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therainbowshelf's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
If you're looking for a dark, witchy sci-fi fantasy centering a strong female protagonist, this might be a pick for you! I enjoyed it but I didn't love it. A few things didn't work for me, especially every characters' insistence that words without set meaning definitely have this one specific random interpretation that doesn't make a ton of sense. That part was just frustrating and was a major plot element.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Gore, Slavery, Racism, Transphobia, Murder, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Blood, Violence, Grief, and Torture
Moderate: Eating disorder
annorabrady's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The magic system is interesting and well designed, though I won't lie and say it was particularly nice to read of some of the uses. Especially in instances where blood mixee on open wounds or when Voya poured the blood into her eyes. The first drew me out of the story with thoughts of bloodborne illnesses and the latter triggering thosd thoughts AND completely grossed me out.
I understand and appreciate the resolution, and the point of the challenge. Though I feel angry about how the story wrapped up because Keis deserved betted.I kept waiting for Voya to realize that self sacrifice was an option, or that revealing the truth to Luc about Justin was also an option. Also, binding Keis to the house with no contract with the outside world was especially cruel and selfish – the opposite of what she claims to be her goal. Hell, bringing down Justin would have succeeded in destroying both Keis and Luc while better appealing to the goal of helping everyone. The ending is why I can't rate this higher. Though it's not bad enough for me to rate this lower.
I do greatly appreciate the representation of various minority groups in this story, as well as the social commentaries on racism, colonialism, slavery, generational trauma, family dynamics, communities, dependencies on technologies, etc at various points in history. It's both timely and timeless.
I understand and appreciate the resolution, and the point of the challenge. Though I feel angry about how the story wrapped up because Keis deserved betted.
I do greatly appreciate the representation of various minority groups in this story, as well as the social commentaries on racism, colonialism, slavery, generational trauma, family dynamics, communities, dependencies on technologies, etc at various points in history. It's both timely and timeless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Grief, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child abuse, Mental illness, Police brutality, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, and Medical content
theespressoedition's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Alright, I gotta do it. I gotta start off this review with the part that really made me struggle to read Blood Like Magic:
The book literally opens with a character bathing in her own period blood. I'm sorry, but that is really gross. It made me nauseous just reading about it. And while I have no problem with books using blood magic or talking about periods.. that combination really, really hit me the wrong way. Not a strong start. It almost felt like clickbait. Like they added a shock factor right there at the jump to get you to stick around. And it worked. I stuck around. But that knocked a whole star off my rating from the get-go.
The moment I read that the protagonist had to kill her first love, I rolled my eyes. I thought, here we go again. How many times have we read that trope? HOWEVER, I will say that this was executed really well. It was rather unexpected as far as that part of the story goes (and it's basically the biggest part of the story).
I felt connected to the characters. I really liked a few of them, hated a few others, and worried about a few more. I wasn't particularly drawn to the MC because of her personality. It was slightly off-putting. But I did enjoy the love interest and the family dynamic. In fact, the family dynamic was probably my favorite part.
There was such a strong emphasis on the different relationships within the family and that's what tugged at my heartstrings and convinced me to keep reading. It's also what caused me to add the sequel to my TBR at the end, despite not loving this particular book.
Again, I feel like if the book hadn't started out so strangely, I would've been way more in love with it from the beginning.
The book literally opens with a character bathing in her own period blood. I'm sorry, but that is really gross. It made me nauseous just reading about it. And while I have no problem with books using blood magic or talking about periods.. that combination really, really hit me the wrong way. Not a strong start. It almost felt like clickbait. Like they added a shock factor right there at the jump to get you to stick around. And it worked. I stuck around. But that knocked a whole star off my rating from the get-go.
The moment I read that the protagonist had to kill her first love, I rolled my eyes. I thought, here we go again. How many times have we read that trope? HOWEVER, I will say that this was executed really well. It was rather unexpected as far as that part of the story goes (and it's basically the biggest part of the story).
I felt connected to the characters. I really liked a few of them, hated a few others, and worried about a few more. I wasn't particularly drawn to the MC because of her personality. It was slightly off-putting. But I did enjoy the love interest and the family dynamic. In fact, the family dynamic was probably my favorite part.
There was such a strong emphasis on the different relationships within the family and that's what tugged at my heartstrings and convinced me to keep reading. It's also what caused me to add the sequel to my TBR at the end, despite not loving this particular book.
