Twisted Magic (Ink #2) by Holly Hood- Review

Twisted Magic by Holly Hood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book picks up about a year after the end of Ink. Hope has been at college over the past school year. She has been talking to Slade nightly on the phone during that time, however, she hasn't seen him since the past summer. Hope arrives home to find that her relationship with Slade isn't quite as solid as she hoped it was. There are a lot of complexities, and it feels like there is a lot Slade isn't telling her. She embraces the fact that she is a witch, but definitely does not want to go down the same dark path as others. Enter Audrey- who is another daughter of the witches who head up the coven and saved the life of Slade and his family. Audrey is not pleasant in any way, and obviously wants Slade. Hope hates her and all the dark magic she represents, and is definitely pissed that Audrey is after her boyfriend in addition to boss her around. As she struggles to determine whether she and Slade have anything left in their relationship to salvage (aside from their continually hot physical connection), Hope meets Hutch, who is a very hot stranger who seems to be able to offer her everything she isn't getting from Slade. Hope feels very alone, and has powers now that she doesn't really understand.

I really struggled through this one in terms of deciding what I wanted for Hope and who I thought she should trust. I wavered between thinking that she should trust Slade, and feeling like he needed to open the hell up and stop being so stoic and secretive. I didn't trust Hutch at first, but as time went on he really did seem like a viable alternative for Hope in terms of guidance in her new life and a potential hot romantic interest that would treat her the way she deserves.

It was hard to witness the disconnection Hope was experiencing between herself and nearly everyone else. Her friendship with Karsen was strained, as well as her relationship with her father. The author does a good job of helping the reader feel along with Hope, throughout the story even though there are a lot of uncomfortable and confusing emotions being experienced.

There is a pretty solid level of angst here, and I liked watching Hope step up and speak out when she needed to and not lose herself in situations where she is pressured to do or be something she she doesn't want. I admire her strength as she fights to stay true to herself despite a lot of adversity. There are some pretty intense situations that come about towards the end of this book, and some definite lines drawn in the sand when it comes to some of the towns people and the outsiders. Hope has some danger coming at her from a few different angles now, and I'm really nervous and excited to see what happens in the next book. I'm still struggling with whether I'm team Slade or team Hutch, but I'll reserve judgement until I know more (and hopefully so will Hope). I'm really looking forward to reading the 3rd book in the series!

*A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review


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