REVIEW: Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley

Like many of you, I'm sure, I got to (read: was forced by threat of a failing grade) read novels by the Brontes in high school. To put it nicely, I did not enjoy them. They were hard to read and strange in a way I wasn't sure I could get into. So when I received an OwlCrate box containing a book in which the main characters are the Bronte siblings, I was... less than overjoyed. 
However, I am not one to DNF ("did not finish") a book without even trying! I'm no quitter! Most of the time, anyway. And this attitude meant that I tried the book. The plot sounded interesting, but the characters made me wary. BUT. Guys. This book was actually very good. I'm shocked myself, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

The Short Story:

Three words for this book: atmospheric, mysterious, mystical. I would say magical, but mystical feels more appropriate, if I can create a difference between them. This novel involved between-worlds travel, lack of certain reality, and ghosts... of sorts. If you like darker books or books about writing, you'll probably like this one. Give it a go!

The Long Story:

This book is about the four Bronte siblings: Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne. They write, of course, and they live their lives as siblings, bickering and still loving each other. The book takes place after the loss of the elder two Bronte daughters: Maria and Elizabeth. The author took historical fact, real true stories from the Bronte house, and then took a whole lot of liberties with it. She merged old folktales and fables with dark moor stories and then added a special magic all her own. 
In this story, Charlotte and Branwell are the real writers of the family. They write constantly about these fantastical world they created and their stories really come to life. But there's a problem with this liveliness: these young authors are able to physically transport themselves into the world about which they write. However, with this apparent gift comes a more apparent curse. Not only are the siblings being driven apart and isolated from one another, but the price to pay for world travel is beginning to be much too high. And then everything gets crazy.
I liked the premise of this story, travelling to created worlds through writing. I love that idea and anytime it's used in a novel, I'm almost guaranteed to read it. And Coakley did it really well! She wrote a magic system that works because it is based in old wives' tales and legend and that system was perfect for the moorish setting of the book. 
The characters... hm. I liked Anne the best, as she was the youngest and made the most sense to me as the book went on. She was sweet and loyal, loving and kind, unlike some other Brontes. I was not so sure about the rest of the siblings. If you like books where you might not be able to trust the narrator at any given time, you should like this style.
As for the style of the world building and storytelling, I was confused in the beginning. I wasn't given all the information up front, nor was I given many details at all about things! But when I realized that was how the book would go, learning as each character learned, I got into it more and I really enjoyed it. It kept me on the edge of my seat because I never knew exactly what was happening; I only knew what the characters decided to tell me then.
Overall, I liked this book. I did not love it, but I did have fun reading it and would recommend it to Bronte fans or darker fantasy fans.

3.5/5 stars.

Have you read this? Let me know your thoughts! Or let me know your favorite classic novel; I'm always looking for good classics :)

Happy reading!