[A quick note: I love the alternate cover on the Illumicrate edition. I wasnโt a fan of the US cover. This is such a pretty book and was one I selected as part of my autumn atmospheric reads.]
โ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐ญ, ๐ข๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ๐งโ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ. ๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐, ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐, ๐ง๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง. ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ง. ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ฒ๐๐. ๐๐ญ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ. ๐๐ง๐ค ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ.โโTori Bovalino
Dripping with ink, the stacks within the Jessop library become the new home for the devil. Tess is a new student at the prestigious Fulk Preparatory Academy working off her tuition in the library. When she crosses paths with the deanโs son, who subtlety threatens her unless she takes him to the restricted book section, she has little choice but to comply. Itโs within the these dark depths that they discover a book and unleash a being intent on possessing Tess or killing everyone she loves.
Creepy ink-filled moments, a devil, and a dash of romance are the backbone for this mild-thriller. Itโs a dark academia atmospheric read sprinkled with grimoires, witches, enemies-to-lovers, and more. Much of the story takes place in the library between Tess and Eliot, a British boy whose dad is the dean of the university. Eliot isnโt like the other snobbish boys at Falk though. Heโs always felt more comfortable hiding away in the library. When he returns from England for the summer semester, heโs on a mission to discover a powerful magic that might save his mom from dying. This is the pretense that brings him directly into Tessโs path.
I liked that there were some deeper themes touched on here. Disfunctional parental/child relationships, self harm, sickness and death. It lended a darker feel to the story. The creep level was fun. There were some heart-pounding moments where Tess was being stalked. Also some creepy moments where she wasnโt sure if she was seeing blood or ink, where she wasnโt sure if it was real or just in her head. It was part psychological part physical thriller. Definitely a good autumn atmospheric read.
While I enjoyed this story, it was lacking a certain depth I look for in a book with the character growth, dialogue, plot, etc. The premise sounded great, but everything that caught my eye wasnโt as heavily pronounced as Iโd hoped. There were a few moments, especially at the beginning, where the plot felt a little forced. Especially in the way that Eliot and Tess were brought together with the sticky-tab thing. Who does that? Who puts insulting sticky tabs all over books and then just happens to forget to remove them before leaving for the end of their shift?? Aside from the ink factor, where the demon was immortalized in ink and could use books as their domain, I didnโt find a whole lot of originality in the story. In fact, the backbone felt like a retelling of Tom Riddleโs Diary from the Harry Potter fandom. Which is fine, I guess?
Overall, it was very much a YA read for those who are looking for darker themes, like dark academia, library settings, and a mild creepy factor. ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐.๐/๐โญ๏ธ
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