Inkmistress audiobook

ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.Okay, real quick, I’m going to do a little PSA, since I think a lot of you might need it: Bisexuals who are with boys are still bisexual. Bisexuals who are with girls are still bisexual. Bisexuals who are with people who identify as nonbinary are still bisexual. Bisexuals who have never been with anyone are still bisexual. And the fact that I still have to say this, in 2018, is why Inkmistress is now one of my favorite YA Fantasies of all time. We need books, of all genres, that normalize sexuality in every aspect. But you all might not realize how rare it is to read a book about a bisexual girl ending up with a boy and still seeing her bisexuality beautifully on display. This book moved me to tears. And I believe with my whole heart that this book is going to be one of my all-time favorites. “You would never hurt anyone on purpose, Asra, and that is both your strength and your weakness.” Inkmistress follows one of my new favorite protagonists, Asra, who lives her life secluded away in the mountains. She lives her life in hiding, only traveling down to the village below when weather permits it, to help them with births and other medicinal needs. Yet, some people still view her as a witch. But what Asra really is is so much more powerful. Asra has the power to change the future, present, and past with her blood. Yet, at a cost. To be able to wield such power, it takes from her lifeforce and ages her. But we soon learn that there isn’t anything she wouldn’t do for a girl who has accepted her when no one else has. Also in this world, people come into adulthood when they are able to manifest, or bond with an animal by being blessed by the six gods that truly do control this world. Obviously, some animals are more powerful than others, but the most important thing is to just be able to manifest. Asra feels like she has no other choice but to grant the girl, who she loves more than anything in this world, her wish: to finally manifest. And manifest Ina does. Into something more powerful than Asra imaged. Unfortunately, it is not the happiest of celebrations, because Asra learns again that it is a very scary thing to wish for something, and there will always be consequences of shaping the future. From there we are sent on a journey and an adventure, where Asra is trying to do the right thing, while also trying to learn who and what she really is. And I promise, it is nothing short of amazing. And we get to meet so many wonderful side characters. Even though I’m very biased towards Hal, who is a PoC who stole my heart completely. I instantly loved him. And let me tell you, the Romance in this book is everything I’ve ever wanted in my life, seriously. “Love was the way he made me laugh when I least thought it possible, and the way our voices came together to sing a tavern song inappropriate for most company. Love was the way he kissed me until I knew without doubt that anywhere he was would be home.” This book has such an important discussion on unconditionally love, and how you are always worthy and deserving of it. We see unapologetic heartbreak in this book, and it’s not easy to read, but it’s so important to read. Very rarely is your first love your only love, and sometimes you figure that out in a very hurtful way. And just in general, nothing hurts worse than when someone you love hurts you, betrays you, or chooses to not love you anymore. Learning that it is okay to love again, and that you are worthy of love, is something that so many people struggle with, myself included. And in case you need a reminder, from a random book reviewer: You are deserving of love, always and forever, you are deserving of love. “In these dark and lonely moments, did she think of me as I thought of her?” And I see people saying this feels info-dumpy? But I honestly didn’t feel like that at all. Maybe it is because I read so much Adult High and Epic Fantasy? But I easily understood and fell in love with the world and the world building. I thought it was super easy to understand, yet I was completely mesmerized at every new development. Like, I truly think this world was close to perfect in my eyes. And this is completely irrelevant to my rating, but I still have to shout it from the rooftops: This book has one of my all time favorite names! And you all know I’ve read a lot of books, and this was the first time I have ever seen it printed in a story. And I’m not that big of a tease to not tell you all; the name is Garen, and I first fell in love with it back 2011 when I first installed League of Legends. Well, it’s 2018 and it is still my all-time favorite, so I couldn’t resist gushing. Also, to further prove that the universe perfectly aligned to put this book into my hands. And this book is truly a blessing. It had everything I like to see in my Fantasy: Girls with hidden powers, blood magic, herbal healing, gods, tyrant kings, traveling from city to city, secret societies, swoon-worthy romance, friendship, motherhood, twists, turns, betrayals, and… dragons. Honestly, I know I’m not even near considered a teen anymore, but I feel like I was completely targeted by this book. And I think so many of my Adult Fantasy reader friends would love this one, too. The writing is beautiful, the journey and adventure were perfection, the messages are so important. I was living for the feministic themes, I was swooning over the romance, I was crying over the reveals. I will carry this story with me forever, I will recommend this story to every fantasy lover I ever meet, I will always consider myself blessed to have been privileged enough to open this book. The only negative thing I can even think of saying is that I’m kicking myself that I haven’t read Of Fire and Stars yet. I feel like this book did such a wonderful job hinting at what is to come, and I am so excited. I am 100% obviously telling you that you can read this first and completely enjoy the story, but I bet you’d get a lot of enjoyment if you have read Of Fire and Stars. Overall, this was everything to me. It means more to me than I can say, or any word combination my fingers could type for you. I loved this. I truly loved this with the sum of my being. And the more I think about it, the more I fall in love with it. I just hope you all give it a try and fall in love with it, too. Blog | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram | Youtube | Twitch The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.Buddy read with Jules! ❤

