Rise of Ink and Smoke

I have owed this book a review for over a month, because apparently the better the book is, the less capable I am of forming useful sentences. But this is the best book I have read in a long time. Certainly this year. Honestly, probably since the last Pam Godwin book. Only Pam Godwin could write a 740 page book and have me read it twice in less than two months. Twice. In five weeks. I read a ridiculous amount of books and her writing still stands in a league of its own. She is gifted. The prose, the tension, the way she builds damaged people, it is just different. I struggle so much with reviews for my god tier books because when a book hits this hard, simple tropes and the usual romance words feel inadequate. Rise of Ink and Smoke is not just “dark romance” with messy trauma bonding, or something as basic as found family but kinky. It is beautiful. Complicated, brutal, emotional, intimate beautiful. I could go on, you get the drift. Wolf absolutely wrecked me. He has always felt like the smartest one in the Frozen trilogy to me, the one who sees everything, understands more than people give him credit for, and this book cements that. He is deeply damaged but he knows it. He owns who he is, even when he is still trying to survive what was done to him. Watching him try to adapt to a world that is not actively trying to kill him, while still carrying the PTSD from his childhood and captivity, was heartbreaking AND fascinating. And when he spirals, thinking his sexuality…

I want to start this by saying, I love Pam. I found her in 2021 and I DEVOURED every single book she had written up to that point within a couple of weeks. I’ve since had the honor of joining her ARC team and it is a true honor to be able to read her books at all, much less to ARC read for her. And if you’re new here, then you should know that Pam’s Frozen Fate Trilogy was my top read of 2024 (out of 181 books). The very top read. I LOVED Wolfson then, and I almost DIED when Pam announced she was writing his spinoff book, so my expectations for this one were sky high. So high it couldn’t get higher. I’m telling you: I Love. Wolfson. He’s this dark, messy, broken, hilarious, kinky boy who never ceases in nicknames, sarcasm, and loyalty. You’ll never find a more loyal man. Again, the expectations for this one? Sky high. It feels impossible to say too much because it’ll ruin it, but this is a beautifully written, well timed masterpiece. It’s a thiccccccc babe, but I never felt like it was too long. In fact, even though it took me a couple of days to read (because of family/work/sleep insanity) I was so sad when it was over. The healing that occurs throughout this book with practically every character? It healed different parts within me at the same time. I laughed. I cried. The spice is a little slow burny but when it hits? 😮‍💨 The tension and build up is way worth the effort. I LOVED that we got more of Frankie and her men. I literally can’t tell you how much I…

4.25⭐ This was so good! I’m so happy we finally got Wolf’s story after the original Frozen Fate’s Trilogy. He’s so chaotic and I love him for it. The random stuff that came out of his mouth had me cackling. Part of what kept this from a 5⭐ from me like the original trilogy is that no tears were shed and it was really insta-lovey especially with Dove. I would have loved more of a slow burn and lots of tension. But honestly, with Wolf, can you expect that? He’s the All or nothing type so maybe that wouldn’t really have worked. We did get a little slower burn with Jag though. This book is dark and twisty and kept me engaged in all 700+ pages. Pam really knows how to keep you invested. I love that we got more of the family in this too. The way they love and support Wolf is exactly what he needed. They love him for who he is without judgement. Dove & Jag fit well here too. They balance Wolf and each other and make the perfect trio

RISE OF INK AND SMOKE by Pam Godwin A spinoff of the Frozen Fate trilogy I cannot say I loved this and feel like I've done it any justice. Because love doesn't even scratch the surface. This is easily one of my top reads of the year! Some mild spoilers below but if you read the Frozen Fate trilogy you're good. Wolf. My heart. My broken, beautiful boy with ink-stained fingers and words that wrecked me or had me cackling every single time he opened his mouth! If Pam had let that man die a virgin, I would have never forgiven her...Not ever!!! He is a uniquely gorgeous soul and I was gone for him from page one. Dove was so effortlessly easy to fall in love with. A runaway bride with a rifle? She had me immediately. Just like wolf I was obsessed with her blue hair and piercings And then there's Jag. I expected to like him. I did NOT expect him to destroy me. Once you get his backstory and his reason for doing everything (If you know, you know. And if you don't? Go read the whole trilogy. Right now. I'll wait.) I have time because I want to hear everybody's thoughts!! Also hot take hackers are just inherently sexy and I will not be taking questions. This is one of those books I can yammer on about endlessly and still feel like I haven't said enough. Three beautiful, broken people. One story that hits like a freight train. Don't sleep on this one.

When I read the original trilogy. Wolf was always a character that’s stuck so much in my mind. I am so happy that this book happened. If you haven’t read the original trilogy and you’re reading this now you definitely need to but be warmed. This whole entire series is dark. It’s messed up. It takes you on a journey. You relive some of that journey through the eyes of Wolf and what happened after he went over the cliff. If anything wolfe is never gonna apologize about being exactly who he is and that something I love about his character. He loves, throwing people off with his style and unsettling them even. He uses it as a weapon, but also to protect himself. And I love how when he first sees Dove he’s just captivated by her. And her story and Jags. Everything just came together so well and Pam is just an evil genius. The first three original books our books that I think about very very often. And now with this one added to it, just altogether, my all-time favorite dark romance series, probably ever. I’m not ready to leave these characters. And I will be coming back to reread the whole entire series again very soon and very frequently!