There Are Inkspots On My Page!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. You can find it, and my other reviews here.

I quite enjoyed this book. Set in 1830s Russia, it's a wonderful mix of fantasy, folklore and adventure. The whole book was compelling from beginning to end, and I'm curious to see where the rest of the series goes.

The "silent deal" referenced in the title was very interested, and the way that it was revealed throughout the book was done very well - just when you thought you had a handle on it, a new piece of information was revealed.

The main characters are all quite likeable, but it's the Romani that really stand out for me, despite not getting much attention until late in the book. I'm hoping there will be a lot more of them in the future.

I really liked the way the folklore and the fantasy elements were woven in, there was nothing overly unrealistic about any of it, and that's a pleasant change. I was really looking forward to seeing how the cards were involved in the story, as they played such a key part in setting the mystery up. The explanation for their existence was quite disappointing however - I expected them to play a much larger part considering some of the situations described and the fact that the series is called The Card Game.

I really liked the writing style throughout - it's wonderfully paced and written in such a way to appeal to a broad range of ages. I'm very interested to see how book two plays out, and where it will all go from here.