I tried again with this one after DNFing it, wasn't in a good place that year and thought I might have been too harsh. I was not, for me at least. The MC will appeal to people I would rather not associate with for how they treat people and I couldn't keep reading it. The concept and idea for the story is good, just hated the person we followed for what I could read.

My favorite part of this was the soul bonds. Never have I read about a bond like this that wasn’t romance. I loved this idea and thought it was executed really well.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Tenets in the Tattoos has been on mind ever since I was approved to read this. At first, I was really excited to jump into this world. So, it's a little weird that it took me so long to find the time to read this. Maybe my excitement dimmed a little, but I was still going to jump into this book.

Now this book took my on a roller coaster kind of ride. Not with emotions or anything but the overall pace made me feel this way. At times, things were moving fast and exciting and then slow down before speeding back up. Unfortunately, the slow parts left me bored and a little disinterested in what was actually happening.

Then there's the overall characters. Eh, they were okay. I'll admit that I wasn't completely invested in them, and I think that's why it took me so long to get through this. The romance was okay but also confused me. The magic and realities were interesting to a point as well, but I have a lot of unanswered questions too.

In the end, I see that this series has two more books out and a fourth coming soon. So, if I want those questions answered I will need to find the time to jump into the sequel and everything else after.

I found this book a bit overwhelming. It was very hard to get into, slow to start, and slow to continue. So much world-building information, yet I still had no idea what was going on. While I normally enjoy these kinds of books, the flow just was not there. I felt it really did not do the characters justice and I am disappointed how much I felt all that took away from them.

2/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

The Tenets in the Tattoos is a YA fantasy book. I wanted to like the book but I couldn't get into the story. I'm rounding the rating to 2.5 stars.
ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Did not finish, was not my cup of tea. I tried to pick it up a few times and just could not get into it

The story line is what originally caught my eye, it’s so intriguing! I think that overall, this book is good. A bit slow and hard to keep up with though.

The concept of this book fascinated me and I looked forward to speeding through it, but unfortunately, the world building quickly becomes confusing, and the plot isn't straightforward enough to alleviate that. It took me much longer to get through this book than it has for every other book I've received on NetGalley. Interesting premise, unsatisfactory execution.

I felt that this is an ambitious book. Too many information packed tight so most of the time it felt rushed and I needed my full attention to understand it thoroughly. And it's not really page turner either so I really needed to push myself. But I loved the concept, the multidimensional realms, the characters have their own flaws and personality.

I hate to say this, but this book was not for me. I tried my best to like this book, but I really could not get into it. Let me explain. It was too much information to read through and process through. It kept me confused at times about what was happening and why. That takes the fun out of reading fantasy books. If the world-building was clear and short, then I would have enjoyed the book more.

The blurbs are really really interesting but I found myself struggling while reading this book. I like both Thorrn and Aubin. I just wish for more characters to see and more about the plot.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC



Thorrn is an accomplished swordsman desperate for his promotion. But when the king orders that he hand over a girl from the fabled lost realm of Earth, Thorrn’s soul companion, Thorrn struggles to obey. If he doesn’t bow to the king’s wishes, he will be executed.

Aubin is sick of being an apothecary. Unable to defeat death, chafing at injustices piled on him, he’s ready to quit. But when he sees someone in distress and realises he could help, he is confronted with a life-changing choice – he will have to commit treason to remedy this.

Working together, the swordsman and the apothecarist come up with an unlikely plan. Only if they trust each other and put their egos aside can they defeat their common enemy. But do they even have a common enemy, and can the apothecarist be trusted at all…?

4/5
The Tenets in The Tattoos serves as an excellent foundation for what will surely develop into a fantasy favorite for many readers.

Soul companions are basically platonic soul mates and I love that with a passion. World hopping Shenanigans did leave me with some confusion at first but also gave me a similar vibe to reading a darker shade of magic.

I didn't really click with this book, unfortunately, perhaps it was due to my confusion with the timeline of the plot. That is not to say that this wouldn't be a good book for someone else!

