POISON INK by Christopher Golden

Sammi is a floater.  She has friends in every clique at school, but doesn’t really fit in with any one of them.  Her only close friends are four girls just like her.  They started hanging out together because they didn’t fit in anywhere else.  Just hanging out has turned into four of the strongest friendships Sammi has ever had.

Sammi, Caryn, Letty, TQ, and Katsuko are inseparable.  One night during a sleepover, the idea of getting a tattoo to represent their bond to each other develops.  Immediately they are all excited – except for Sammi.  She knows her parents wouldn’t approve and with them teetering on the edge of divorce already, she doesn’t want to give them anything else to fight about.  Sammi hopes the idea of the tattoo just falls by the wayside and eventually is forgotten.  Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.

Together they come up with a plan to get out of the house and go to a tattoo shop close to Letty’s house.  The creepy tattoo artist doesn’t ask to see their IDs and they all start to plan where they will place their tattoo.  Each girl chooses a different location, but all will have the exact same design.  After all of her friends have already been tattooed, Sammi decides she can’t go through with it.

Immediately, Sammi is shunned and becomes on outcast in her group.  They even go so far as to defriend her on her Instant Messaging Buddy List.  Soon after the application of the tattoos, Sammi notices a change in TQ, Caryn, Letty, and Katsuko for the worse.  They become violent, promiscuous, and horribly mean.  In the middle of a fight that lands Sammi in the hospital, she spots the tattoos on her friends’ skin and sees that they have changed.  Tendrils have started to emerge and cover more of their bodies.  Sammi realizes something sinister is going on and that the creepy tattoo artist must be behind it.  She decides to find a way to save her friends and get them out from under the control of the poisoned tattoos.

 

POISON INK by Christopher Golden

Sammi is a floater.  She has friends in every clique at school, but doesn’t really fit in with any one of them.  Her only close friends are four girls just like her.  They started hanging out together because they didn’t fit in anywhere else.  Just hanging out has turned into four of the strongest friendships Sammi has ever had.

Sammi, Caryn, Letty, TQ, and Katsuko are inseparable.  One night during a sleepover, the idea of getting a tattoo to represent their bond to each other develops.  Immediately they are all excited – except for Sammi.  She knows her parents wouldn’t approve and with them teetering on the edge of divorce already, she doesn’t want to give them anything else to fight about.  Sammi hopes the idea of the tattoo just falls by the wayside and eventually is forgotten.  Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.

Together they come up with a plan to get out of the house and go to a tattoo shop close to Letty’s house.  The creepy tattoo artist doesn’t ask to see their IDs and they all start to plan where they will place their tattoo.  Each girl chooses a different location, but all will have the exact same design.  After all of her friends have already been tattooed, Sammi decides she can’t go through with it.

Immediately, Sammi is shunned and becomes on outcast in her group.  They even go so far as to defriend her on her Instant Messaging Buddy List.  Soon after the application of the tattoos, Sammi notices a change in TQ, Caryn, Letty, and Katsuko for the worse.  They become violent, promiscuous, and horribly mean.  In the middle of a fight that lands Sammi in the hospital, she spots the tattoos on her friends’ skin and sees that they have changed.  Tendrils have started to emerge and cover more of their bodies.  Sammi realizes something sinister is going on and that the creepy tattoo artist must be behind it.  She decides to find a way to save her friends and get them out from under the control of the poisoned tattoos.

 

INK EXCHANGE by Melissa Marr

Welcome back to the world first created by Melissa Marr for Wicked Lovely.  A world where faeries exist and roam among humans without their knowledge.  In this companion novel to Wicked Lovely, we get to know Leslie, one of Ash’s best friends.  Since Ash and Keenan defeated the Winter Queen and gained power, peace has reigned between the Summer and Winter Courts.  Ash doesn’t go anywhere without guards and her closest friends are guarded too.

          Leslie has had a rough home life ever since her mother left.  Her dad is usually drunk and rarely comes home.  Her brother is high all the time on a variety of drugs and brings dangerous people around the house.  Leslie learned that the hard way and has the scars to prove it.  Leslie enjoyed the time she isn’t at home whether that means she is at work or at school.

          Niall is Keenan’s, the Summer King’s, right hand.  He often guards Leslie and feels his desire for her growing each time he sees her.  He doesn’t realize she feels the same way about him.  If he knew, it would only make it harder on him to not be able to have contact with her.  Niall can’t physically touch humans.  His touch is as addictive as a drug.  It leaves humans begging for his constant embrace until they eventually go mad.

          Keeping his distance from Leslie becomes impossible when Irial sets his sites on her.  Irial is the King of the Dark Court and feeds himself and those connected to him by taking the emotions of fear, lust, anger, greed, and jealousy from other fey as well as humans.  Since the peace between the Summer and Winter Courts there hasn’t been enough of the dark emotions to sustain the entire Dark Court. 

          Irial has developed a way to feed through a human.  His blood and the tears from the Dark Court Faeries are mixed with ink used to tattoo the person he’ll use to feed.  Leslie has decided getting a tattoo is a way she can reclaim some control over her life and decides on the symbol that will link her to Irial and eventually lead to her death.  Niall must break his rule about human contact in order to keep Leslie safe and ends up falling in love with her.

The battle between the Dark Court and the Summer Court revolves around Leslie.  Unfortunately, she doesn’t know what is going on since Ash doesn’t want her to know about the Faery world.  Ash thinks if Leslie doesn’t know, she’ll be safe.  Instead, Leslie gets the tattoo and feels the immediate draw to Irial where she is used to feed the Dark Court.

          Niall is willing to do everything he can to ensure Leslie’s safety once she is under Irial’s control even if means breaking his ties to the Summer Court.  Can Niall get Leslie’s life back?  Can he win her love?  Will she be any better with him than with Irial?  Read INK EXCHANGE to find out.  You won’t be disappointed.  INK EXCHANGE is just as captivating as Wicked Lovely.  I can’t wait for the third book.