(This review may contain spoilers).
Ideally, I’d give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. I thought the blurb sounded really unique and having had the chance to read book one in the series and enjoyed it, I was happy to see this book was free on Amazon for the Kindle.
I felt like Shirlyn came across as a very stereotypical teenager. I did get the impression she didn’t really care about going on a trip through time, but it wasn’t clear if that was because she’d already gone on so many, or if she just didn’t like the idea. If it was the former, then her father explaining how everything worked didn’t make a lot of sense; but if it was the latter, her whole attitude didn’t make a lot of sense.
It was nice to see the magi as a focus in this book and I particularly liked the fact there was a language barrier, though I have to admit, I didn’t really feel like Shirlyn’s father had planned the trip with his wife and daughter in mind, considering he was the only one who was able to communicate verbally with them.
Out of the three magi (and it was a little disappointing to see the number stuck at three, as it’s possible, from a historical standpoint, that there were more than that), Balthazar was the only one who had any real development. I found his abilities to be really intriguing and I would have liked a bit more speculation on his background… and that of the others, too.
While I could understand the concept of the silhouettes, I’m still not sure how leaving a Daily Reminder could really affect the past, as it’s made quite clear that those people were only echoes of the real historical people; which carried implications that the past was completely set in stone.
If it wasn’t for Shirlyn, I probably would have given this book 4 stars. I felt this book was better geared for a younger readership, but I did still enjoy reading it. I just felt like Shirlyn’s emotions changed too quickly and that she was quite a shallow person.
But this book did succeed in making me want to see more of the characters from book one.
Ink of Blood 