Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst book review

Asra is a demigod with a dangerous gift: the ability to dictate the future by writing with her blood. To keep her power secret, she leads a quiet life as a healer on a remote mountain, content to help the people in her care and spend time with Ina, the mortal girl she loves. But Asra’s peaceful life is upended when bandits threaten Ina’s village and the king does nothing to help. Desperate to protect her people, Ima begs Asra for assistance in finding her manifest-the animal she’ll be able to change into as her rite of passage into adulthood. Asra uses her blood magic to help Ina, but her spell goes horribly wrong and the bandits destroy the village, killing Ina’s family. Unaware that Asra is at fault, Ina swears revenge on the king and takes a savage dragon as her manifest. To stop her, Asra must embark on a journey across the kingdom, becoming a player in lethal games of power among assassins, gods, and even the king himself. Most frightening of all, she discovers the dark secrets of her own mysterious history- and the terrible, powerful legacy she carries in her blood.

This book was so good! I love that I’m finding so many good books. Well good to me lol I believe this takes place a long time before Of Fire and Stars.

First and foremost, I love Asra. She just made me cheer her on and want the best for her. I would say that she did overreact at some points, however that would be hypercritical of me because I can see myself reacting the exact same way.

Ina reminded me of Hans from the first Frozen. There is a very specific moment in the story where that comparison is spot on. Like it was the first thought I had when it happened after I verbally said “Well damn.”

There are characters we meet later on that I either loved or hated, which is what I’m meant to do. One became my favorite alongside Asra. I can definitely see myself rereading this!