Hello!!! This is probably the first time I am participating in a blog tour as a review stop. The book I had received in exchange for an honest (brutally honest) review is author M.M. John's The Death of Ink, which is the first book of its series.
As a part of the blog tour, I am posting my review here. Read the full tour schedule on Itching for Books' site. There is a tour-wide Giveaway at the end of this post so be sure to check that out too!
Book Title: The Death of Ink (The Death of Ink #1)
Author: M. M. John
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery
ISBN/ASIN: B00HXKTCEU
Publication Date: January 30th 2014
[REVIEW COPY]
Blurb:
Paige Langley’s life has always revolved around good grades and escaping her less than ideal home life…but once she meets Devon Connors, her life drastically changes.
Although, they share an instant attraction, Devon’s concealing a dark past. And an even darker secret…there’s a dead girl haunting him nightly.
Resolute to win the school’s writing contest, Paige will do just about anything to achieve her goals. So after she finds a binder containing information on a past murder and the illegal activities of the students, she believes the stories are fictional and the perfect way to win the contest.
But the owner of the manuscript, Devon Connors, has other plans. To keep Paige from exposing his secrets, Devon befriends her and even offers to help her write a winning story for the contest.
The chemistry between Paige and Devon is undeniable, but Paige doesn’t know if she can trust him. The deeper she digs into the dark underbelly of their high school, the more she realizes that some secrets are better left buried.
PURCHASE/ PRE-ORDER:
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
My Review:
My Review:
The book is good but certainly has some issues. One was the title. While the title of the book seem really interesting and somewhat intriguing, I couldn't find any connection to the story whatsoever. I really liked the title, and it was mainly the title that made me choose the book in the first place. I continuously tried to link it to the storyline but no luck. What does the death o fin actually mean? Death of Paige' dream? Death of Devon's plan? death of writing overall? I could not connect.Then there is the blurb part. It says-
Paige is an interesting character. She is the lead, and most possibly, the most well sketched character of the book.Her feelings and emotions and confusion at times over Devon are very very well portrayed by the author. She is to do everything staying within the line because of the what her elder sister had done in her past. Living with her grandmother who doesn't want Paige to follow the same footsteps make things tougher for Paige. She cannot write, cannot pursue her future as an author because her aunt is not convinced of this being an actual profession.
So after she finds a binder containing information on a past murder and the illegal activities of the students, she believes the stories are fictional and the perfect way to win the contest.As far as I remember, there wasn't a single moment when Paige had considered this possibility. (Or have I somehow missed it? o_O) As the book ends, I still see her struggling with the contest and her writing issues. This is a series book, so I guess that will be shown in the next one. But isn't it a spoiler then? Why would I want to know how Paige overcomes her writing issues beforehand?
Paige is an interesting character. She is the lead, and most possibly, the most well sketched character of the book.Her feelings and emotions and confusion at times over Devon are very very well portrayed by the author. She is to do everything staying within the line because of the what her elder sister had done in her past. Living with her grandmother who doesn't want Paige to follow the same footsteps make things tougher for Paige. She cannot write, cannot pursue her future as an author because her aunt is not convinced of this being an actual profession.
Life had inured Paige. At her age, she'd accepted that there were certain things she could not do.
Things take a different turn when she meets the boy from her new school, Devon. Devon doesn't seem to like Paige that much, and he already has a hot girlfriend. And yet, he agrees to help Paige make her dream come true...certainly he has his own reasons, but what? Paige doesn't know.
I loved the mystery element of Devon's character. Compared to Paige, his family background seemed more well-drawn to me. I could easily visualize him as a boy, going through life's happiness and woes, his parents' misery and his sister's tragedy. But sometimes Devon's pov appeared a little choppy to me, and I often felt like scanning through some parts.
Among the other characters, I like Christina. She seems nice, unlike many over-possessive girlfriends. She doesn't seem to notice or get hyper over the fact that Devon and Paige are spending time. And she appears to be a nice human being overall, at least for this book.
Then there is Matthew, I really really like the guy, even more than Devon to some extents. And though Paige looks quite confused about the whole thing with Matthew, I really wish they somehow happily end up together. But Devon being the main male character(so far), I guess that's not going to happen. Even if Devon and Paige don't end up together, I don't see how Paige is going to make it work with all the obsession with every other thing except Matthew.
Now the biggest letdown for me is the ending. Frankly, I was a little frustrated. I was hoping something way better than this. I know this is a part of a series, and it's not the end. Endings are often cliffhangers, but this...I don't know if I can call it that even. It felt like there were some more pages in the end but someone had ripped them off so the book ended all of a sudden. I'm no big author or critique or anything, but I feel books shouldn't end with someone eating spaghetti or someone lecturing about what you should or should not do. On that note, I also think the ending wouldn't have sucked so much if it was shown in a a different way, like Paige having this thought and realizing how helpless she is and all.
The book has a great plot. It's not the usual school-romance or about the back-biting-bitches. Of course, it has those elements, but not making it affect the story. Even though the narration can seem quite boring at times, if you can keep up the reading it's possible you can end up enjoying it like any other good book. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the ending and you have to try it out yourself to see whether or not you'd want to stick to the series. Still, I would personally suggest that if you are not dying from the pressure of your TBR pile, then this book is worth a try:)
I loved the mystery element of Devon's character. Compared to Paige, his family background seemed more well-drawn to me. I could easily visualize him as a boy, going through life's happiness and woes, his parents' misery and his sister's tragedy. But sometimes Devon's pov appeared a little choppy to me, and I often felt like scanning through some parts.
Among the other characters, I like Christina. She seems nice, unlike many over-possessive girlfriends. She doesn't seem to notice or get hyper over the fact that Devon and Paige are spending time. And she appears to be a nice human being overall, at least for this book.
Then there is Matthew, I really really like the guy, even more than Devon to some extents. And though Paige looks quite confused about the whole thing with Matthew, I really wish they somehow happily end up together. But Devon being the main male character(so far), I guess that's not going to happen. Even if Devon and Paige don't end up together, I don't see how Paige is going to make it work with all the obsession with every other thing except Matthew.
Now the biggest letdown for me is the ending. Frankly, I was a little frustrated. I was hoping something way better than this. I know this is a part of a series, and it's not the end. Endings are often cliffhangers, but this...I don't know if I can call it that even. It felt like there were some more pages in the end but someone had ripped them off so the book ended all of a sudden. I'm no big author or critique or anything, but I feel books shouldn't end with someone eating spaghetti or someone lecturing about what you should or should not do. On that note, I also think the ending wouldn't have sucked so much if it was shown in a a different way, like Paige having this thought and realizing how helpless she is and all.
The book has a great plot. It's not the usual school-romance or about the back-biting-bitches. Of course, it has those elements, but not making it affect the story. Even though the narration can seem quite boring at times, if you can keep up the reading it's possible you can end up enjoying it like any other good book. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the ending and you have to try it out yourself to see whether or not you'd want to stick to the series. Still, I would personally suggest that if you are not dying from the pressure of your TBR pile, then this book is worth a try:)
About the Author:
College student by day, clandestine writer by night, M. M. John lives in a Florida town full of ghosts, mysteries and secrets. The Death of Ink is her first novel.
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