♦ Video Review ♦ Inkmistress is an unbelievably good book. It has so many great elements to it and does everything so very well. There's not a single person I wouldn't recommend this to. “Because love was a heart filled with kindness, eyes a deep brown that warmed me from the inside out, and a hand I could count on to hold through the next adventure.” I don't even know where to start this review because I simply loved everything about this book so much. It has been a really long time since a novel has taken me by surprise as much as this did. I went into it with hesitant excitement because I was curious to read more by Audrey Coulthurst but I wasn't the biggest fan of the plot in Of Fire and Stars and also I don't really like to read about dragons. So seeing the dragon on the cover definitely curbed my excitement as well.But then I loved every single second of this book. If you look at my updates there was not one part that I didn't enjoy. I didn't want to stop reading and the further I got into this, the more elements I loved were added.The first thing I noticed was the writing. I was able to be immediately invested in the story because the writing is so beautiful. It's nothing intense, it's easy to read and understand but everything is described with such wonderful simple metaphors, that it's just really easy to understand the character's thoughts and feelings.The world building was fantastic. That was actually one of the parts I really enjoyed in Of Fire and Stars and so I was hoping Inkmistress would deliver as well and OH BOY, it did. The world was complex but at the same time easy to understand and so intriguing, so you constantly crave for more information about it. Audrey Coulthurst has created this whole, wonderful universe and I hope she writes much more stories set in this world!I absolutely loved the main character, Asra. Her journey was incredibly well done. She had amazing character development and I thought every single train of thought she had was, while not always reasonable, understandable. I loved how she had moments where she just wanted to give up on her big plan to save her home, where she just wanted to leave with the people she loves and leave everything else behind. She was weak and naïve in many parts but so strong and selfless in others. She is a demigod and powerful but also so human and always a little bit afraid of her own abilities. Asra is exactly the kind of nuanced protagonist we need.There were also so many amazing side-characters. I loved the male love interest because he was such a SOFT BOY and I just wanna hug him, give him flowers and put him in a blanket and I hope he is okay at all times.The villain was so kick-ass too. Their whole development was so interesting and well done. So many things were upsetting to see but at the same time I thought even the villains decisions were at all times relatable and it was easy to understand their perspective.All of these great characters lead to great relationships as well. There was (found-)family, friendship, romance and all of it so well crafted. There really wasn't a relationship I wasn't invested in in some way. Even with characters we're supposed to hate, Coulthurst manages to write their relationships in ways that will make you care. “And just as surely as Ina had shattered me, he put me back together piece by piece until the fire he ignited burned brighter than any she had ever called.For the first time since leaving Amalska, I felt like I was coming home.” As in Of Fire and Stars, Audrey Coulthurst does an amazing job at sexuality representation. In this world there's no heteronormativity. Asra is in love with a girl in the beginning of the story and falls for a boy throughout the novel and it's never once brought up as an issue or something confusing.Overall I'd highly recommend this novel to everyone, I truly do. I think there's nothing about it not to love and it is a story that will not let me go for a while.♦ Booktube Channel ♦ Twitter ♦ Instagram ♦I received an ARC of this through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review!

