Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Stolen Ink (Ink Born, #1)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Stolen Ink

(Ink Born #1)

Holly Evans (Goodreads Author)

3.92 · Rating details · 780 ratings · 167 reviews

I’m Dacian, a tattoo magician, and my life went from my biggest concern being finding a pretty guy to fall into bed with at the end of the week to everything falling apart around me.

There are two problems in my life.

Number one – I’m an ink magician, the thing of myths. A lot of very powerful people would love to get their hands on me, and I have no intention of letting th ...more

Get A Copy

Or buy for $2.99

Kindle Edition, 212 pages

Published February 10th 2017 by Chaos Fox

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Stolen Ink, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about Stolen Ink

Lists with This Book

February 2017 MM Releases

141 books — 213 voters

The Lightning-Struck Heart by T.J. Klune

M/M Gay Romance with Witches or Magic

279 books — 196 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.92 ·

Rating details

· 780 ratings · 167 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Stolen Ink (Ink Born, #1)

Feb 19, 2017 ☆ Todd rated it liked it

Shelves: kindle-unlimited, mine

This story had such a cool and unique concept that I immediately knew that I had to read it.

The premise was that certain people had parts of their soul that manifested themselves as animals. The person would feel their animal clawing to get out, go to a tattoo magician, then the tattoo magician would 'feel' the identity of their animal and tattoo it onto their skin.

Once the tattoo was complete, its owner could then press on the tattoo to 'release' it into the living world. For example, the ...more

flag 30 likes · Like · see review

Mar 02, 2017 Cadiva rated it liked it

I so, so badly wanted to give this book a higher rating but it was just too frustrating. When it started I was absolutely delighted and felt like I was stepping into a new world with its own rules where magic simply existed as a natural thing.

The idea of tattoo magic was brilliant, I could see them coming to life on the skins of the people visiting the tattoo parlour but then the story narrative went off sideways on a danger that just never really felt earnt or properly explained.

Two many concep ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Mar 09, 2018 Montzalee Wittmann rated it it was amazing

I want a tattoo like those!

Stolen Ink by Holly Evans is a terrific fantasy with a magical tattoos, shifters, someone stealing tattoos ( magically that causes death), lots of mystery, great characters, fun fantasy, and gay romance. Enjoyed it completely!

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Apr 30, 2017 RoAnna Sylver rated it it was ok

Shelves: reviews, nope

Super intriguing concepts, super disappointing execution... which makes this almost more frustrating and discouraging. I looked forward to this one greatly/actually used it as a reward book - get stuff done, read the cool ink-magic tattoo-thief serial killer book with tons of gay and one example of aroace rep. Sounded amazing. And that is why it has two stars instead of a flat one. The concepts can be interesting, and non-awful aro/ace rep is rare, and that is one part of the book that doesn't d Super intriguing concepts, super disappointing execution... which makes this almost more frustrating and discouraging. I looked forward to this one greatly/actually used it as a reward book - get stuff done, read the cool ink-magic tattoo-thief serial killer book with tons of gay and one example of aroace rep. Sounded amazing. And that is why it has two stars instead of a flat one. The concepts can be interesting, and non-awful aro/ace rep is rare, and that is one part of the book that doesn't disappoint. Vyx is good and I'm here for her. THE REST, HOWEVER...

Unfortunately, we've got repeated use of the phrase "spirit animal," which as we should know in the year 2017 is appropriative as all get-out - doesn't matter if it's elves or another magic system, do not write this unless you belong to a Native/Indigenous culture that uses them. Especially not as presented as an actual magic concept in an urban fantasy, with no Native characters even in the book! At first I thought this was one of the (many) awkward-phrasing issues, until we're shown that no, these elven spirit animals (which are never explained further) are deliberately different from the 'ordinary' tattoo-magic animals... and it becomes an actual plot point.

Please. Stop. This. There's really no excuse left by now. I don't even know how else to say it, just don't do this, *especially* when presenting actually plot-relevant "spirit animals" in the realm of fantasy/further reinforcing the stereotype of actual cultures/spiritualities being magical/exotic/in this case, *literally* inhuman. (Elves!) It's just... never good, and is actively harmful.

