It was really difficult for me to understand why this book was written. What was the message the author wanted to convey? What did he want people to take away from it?

Blood and Ink follows Kadija and Ali, two teens on different sides set in 2012 Timbuktu. The writing felt a bit too simple at times and I didn't like either MC. I wasn't the biggest fan of how the romance was handled and I didn't really get why Ali and Kadija loved each other. When this takes up a large part of the book and is what the book is marketed on, it changed my reading experience for this. The pacing was a little bit off for me and sometimes it felt like there was info-dumping instead of the story actually having a plot.

I think the next time I read a book set in the Middle East, it will be by a Middle Eastern author.

The crux of the novel is that Ali has joined a movement in Islam called the Defenders of Faith, who are set on taking over Kadi's town and instituting strict laws because they view the people of the town as "godless." Differences between different sects of the Islamic faith are highlighted in this book, and it was interesting.

There isn't anything better than learning. When I find out something I didn't know before by reading a book, I start looking further into the subject. When that book has action and a plot with interesting characters, it's even better. Blood & Ink is that type of book, which is based on real-life events that transpired in Mali in 2012.

Immediately when the two main characters meet, there is mistrust and a strong disliking, but Kadi and Ali go back and forth between understanding each other and feeling betrayed by the other.

The crux of the novel is that Ali has joined a movement in Islam called the Defenders of Faith, who are set on taking over Kadi's town and instituting strict laws because they view the people of the town as "godless." Differences between different sects of the Islamic faith are highlighted in this book, and I was left wanting to know more.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like Blood & Ink, but it's motivated me to learn about what happened in Mali in 2012 as well as learn about the different sects in Islam and how they're similar and different to each other.

I wasn't a fan of this book so I didn't finish it. I felt like the story of this book was a bunch of other stories blended together.

I requested this book a while ago but never got round to reviewing as Id forgotten Id read it which I feel awful about. As I’m going through my shelves I remembered it when I read the blurb.

This book was really well written. I loved the storyline and although it says it was part thriller love story I really enjoyed it even though I’m not one for love stories. This book had an even balance of both.

An unexpected and beautifully written novel that truly surprised me. I did not have high hopes when I requested this book yet it was a fantastic read that I was thrilled to add to my read shelves.

3.5 stars
Really well written and full of action packed drama, Blood and Ink is an easy read that teaches you something along the way. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book and i'll definitely be keeping out for more books by Stephen Davies in the future.

