I genuinely don’t know what Corinne Price expected me to do after finishing this book, because apparently my immediate response was just: I’m not okay.

Etched in Ink somehow managed to take me from cozy reading, to blushing and kicking my feet from the spice, to sitting there with actual tears in my eyes within the space of about an hour. Any book that can do that to me is doing something very, very right.

I loved Wrought in Flesh, but Etched in Ink takes everything I enjoyed about the first book and builds on it.

Sybil is still such a fantastic main character. Her growth throughout this book feels incredibly human. She doesn’t suddenly become a different person because the plot needs her to. She grows through what she experiences, and I loved watching that happen.

We also get to see much more of the world this time around. Through the different journeys the characters take, the world opens up considerably, while still leaving plenty to discover. The magic system remains one of my favourite things about this series, but that expanded worldbuilding made me love this book even more than the first.

Raekin gets more depth, yet somehow remains just as intriguing and difficult to fully understand. Killian’s growth since the first book might have surprised me even more. There were moments involving both of them that genuinely got to me emotionally, and that’s about as much as I’m willing to say because: spoilers.

The romance develops beautifully, the spice has definitely been turned up a notch, and importantly, it never felt like it was there just for the sake of having spicy scenes. It actually added something to the characters and their relationships.

Despite everything happening, the pacing felt natural throughout. There are quieter moments, emotional moments, plenty of tension and some seriously steamy ones, and somehow they all work together.

Basically, this book was a rollercoaster and I’m here for it.

Etched In Ink left me with one of the biggest book hangovers of my life. When I finished reading, I curled up on my husband in the fetal position and moved his arms around me. When he had to go to his D&D game three minutes later, I laid on my back and stared at the ceiling crying and sending Corinne messages for an hour.

Wrought In Flesh was an incredible debut and series starter. I fell in love with Corinne Price's writing style from the first paragraph, and every twist and turn and discovery had me completely attached to and invested in Sybil and Raekin's stories. Crae Vost is a wholly vivid and immersive world.

Etched In Ink took everything I loved about the first book in the series and dug it's way into my soul, shredding my heart on its way inside. Corinne writes pain and heartbreak and HOPE so well that I felt the whole gamut of emotions while I read. It is a NEED for me to see the story resolved. To want to protect these characters and fix their broken world. Characters evolve on every page - some receive redemption arcs, with others you uncover startling new truths that made me question whether anyone can be truly "good" and what limits are there to their goals?

Dystopian fantasy really hits home with the hopelessness that I feel regarding the current political climate. Corinne writes dark themes and the painful emotions they evoke in such a visceral, relatable way that I felt catharsis as a reader.

Sybil knows that things are bad. That the odds are stacked against her. That countless lives are at stake. That war is looming. That tyranny stands out in the open wearing a mask of righteousness and valor.

But Sybil Wyntres doesn't give up.

The emotions felt so real and personal while immersing myself in Etched In Ink because Corinne Price understands that we all have felt hopeless sometimes, and her words are here to make us feel seen and to build that hope again.

Even left with a cliffhanger that devastated me like a wound, I have hope for Sybil and for Raekin and for Crae Vost. And maybe a little more for the world.