Review: Inked (Gilded Blood #1)

• Title: Inked

• Author: Rachel Rener

• Series: Gilded Blood #1

• Genre: Fantasy Romance

• Rating: ☆☆☆.5

**Thank you BookSirens for a copy of this ARC. These are my honest thoughts.**

This book started so fantastically well that it was a shame that it lost some of its momentum along the way. I loved the characters, especially Biscuit, and the storyline was fascinating too. Sadly, it lost me around midway with it being a little too much and jumping all over the place. The way it was wrapped up also was far too rushed and didn't make a lot of sense to me given the slower pace through the first half of this book. With how quirky and fun the beginning was, I am a little disappointed by this. I had built up high hopes, but it just veered too left field for me. I think if the pacing had been better dealt with through the latter parts, this story would have captivated me to the very end. It got very dramatic with the revelations and build-up to the final sprint, and whilst I understand this is only book one of the Gilded Blood series, I felt it was left with too many loose threads for where it ended to give me enough incentive to pick up the next novel in the series.

However, there was a lot to like about this world Rachel Rener created. The concept of the colours we know in the human world being so different in the Fae realm was a very clever touch. I loved how colour continued to be a focus of this world and how magical the Fae inks Zayn created were. The idea that Fae inks could come to life was a fantastic addition to this world, and whilst the runes were interesting, I loved the idea of the bow and arrow, for example - practical and easy storage in a tattoo! The banter between the characters was quite hilarious at times - Biscuit stole the show - as was the sexual tension between Zayn and Talia. Admittedly, the last passionate scene was a bit too much for me, but otherwise, I enjoyed the forbidden attraction they shared. Talia was a decent main character and quite relatable in both realms. Her mother was exasperatingly fun, and I liked her addition to the chaos of Talia's life. Zayn wasn't my favourite love interest, but I didn't mind him either. The creatures found in the Fae realm were well established, and I liked learning more about them.

I didn't much enjoy the curse/enslaved aspect or anything about the villains, admittedly. It felt like they were thrown in but never really dealt with (minus the rat move, that was clever). I was expecting a bigger showdown than what happened.

This is a decent story if you plan to commit to the full series to get the whole picture. Sadly, it didn't hook me enough to continue. Still, I can appreciate the uniqueness of this book and the world Rener has created, and my rating reflects this.