Other various problems that kept me from enjoying this:

* Many, many, many small editing errors. Wonky punctuation/missing or repeated words, or just very awkward phrasing. Unnatural dialogue and interaction - not referring to the copious touching/displays of affection that bothered someone else. I mean that characters will appear and disappear with zero explanation (Caiden and Ethan do this the most), small issues on their own, but enough of them to really take me out of a reading.
* The same phrases being repeated/hammered in - I'm not talking about the "old friend" another reviewer mentioned, or even the "other half" of another side character who is called this and only this; I can buy that. (Elves, handwave, elves.) But small-but-often things like saying tattoo cat Kyra is a "disloyal wretch" - once, okay fine? And yes, believable, cats tend to follow the food. Don't need to hear it upwards of 5 times, and this is just the first example that comes to mind.
* We're half-introduced to a ton of (interesting-sounding!) concepts, and then they're never explained - just a truckload of missing details or things that aren't fleshed-out. Did we ever even learn the name of "the city" in which this takes place? It's called "the city" around 17 times, but never NAMED. And not in a way that seemed intentional! It's in the US, and that is the extent of my knowledge. Why was the temporary truth spell not put to better use? What about the blood oath? This never comes up again, and they're both fairly significant implications. (I could go on - what's the deal with the "wild magic?" Alchemists? What is 'weaving,' specifically, aside from the small demonstration we're shown? How does ink magic differ from traditional tattoo magic, even? How does magical grading work, the different tiers? We're told so many things that have potential, but never shown specifics, and it leaves the book feeling empty.)
* Lackluster characterization. Seriously. I couldn't begin to describe individual personalities, with the exception of Vyx and Keirn. Why is Caiden here? Why is Ethan here? Put Jake in a room with them, how do they interact in ways discernible from one another? Why are several one-off, never-explained or elaborated-on side characters introduced at all if they serve no narrative purpose, and,

(SPOILER AHEAD-)

* Why is the actual murderer/thief none of these numerous characters, with next-to-zero foreshadowing or tangible suspense/mystery-crafting, with only the main character "recognizing him" from college where his (one-scene, never-elaborated) professor slept with a student? And he blames her for breaking up with him or something and this is his origin story (that and chaos magic, which again, is never really explained, and if I didn't already know what a chaote was, I'd be even more lost?). The professor slept with a student, and that student gets pissed when she broke up with him, and started killing people and taking their magic ink. Because chaos magicians are insane. Or something.

OH. KAY.

(End spoiler.)

I really wanted to like this. Entirely seriously. The fact that this is my first negative review in a streak of 20 books is just... galling. Because it really could have been great. I even got pretty fond of individual characters (Keirn, Vyx, Isaiah grew on me a little despite the fact that aside from 'abused/tentative/slowly gaining confidence', I couldn't tell you the first thing about his actual personality, or explain the chemistry/connection between him and the MC) and wanted them to be okay. Unfortunately, given the rest of the book's issues, I can't see picking up the second. Especially if it, anywhere, contains the phrase "spirit animal." ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Sep 29, 2018 Stjepan Cobets rated it really liked it

Recommended to Stjepan by: Fan of YA fantasy

My rating 4.3

Book “Stolen Ink (Ink Born # 1)” by Holly Evans is a pure YA fantasy novel, a lot of beautiful people and love events. The world in which the story is placed I must admit I liked it, the story is solid and fun. The world of the Earth, in which magic is ruled, is very beautiful, in which all races can be seen, from people, elves, fairies, wolves and various magical creatures. The story follows Dacian who tattoo magician, he does magic tattoos that are strongly associated with those w ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Mar 30, 2017 Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight) rated it liked it

Shelves: gay-main-character, read-2017-books, reviewed, review-copy, mancers-mages, lgbtqia, fantasy, paranormal-urban-fantasy, m-m, gay-love-interest

3 Stars

Full Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book via NetGalley. This has not influenced my review.*

So… this book sounded cool because tattoo magic! But it ended up not quite working for me.