ARC provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.UPDATE: changing my rating to 5 stars because I just can't stop thining about this book. It really is that good. Inkmistress was a surprise and a delight. I’d seen such luke warm reviews of Coulhurt’s work that I had let reading her books slide down my list of priorities. Inkmistess – prequel to Of Fire and Stars but set a long time before the events of that book – showed me just what I’d been missing. On one hand I do understand the more negative reviews of the book. The MC is less flashy, less dynamic than is generally fashionable in YA fiction at present. If you tend not to like MC’s who agonise over doing the right thing, who are a little naïve and reticent, and over whom personal affection has a great hold than the call to adventure, then you may have a hard time bonding with Asra. I loved her - possible because she is so unlike me actually, and because she genuinely wants to do good. I appreciate someone who wants to live a quiet, simple life giving back to their community even if I can’t fully embrace that myself. The other thing to remember with Asra is that she has been secluded from other people most of her life, forbidden to speak of her powers. And they are potentially terrifying – the ability to shape the future or alter the past with her blood. Just let that sink in a moment. Now think about all the consequences that would result from either…yeah, that. She’s not fully in control of her power either and plenty of unscrupulous people think nothing of using her to shape the world to their liking.Hence Asra is really careful. If you mistake her wariness for lack of agency though, you’d be making a mistake. Personally I love the fact that we have a strong heroine here whose primary indicators of strength and agency are empathy and affection rather than the ability to kick ass. (I love a good female fighter but when authors use the ability to fight as shorthand for strength in a character with no other back up then all they are doing is creating another empty and potentially harmful stereotype.) Let’s talk diversity because this book does that well. There are different races and cultures represented, different sexualities and characters with disabilities. I’d call that a damn good start. And unlike certain other YA spec fic novels, Inkmistess presents this diversity as a facet of the characters rather than as a unique selling point where the character is literally their race or gender or sexuality and nothing else. I love that Asra is bisexual, and I love the fact that it’s presented as natural and no big deal. That it’s ok for her to have a relationship with a man as well as a woman and whoever she ends up with she’s still bisexual. Coulthurst has such a deft touch with this and portrays Asra’s sexuality believably and respectfully. The world building is fantastic. However it is narrative heavy and very descriptive. I mean we’re not talking Tolkien levels of description here but if you like your world building painted in short broad strokes you may not enjoy it. Personally I really liked the slow reveal of plot and world, and the beautiful prose used for both. The visuals conjured up are so vivid it’s like watching a movie. And this book is a long way from being devoid of action – plenty happens and there are several twists, turns and cliffhangers. (In fact my reading buddy, Melanie, who set the schedule left us on TWO exquisitely painfully cliffhangers so she shall forever more be known as the Cliffhanger Queen…) Which brings us onto the emotional content. If you hurt when a character hurts that’s a good sign that the author has caught your empathy and seriously some of the things that happen to Asra really hurt. This is not a passive read where you get to the end unscathed. If I have one criticism it’s that a couple of things happen too quickly for my taste – the end felt a little rushed for instance. That said it in no way detracted from the overall reading experience. This is a coming of age novel in a fantasy setting against apparently insurmountable odds. It’s a story about finding out who you are, distinct from what you’ve always believed about yourself, and about how to make choices and live with the consequences. But most of all it’s about new beginnings and its final message is one of hope. At turns bitter and sweet, and yearning, this is not to be missed.Buddy read with the lovely Melanie

