{Review} Ink - Amanda Sun

Ink by Amanda Sun
Series: Paper Gods #1
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: Jun 25 / 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look. Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of a girl lying on a bench. A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness. And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine. On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

Thanks so much to Harlequin Teen and Netgalley for this review copy!

Ink was certainly an enjoyable read as I immersed myself in the Japanese culture. There were some parts that I didn't enjoy but overall it was okay.

The part that I loved the most about this book was definitely the Japanese culture. I watch anime and read manga on a regular basis so I really liked seeing the city of Shizuoka. The use of Japanese was good as well but I felt like it might be a bit difficult to read for people who don't watch anime or read manga. It'd be quite tedious to flip from where you're at to the the glossary at the back. But I was okay with the Japanese as I could easily understand simple phrases and words. The Kami was really interesting as well mostly near the end. You can see the descendants of Kamis (like Tomo) use their powers and it's a really cool super power to have :) 

Takanashi Jun, the other love interest in this book was the quiet boy. I liked him better than Tomo at first (and I still do) but I felt like there was always something quite fishy about that guy. And I was right.. I don't think it's much of the love triangle though with Katie loving Tomo so much. Which brings me to my point.

The insta-love. Yes, just kill me now. From the moment Katie saw Tomo, she liked him and proceeded to stalk him and trying to one-up him. The stalking was horrible! Why the heck would you stalk a guy with a bad reputation? And her brainless friend even encouraged her to do so! What kind of logical thinking is this? I wish there was more of Yuki (the bff) and Tanaka though. I also wish there was more stuff about the school and how the education system was like in Japan.

Overall, this is a great story that had me turning the pages but certainly had its flaws. The beautifully described Japan is something unique you wouldn't want to miss :)

Rating: