A review by nytephoenyx
Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Blood Like Magic takes place in a world only a few decades ahead of ours. Sciences has expanded to deep genetic analysis and modification and these things are amazing for those who can afford them, which does not include Voya Thomas’s family.  The Thomas family has their own set of problems – specifically Voya’s Task to destroy her first love.  It’s an unthinkable requirement for Voya to become a witch, and when she’s genetically matched to one of the head of NuGene’s sponsor kids, things get even more complicated.

In Blood Like Magic, we watch Voya Thomas face a serious of impossible choices.  We see her surrounded by family that is well-meaning but flawed, and by neighbors that are superficial but they generally all stick together.  The community, the magic, and the tech were all interesting to me, but the complex multi-level family relationships made Blood Like Magic particularly good.  I loved it.

Voya has a huge family, and sometimes, it was challenging to keep track of everyone.  I both applaud and bemoan Sumbury’s choice to name two different characters Keisha.  For the most part, I was able to keep track of who was who and who did what… although admittedly I sometimes had to slow myself down in the scenes that contained both Keishas.  The large cast of characters is something to prepare yourself for, but there is only one POV and that belongs to Voya.

The world is close enough to our own that the technological advances don’t feel leaps and bound ahead, a common flaw of futuristic sci-fi.  I thought NuGene was interesting for the little times we spent learning about the company and its technology.  I thought the Thomas family’s magic was even more interesting.  Blood Like Magic focuses heavily on Voya’s story, since this is her Coming-Of-Age ritual.  But there are so many interesting people in her family, all with their own gifts, and there are scores of ancestors with stories as well.  Not only is the magic system interesting, there are so many individuals who have potential for bigger stories.  I hope Sambury pursues them – there is already confirmation for the next book in the series next year, so we’ll see where she takes it.

Absolutely 100% pick up this book is you like Black girl magic, tech-related sci-fi, witchy vibes, family relationships, or messy YA stories.  Blood Like Magic is entirely a fantastic book.  I enjoyed reading it and look forward to the next one!
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