One of my issues was that I didn’t understand the world. I know everyone complains about info dumping, but I need a little bit of explanation. I finally got some answers in the second half of the book or so, but there’s still a lot I’m unclear on. It seemed as though the vast majority of the population wer ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Aug 05, 2017 Qin rated it did not like it

Dear author, writing is not the same thing as vomiting; unless one is endowed with prodigious facility for style and truly great powers of imagination, publishing 600 pages in 6 months can only be conducive to gross literary failure. Your concept is pretty unique, but the execution of all three instalments (so far) of the story lacks so much in virtually every department, be it it pacing, narration, characters, world-building, dialogue or action scenes, that one can only suspect you to be sellin Dear author, writing is not the same thing as vomiting; unless one is endowed with prodigious facility for style and truly great powers of imagination, publishing 600 pages in 6 months can only be conducive to gross literary failure. Your concept is pretty unique, but the execution of all three instalments (so far) of the story lacks so much in virtually every department, be it it pacing, narration, characters, world-building, dialogue or action scenes, that one can only suspect you to be selling unrevised first drafts penned at enormous speed to meet a looming deadline. Ever read before about foreshadowing ? building up a mystery tale with studiously disseminated clues and a cogent cast of suspects ? balancing a book so that it has a sharply defined beginning, an harmonious middle where all the twists and turns occur, and an ending providing full closure ? fleshing up your characters to make them three-dimensional and lovable ? sticking close to a well ordained conception of your mythology (magic, ink magic, magical beings, magical classes of users and so on and so forth), so that loose ends are reduced to the bare minimum and the reader is not forced to make informed guesses, when he is not busy second guessing everything he previously took for granted from your less than explicit world building ? For you simply seem to hold that telling a tale is taking your reader for a journey from point A to point B through a mere theatre of shadows; as your narrator is an underwhelming bean counter whose focalization dulls the edge of what ought to have been foreys into a bright world of magic, there is neither flesh nor colours to your tales. You depict nothing, nor do you really tell what happens - you merely sketch the bare bones of the story. This is tantamount to a producer who promised some show featuring a ballet corps, only to deliver in its stead the corpse of the ballet dancers. Where is the literary pleasure in this dry, barren, dessicated map of an universe which held so much promise ? What you deliver is epitomized perfectly in the flat and jejune title of each novel. ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Apr 23, 2018 Len Evans Jr rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned

Oh shit... just finished this and I'm a F-ing mess. I thought my heart was gonna explode... talk about an incredible, intense and an amazing ending. Ms. Evans has a fan for life. This is the 3rd book of by her I have read and each one has been extraordinary. The people she created for this book are just breathtakingly real. She had me so invested in their lives and what would happen to them that it was almost impossible to turn the last 20 pages of the book. I love the world of magic that she ha ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Feb 22, 2017 Siobhan rated it really liked it

Tattoos and magic – two of my favourite things. It goes without saying that I would jump into this one. When you see a combination of your favourite things thrown together, you always jump at such books.

However, it also leaves you with very high standards. As the book contains your favourite things, you expect something wonderful.

Did this book deliver me the amazing story I had been hoping to receive? Unfortunately, it didn’t quite make it. I know I have given the book a four star rating, but in Tattoos and magic – two of my favourite things. It goes without saying that I would jump into this one. When you see a combination of your favourite things thrown together, you always jump at such books.

However, it also leaves you with very high standards. As the book contains your favourite things, you expect something wonderful.

Did this book deliver me the amazing story I had been hoping to receive? Unfortunately, it didn’t quite make it. I know I have given the book a four star rating, but in reality it is more of a three-point-five read. I had an extremely lengthy internal debate as to whether I should give it three or four stars, but in the end the voice in the back of my head whispered ‘tattoos and magic’ which bumped it to the four star round up instead of the three star round down. A part of me still believes I should have rounded it down, but I’m going to stick with the gut reaction of rounding it up.

As the first book in the Ink Born series, this book does a lot to leave you interested in the story. We get to see a decent amount of the world, we’re introduced to many aspects, and we’re left with a lot of curiosity about many things. In terms of leaving me interested in reading more of the series, this book has certainly achieved something. Whilst it’s not at the top of my ‘grab the next in the series’ list, it’s certainly sitting on the list. I’m interested in where this series will head from here, and I want the answers to all the questions in my mind.

Although I am curious about where the story is to go, a part of me feels this story didn’t quite deliver all it could have. I feel as though many aspects of the story weren’t given the depth that it should have been given, with things entering the story to simple be rather than allowing us to truly appreciate the aspect of the story. Certain things may be developed upon in future books, but some parts I wanted to understand in this story. I’m a lover of understanding the world I’m thrown into, a lover of understanding the complexities of magical systems and the laws of the world, but in this one I feel as though my understanding wasn’t quite up to what I usually like.