Again, I feel like if the book hadn't started out so strangely, I would've been way more in love with it from the beginning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Gore, Child death, Death, and Torture
Moderate: Eating disorder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Minor: Deadnaming, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Homophobia
prairieraven's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence
rorikae's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
'Blood Like Magic' by Liselle Sambury is a heart-filled story about one girl coming into her own for her family and for herself.
Voya has long struggled with making choices. They give her lots of anxiety and this is only heightened with the task that she is given at her Calling, a witch ceremony that will determine if she receives her powers or not. Where many Callings are simple, Voya's is more complex than her family has ever heard of: She must destroy her first love. When a matching service by a local genetic corporation is put into Beta, Voya signs up for the program in hopes that it will help her to find her first love. But when she starts to fall for the boy she has been paired with, her task is complicated, especially because if she fails her Calling, her whole family will lose their magic, not just her.
Sambury has crafted an engaging story that utilizes continually heightened tension to keep you rooted to the page. Though the story starts a bit slow, once the meat of what is happening starts to kick off, I found this book incredibly hard to put down. Voya is a complicated character but she's also deeply relatable. Sambury made it easy to both get frustrated with Voya for her trouble with making decisions while also completely understanding why she finds them so difficult.
Though the cast of characters is relatively large, it was easy to keep them all straight in my head because Sambury has made each character unique. The love, care, and conflict that comes with being part of a big family who all live under the same roof is a central part of the story and Sambury makes it easy to care about every one of the Thomases even when we are faced with their flaws. I also appreciated the inclusion of trans and queer characters.
Another highlight of this story is the way Sambury weaves together a near future setting with magic. Though this story is quite firmly a fantasy, it also skirts into the science fiction realm with a near future setting, the inclusion of genetic advancements, and the everyday advanced tech that Voya and her family live with. Both the fantasy and science fiction elements play off of each other in engaging ways that only add to the overall story.
Other than a few pacing issues at the beginning, 'Blood Like Magic' is a gripping story that made it hard to put down the book. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book and where Sambury's stories will take us in the future.
Voya has long struggled with making choices. They give her lots of anxiety and this is only heightened with the task that she is given at her Calling, a witch ceremony that will determine if she receives her powers or not. Where many Callings are simple, Voya's is more complex than her family has ever heard of: She must destroy her first love. When a matching service by a local genetic corporation is put into Beta, Voya signs up for the program in hopes that it will help her to find her first love. But when she starts to fall for the boy she has been paired with, her task is complicated, especially because if she fails her Calling, her whole family will lose their magic, not just her.
Sambury has crafted an engaging story that utilizes continually heightened tension to keep you rooted to the page. Though the story starts a bit slow, once the meat of what is happening starts to kick off, I found this book incredibly hard to put down. Voya is a complicated character but she's also deeply relatable. Sambury made it easy to both get frustrated with Voya for her trouble with making decisions while also completely understanding why she finds them so difficult.
Though the cast of characters is relatively large, it was easy to keep them all straight in my head because Sambury has made each character unique. The love, care, and conflict that comes with being part of a big family who all live under the same roof is a central part of the story and Sambury makes it easy to care about every one of the Thomases even when we are faced with their flaws. I also appreciated the inclusion of trans and queer characters.
Another highlight of this story is the way Sambury weaves together a near future setting with magic. Though this story is quite firmly a fantasy, it also skirts into the science fiction realm with a near future setting, the inclusion of genetic advancements, and the everyday advanced tech that Voya and her family live with. Both the fantasy and science fiction elements play off of each other in engaging ways that only add to the overall story.
Other than a few pacing issues at the beginning, 'Blood Like Magic' is a gripping story that made it hard to put down the book. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book and where Sambury's stories will take us in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Racism
eve_reads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Overall Thoughts:
⁕ Sambury does a STELLAR job creating conflict for her characters. The stakes are so high, and the tension very, very real throughout the entire novel.
⁕ This book has characters across 3 generations, and the voice acting by Joniece Abbott-Pratt captures them all SO WELL.
⁕ The world-building is subtle but effective. The setting of futuristic Canada felt familiar with sprinkles of fantastical and techy grunge vibes.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
⁕ Sambury does a STELLAR job creating conflict for her characters. The stakes are so high, and the tension very, very real throughout the entire novel.
⁕ This book has characters across 3 generations, and the voice acting by Joniece Abbott-Pratt captures them all SO WELL.
⁕ The world-building is subtle but effective. The setting of futuristic Canada felt familiar with sprinkles of fantastical and techy grunge vibes.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Racism, Violence, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Slavery, and Transphobia
Moderate: Police brutality and Medical trauma
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