ARC Review: Dalya & the Magic Ink Bottle by J.M. Evenson

San
May 6, 2020
2 min read

Updated: May 14, 2021

"Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!"

Book Details:

Author: J.M. Evenson

Series: Standalone

Genres: Children's Fiction, Middle Grade

Page Count: ___

Publisher: Capstone

To be Published: 1 September, 2020

Blurb:

When twelve-year-old Dalya is dragged to Istanbul to help sell her family's ancestral home, the visit begins unpromisingly. Most of the aged mansion is off-limits because it's falling apart, her father is ignoring her, and her great aunt keeps prattling on about a family curse. Despite warnings against it, Dalya tiptoes upstairs, where she finds an old bottle of magic ink hidden under a floorboard. She asks the bottle's jinn (aka genie) to grant her a simple wish...to send her home. Except the jinn interprets "go home" to mean "send me back in time and turn me into a cat." Then Dalya must set off on a wild adventure through Istanbul's animal underworld to find the jinn with the power to set things right. Along the way she collects a group of companions - furry and human alike - but if she isn't careful, she'll lose the chance to reverse her family's fortunes and may never find her way back home.

My Review:

~~~May contain spoilers~~~

My rating is 2.5/5 stars

So, it's been over 3 days since I read this book and I've been knowingly delaying it's review post. It's not bad per say but it also didn't leave a great impression on me either.

I enjoy reading Middle grade level books. It was cute and the premise was interesting but somehow, I didn't connect as well with the story as I had hoped. Maybe younger me would have liked it but for 16 yr old Me, it was a forgettable affair.