Book Review
Title: Blood and Ink
Author: Stephen Davies
Genre: YA/Romance/Contemporary
Rating: *****
Review: So I requested Blood and Ink last year and never got around to it, but I am clearing my NetGalley shelves, so I am now. I must say I didn’t know a lot about it when I requested but the synopsis sounds really interesting: “Part thriller, part love story, this contemporary YA novel is based on true-to-life events in Mali in 2012 and centres around the power of individuals to take a stand against terrorism. Kadi is the 15-year-old daughter of a librarian in modern-day Timbuktu. Ali is the son of shepherds and has been conscripted by the Defenders of Faith, an arm of Al Qaeda. When these two teens meet, it's hate at first sight. Forced together by a series of tumultuous events, their feelings slowly but persistently turn into something more, causing Kadi to let her guard down and Ali to discover her family's secret hiding place for the manuscripts her family is tasked with safeguarding. Kadi undertakes a dangerous operation to smuggle the manuscripts out of the city, while Ali and his military commander are soon in pursuit. Ali's loyalties will never be more in question than when Kadi's life is in danger.”
So before we even get into the novel, there is a lot of background information and history you need to know. There are three groups of people in this novel: The people of Timbuktu - As you may already know, Timbuktu is a real city. You can find it on a map on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. Its people are – brace yourself for two massive generalisations – poor but peace-loving. They are followers of Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam. They are proud of their vast manuscript collections, their wonderful music and their much-visited shrines (burial places of Timbuktu’s scholars and holy men). The Tuareg rebels - The Tuaregs are an ethnic group in West Africa. The men are sometimes called ‘the lords of the Sahara’. They wear indigo turbans and ride camels through the desert, buying and selling salt. The Tuaregs live in Mali and other West African countries but they have always longed to have a country of their own, right in the middle of the Sahara desert. This imagined homeland, Azawad, will be at least the size of Spain, and its three main cities will be Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu. The Defenders of Faith - There are many militant Islamist groups in the Sahara Desert. One is called AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb). Another is called ‘Defenders of Faith’ (Arabic: Ansar Dine). They hate the West and its allies, including the government of Mali, and they long for a strict form of Muslim law to be imposed across West Africa.
We must also know in March 2012 there was a military coup in Mali. The President fled from his palace and the country was plunged into utter confusion. Confusion meant vulnerability. The Tuareg rebels saw an opportunity to conquer the northern region of Mali and establish their glorious homeland Azawad. The Defenders of Faith saw a chance to establish the Islamic state they had always dreamed of. The two groups decided that by working together they could achieve both of these aims. On 30 March, they captured Kidal. On 31 March, they invaded Gao. On 1 April their fighters massed in the desert north of Timbuktu, preparing to attack. So, after all that we still have quite an extensive glossary before the novel even begins and my mind is overloaded already. As the novel finally starts the first perspective, we get is Ali’s.
Ali is one of several young boys to have been conscripted into the Defenders of Faith and is one of the ten boys chosen to ride into battle with the rest of the army. We learn that Ali and the other boys have been training for this moment to give the army the element of surprise. As Kidal and Gao have already fallen to the Defenders of Faith, they plan to launch an attack on Timbuktu that night. The boys don’t seem to have been brainwashed but they genuinely believe in what the scriptures tell and what their leaders say. We then switch to Kadija or Kadi’s perspective. Kadi lives in Timbuktu and her family is there when the attack Ali is a part begins and we see the drastic contrast between the beliefs of these two sets of people.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Timbuktu has fallen to the Defenders of Faith and now we see the clashes of religious ideals as the Defenders of Faith try to convert the people of Timbuktu to their way of thinking. When refused they use violence and intimidation to get their way, Kadi and Ali don’t have a good first meeting when he destroy her instruments because they are now forbidden, it is cruel as Kadi loves music and the punishment for breaking the rules is either beatings or death. From the beginning I had a feeling that this novel was going to leave me in tears and with a very heavy heart considering this novel is based on real events.
We are learning a lot not only about the history of the country but the religious concepts of the different religious sects fighting for control. However, there is a friendship of sorts developing between Ali and Kadi as he watches over her and even warns her when the Defenders of Faith comes to break up her friend’s wedding in the desert where they are playing outlawed music. To get back at him Kadi changes the ringtone on Ali’s phone but feels disgusted with herself when he gets twenty lashes for it and a huge part of her wants to leap to his defence but can’t as it will be seen as going against her own people.
With the institution of sharia law the people of Timbuktu are afraid, but they haven’t given up. We see this most clearly when an 11-year-old girl is to be flogged for not wearing a veil, so the women and girls decide to hold a protest, but this only ends with lots of them in hospital although none were killed. I was surprised by this as apart from the initial invasion the Defenders of Faith actually seem reluctant to kill people. Ali and Kadi’s relationship swings back and forth between understanding and hate depending on the situation they are in. Ali also seems to be developing romantic feelings for Kadi as he doesn’t turn her in when he has the chance and even bends the rules of his religion to spend time with her although he tries to convince himself he isn’t actually bending the rules. Ali also seems to be determined to prove to Kadi that Sharia law applies to the Defenders of Faith as well the people of Timbuktu which was an interesting touch.
The Defenders of Faith encounter resistance no matter where they go and as they don’t want to kill people, they resort to trying to break the resolve. They destroy and desecrate the tombs of their saints and go after the Holy manuscripts that Kadi’s family have been protecting for generations. When Ali leads Redbeard to the place where the manuscript are hidden, he is surprised to see that Kadi and Yusuf have set a booby trap for them and have already moved the manuscripts to another safe place.
In the end, Ali has a choice to make he can let Kadi die during her false punishment and continue the way he is or save her, renounce Redbeard’s teaching and embrace his true name of Abdullai. The ending of Blood and Ink was beautiful, heart-breaking and hopeful all at the same time. If you haven’t read this then I highly recommended you pick it up. A solid 5* read.

a bit of a strange mixture with it being not only a contemporary ya story but also a bit of a romance and some aspects could be seen dancing near the thriller or crime genre.
All in all it was entertaining and a fun and easy read but sadly nothing that i loved.

Good day! Before anything else, I would like to extend my deepest, sincerest gratitude for sending me a digital review copy of this book (via NetGalley). Thank you very much for the opportunity!

Unfortunately, I am sad to say that I have lost interest in this particular title, and consequently, I have decided against finishing it. Forcing myself to finish a book I am disinterested in (solely for the sake of finishing it) can only negatively impact the entirety of my reading experience, which, in turn, could result in me writing an unfairly negative review. That is a circumstance I hope to avoid. With that said, I believe that the best course of action is for me to simply not read it and to refrain from publicly posting any feedback regarding this book.

