Book: KOBRA by Cris G. Wells
Reviewed by Halliday in the Books
Rating: 4/5
Davina Lachlan does not fail. She is a centurion, after all, and one of the best. That’s why the leaders of her country chose her for this mission. One of the foremost researchers of Evergreen Sap is dead. Murdered. Intelligence shows he had a massive hoard of the substance. When used as tattoo ink, the sap can bestow previously-unfathomable powers upon the bearer of the design. In the wrong hands, it can be extremely dangerous.
Of course, everyone believes that their hands are the right ones. Davina knows that the sap will be safest and put to the best use in her country, but that’s not where the clues are. To find out what happened and where the stash might be, she’ll have to work with her foreign counterpart, Captain Zephyr Kentar. They agreed they would split the stash once they find it, but neither of them can really expect the other to hold to that bargain.
First and foremost, I had a lot of fun with this magic system. It uses a magical tree sap as tattoo ink, using different designs on various areas of the body to unlock powers. There’s a lot of thought given to not only the system’s mechanics, but how they were discovered in the first place. I also loved how the author chose to explore the effects of magic on cultures and politics. The sap becomes a vital resource very suddenly, and readers see all the implications of that in the multiple countries of this world.
The investigation the characters undertake is also a lot of fun, reminiscent of Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider. Trying to keep up with the clues as they come is an exciting ride. This is amplified by frequent, well-executed cliffhangers. The story has both a dual POV and dual timeline to the narrative. Readers learn the pieces of the story out of order, always leaving them craving answers until the very end when the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place.
There was one area where I struggled with this book. I do a lot of camping and hiking, and I also have emergency medical training. Fellow readers with similar skill sets will also likely facepalm a few times in reaction to character decisions. Characters who should have a very solid grasp of wilderness survival and first aid don’t demonstrate that. They often undertake actions that would in reality make the problem worse.
That was really the only point where I had to work to suspend my disbelief. The story was otherwise very immersive and captivating. There was even a very believable gradual building of respect between the two leads in a reluctant-allies-to-lovers romance ARC. Even when you already know what’s going to happen (thanks to the dual timelines), the level of tension is undeniable. It’s impossible to look away.
I will be anxiously awaiting the second installment of the Inked Sap series, and not only because of that brutal cliffhanger. I can’t wait to see what happens next and learn more about the intricate workings of this world and its magic system. Cris G. Wells is off to a great start with this one.