, and then with the performers in the Rabble Mob, a traveling troupe that takes in the two Inklings when they decide to run away from the temple. 

To be honest, the two characters that really propelled me through the book were Anya and the plague doctor-- one of the integral characters in the Rabble Mob's Theatre performance.

Some of my favorite moments were the dialogue and prose in the scenes with the plague doctor-- they were absolutely loaded with delicious subtext. He was nuanced but consistent, evasive but not broodily/unnecessarily mysterious, and Smejkal's emotional moments with him and Celia (and Anya and Celia) were the ones that rang true to me.
One of the passages that stuck out to me:

He had a hundred tells, companions to the twitches of his never-ending smile. They were both liars, but where she lied with words, he lied with his body. The part she'd never seen before was that, like her, he didn't enjoy it. His tells said, I don't want to. Not all the time.

The magic and the premise and the characters were all fantastic enough ideas-- and there were some cool it's-all-coming-together moments-- but there were still a few moments where I was sitting there thinking, why is the villain waiting right now instead of acting? It was very back-and-forth for me, some emotional moments really hitting me right and some moments I really didn't like. But overall I think it's a worthwhile read and I'm really interested in where the sequel leads after that ending!

Micchi von Cross

Well this book made me cry. 

That's it, that's the whole review.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received an arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Ink in the Blood

Author: Kim Smejkal

Book Series: Ink in the Blood Book 1

Diversity: LGBT friendly, two moms, and the use of they pronouns

Rating: 4/5

Publication Date: February 11, 2020

Publisher: HMH books for young readers

Recommended Age: 16+ (TW child abuse, alcohol usage, some violence, slight sexual content)

Synopsis: A lush, dark YA fantasy debut that weaves together tattoo magic, faith, and eccentric theater in a world where lies are currency and ink is a weapon, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Kendare Blake.

Celia Sand and her best friend, Anya Burtoni, are inklings for the esteemed religion of Profeta. Using magic, they tattoo followers with beautiful images that represent the Divine’s will and guide the actions of the recipients. It’s considered a noble calling, but ten years into their servitude Celia and Anya know the truth: Profeta is built on lies, the tattooed orders strip away freedom, and the revered temple is actually a brutal, torturous prison.

Their opportunity to escape arrives with the Rabble Mob, a traveling theater troupe. Using their inkling abilities for performance instead of propaganda, Celia and Anya are content for the first time . . . until they realize who followed them. The Divine they never believed in is very real, very angry, and determined to use Celia, Anya, and the Rabble Mob’s now-infamous stage to spread her deceitful influence even further.

To protect their new family from the wrath of a malicious deity and the zealots who work in her name, Celia and Anya must unmask the biggest lie of all—Profeta itself.

Review: Holy cow this is the best urban fantasy I've read in a long time! I love the world building and how detailed the author was with the religion and the ink magic. I also love the ink magic the author created, very well done! The characters were very well developed as well!

However, I do think that the pacing is a bit slow for my speed preference and the writing, while wonderful, is kinda odd. It bounces back and forth between present and past and that made it difficult for me to follow along with sometimes.

Verdict: I want a tattoo now.

Leelynn Brady

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club, Netgalley, and HMH Books for Young Readers for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

Okay do you know how freaking shook I was when I saw that this book was going to center around tattoo magic?! Like, I think about all the tattoos that I currently have and all the tattoos that I wish I could get right away and then I think about how much it would be so cool to have so much tattoo magic in general and wow. I just could not believe that this book was in the world and that I had the opportunity to read it early.

And I’m so freaking glad for all the queer rep in this novel because I swear people sleep on queer rep in YA novels for some reason and you definitely should not. This book was something that I have never seen in the YA world, or in general and I thought it was one of my favorite reads for the year so far.

Then there’s not only the tattoo magic, and the queer rep, but we also got another circus/carnival setting novel and those are few for me. I think the only one that I really read was Caraval, and I only read the first book. So while I know there may be some other novels about there with some circus / carnival settings, there really hasn’t been a lot for ME that I have read, and being in this kind of setting again on top of everything else was absolutely great.

Ugh, I just freaking loved this novel. I seriously can’t wait for the sequel and I wouldn’t even be ashamed reading this again this year. Or even this month. No shame, whatsoever.

