Curse of The Divine
Return to the world of inklings, tattoo magic, and evil deities as Celia uncovers the secrets of the ink in order to stop Diavala once and for all. This eagerly anticipated sequel to Ink in the Blood is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Wicked Saints.
Celia Sand faced Diavala and won, using ink magic to destroy the corrupt religion of Profeta that tormented her for a decade. But winning came with a cost. Now Celia is plagued with guilt over her role in the death of her best friend. When she discovers that Diavala is still very much alive and threatening Griffin, the now-infamous plague doctor, Celia is desperate not to lose another person she loves to the deity’s wrath.
The key to destroying Diavala may lie with Halycon Ronnea, the only other person to have faced Diavala and survived. But Halcyon is dangerous and has secrets of his own, ones that involve the ink that Celia has come to hate. Forced to choose between the ink and Diavala, Celia will do whatever it takes to save Griffin—even if it means making a deal with the devil himself.
Title: Curse of The Divine
Author: Kim Smejkal
Genre: YA / paranormal
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publication Date: 02/09/2021
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Language: English
ISBN: 1328637255
ISBN-13: 9781328637253
My Review
This was such a mystical and imaginative novel, quite intriguing in its premise of blood transforming into the ink that binds reality to the magical dark underworld. It felt somewhat surreal and edging on the paranormal side of things and the dark, dark, dark!
This is the second book in the INK IN THE BLOOD duology. Based upon the blurb and the recommendation for fans of Wicked Saints, of which I am a HUGE fan, I wanted to give this one a try.
Celia, the main protagonist in this novel is entering Wisteria, a town that’s tethered to illusions of ink and magic. Picturesque, and devoid of children, she is after Halcyon Ronnea to avenge the death of her friend Anya.
Not wanting to lose her friend Griffin, the plaque doctor to the dark forces as well, she has to play a double game with Halcycon to gain his trust and destroy Diavala.
A plot that will take Celia to the depths of the underworld of illusions, will test her abilities to sort out reality from the surreal and bring her to the brink of her ink abilities. What will the cost for her be this time?
As the story commences in a tangled mess of events, Griffin and Celia have the chance to do what they came for, but not before more tragic losses are had.
***
I enjoyed this novel but found myself really engaged in some spots and drifting off a little in others. The writing was well done but the story itself was a bit hyper-focused or very centralized to one area.
The idea of ink magic that tethers to objects and can be cast like paint on a canvas to create worlds was definitely fascinating. Just as the ability to create the illusional life was a beautiful act in this story, so was the destruction of these worlds very dark and in stark contrast. A model I thought was very well shown.
The characters were easy to connect to, though I favored Halcyon as the bad guy in this story best.
This is definitely a great duology for young adults to enjoy.
Happy Reading!
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
All opinions are my own.
Thank you!
