Ink by Alice Broadway

There are no secrets in Saintstone.

From the second you're born, every achievement, every failing, every significant moment are all immortalized on your skin. There are honorable marks that let people know you're trustworthy. And shameful tattoos that announce you as a traitor.

After her father dies, Leora finds solace in the fact that his skin tells a wonderful story. That is, until she glimpses a mark on the back of his neck...the symbol of the worst crime a person can commit in Saintstone. Leora knows it has to be a mistake, but before she can do anything about it, the horrifying secret gets out, jeopardizing her father's legacy...and Leora's life.

In her startlingly prescient debut, Alice Broadway shines a light on the dangerous lengths we go to make our world feel orderly--even when the truth refuses to stay within the lines. This rich, lyrical fantasy with echoes of Orwell is unlike anything you've ever read, a tale guaranteed to get under your skin... @goodreads 

First off I want to share the beauty of this book with you guys. And when the light hits it, it shines so beautifully, which you will see in the pictures.









Even the inside pages are beautiful!

We are not afraid of death. When your marks are safe in your book, you live on after you die. This life story etched onto your body is kept forever-if you're worthy. When we preserve the words, pictures, and moments imprinted on our skin, our story survives for eternity. We are surrounded by the dead, and, for as long as their books are still read and their names are still spoken, they live.

Everyone has the skin books in their homes: Our shelves are full of my ancestors. I can breathe them in, touch them, and read their lives.

But it was only after my father died that I saw the book of someone I'd really known.

Sounds pretty morbid huh? I don't think I would want my families body skins made into books and put on my shelf, but I digress.

I loved this book very much. There were a few places here and there but overall it was freaking awesome and damn sure unique; at least to me.

This book is about Leora. Her father died and they are getting his book preserved, but it has to go through the government first to make sure there are no bad marks. If so then your body book is burned and you are damned. That's all I'm saying on that count.

There are other characters in the book that play parts. Leora's mom, Verity (Leora's best friend), Karl, Obel, and Oscar. I'm sure I left someone out but there you go.

Leora is training to become an inker and she gets to work with a great artist, Obel.

Leora finds out all kinds of freaking revelations in this book! It's awesome! She has all kinds of creepy dreams too.

That night I dream of being flayed.

My skin is being sliced. Only instead of my marks being preserved, each one is being divided by the knife in two or three or four. Every bit of my meaning and my memory is being shattered and scattered. I am a puzzle that will never be pieced together.

Some people will love the book and some will hate it. It's your decision, no one else's. I just happen to love it and I can't wait until the next book!

I walk outside. Snow falls like feathers. The whole town is blank.

Happy Reading!

Mel ♥ 

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AMAZON REVIEW