Melanippe Saka left her Amazon tribe after the loss of her baby. Determined to raise her surviving daughter, Harmony, away from the world of warrior women, she moves to Madison and opens up a tattoo parlor. Tattoos are sacred to the Amazons, and as an artisan, Mel has the ability to weave magic into the ink.

Ten years after she left to live in the human world, Mel receives a gift on her front porch: the body of an Amazon teenager. Then a second. She can’t get the human police involved without exposing her people, but she can’t run home with two dead bodies without looking like a suspect, so she leaves the bodies where they are likely to be found and tries to warn the tribe without giving away her presence. The bodies are found, but so is she. A suspect of both the Amazons and police, Mel must find the real killer, keep her daughter safe, and try not to get arrested.

It took me a little while to get into Amazon Ink by Lori Devoti. I’ve become a bit of an action junky in regards to fighting and romance, and the beginning half of the book is mostly build-up. This is not a bad thing. In fact, it’s very good to know about the world the characters exist in before getting down to the nitty-gritty. I only mention the slow beginning so that my fellow action junkies don’t make the mistake of giving up on a wonderful book before it even begins.

In the same respect, I wouldn’t go into the story looking for a romance. Yes, Mel has two romantic interests—Peter, a super sexy tattoo artist who knows more than he should, and Reynolds, the detective investigating the deaths of the Amazon teenagers—but the romance plays second fiddle to the mystery. It’s more a part of Mel as a person than Amazon Ink as a story.

Lori’s world building skills are absolutely amazing in this book. The magic of the Amazons, their lineage, and the consequences of their way of life are wholly original and captivating. I especially like the special twist she gave the warriors and their heirs. Seeing as how I don’t like giving away spoilers in reviews, you’ll just have to read the book to find out what the twist was.

Book Stats:

• Mass Market Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (May 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439154279
• ISBN-13: 978-1439154274

To purchase a print copy of Amazon Ink from Amazon click here.

To purchase a print copy of Amazon Ink from Barnes & Noble click here.
To purchase an eBook copy of Amazon Ink from Barnes & Noble click here.

To purchase an eBook copy of Amazon Ink from OmniLit click here.

Books in the Amazons series in the order in which they should be read:
Amazon Ink
Amazon Queen