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cosmicwillow's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
this was such a fascinating and gripping world! the story was cool, but i think the setting sold me the most; i found the balance of fantasy and a future sci-fi to be really fun - not quite the typical urban fantasy you’d expect! im very much looking forward to reading the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Addiction and Transphobia
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Torture, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Eating disorder, and Racism
Minor: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Police brutality
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: Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Eating disorder
sashahc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“Blood Like Magic” by Liselle Sambury is both near future Sci Fi and Urban Fantasy YA. Voya is a hereditary witch from a Trinidadian family living in Toronto in the year 2049. It is a time of ubiquitous genetic manipulation and ever increasing social stratification. Voya is given her magical coming-of-age task from an enslaved ancestor: she has one month to destroy her first love or she will destroy her family. It’s full of the difficulties of being in two cultures and a complicated and sometimes stifling family. There is a lot of self examination on what being “good” means and how to stay true to oneself while knowing what you owe to the ones you love and to your legacy. There are also thrills and mysteries and conspiracies, a trans love interest, and lots of queer folks. Also also, some mouthwatering food descriptions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Murder
hecubatohim's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death, Torture, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, and Grief
lenaricharz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction and Racism
jenna_04's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
A lot of repetition in the story, it's very slow paced seeing it took 400 pages to get to the actual task being preformed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, and Grief
Minor: Addiction, Medical content, and Kidnapping
thirdeyeangel23's review against another edition
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
Blood Like Magic is one of the most intense as Sci-Fi Fantasies I’ve read. Voya Thomas hails from a long line of magic, but all of that is put in jeopardy when her Calling demands she complete an impossible task. In order to preserve her family’s magic, Voya must destroy her first love. This story was a page turner from beginning to end. More than anything I love that while Voya has the entire world on her shoulders, she still acts her age. Such a wild and emotional ride. I can’t wait to get into book two!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
tinysierra's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
“There’s something about lounging in a bath of blood that makes me want to stay until my fingers shrivel enough to show the outlines of my bones.” pg 1
I expected to fall in love with Blood like Magic. The synopsis was interesting and the first sentence hooked me. It’s got black witches and queer representation. Speaking of, I swear I’ve seen this book on asexual rec lists, but asexual and aromantic are two different things. It has an explicit demiromantic (meaning that they’re on the aromantic spectrum) side character. There is another character that does not seem to enjoy physical touch or kissing, but the word asexual is not used. Moving on, another thing that influenced me to read the book was the fact that the plot reminded me of Raybearer, which I really loved.
Maybe I set my expectations too high. I’m not sure. I originally decided to DNF this book because it was a bit repetitive and felt like nothing was really happening. After a few months, I picked it up again to see if it got better. I enjoyed the interactions we got to see between Luc and Voya. The way the plot was executed just didn’t do anything for me. I think the writing style was too… dense and long winded. The book felt too long. The pacing was not fast.
I’m disappointed because I also really loved the cover of this one and the sequel. I won’t be reading the second book.
Themes:
-Broken family
-importance of community
-importance of family ties
-connection to ancestors
-cooking
-sacrifice
-trust
-addiction
-poverty
-eating disorder briefly mentioned
-addiction
-poverty
-eating disorder briefly mentioned
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Transphobia, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Addiction, Eating disorder, and Vomit
gellyreads's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Racism, Violence, and Kidnapping