Don’t get me wrong, the magical system was a lot of fun. I just wanted to understand it more. I wanted to be left in awe of the system, but I never quite reached that point. I just accepted that two of my favourite things were connected, without them coming together in the mind-blowing way they could have. In part, this is my own fault. I really did have such high standards in my mind for the tattoo and magic link – in many ways I was destined to be let down.

Nevertheless, it was an interesting story. It was far too quick for my liking, but there was everything you needed to make an engaging read. I found myself picking up the story whenever I had the chance, interested to see where things would head next. It really did pull me in, even if I do feel as though it was over too quickly. I also feel as though certain themes were given more attention than they should have been. The romance, for example, took up a decent portion of the story but felt rather weak and clichéd. It wasn’t a romance that I cared much for: it simply seemed to exist to add another element to the story. I would have been much happier had the romance not existed, and the magic was given more attention.

As a whole, though, I enjoyed this one. It was an interesting introduction to the series and I’m interested to see where things go from here.

As a final note, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for a review. ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

May 07, 2018 NeRdyWYRM rated it liked it

Unsettling

I have too many questions. You're kind of dumped into this world and it's immersive which is great. It's visceral, raw, kind of dark, and a little terrifying. Everything has weight, but there's almost too much story with too little explanation.

The book gods know I hate an info-dump, but I also want to know why things are significant if it's not obvious. In this case there's all this inferred doom and gloom with no explicative reasoning for it. Ugh. Without the reasons and motivatio Unsettling

I have too many questions. You're kind of dumped into this world and it's immersive which is great. It's visceral, raw, kind of dark, and a little terrifying. Everything has weight, but there's almost too much story with too little explanation.

The book gods know I hate an info-dump, but I also want to know why things are significant if it's not obvious. In this case there's all this inferred doom and gloom with no explicative reasoning for it. Ugh. Without the reasons and motivations behind these characters' actions, personalities and behaviors as they pertained to each other, to Dan, and to the surrounding world, they [and their society] were almost universally hard to swallow. That took away from the success of this story in my opinion.

The world is intensely interesting. Unfortunately, we don't get to see much of it. The details are too sharp and too vague at the same time. It's ... odd and unsettling. I am a massive ball of anxiety right now. At points I was almost nauseous.

Add in the character interactions and I felt like I got dropped into a scary alternate universe without any information or introduction. Like I said, unsettling.

Now, I won't say I enjoyed it because it's too ... mmm hard-edged for that. I am reluctantly fascinated but I don't hold out much hope that future books will untangle these foggy impressions and offer much clarity.

I'm a pretty smart cookie, and generally, I intuitively understand that reading is often about more than just the words on the page; there's also what's written 'between the lines'. I typically gain a sense of the author's intent through their voice. It's brain-muscle memory for me to just 'get' those impressions. Sometimes that's the only thing that smooths over jagged edges left in black and white, but I simply wasn't getting a clear grasp on intent here. Instead it felt like I was flailing and floundering my way through. It either takes a genius or something seriously skewed to confound me that way. I'm still not sure which I'm dealing with here.

It's very well-written and extremely evocative. At the same time, I feel a bit like a fine steak that's been pulverized into ground beef by a meat mallet instead of tenderly marinated. Kind of ruins the dining experience.

So I came away from this one bleeding ink from a thousand cuts and with too many questions to be satisfied. It won't stop me from continuing because it was good even though I'm an angst-xiety ridden mess. But I'm proceeding with caution and prepared to cut bait if it comes to it. ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Feb 25, 2017 Sadie Forsythe rated it liked it

Shelves: kindle-probably-lendable

2.5

I was seriously disappointed in this book. There is such a cool idea here. The connection between characters and their tattoo/companion animals is really interesting. Unfortunately the author did not pull it all together in a complete, engaging story.

The biggest problem is the writing. Sure, it's readable and the dialogue isn't such that it feels amateurish, it's even pretty, but it all feels very shallow, like the reader is only given access to the surface of a much deeper story. I felt che ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Apr 19, 2018 Meep rated it did not like it

Shelves: promo-deals, dnf, fantasy-paranormal-shifter

DNF and a yawn at 38%

This sounded promising but doesn't work. There's all kinds of supernals (unexplained, term just thrown in there) and I think some humans too, pretty sure there's cars, know there's magic and wild magic. Which gives a chaotic insubstantial image of the world. So many things introduced but thrown at the reader without any development, it somehow manages to be lots and lots of wordy often repetitive info dump without actually sharing any information!

