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Friday, January 31, 2014

Review: Death of Ink

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The Death of Ink
Book One
By M. M. John

Synopsis:
Paige Langley’s life has always revolved around good grades and escaping her less than ideal home life…but once she meets Devon Connors, her life drastically changes.

Although, they share an instant attraction, Devon’s concealing a dark past. And an even darker secret…there’s a dead girl haunting him nightly.

Resolute to win the school’s writing contest, Paige will do just about anything to achieve her goals. So after she finds a binder containing information on a past murder and the illegal activities of the students, she believes the stories are fictional and the perfect way to win the contest.

But the owner of the manuscript, Devon Connors, has other plans. To keep Paige from exposing his secrets, Devon befriends her and even offers to help her write a winning story for the contest.
The chemistry between Paige and Devon is undeniable, but Paige doesn’t know if she can trust him. The deeper she digs into the dark underbelly of their high school, the more she realizes that some secrets are better left buried.


Review:
    This book has me so conflicted! Do I like it or don't I? By the end of the book I had decided for the most part I liked Death of Ink, despite some of the oddities that bothered me while I read it.  
    I'm going to get what I didn't like about Death of Ink out of the way first because it is my least favorite part of reviewing novels.
    Death of Ink is disjointed and confusing. You feel like you are missing pieces of the story and you kind of sit there wondering if you accidentally skipped something while you were reading or if  M.M. John simply decided not to include things that would clear up the plot. It is my belief that the author does this to create mystery and mystique for Paige and Devon but the technique falls short leaving the reader with incomplete characters.
    The other tragic flaw of Death of Ink is that it left more questions asked than answered. Just as I really started getting into the story and invested in the characters I realized that there are very few pages left to read and nothing had been wrapped up. Then came the ending. Oh the ending .I sat there for about a minute and a half wondering where the rest of the book was. Surely a book can't end without concluding a single solitary story line. Yet it does. It was as if  M. M. John was about to miss the deadline and turned in an unfinished manuscript and it went to print.
    What bodes well for Death of Ink is that when it ended and I was sitting there wondering where the rest of the book was I was actually interested in what would happen to Paige and Devon next. I was disappointed that I had reached the end and wanted more.
    Death of Ink instantly drew me in with it's excellent writing and storytelling. The narrative was captivating. M. M. John creates likable characters with Paige and Devon. Both come from homes that have a lot of family issues that are beyond the usual divorced parents. Their love of writing as the basis of their friendship is unique and intriguing. Readers and writers a like should find the plot line interesting.
    Death of Ink had the potential to be a four, even five, star book but the conclusion of the story and the jumpy narrative that leaves out plot made me rate it lower. But despite its flaws it is an interesting and quirky read I think literature lovers will enjoy.
    Despite its short fallings I would probably pick up the next book in the series just to see what happens next and hopefully figure out some of the mysteries that were left unresolved in Death of Ink.

Rating: ***/*****

About the Author:
College student by day, clandestine writer by night, M. M. John lives in a Florida town full of ghosts, mysteries and secrets. The Death of Ink is her first novel.



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