(4.5 stars) Blood! Tears! Bisexuality! No, seriously, so much blood.This was definitely the logical follow up to Of Fire and Stars. Like the original book, this book has enough dull spots that I'll understand when people don't love it as much, but in the end it made me feel so many things I couldn't possibly not love it.Also worth noting that despite being labeled "book 0.5", this book can definitely be a standalone, read before, after, or without Of Fire and Stars.So let's get the book's flaws out of the way so I can end with why I love it. The book starts out a bit clunky. It didn't immediately draw me in, and the writing felt a bit contrived (or at least the utter peacefulness of Asra's setting did). It took a little while for the writing to hit its stride, but it did eventually amp up with the plot. I think the main problem was the book doing more telling than showing. In order to quickly establish Asra's goals and what's at stake, we keep being told that she wants to join a community and have a family — which is a cool motivation, but it would have come across better if we were shown it more at the beginning.In terms of worldbuilding, I would have liked it to be more fleshed out. I want to know more about how the animal forms work, just because it's cool, and I want the "magical rituals" Asra can do to be less vague so it would be more unique.But I still really liked this book! And I know that's because the ending always sticks with me more than whatever problems the beginning had, but that's just how it is. The book is filled with betrayal, plot twists, and a slow burn romance. I wasn't sure if I would fall for Audrey Coulthurst's romance when the main ship wasn't wlw (our bi mc meets a guy after her ex-girlfriend goes all murder-y), but I did end up happy with it.The villains are so complex, and some of them so fleshed out they make me feel so many things. I would totally read more about them, actually? And Audrey Coulthurst has this way of writing scenes with such deep injustice that make you actually fill up with anger and emotion and it's so good. It's a torrent of emotions and then the ending is so satisfying. Plus it's so casually full of queer characters (bi main character and side character, other wlw background characters, even a genderfluid god casually mentioned once or twice)!

What a great book! I enjoyed it even more than the first book set in this fantasy universe. The world building, while not knock-your-socks-off, is very good, the writing is quite lovely, and the story and characters captivated me from the beginning. I guessed things a few times, but other times the plot went in directions I didn't expect. It's a story about love and found family above all things. The main romance (between a boy and a girl) is wonderfully done while still asserting the validity and importance of Asra's previous relationship with a girl. A lot of bisexual women and girls struggle with feeling not queer enough or that their queerness is invalid, especially if they're in relationships with men/boys, and this YA book is a wonderful counterpoint to that without ever being preachy or didactic. Yay bisexual books! It really felt like this YA was doing something new with bisexual representation: there wasn't a love triangle where one interest is a boy and the other is a girl, it wasn't about a girl who has only dated boys falling for a girl for the first time, and the fact that she was bisexual was irrelevant to the plot even though her ex-girlfriend is key to the story. It's also set in a fantasy world with no bi/homophobia, which is a nice change! The more I think about it, the more Inkmistress feels like a radical bisexual book.

3.5 StarsLoved the story and the bisexuality!

***I was provided with an eARC by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review***First of all...I LOVE that this is in the same world that "Of Fire and Stars" is. I was hoping for a novella, and this was so much more. It's a great story with it's own emotions and awesome characters. I wasn't TOO sure about it at first, I was scared I could keep comparing the two or that I would want the other characters to make an appearance, but...this book held it's own.There are plenty of awesome magical aspects with these characters. There are demigods, gods, manifests, kings, and a dragon. Love me some dragons. This story is about Asra. She's a very special demigod with a very rare talent. A talent that people would kill or hurt her for. She's been secluded most of her live up on a mountain with the "witch" who raised her when her parents (one is a god) left her. She is a little naive, and isn't used to much human interaction. She has fallen for a girl in the near by town, Ina, and that is where everything starts to go wrong. From there even after event happens, this is a very fast paced book and you're always anticipating the next big/bad thing to happen.Eventually Asra realizes who she can trust and moves on and lets go of past hurt.I feel like story touches on some great situations such as emotional abuse, adoption, being used, trust, heartbreak, love, self worth, betrayal, and realizing that family isn't always blood. I wanted a little more of the ending of this story. I wanted more of Hal and Asra and what happened after.