It's about tattoos - how can ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Apr 16, 2017 Artemisia rated it liked it

This book had so much potential but it was quite flat. The emotions the MC was feeling were all superficial because the author didn't get too deep on explaining how and why Dan felt the way.
For starters, as other said this isn't a romance but fantasy/paranormal with romantic elements. Which is fine, I'm all for that!
However,
(view spoiler) ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 20, 2017 Achim rated it liked it

Shelves: 1-urban-fantasy-paranormal, x-series-no-real-need-to-follow

3.5
Can't help it, I'm all for urban fantasy where it's completely normal to have supernaturals mixed among the human citizens, getting an idea how that might work out, how the different magic is handled as well as the tensions the different view on life is causing and I always appreciate when I'm not buried under chapter-long explanation and detailed world building. I like it when an author trusts herself and her art and let me explore more or less on my own.

Here I get that aplenty, so much so t ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

May 21, 2018 Calila rated it it was ok

Shelves: free-read, contemporary, ebook, m-m, series, m-m-artist-photo-writer, romance-ish, m-m-mage-shaman-magician, fantasy, kindle-lendable-m-m

Kind of all over the place. Feels like it starts in the middle of the story and then you never get filled in on what you missed. The bad guy is decent but he's off the page entirely too much and then he's handled pretty easily. Was the random stalker ever explained? The romance aspect was lackluster. It's not really even there, but what is it more told than shown. I'm not sure why they had in common. I don't think they ever even truly spoke. There was just a lot of "let's go to bed." which does ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Nov 22, 2017 Michelle Willms rated it really liked it

Original story

This tale is filled with a great cast of characters, a gripping plot, and a series premise interesting enough to ensure future books will be devoured. This does have some romance, so it's really not true urban fantasy, for those who are sticklers about the traditional definition. It's s worthy read, in any case. ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 07, 2017 Jennifer (bunnyreads) rated it it was ok

Shelves: lgbt, 2017, fantasy-urban

The summary had me at Ink magicians! What a cool and interesting premise! Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to the idea of it in my head. The execution was a little shaky but still, so much potential to improve in later stories.

Just a little more rounding out on some of the ideas and characters would have helped me a lot. I would have loved more explanations on the differences between tattoo magics, why it was so bad to be an Ink Magician etc.. It was almost like the author was scared of ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 05, 2017 Ada rated it it was ok

Shelves: shapeshifter, romance-mm, did-not-finish, fantasy-magic

DNF at 59%

I really wanted to like this one but I was so bored/confused. Those two don't mix. So many characters whose name just would not stick with me. Every time if I wanted to continu reading I had to scroll back to see who was what. I tried 3, separate, times to remember what 'the breaker' name actually was and why he was in the story. For something I started just a few days ago... not good.

But the story concept is still very cool in my opinion and maybe somebody else would enjoy it.

p.s. Oh ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 06, 2017 Blaine Hall rated it it was amazing

I absolutely loved this book! Not only were the characters extremely interesting, but the world they inhabited was completely incredible. What a fascinating concept! Who ever heard of an Ink Magician? WOW!!! Holly Evans created a book that I didn't want to put down, and when it was completed, all I wanted to do was get the next book in the series and see what was going to happen. Incredible!! Holly is now on my one click. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 17, 2017 Fangs for the Fantasy rated it really liked it

Davian is a tattoo magician – a man who can sense the magical tattoos under people’s skin and bring them to life. He’s spent most of his life hiding the true extent of his powers, hoping to avoid the attention of the Council and live a quiet life with his friend and business partner Keir and, hopefully, find a cute guy to have some fun with.

Except someone in the city is killing people with tattoos and stealing them – an agonising and terrible way to die. With his power, Dacian is perfectly place Davian is a tattoo magician – a man who can sense the magical tattoos under people’s skin and bring them to life. He’s spent most of his life hiding the true extent of his powers, hoping to avoid the attention of the Council and live a quiet life with his friend and business partner Keir and, hopefully, find a cute guy to have some fun with.