I hope you understand where I'm coming from. Again, thank you for the lovely opportunity!

Thank you for the chance to review this book, however, unfortunately, I was unable to read and review this title before it was archived.

I refuse to DNF list, but this almost broke my rule. IMO, the story and characters fell flat. It was difficult to care what was coming next.

This was surprisingly good. Better than I expected!
This is the kind of book we need. It's real, raw and honest. We need to be more aware and informed.

Basic Keywords and Intro:

-Romeo & Juliet meets Terrorism.( Are you cringing yet?)
-A Historical Fiction Novel: The 2012 coup in Timbuktu, Mali
-Ali belongs to the “Defenders of Faith” movement
-Ali begins to fall in love with Kadi
-What would he chose? Love or “ Faith”

Points to address:

A) Where do I even start? Oh, read this quote from the book

“He was a handsome young man and fiercely intelligent. He talked very elegantly about purity and law. But then he began to talk about killing. “Killing infidels?” “Not just infidels. Muslims.”

-This statement implies that if only “Infidels” were being killed, then it would have been okay. This is absolutely untrue, but let me explain more.

-By doing that, the author categorized Muslims into 2 groups, terrorists & “Normal” people.
That is bullshit, but I will play along.

-“Normal people” discovered that “Defenders of Faith”/ terrorists weren't only going to kill infidels, but they are going kill Muslims as well. Only then, they viewed this as a problem.

-This implies that even “Normal People” kind of Muslims approve of killing "infidels". This means that Muslims are basically violent, shitty people.

-That is why I am going to take sentences from the book, and explain why is that incorrect.

B) The 2nd part of the quote mentioned above.

“Not just infidels. Muslims. He told me that anyone who commits adultery should be put to death, as should anyone who abandons the five daily prayers.”

-This is another classic example of when non-muslims look at the surface of the ocean , then I assume they know everything. Like no, you need to dive in to understand what you are talking about.

-So the surface here is: Muslims who commit adultery should be put to death.
-Dive in: There is criteria that has to be fulfilled in order for that to happen.

-The person committing Adultery is married, so they are cheating on their partner.
1) There should be three witnesses.
2) Those three witnesses must have seen the entire intercourse, up until climaxing.
3) They saw it with their own eyes, so things like video and pictures don’t count.
4) If only one of the three witnesses wanted to report that, while the other two didn't, then that person shouldn’t report what he,she, they saw.
5)f that person goes and reports, then that person will be punished.

-Now with the praying part. Praying is an essential part of being a muslim, and if you don’t, you are probably going to be punished for it. Punished by GOD, and not another human being.

C. Terrorism….. has no religion.

-I know that many terrorism groups claim to be murdering and spreading chaos in the name of God, but all of the religions that I know of are against killing innocent people.

-Here are some Islamic laws that should be followed during war:

-Those are forbidden even during War. WAR, where all leaders claim that in War, all is fair.

-I know that people who kill in the name of God do exist, but those aren’t muslims. They might claim that they are, but they aren't.

-The moment you kill someone innocent, you are no longer a Muslim.
-I feel like I need to mention this in my review because of that statement:

“But then he began to talk about killing. “Killing infidels?” “Not just infidels. Muslims.”

-So yes, I know that what happened in Timbuktu was an act of terrorism. A terrorism that was done by people who claim that they are doing that in the name of Allah. But since neither the author nor his “ normal people” characters tried to explain that those people don't represent Islam, I had to do it myself., I had to do it myself.

D) “If a boy is thinking about proposing marriage to a girl, he is allowed to look at her unveiled, to help him decide, I mean.” This is something that one of boys of the “ Defenders of Faith” told Ali, quoting something that Jabir ibn Abdullah did.

-I looked for this everywhere, but didn’t find anything. If you know its source, then please let me know.
-For now, here is what I know. Men in Islam are supposed to always lower their gaze when a woman passes by, which means no staring at her/their face, body figure, etc.
-Many Muslims; however, don’t do that.
-So if someone wants to marry a girl, they are allowed to look at her/them. If she/they is veiled, then she/they stays veiled.They can look at the woman's face, and whatever else that is showing.

-In Blood and ink, being veiled also included covering the face. If that is the case, then yes, the women can reveal their face, but let me just say that covering the face isn’t a MuST DO thing in Islam.

E) “ Fatimata puts her hands over her eyes as if in prayer. “Timbuktu is Muslim,” she shouts, “but the women of Timbuktu do not walk veiled!”