Jess Ostrander

Thank you to HMH Books and NetGalley for an earc to review!

Okay, so I was sold on this book from the second I read the description. Tattoo magic?? Yes please! And it's so much more than that!

Celia Sand and Anya Burtoni are inklings- magically gifted servants for the powerful religion of Profeta, who tattoo followers with beautiful images meant to guide them in the Divine's will. Well it seems like a noble and prestigious calling, Anya and Celia know Profeta isn't what it seems. Ten years into their service, the girls know Profeta is built on lies. The temple strips away all freedom and tortures the inklings. The Divine everyone loves is someone they can't believe in. Anya and Celia are desperate to escape, and find their chance by auditioning for the Rabble Mob, a ragtag theatrical troupe traveling the land. Anya and Celia use their inkling abilities to craft their performance, and join the Mob. For the first time, they find freedom, and maybe even a family. But nothing good can really last for long, and they quickly realize the Divine they've never believed in is all too real. And she has a plan for the inklings and their little show. To save their friends and themselves, Celia and Anya must reveal the truth and show the rest of world the lies Profeta stands on.

Okay. This book. I was immediately hooked, and couldn't put it down! It's full of darkness, strong friendships, twists and turns, theatrical performances, and did I mention the TATTOO MAGIC?? Oh, and the totally well done queer rep! The world and characters are really well developed and I love the way the author made every sexuality and gender identity cannon and accepted in the world. Everyone has a tenor, a kind of aura that surrounds them and shows their gender identity. And it really doesn't feel forced. We've got a bi main character, and plenty of other identities represented as well. There's lots of m/m and f/f romance, as well as m/f and all sorts of nb rep too!! More of this please. This was a fantastic debut, and I absolutely can't wait for book two!!

If you're into tattoos, magic, queer rep, fantastic world building, twists and turns, and fantasy in general, I highly recommend this one!!

Jessica 

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Tik Tok | You can find my review here.


  As always, a copy of this book was provided by the authors in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way. 


Everyone needs to read this immediately because IT DESTROYED ME and made me feel a lot and I want to yell about it with SOMEONE. Anyone. Now. Yesterday. Also, the way I felt reading Ink in the Blood reminds me of the way I felt while reading Caraval years back. If there is one thing to take away from my review, it's that Kim Smejkal's writing is stunning and lyrical to the point where I was enchanted from the start.

Smejkal wrote like three words and I was already on the edge of my seat like, please, may I have some more? Ink in the Blood has some truly breathtaking prose that lingers at the back of your mind. While the story itself is full of darkness, performance, love, magic and danger, Kim Smejkal's writing packs a punch in its own right.

No, seriously. It's that level of intriguing magic, hypnotic writing and atmosphere. 2020 YA fantasy is already giving us so much and I'd like to say thank-you-thank-you-thank-you for every writer out there slaying me. In the case of Ink in the Blood, I do mean quite literally slaying me.

(!That ending! I think I need six to seven months to catch my breath!) 

I've been kind of laying here for hours somewhere between, "
  OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! That was so good! I'm dying!
" and "
  Need the sequel NOW.
" Truly. I can't decide if I need to reread it again or grab a box of tissues and bask in the emotions it's made me feel. To quote a particular character from Ink in the Blood, this novel is either my end or my beginning. (Cue the dramatic music and mood lighting.)

I'm just so smitten. There's this blankness to my mind when it comes to how I want to express the pure joy (and chills) that this novel gave me--but I can't, because I'm just thinking about Celia and Anya, the Rabble Mob, the Plague Doctor and the Divine and Diavala.

Ink in the Blood is vivid and immersive with its own unique world-building and history. Every page of this story is remarkable, magical and dangerous. This is one of the most intriguing fantasy releases of the year and the perfect way to start the new decade. One thing is certain: I'm going to be waiting impatiently for its sequel.

If you aren't sold yet, know that there's this sharp-as-a-knife quality to Smejkal's prose that takes readers down a path of strangeness and charm. If you are adventurous and daring, in real life or in fiction, this book's essence will call to you. Ink in the Blood is destined to be memorable and will capture many a reader's heart with its darkly woven beauty.

And reading it felt like something truly special.

Ink in the Blood

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