Ink, Iron, and Glass Review

Hi, friends! It has been so long since I have posted a review, but I finally have one to share with you! I recently read Ink, Iron, and Glass in July, and I enjoyed it! I got this book in one of my Uppercase boxes, so I had a lot of fun reading it with the online reading experience. Here are my thoughts!



Title: Ink, Iron, and Glass

Author: Gwendolyn Clare

Publisher: Macmillan/Imprint

Page Count: 336

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐






Synopsis: 
Can she write a world gone wrong?

A certain pen, a certain book, and a certain person can craft entirely new worlds through a branch of science called scriptology. Elsa comes from one such world that was written into creation, where her mother―a noted scriptologist―constantly alters and expands their reality.

But when her home is attacked and her mother kidnapped, Elsa is forced to cross into the real world and use her own scriptology gifts to find her. In an alternative Victorian Italy, Elsa finds a secret society of young scientists with a gift for mechanics, alchemy, or scriptology―and meets Leo, a gorgeous mechanist with a smart mouth and tragic past. She recruits the help of these fellow geniuses just as an assassin arrives on their doorstep.

In this thrilling debut, worlds collide as Elsa unveils a deep political conspiracy seeking to unlock the most dangerous weapon ever created―and only she can stop it.

My Thoughts: 

• First, I was super excited to read this book because I thought the premise of the book was so cool! I had never read a book with this type of world or magic, so I was interested to see how it went. Overall, I did enjoy the world, but I would have liked maybe a little more world building. I would like to know more about the different types of madness, the Order, the history of the world, etc. Hopefully we will get a little more of this in the second book (which comes out February 2019 by the way!). 
• I really liked our main character, Elsa. She was independent, fierce, and not afraid to use her talents or be the smartest person in the room. She was so awesome! I also loved getting to watch her grow as a person, as she learned how to navigate Earth, friendships, and trusting other people. 
• My last praise would be for the twist at the end, I personally did not see it coming! It shocked me, made me angry and sad at the same time, and made me want to read the next book so I can know how it all will turn out! 
• In terms of things I was a little disappointed in, I think the other characters could have been fleshed out more. I thought Elsa had pretty decent character background and development, but the other characters not so much. We had slight histories for the other kids of the house that befriended Elsa, but I would have liked to get to know them more. They didn't feel as solid or real in my opinion. We also know very little about the adult characters, but hopefully this too will be remedied in the second book.
• Finally, I had a little bit of trouble getting into the story at times. I enjoyed the plot line and the adventures, but something about the writing style of this book just made it hard for me to really connect with the story. I didn't get sucked into the story to the point where I can't put it down as I have with other fantasy/adventure books I have read in the past. 

Overall, I enjoyed my time reading Ink, Iron, and Glass, and I plan on hopefully continuing with the series. Have you read this book? If you have, what were some of your thoughts on it? I would love to talk in the comments! Thanks for reading!