-I understand that if someone is forcing something on someone, they might do something like that, but that statement just gave me bad vibes.

-Here is the picture that the author, from my perspective, has painted. Basically “ normal people” muslims are not extremist, so they are anti-hijab. As is in modernized muslims don’t wear hijab, which is super lame.

-No matter where you go, you will always find some Muslims who are veiled, and some Muslims who don’t wear the hijab.

-Wearing or not wearing the Hijab doesn't make you any less of a Muslim.

Things I liked:

-Learning about the 2012 coup that happened in Timbuktu, Mali.

Things I didn’t like:

-How the story implies that Muslims are bad news.
-How a story about Muslims was written and shared from the Western World perspective.
-The Love vs Faith concept.
-How the book was marketed as an educational book for children.

And..... I am finally done! I have been procrastinating writing a review for this book for so long. I am glad that it is finally over.

I received an eARC in exchange with an honest review.

Honestly, I have no words can I ever describe this book. It's..beyond words. I know nothing about Timbuktu but from this book, I learn something. I definitely recommend everyone to read this book as you gain knowledge about Muslims, sharia and a whole lot others.

This is a difficult book to know what to do with.
On one hand it's a fairly boring, typical Romeo and Juliet story (with a twist). On the other hand it's based on real events in Timbuktu in 2012 which makes it both relevant, educational and sad all at once.

Historical Content & Importance
Blood and Ink is set in 2012 Timbuktu when radicals Muslims took over the city. These are real life people who believe women should always be veiled in public. Now Timbuktu had been, to date, a very progressive Muslim society in which many women chose not be veiled. So this was an obvious infringement on their rights. Among many other things that happened during that time of occupation
Timbuktu had public lashings!!
I cannot even begin to tell you how disturbing I find this. Not only, that it happened a mere five years ago; but also that my sheltered Canadian self remembers hearing of the occupation of Timbuktu and not thinking it meant much at the time. Let me stand corrected now. Stephen Davies has opened my eyes to the radical violence that came (and in some cases still comes) from these jihads. I find it truly disturbing.
I pledge from here forward to be more aware of the actual circumstances that fair practicing, innocent Muslims undergo. And that if anything is in my power to act or do something I will. Even if it's only to bring awareness.

Why just the event is not enough
No matter how important or world shattering a book may be due to its context and content that doesn't make it good writing or characters interesting.
Without a doubt the main events, based on true stories, are compelling and horrifying in Blood and Ink but that's really where it ends. Everything Davies added to the book; his characters, motivations, etc are dull and cliche.
To take an event like the protecting of the manuscripts and dumb it down to a couple children being responsible seems offensive to the original folks who actually spent weeks achieving his smuggling act. To indicate somehow that the entire occupation somehow laid on one little boys shoulders in many ways is also ludicrous.
What I would normally accept in completely fictional stories (extraordinary children) I just cannot abide by when the events actually happened in a completely different way. What was wrong with telling the story the way it happened?

Historical Fiction is Different
I read a lot of historical fiction based on true events. This is one of a rare few where it's historical fiction written for the young adult crowd. This intrigued me at first; but after reading Blood and Ink I think that Davies has taken complex human emotions, motivations and acts, and dumbs them down to lowest common denominator.
I'm not a fan of this as it seems to do disservice to the actual history.
I look at stories like Titanic where the storyline we follow plays no bearing on the ship sinking. This I'm okay with as our characters did not cause or create the iceberg hit. But in Blood and Ink our two main characters appears to be behind almost all the major decisions and events. This doesn't feel right to me.

Finally
I know there are extraordinary people and children in our world. And I love to read about them. But don't downplay the importance of real people by having your fictional characters take credit for things they shouldn't. Because somewhere out there now is someone(s) who perhaps believes a teen girl in Timbuktu single-handedly actually did what this girl does in the book.
We should be cautious of ever giving too much credit to the wrong people in historical fiction.

“Blood and Ink” is a book that I can’t say that I enjoyed, but I did find it important and educational. It covers the true story of what happened in Timbuktu in 2012. The story is told in alternating points-of-view, one being that of a local resisting the invasion, and the other being that of a young fighter for a branch of Al-Qaeda. It’s well-written and really made me think about what is going through the minds of those suffering in these situations. Even though it takes place in our recent past, it’s just as important today.

I had no idea this was historical fiction. The events is this book are based on real events that only happened five years ago! I'm grateful that the author wrote this book from two very different perspectives. It helped balance the story.

This was just kind of hard to read. The writing style was very straight forward and didn't have much emotion in it