Jodie x
When a friend of mine kindly gifted me Indelible by Adelia Saunders for my birthday, I was impressed. I remember thinking, ‘this looks like just the type of book I’ll enjoy!’. We normally have a very different taste in fiction, but she then revealed her secret – she’d stalked my Goodreads ‘to read’ list and found this! N’aw. She’s the best! Anyway… I couldn’t wait to get stuck in, as the blurb sounded so intriguing. A girl who can see the truth about people’s lives, past and future, written all over their skin? Tell me more!
Indelible: (adjective) – (of ink or a pen) making marks that cannot be removed
The book is written from three different perspectives – each chapter is narrated by one of our protagonists. Magdalena, the girl with the gift of seeing the written truth on the skin; Richard, a man in search of the truth of his mother, who he has never met; and Neil, Richard’s son. At first glance, our characters seem a little strange – how would these three characters be related in such a way to create a vibrant plot line? However, the character’s stories soon start to mingle together into perfect harmony.
Without giving too much away, Magdalena meets Neil, and soon after, they all end up in Paris separately. Their lives interwoven, we discover truths about their pasts. The main ‘mystery’ of the book for me, was discovering the truth of what happened to Richard’s mother. In the end of the book, everything ties together in a truly ‘Aha!’ moment. I remember reading this reveal on the train, and being literally gobsmacked. How did I not see it coming!? It was one of those moments that makes you think: everything makes sense now.
The book itself is brilliantly written – Adelia Saunders is obviously a very skilled writer, so I was shocked to learn this is her first novel. She has an excellent way with words, especially when describing people and situations. She enabled me to paint a detailed picture of the characters in my minds – which is something I certainly love when reading a book. I want to be able to visualise the characters, to really get into the plot, almost as if I was there!
As the majority of the novel is set in Paris, there is rather a lot of French culture and historical references in the book. At first, I was concerned about this, however it is written in a fairly simple manner, which does mean that if you’re not interested in that element of the book, it won’t ruin the actual beauty and enjoyment of the plot. I must admit, however, that this is the reason I dropped a point for the final 4/5 rating – personally I would have preferred less French culture, however it does add to the story, and I can understand why this may be of more interest to others.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Indelible by Adelia Saunders, and rate it a very solid 4/5. I’m interested to keep an eye on Adelia Saunders, as I’ll have to ensure I pick up any of her future novels.
I’m always looking out for new books to read, so if you have any recommendations you think I’d like, please let me know in the comments below!
If you want to check out what else I’ve been reading, why not have a look at my previous book reviews?
Jodie x