Review: Angel's Ink

Reviewed by Jen
 

I like this new Urban Fantasy world from Jocelynn Drake.  It's different.  Supernaturals live openly among humans, but the magic-wielding witches and warlocks are set apart from everyone else.  They are powerful, ruthless, and consider themselves gods.  No one can stop them.  No one even dares to question them.

Gage changed that.  Primed to be a warlock from childhood, he turned his back on it all.  He refused to look at humans as chattel and left the Ivory Towers behind to become a tattoo artist.  Of course, he's not only pushing ink, his tats are imbued with special potions that give the recipient a little something extra, from good luck to love spells and beyond.  He remains under the watch of the warlocks, though. If he uses his magic for anything other than self-defense, he's a dead man.

Gage has a little trouble clamping down on his gifts, but he tries. He wants to keep the new life he has made for himself: his tattoo parlor and his two employees and best friends Bronx and Trixie.  Of course, to call Trixie a friend may be a little bit of an understatement. He is head over heels for the beautiful elf in hiding.  He knows she has secrets, but as he learns why she is on the run, the two of them become closer and closer.

Things are going on along pretty well for Gage until a woman dying of cancer comes into his shop, asking for a special tattoo. She tells him she wants wings on her back, saying it may be closest she ever comes to being an angel.  Gage is touched by her story and ends up mixing a powerful potion that inadvertently makes her immortal.  He must spend the rest of the book trying to clean up his mistake, all while trying to help Trixie out of her problems, and staying away from his old warlock mentor who is hellbent on killing him.

If it sounds like there is a lot going on, that's because there is. The book is faced paced and kept me engaged from beginning to end.  I love how easily Drake slips in the details of the world-building. There are no big info dumps, but I always felt like I understood what was going on.  I liked Gage, and though I am not used to a male first person POV in my Urban Fantasies, it was easy to slide into his head.  He is a good guy, but he's not a perfect guy. He's powerful but he's not infallible.   He is impetuous and he makes some bad choices, but I think that's part of why I like him.

I felt like the relationship between Gage and Trixie was a little... easy.  I think I would have liked the chance for a little more tension to grow between these two.   But romance and deep feelings take a backseat to the action in this book.  It's not superficial, but it's not emotionally gripping. It's fast and exciting.

When all is said and done, I feel like we got a solid resolution, but the door is left wide open for the future of Gage and his crew.  I look forward to see what is coming for them next.

Rating: B

*ARC Provided by Harper Collins 

Click to purchase: Amazon

Angel's Ink

by Jocelynn Drake

Release Date: October 16, 2012

Publisher: Harper Voyager