I was really looking forward to this so I wanted to power through it but unfortunately I had to put it down a little after the first part and conclude that it was just not for me. I was super confused most of the time and found myself rereading certain parts in hopes that I had missed something.

Interesting plot and storyline that was unique but a little confusing at times. Looking forward to the next book for sure. If you like fantasy this books for you!

The Tenets in the Tattoos has a great premise and I found the soulmate trope dealt with in an original way, which was refreshing. I was really excited to read it and loved the first third of the book. But then the plot gets convoluted with dream worlds and dream versions of the characters and that pulled me out of the story. It's a bit confusing. Maybe it was just me, but it felt chaotic and hard to read.

The world-building is beautiful and draws the reader in with ease. I wish I could say the same about the writing. Although the story is well written as a whole, I found that certain passages were overwritten, spending too much time describing mundane activities and speeds through more important things. I wish we were told more about the magic system—like how are tey traveling between Oberoth and Earth.

Characterwise, I find it hard to believe that Thorrn has any friends given how obnoxious his behavior is most of the time. All he cares about are swords and he treats Evyn poorly because she’s not what he expected. To be honest, I considered DNFing this book because of was sick of reading the story through his misogynistic, arrogant and entitled point of view. But I kept reading and I’m glad to say that he grows as a character and becomes a better friend and soul.
All in all, the story is interesting and original. It wasn't the best choice for me, but other readers may love it!

I enjoyed the first part of this book. Although some aspects were not that novel (traveling between worlds), the idea of having a soul partner that is distinct from your spouse is interesting, although I think that the author could have explained it a better. I also found the dialogue lacking at times, but that wasn't a huge distractor.

About halfway through the book things got a little weird and my interest waned. For a young adult book, it was just too confusing. I don't want to give spoilers, but let's just say it involves dreams. At that point I was done, although I skimmed to the ending.

I don't expect to read other books in the series, but, as a last point, props to the author on how she uses tattoos. Very interesting.

I really liked this book. The world building was done very well and definitely drew me in. The characters were all likable and complex and their relationship/development were good, albeit i wish there was more exploration with some characters but i think well see that in the next book. My problem with this one was the plot - it felt lacking in some ways, things like how our characters travel between the worlds and the magical system. Overall this had a lot of potential but it fell short for me, despite that, I'll still be reading the next book.

The Tenets in the Tattoos had such a interesting premise, with platonic soul companions, magic, different realm travel. But alas, it was just okay. I'm really not sure how Thorrn had any friends he was so egotistical and pretty annoying. Evyn, a girl from Earth is not what he was expecting as a soul companion and Thorrn treats her very poorly. The story's plot is not smooth and jumps all over the place along with extreme detail in describing mundane things but glosses over the real questions, like how does Evyn open portals?

Breaking the tenets of Special Forces means one thing...Death.
The tenets in the tatoos was quite the read. The story unfolds on two planes, Oberoth and Earth, with a very smooth transition between the aspects that define the 2 worlds. Thorrn has always dreamed the moment he will meet his souls. Except as in real life the first meeting is nothing like the fantasy. At first Thorrn came across to me as a big oaf, excited only by swords but with little attention to the details. When he realises he made a mistake about Evyn he makes up his mind to always encourage her and to show her that she too is special. I liked that he suffered a big change from the start and that he made big way to being a better person, a better friend and soul. This story was like a blend of adventure and comic elements. We have an alert pacing, with fast fights and captivating descriptions. The funny bits were my absolute favorites. I loved seeing Thorrn baffeled by human technology and Aubin understanding more than him. Aubin was another interesting character. He represents the loner, the quiet guy with some secrets up his sleeves. He had quite a rough journey and I really want a happy ending for him. Evyn is a bookworm and we support bookworms😂 But really she is an amazing girl, smart, brave and fearless. I loved this book and I can't wait to read the next one😍
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4168726508