Trigger warnings: self harm, emotional manipulation, claustrophobia, agoraphobia (? Or a form of it I'm not sure. I googled and it seemed to match up...), physical abuse and torture, mmm that's it I think. So I knew this was a 5 star book two chapters in because the ending that I had predicted literally happened at the end of the second chapter. I THOUGHT I knew what was going to happen. And I was right. But then after that I had no fucking clue where it was going which is absolutely the best. I feel like I've started to get to a point in reading where I can recognise and predict tropes and that's just a buzzkill. This book killed the buzzkill. I have also never read a book where people are just so casually gay. It was glorious. I've read books with queer protags and love interests and the occasional LGBTQ+ person in the background. Here we had a random woman with a wife and the ancient tale of two men in love and oh there go another two bisexual people and oh wait look she's now in love with a woman how absolutely ordinary etc etc. The only book that comes close is Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli although so much of that served a purpose. Like the diversity there had intention and I appreciated that because it served to validate intersectional existence. Inkmistress' diversity seemed very real and casual. And that is a different kind of amazing. Bless Audrey Coulthurst I was screaming from chapter three till the end.

4/5 ⭐️ This had awesome characters and plot and like everything about it was good. I’ve never read a book about a blood scribe, or people calling upon the gods to help them transform into a animal.

This book opens really beautifully with a lonely demigod pining for spring and her girlfriend and then OH GOD FIFTY PAGES OF BANDITS AND DEATH AND DRAGONS AND EVERYTHING GOES HORRIBLY WRONG SO VERY QUICKLY. The story seriously rockets off right in the beginning and never lets up, as our poor Asra who has spent most of her life in a damn cave has to journey across the realm chasing down her ruthless, murderess ex while navigating all kinds of complications with politics, magic, the gods. There is so much depth and intricacy to the workings of her world, and a beautiful arc for a complicated girl-god who is learning to embrace her power and find her place in the world. AND DID I MENTION CHARMING, ROGUEISH HAL WHO SINGS INAPPORPRIATE BAR SONGS? He’s the absolute best.

Asra has lived a sheltered life on an isolated mountain. She’s content to spend her life as quiet as possible as the local town’s healer because she has a dangerous secret: she’s a demigod whose blood can do a number of things, including dictate the future. If anyone knew what Asra can do, she’d be a huge treasure for people with nefarious wishes. Unfortunately for Asra, she shares too many of her secrets with the mortal woman she loves, Ina. When Ina asks for help, Asra decides to help her girlfriend by using her blood to write the future. Asra’s blood magic accidentally triggers a terrible tragedy that drives Ina to reveal her true nature as she strives to take revenge on the king. Asra is forced to leave the comfort of her secluded mountain to stop Ina, which triggers a journey of self-discovery.I absolutely loved Of Fire and Stars, so when I saw that there was a prequel, I knew I had to read it. The fun thing about this prequel is that it takes place 200 years before the first book in the series, so what happens in this story deeply affects society as well as how magic works long before Denna and Mare are born. That said, it’s a completely different story that doesn’t have any of the same characters. I do wonder if a certain character at the end turns out to be one of Denna’s ancestors, but as of right now, that’s a question for another time.Like the first book, I love how complex the characters are. We get a pretty good idea that things are not what they seem early on. Asra is sheltered and she grew up believing that she’d have to spend her life alone and single. Through her journey, Asra discovers that life cannot be viewed through the lens she did when she was living a smaller life. She learns about herself and her abilities in ways that she might not have had she never set off on a journey to stop Ina. Asra also travels through cities that she had never dreamed of and meets all kinds of people, both good and bad. Along the way, she also discovers that she doesn’t have to be alone and that she can trust some people. While this takes place in a fantasy world, I think that it is relatable to anyone who was sheltered until they broke away and explored the life they didn’t know that they could have.In addition to Asra, we have characters like Ina who isn’t necessarily evil, but is definitely somewhere in the gray area. She cares about people and has her hopes and dreams that are dashed, which then creates new motives and a harsh shell. We also see that she does soften a bit and that, at her core, she does care about others even though she chooses a violent and deceptive path.There are a variety of characters that we meet along the way. We see sweet, guarded, sad, angry, distraught, and naive characters. I think that it’s important to see characters like these in books because not everyone is perfect and sometimes those who mean well don’t always make the best choices. In fact, some people eventually become soured by their life experiences, like one of the character’s sisters was. Then there are people who are too trusting and others that do not trust enough, and those are just small parts of who they are.The story did drag a little around the middle, and Asra’s romantic struggles overshadowed the big picture at some point, but I did enjoy the book. Overall, it’s a wonderful book and I am looking forward to see what book two has to bring and how various parts of this prequel will impact the story.

