SPOILERS AHEAD!
Please read “Meticulous Jones and the Skull Tattoo” before reading this book review.
Meticulous Jones knows the power of her name. Descended from the great Joneses, including the cofounder of New London, Majestic Jones, Metty also inherited the abilities that give them power over life and death.
When she is recruited to enlist in the mysterious League of Shadows, a secret society for others with impressive abilities, she’s hesitant. After all, why should she join another group that seemingly wants to use her for her powers, especially after her Aunt Mag all but forbids her? Then a blackmailer threatens to reveal Aunt Mag’s most dangerous secret—related to her adopted charge, Sundar—and Metty sees the League as her only chance to save him. She becomes determined to complete the three initiation tasks required to join and gain their protection.
But as the clock winds down, Metty is forced to come to terms with the consequences of magic and the limits of her powers.
I’m grateful Metty no longer believes that she’s fated to murder someone. Turns out she has the natural magic gift for bringing things to life. Which is a gift that runs in her family. Which is something her family should have told her FROM THE BEGINNING!
The great Jones family has many more secrets that are about to be revealed in this story. Unfortunately, I can’t talk about any of them without giving away major spoilers.
Meticulous Jones is a stubborn, determined, and willing to do whatever it takes to protect her loved ones, even at the cost of her own life. Even though her actions are reckless to say the least, you can’t help but root for her.
The series’s magic system still confuses me. Magic ink is used to perform. The ink is expensive, and Metty kept going through hers way too quickly. It just seems like an inefficient magic system if you can run out of it so quickly. And then there are people like Metty, who have natural magic that allows them to perform magic without ink. How does that all work? I have to keep reminding myself that fantasy doesn’t have to make sense.
According to Philippa Leathley’s Instagram page, Inkbound 3 is happening, followed by a new fantasy murder mystery series for children. I can’t wait to read them!