Why I picked up this book:

The Glass and Steele series is a rare set of stories that both me and my writing friend love. She and I eagerly look forward to the next installment, race to read first, then chat about the current story and what we want to happen in the next book. Here are reviews for the first five books (all in one article) in case you missed them. After getting reader slapped in book number five with a blackmailed wedding engagement between Matthew Glass and his cousin Patience, of course we picked up the next book as soon as it went on sale. For me, personally, I needed to know that the blackmail against Matthew was big enough to make him change his priorities.

This review may contain spoilers.

The Ink Master’s Silence

It should be a happy time for India and Matt, but forces beyond their control conspire to ruin their future. A distraction from their troubles comes in the form of murder. When the editor of The Weekly Gazette is killed, controversial journalist and ink magician Oscar Barratt asks India and Matt to investigate. As the recipient of threatening letters written on magic paper, he believes he was the intended target. With suspects ranging from Oscar’s brother to guild masters and London’s elite, India and Matt have a lot of investigating to do. But the more they dig, the more dark secrets they uncover. Secrets that involve blackmail and an exclusive club of magic collectors who want to preserve the value of their collections. When one of the secrets can give India and Matt the future they desire, will they give in to blackmail or sacrifice their happiness?

   

What I loved:

The biggest win in this book was how India finally stood up to Miss Glass, Matthew’s aunt. It’s a situation that’s been boiling for some time, and the reader in me whooped out loud when India finally snapped and told the aunt to mind her own damn business.

I loved Hendry and Sweeney! I wanted more of these two characters, but adored the deeper connection shrouded in mystery that wove through the saga.

Areas needing a touch of refinement:

This is the first book in the series where it feels like the author played it safe. I had so many strong feelings after the last book, and she always opens with something that snares my attention right away. But this time… I struggled with the opening. It was drier than usual and didn’t hook my attention, and I found that through the whole story things felt a touch safer. No big reveals, no strong feelings. Not to say it wasn’t good… It just didn’t quite have the fire and sexual tension of the first five books.

Also, Matthew was engaged throughout most of this story. But instead of the hard struggle and aches to be together, both characters just kept right on acting like they were engaged. Given the time period and how very aware India is of social etiquette, this seemed a touch inauthentic.

However, my biggest struggle with this book is what happens to the relationship between Hendry and Sweeney. Male lovers trapped in an era where even flirting with one another would get them thrown in jail, and to see those characters brought out from the shadows was wonderful. Until they were turned into the villains. They were the only gay couple to rise from six books in this series and their destructive end felt more like a dark spotlight on their sexuality. I want to see more diverse couples like this, but I want them to be heroes in their own right and get their happily ever after.

Overall:

While I love this series, book six definitely lost some of the sizzle the rest of the stories had. I still enjoyed it immensely, but I think I just wanted more from this one. I wanted these side characters to find their happily ever after just like India and her friends. Instead one is blindly suffering a blackmailed marriage and the other lost his whole world. No doubt I will pick up book seven when it’s released, but this time I’m admittedly more hesitant.

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