Except someone in the city is killing people with tattoos and stealing them – an agonising and terrible way to die. With his power, Dacian is perfectly placed to stop him and people are pressing him to get involved – but can he stop the killer and stay under the Council’s attention?

I really like the world building of this book – it does a really good job of taking a modern world and making it feel like a Dungeons and Dragons town. We have wizards and cars. We have elves and modern technology. It all seems to work – part of that may be not going into too much unnecessary detail at this point: it does an excellent job of hinting and shaping a lot without going into lots of details

Which is good because we can already see many many kind of wizards each of which are clearly very different from each other. We have elementals. We have fae. We have elves. We have wereanimals. We have a lot – and a whole lot of them are repeatedly touched on with excellent little details that are there to give an impression of a wider, different, broad culture (like the social nature of elves, the personalities of elementals etc etc)

This applies to government as well – we have so many hints of how this is worked related to the Council, how they treat powerful magic users and some indications of the way powerful supernatural forces interact with this organisation

Again, no-one sits down and starts expositioning lots of information about the society – because that would make absolutely no sense at all and would really clutter up this beginning book. But it does an absolutely awesome job of portraying an amazing world without dragging down the story

On top of that the actual focus – tattoo magic, the magic that Dacian and Keir have and the very foundation of the plot of this book. This shows how much imagination and detail can actually go into world building when it’s necessary to the plot

Unfortunately the story does kind of drag in the middle. Dacian spends a lot of time not knowing what to do, he’s kind of been tapped by several people as the one who should do something about the serial killing. He’s understandably reluctant since he’d rather keep his magic secret (and pretty much everyone seems to know he’s more than he seems) and he definitely doesn’t know what to do. So I can get that there’s a bit in the middle of the book where Dacian figures out what he can actually do

But it kind of waffles. What’s there is good – it’s Dacian’s normal life with his excellent relationships with Keir his best friend and Isaiah his love interest and Vyx who joins them. And it’s all fun but the fact there’s a serial killer on the loose seems to be too low a priority.

Read More

...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 26, 2018 caroline wilson rated it really liked it

Shelves: m-f

A pot full of magical beings, loved it.
I received a copy of this book by the author for an honest opinion.

When I read the blurb for this book I was like fantastic, magical, romance and a bit of mystery and yes we got all of the above.
This book is about Dacian whose an ink magician which is rare and who can more easily work the ink network that helps create tattoos that can become alive and realistic in the mortal realm. The ink network is a sentient magic which is imploring Dacian to find the A pot full of magical beings, loved it.
I received a copy of this book by the author for an honest opinion.

When I read the blurb for this book I was like fantastic, magical, romance and a bit of mystery and yes we got all of the above.
This book is about Dacian whose an ink magician which is rare and who can more easily work the ink network that helps create tattoos that can become alive and realistic in the mortal realm. The ink network is a sentient magic which is imploring Dacian to find the person who is corrupting the magic and stealing peoples tattoos leaving them to die in agony due to the separation and its up to Dacian to solve these murders with the help of kairn whose an elf and his friend, vyx a feral (a hybrid of human and shifter but caught between permanently) and his tattoos kyra and aris as well as numerous others. This is the story of them all battling to save people and there tattoos but also a growing relationship between Dacian and Isaiha (a weaver, who can do construction magic ( can reinforce objects to make them strong and also create barriers.)
This story is a well imagined plot as I've never read anything like it, with lovable characters that I just adored with bits of humour and sarcasm. Though I enjoyed reading about this magical world there were a few little things I would of liked more detail on.
At the start of the book we are thrust straight into the world but I would of liked more world building so we could see how its governed and ran so we could better understand the social hierarchy and obviously the council who Dacian was afraid of. Another thing is how did Dacian know he's an ink magician when no one else knows. I also wanted to know more on Dacian and kairns friendship and history and how it came to be and of course kairns mysterious elf who he feels tempted by.
I think because I wasn't so sure at the beginning what a ink magician was I think it could of done with a prologue to set out the world so we knew before getting into the plot, maybe with the prophesy to set the scene.
But all in all I'm looking forward to what's in store for Dacian and the gang. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 09, 2017 J C Steel rated it it was amazing

