Liviania’s review of Amazon Ink by Lori Devoti
Urban fantasy released by Pocket 26 May 09
I discovered Lori Devoti through this site, and instantly snatched up her trilogy about hellhounds. I enjoyed all three, which definitely made me want to read Amazon Ink. I also liked that it was about a tattoo artist, since I have a fondness for the culture. (No, I have no tattoos of my own. I’m too young.) Unfortunately, we don’t get much tattooing with in the book. We do get Mel’s sexist attitude, which she works to overcome.
Mel is an Amazon. After reading the book, I’m still not entirely sure what that entails. It’s a race of women who can breed with humans, and specialize in weapons, artistry, hearth skills, or priestess skills. Years ago, Mel left the tribe, taking her daughter. Her mother and grandmother followed her into exile. Now she’s getting drawn back in, since someone has been killing young Amazons and leaving them on her doorstep.
I liked Mel. There are clearly things wrong with the Amazon system, and Mel sees well enough to try to change things. But she’s clearly a first generation progressive, constantly tangled up by her own prejudices. (She won’t hire men. Over a decade as a single mother and she can’t bake, since hearth skills are wimpy.) Yet she works to be self-aware and tries to accept new attitudes.
There are two love interests, though things don’t go very far with either one. Reynolds is the detective investigating the girls’ deaths. He didn’t have enough screen time for me to really get a feel for him or become invested in his relationship with Mel. It seemed more like a physical attraction. Peter is the tattoo artist she hires, despite being a man. He quickly becomes helpful and interacts not only with Mel, but her family as well. Of course, their relationship is impaired by his sometimes lack of honesty. Mel left the tribe because of people taking action behind her back, and the events of Amazon Ink do nothing to sooth her trust issues.
Amazon Ink really focuses on a society in flux. There are girls who are influenced by Mel’s example. Dana, whose specialty is the hearth, is one of them and one of my favorite characters in the story. She doesn’t make the best moves but she has a good heart. Others distrust her no matter what she does. After all, Mel is fomenting rebellion among the younger generation based on her legend alone. The mystery never fades to the background, but it’s pretty quickly solved based on very little of the character’s actual detective work. The romance barely makes it to kissing. I found it enjoyable and a nice change of pace. Those picking it up for the standard urban fantasy formula might be less pleased.
This was a good introduction to Mel’s world, and I look forward to what Devoti will do in the next installment now that she’s built up the characters and society. (I am just one opinion, but I vote that some more Mel/Peter action next time around will not go amiss.)
Grade: B-
Summary:
Meet Mel: Business owner. Dedicated mom. Natural-born Amazon.
It’s been ten years since Melanippe Saka left the Amazon tribe in order to create a normal life for her daughter, Harmony. True, running a tattoo parlor in Madison, Wisconsin, while living with your Amazon warrior mother and priestess grandmother is not everyone’s idea of normal, but Mel thinks she’s succeeded at blending in as human.Turns out she’s wrong. Someone knows all about her, someone who’s targeting young Amazon girls, and no way is Mel going to let Harmony become tangled in this deadly web. With her mother love in overdrive, Ms. Melanippe Saka is quite a force…even when she’s facing a barrage of distractions — including a persistent detective whose interest in Mel goes beyond professional, a sexy tattoo artist with secrets of his own, and a seriously angry Amazon queen who views Mel as a prime suspect. To find answers, Mel will have to do the one thing she swore she’d never do: embrace her powers and admit that you can take the girl out of the tribe…but you can’t take the tribe out of the girl.
Excerpt available here.
