Amazon Ink (Amazons, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Lori Devoti (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 26, 2009

Meet Mel: Business owner. Dedicated mom. Natural-born Amazon.

It's been ten years since Melanippe Saka left the Amazon tribe in order to create a normal life for her daughter, Harmony. True, running a tattoo parlor in Madison, Wisconsin, while living with your Amazon warrior mother and priestess grandmother is not everyone's idea of normal, but Mel thinks she's succeeded at blending in as human.

Turns out she's wrong. Someone knows all about her, someone who's targeting young Amazon girls, and no way is Mel going to let Harmony become tangled in this deadly web. With her mother love in overdrive, Ms. Melanippe Saka is quite a force...even when she's facing a barrage of distractions -- including a persistent detective whose interest in Mel goes beyond professional, a sexy tattoo artist with secrets of his own, and a seriously angry Amazon queen who views Mel as a prime suspect. To find answers, Mel will have to do the one thing she swore she'd never do: embrace her powers and admit that you can take the girl out of the tribe...but you can't take the tribe out of the girl.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This intriguing series from urban fantasist Devoti (Dark Crusade) marks Juno's first outing as a Pocket imprint. A group of Amazon women in present-day America closely guard their extraordinary powers and only interact with men for breeding. Melanippe, who left the Amazons 10 years ago to raise her daughter, runs a Madison, Wis., tattoo parlor and nurses a grudge against the priestess she believes killed her infant son. When two Amazon women are slain and dumped on Mel's doorstep, their tribe immediately suspect her of the killing. Mel soon wonders who poses the greatest threat to her adolescent daughter: the unknown murderer, the rigidly controlling Amazons or disturbingly attractive and magically skilled tattoo artist Peter Arpada. Mel can be a frustrating sleuth, jumping to conclusions and ignoring obvious clues, but Devoti's fascinating mix of myth and reality will keep readers engaged. (June)
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About the Author

Lori Devoti grew up in southern Missouri and attended the University of Missouri-Columbia where she earned a Bachelor of Journalism. The author of two contemporary romances and half-a-dozen paranormal romances Lori makes her fantasy debut with Amazon Ink.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; 1ST edition (May 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439154279
• ISBN-13: 978-1439154274
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 4.2 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #927,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very impressed!! June 27, 2009

By CeeCee

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this novel because the reviews were really positive about the story and Mel, the main character. I was not disappointed! Loosely based on Amazon myths and legends, this is the story of Mel, an Amazon who left her people ten years ago. According to tradition if an Amazon is pregnant with a boy the child is either aborted, given away (and forgotten) or crippled physically to prevent the child from growing stronger then his female kin. Mel left because she had a suspicion that one of the stronger high priestesses had a hand in the death of her newborn son; a son she had planned on keeping and raising despite her traditions and culture.

The only outcast of her people, she has been doing great on her own mingling with the humans. Her mother and grandmother, who followed her all those years back, still practice their traditions and are on Mel to start teaching her daughter, Harmony, about who she is, where she comes from, and what powers she will inherit. But Mel just wants her daughter to live a normal life first before she inducts her daughter into a world she still holds a lot of anger for.

But the deaths of Amazon girls left on Mel's doorstep have taken that decision out of her hands. Before she knows it she has the queen of the Amazons moving in with a bunch of her warriors, a police detective hounding her because he suspects she knows more than she's telling, and a connection with the murdered girls because she was the one to release their spirits after their death. If that's not enough she's not only hired a male tattoo artists for her tattoo shop (against her better judgement), but she's starting to feel this attraction for him. There's an even bigger suprise waiting for her as she works to solve these murders....

I thought Lori Devoti did an awesome job creating this urban fantasy world that had nothing to do with vampires or werewolves, but everything to do with a fresh approach and a really good mystery. I thought I knew who was responsible for the girls' murder and it turned out I was so wrong! There's nothing better to a mystery that has great twists and turns and you can't see what's coming. I also like the idea of this whole family of women, four generations, living all together and loving each other despite some really big differences. I'd recomend this for fans of urban fantasy who are getting a little tired of the vampire/werewolf scene. Read more ›

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not five stars in my opinion, but a good effort June 25, 2009

By Lisa VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Melanippe Saka left her Amazon tribe due to the death of her son whom she believes was killed by someone in the Amazon tribe. Amazon's see no need for sons and they usually maim them and give them away. Mel feeling different about her son, left with her daughter, Harmony, and was shortly followed by her Mother and Grandmother. Now she's finding dead Amazon girls on her doorstep. The first one she quietly disposes of but not before releasing the girl's spirit, but when a second dead Amazon shows up, she is compelled to let the tribe know about it. Soon the Amazon tribe descends upon her at her home which is an old school. Mel must deal with the queen, who was also her best friend, a new male tattoo artisan, Peter, a young pregnant Amazon woman and a detective who is looking into the deaths of the two girls.

I found the initial idea of Amazon women to be new and refreshing from the normal urban fantasy of vampires, shape shifters or fae. However, I must disagree with all the five star reviews. I found the book to lack at times in the interest department. By that I mean there came a time when the book did not hold my interest and I was very tempted to put it down and not finish it. I hate to do that as I spent good money for the book so I made myself continue to read and I'm glad I did. It did turn out to be a fairly interesting read after the "hump" I had reached. I also found Mel's powers to be somewhat wishy washy. Most of the time she held off on using her powers and when she finally did I really didn't care. All in all, it was a decent book but I don't think I liked it well enough to read a second if there should be one.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable.. May 28, 2009

By Shala Kerrigan TOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Strong female protagonist who is a mother first and Amazon second. I was worried it would be another romance masquerading as a fantasy novel and it wasn't. There was some romance, but it was a very light touch. The main story was about being self-exiled from a culture with deep roots and how those roots can hold you even while you are trying to make a normal life.
The Amazon culture in the story is based loosely off how gypsies are portrayed in pop culture, a strong mystical, nomadic group who live on the fringes of society.
I'm looking forward to a sequel and seeing more development in the female relationships, Mel's relationships with her mother, daughter, grandmother and best friend are great and deserve more time.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Missed the target by that much September 6, 2009

By Gnomes Rule

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Updating the world of the Amazon was a unique concept and if the author stuck to one, two or at the most three plot points the book may have worked but she just keep on adding things until the book became more and more chaotic and as a result weaker.

Her characters for as old as they were suppose to be weren't the brightest of beings and I`m not referring to tech knowledge. After living in the real world for ten years, running a business, interacting with the general population should have taught them something. Grandma and her cons, uh clients and Mother, a Xena imitation, were caricatures and even though their actions were understandable given the Amazon society Mel's reaction to what they did wasn't.

The author had a tendency to repeat points over and over again but yet managed to leave out important information in other areas. We, the reader, can easily grasp the fact that Mel was angry with her tribe and left on her own after the loss of her son however, beating the point until it bled was overdoing it.

The mystery led you one way and then without any clue or logic it led back in another direction. A good mystery will leave you with at the very least a `Yeah now that makes sense', not `where the [blank] did that come from'.

The story was hard to get into; a woman finds two dead bodies on her porch and nothing. Nothing grabs the reader in, there was a lack of emotion, oh the words were there but the author's style just made the emotional connection impossible. It takes the reader to get half way though the book before it get better. I did say better not good.

With editing, this could have been an excellent book but her editor failed her horribly.... Several points including the Dana story line for example, would have worked better in the next book. Hopefully, it will be better. Read more ›