Dacian’s a tattoo magician. He’s got a business that pays well enough to let him put his feet up and keep the door closed every so often if he wants to, and a good business partner. Going unnoticed is exactly what he likes best. Unfortunately, it looks as if the gods aren’t content any more with merely raining on him; his tattoos are collecting strays, and someone else is apparently collecting other peoples’ tattoos. The words ‘ink magician’ are flying around a lot more than Dacian’s happy with, ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 10, 2018 Karen added it

Shelves: series, paranormal, shifters-weres, urban-fantasy, tattoos, gay-mc, not-rated-for-now, fae-sidhe, the-family-we-choose, the-one

Not rated for now. Stolen Ink was a quickly read urban fantasy with a modicum of suspense, mainly because I was unclear whether it was heading towards the fantasy-romance construct or urban fantasy with a romantic subplot. (The difference for me being whether or not an established love interest can be killed off/replaced as the series progresses. I've appreciated both kinds of series.) Evans has incorporated some intriguing ingredients, one's I've enjoyed in other series: animated tattoos (The M ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 14, 2019 Claudia rated it liked it

Shelves: 3-5-stars, fantasy, mystery, m-m, lgbt

This one is really difficult for me to rate for the following reasons:

I definitely liked the story - the world building is interesting and so complex, I am sure there will be more information on it in the next books. and there are a lot of things which need more explaining
I liked the secondary characters - they are interesting and complex and something to look forward to

now my problem with the book: for most of the book I did not like DAcian. for me he was very self-absorbed and only looking out ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Mar 05, 2017 Catherine rated it really liked it

I really love the premise of this book, the idea of sentient tattoos and that a tattoo magician such as the MC can bring them to life. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions, though I would have liked to get to know them all a bit better. My favorite character is by far Keirn, Dacien's tattoo partner and ex-lover and I love their relationship which to me seems pretty intimate but in a non-sexual kind of way. Also, Kyra is a total floof and a stinkbug which is the most accurate depiction ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 11, 2020 Jenn (not Lily) rated it liked it

Shelves: ku

3.25 stars
I don't know if this is part of a larger world, since I got that 0 to 60 mph feeling without any explanation from the start, but I had at least a bit of a feel for it by the time I finished. Very interesting characters with fascinating gifts and abilities, but I'm not sure when I'll makes my way back to more of this series. Possibly next year, but definitely not right now. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 26, 2017 Mooni rated it liked it

Shelves: ebook, on-kindle

Pleasantly surprised by the colourful and imaginative world.
This story's forte is definitely the many supporting characters, each unique and authentic to the world.
The plot, coupled with slice of life episodes of the cast, was compelling enough to keep me engaged and turning pages.
There are perhaps some minor misgivings in the writing, but overall, I've enjoyed this one more than expected. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 27, 2018 Bran Zesti rated it it was amazing

This book..... Omg this book, it grabs you, holds you. It makes your mind wonder, can be, will he, does he. Take the time read the book!!! I can't wait for the next one!!! I WANT IT!! ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Nov 14, 2018 Sonia rated it liked it

Shelves: sally_wheelsiii

3.5 stars

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jun 21, 2017 Kel (Faerie-bookworm) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2017, kindle, romance, reviewed, magic-users, dragons, fantasy, weres-shifters, fae, male-pov

Title: Stolen Ink
Author: Holly Evans
Genre: Adult Paranormal, MM Romance
Format: Ebook - NetGalley
Pages: 283
Rating: 5
Heat: 3

Thoughts: Oooh, give me more!! So many things to love about this book I’m not sure where to start. The characters where amazing! And the story, wow, it’s different and I love it. To get a tattoo isn’t like how it is in our world. In this world the tattoo magician can sense what the animal is that wants to be tattooed on your body, and if you’re lucky, you can shift into ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Fantasy

45 users

Romance > M M Romance

33 users

Fantasy > Urban Fantasy

32 users

Fantasy > Paranormal

26 users

Fantasy > Magic

20 users

Romance

9 users

LGBT

8 users

Fiction

8 users

Business > Amazon

6 users

M M Romance > M M Paranormal

4 users

See top shelves…

About Holly Evans

Holly Evans

270 followers

Holly Evans is an urban fantasy author with an unhealthy fascination with blades, a deep love of hellhounds, and would love one day to wake up as a fae. When she isn't wrangling rogue characters and trying to tame her muse, she's researching shiny new ninja moves. During her spare time she fights crime and rights wrongs on the streets of County Kerry. ...more