Reviews with content warning for Violence - Blood Debts

I didn't love this as much as I was hoping which is a shame. The magic in this book is really amazing, and there were some truly fascinating parts to read. Also a few 'gasp' moments that surprised me (in a good way). However, there were far too many background characters and their roles were not adequately described, so even though I took notes I was still confused. For example, there are these magical 'councils' that oversee the different types of magic and there are people on these councils who are mentioned ex: 'so-and-so is priestess of etc' but there's no explanation of what that means? So I felt the world-building could have been fleshed out more.

3/5 🌶️ -

there is one explicit sex scene

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karenreadsbooks's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

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sam_the_librarian's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Based off of the synopsis, I was hoping for social commentary with a magical twist- that is not what this novel is. This book is a young adult, contemporary, revenge story with a magic system & a villain you love to hate.

I’m giving Blood Debts ⭐⭐.5 stars because of several factors. The book kept me interested enough to finish but events really began to feel staged for me. I was meant to feel a certain way but it felt very forced so it took me out of the moment- events felt forced instead of flowing through time. There were also too many people with too few personality traits. I will admit that I am terrible with names but I don’t think this was simply a me issue this time. For example, Cris and Clem have four (or was it three… or five?) aunts but only one has a strong personality. The others flit in and out of the narrative but have nearly zero personality.

The other big area of discomfort for me was the resolution to the main problem- it took a very dark turn. I’m a fan of thrillers and am not unfamiliar with dark themes but this again, felt a bit forced. I’ve seen other reviewers mention that Cris and Clem sound very similar as our two, main POV. While I can definitely see this, the issue I, personally had, was Cris’ personality felt too fluid. Sometimes she seemed meek and weak, other times downright cruel. That was confusing as a reader.

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillon-Tor/Forge Publishing for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

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nemoslittlelibrary's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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? No

4.5

“For every child of color who was denied the justice they deserved. You always matter.”

Blood Debts had me gripped from the minute I read the dedication and the author’s note at the beginning!

The magical world within Blood Debts was so unique to me - that Gen Magic was created for those oppressed to survive colonisation, slavery and lynching. We have on the other hand the white mages that work with light magic (the sun) and then of course the non-magic folk. Everything in this book was so carefully orchestrated and explained so well. There are multiple subplots within this book as well that add to the overall plot of the book (the mystery of who is coming after Cris and Clem’s family) and keep the story moving at a nice pace. The world building was phenomenal and the writing was beautiful - the imagery in some of the spell casting scenes is just pure perfection!

I think this book is so interesting with a wonderful fictional plot however it does clearly bring light to some very real and non-fictional issues that minority communities still face in the present day. The history to the Gen community and, of course Cris and Clem’s grandparents, is so relevant to real history and I think this book truly helps bring those discussions to light through a fictional world. The pure poc rage and also feminine rage within this book really moved me emotionally because so much that happened are unfortunately, still real problems.

Main things I liked about the book:
- Multiple pov, we not only get to see Cris and Clem’s perspective on things but also a couple of the side characters. It’s always a nice insight on how the scene is playing out from different point’s of view.
- The familial bonds! Yes there is romance in this book but I would say the main relationships are within the family, specifically sibling bonds. Any reader who loves to see unconditional love for family members will really enjoy this.
- The strong poc, and female, characters. I loved, especially Cris, who would not back down and see her family suffer or be further oppressed. She quite literally fought until the very end and stood up for what was right.
- The history! The way this story was written and gave so much magical historical context to the present life in New Orleans was done so well that at no point did I think the author was just giving a history lesson and trying to get as much information in as possible. It was appropriately mentioned at the right scenes of the book but done often enough that I did have the full picture of their history by the end.
- Clem and Yves, No words. They have my heart.
- Jean-Louise was such a tender character, his development was adoring to see and I loved how he kind of took Clem under his wing.

I genuinely got so emotionally invested with the story line and a few of the characters. I will now eagerly be waiting for the second book because what was that cliffhanger!!!!

Some of my favourite quotes:
• “Gen gods literally created our magic to survive colonization and slavery and lynching—all because of white people. Pokémon are cool. Generational magic is my heritage, Oz.””
• “but let me make myself quite clear: Before I allow a group of limp white dicks to lord over my gods-given right to wield magic, I will decimate the entirety of New Orleans and every one of your cute little thrones along with it.”
• “A woman’s worth is not tied to her ability to conceive, nor are we obligated to pop out children to serve the patriarchy.”
• “You thought your brother was a rainbowed whore.”

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an earc of this book⭐️

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purplepenning's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

There is a lot going on in this dark, contemporary urban fantasy. It's a great concept, but it didn't end up working for me. (I'm not giving a star rating because I'm definitely not the target audience.) Blood Debts is, as promised, absolutely dripping with generational magic, trauma, and family and community drama. But the cast and scope felt too big, and the characters managed to feel both underdevoped and belabored. I hope it works better for other readers, or that the series as a whole comes together better than this first part.

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acwhite's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious 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

4.0

I struggled getting into the first 25-30% of this book, but once it took off it was tough to put down. A fascinating tapestry of plots that came together in a beautiful tapestry.

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csevet's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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