A copy of this novel was provided by HarperCollins for review via Edelweiss.Oh, I really liked Inkmistress. This fantasy journey book with a bi girl protagonist was everything my heart needed right now. There was so much magic, and love, and darkness, and light, and family, and beauty, and animal companions. I loved so much about Inkmistress.When I started reading Inkmistress a few days I ago I had no recollection of what it was about. All I remembered was that it was set in the same world as Of Fire and Stars , and that it had a bi protagonist. I am actually really glad I didn’t go back and re-read the synopsis of Inkmistress because it made it all the more enjoyable. I discovered everything at the same time as the main character, Asra, and there was more than enough world building and introduction that I knew what was going on without having read a synopsis prior to starting.I knew from the moment I read the first few pages of Inkmistress that I was going to love it. Asra’s voice just clicked with me, and the build up to the main plot was really lovely. Even though I am quite partial to slower moving storylines, I also adore fantasy journey storylines (like Huntress by Malinda Lo, and more recently Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi). So when Inkmistress started off slowly and built into a magical journey I was incredibly happy. Both sides of my storyline-loving heart were appeased.A lot of Inkmistress focuses on relationships, which I adored. Even though this is a fantasy, and yes there were heaps of magical happenings, the focus on love and friendship and family was probably my favourite aspect. Reading about Asra’s growth over the course of the book, and the way her feelings towards several characters change over time was incredibly personal. There were moments of heartbreak and turmoil, but there were also so many moments of quiet and unconditional love and companionship, as well. The relationship aspect of this book were by far my absolute favourite, especially since they were not limited to only Asra’s relationships, but also those of the people around her.Having a bi girl at the helm of this novel was just incredible. I am so, so here for more queer fantasy stories, and to actually see them being published with more frequency makes my heart feel fit to burst. I loved the bi rep in this, and I loved that Asra was so very comfortable in her sexuality and that queerness was accepted in this world. I am 100% here for queernormative narratives.All in all, Inkmistress was a lovely surprise. I had a feeling I would enjoy it, but I ended up loving it. I don’t want to say much more because like I mentioned earlier, it was great going into Inkmistress without knowing much about it. So I’m leaving it up to you to get to know more about Asra and her world because they are definitely worth it.© 2018, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.trigger warning: Child abandonment, reference to death of mother, reference to death of caregiver, reference to multiple deaths via floods, death of whole village by arson/murder, romantic cheating, unknown parental lineage, reference to death of half brother, murder (graphic), murder of animal manifest (graphic), attempted murder, character held in confined space, semi-explicit childbirth, infertile character, and use of ableist language

I really enjoyed the history that this story brings to the world that Audrey created with Of Fire and Stars. There is a lot of action in this, and it is quite a fast paced story of self discovery, love and betrayal.The only reason it doesn't get the full five stars, is that I felt the characters lacked a little bit of depth. I want to be able to put myself into the shoes of the characters, I want to feel, I want to be emotional about their success' and their failure's and sadly that didn't happen for me with this book. It fell a little flat in that department. But still stunning descriptions, and a fantastic look at the history of this world.