Lindsay's Review: Ink (Paper Gods #1) by Amanda Sun

Ink by Amanda Sun
Series: Paper Gods #1
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Rating: ★★★★★
Pages: 326
Published by Harlequin Teen on June 25th, 2013
Amazon | B&N

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.

Dono yō ni shite iru? Don't know what that says? Don't worry! I'm just asking how are you in Japanese. I actually learned a lot of simple phrases while reading the book and if you know me in real life you're probably sick of me shouting out random things in Japanese.

Now, as much as I hate to admit it, I think that the reason I truly loved this book is because it took place in Japan. I love everything about the culture and the fashion, and Ink made me truly feel like I was really there in Japan. I felt like I was biking down the streets, staring at the sakura trees or in the school, feeling like a black sheep in a field of white.

Amanda Sun combines English and Japanese perfectly, making the words flow while also translating for the reader to understand. There's even a glossary at the back, but I found I didn't even look at it until I finished the book because Ink was so easy to understand. Also, the drawings throughout the book, both actual pictures and doodles, fit well and didn't take away from the story. As the pages kept turning I was genuinely trying to slow down because I didn't want it to end so soon, but I had to fight with myself because I absolutely needed to know what was going to happen next.

Katie is a main character I can relate to. When she's upset, I can really sympathize with her and feel what she's going through. I felt her struggle personally and loved her as a main character no matter what actions she took. 

"You're right," he said. "I'm sorry. Let me draw something to make it up to you."

"Draw yourself getting smacked in the face."

And Tomo as a love interest, despite my caution about how an author would integrate two languages together for romance, was perfect. Everything he did was justified, and unlike typical bad boys, he actually felt real.

I really don't have one bad thing to say about the book, the plot, or the writing. It was all fantastic in my opinion. The only thing I don't like? That I have to wait until the end of June to get a copy of the next book in the series! I want it in my hands right now!