Scan barcode
A review by bookandcoffeeaddict
Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker
5.0
There are a lot of things happening in this book. And a lot of viewpoints. Cris and Clem are the main POVs, but there are also 3 others. I enjoyed both Cris and Clem, but my favorite was definitely Valentina, Cris’s once bff now nemesis. Valentina’s family has held the crown of the Gen Magic Council since the Dupart family’s downfall and she’s the kind of villain you love to hate, with depth and nuance and flair.
By around the 40% mark, there are a lot of half-begun threads and new plotlines branching off. It can feel a bit meandering. We go from the search for who cursed their mom, to getting all up in their aunt’s personal business and harassing people from her past out of nothing but nosiness and curiosity, to Clem finding time to pursue a new relationship and get into necromancy, and Cris having a whole character arc going from shying away from even touching magic because she’s scared of hurting anyone to wanting to rain blood down on her enemies.
It’s a lot. But it’s not like the plotlines don’t grow and branch off organically, because they do, like an invasive species.
Stick it out and the payoff is worth it. Once the branches converge and everything starts to clear up, the book becomes unputdownable. Reading Blood Debts is like watching True Blood or The Vampire Diaries, shows with multiple plotlines introduced throughout the season that all tie together in an explosive finale.
I ended up really loving this book and can’t recommend it enough. The characters are interesting, there’s never a boring moment, and the way the author masterfully weaves together racial tensions with magical drama adds a lot of depth to the story and characters. It’s more than simply a magical fantasy, the author wanted Blood Debts to evoke complex feelings about justice, morality, generational trauma, and cycles of violence, and these themes are definitely felt throughout the book. This series is absolutely one to watch for.
+Trigger Warnings (may contain spoilers)+
-Non-consent: Cris finds out her “boyfriend” has been using love magic to make her want to be with him. This causes her to spiral pretty heavily, especially because while they hadn’t had full-on sex, they have come pretty close and done other very intimate sexual acts.
-Under-age sex: Clem and his boyfriend are both 16 and engage in a pretty explicit spicy scene.
*thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy of this book.
By around the 40% mark, there are a lot of half-begun threads and new plotlines branching off. It can feel a bit meandering. We go from the search for who cursed their mom, to getting all up in their aunt’s personal business and harassing people from her past out of nothing but nosiness and curiosity, to Clem finding time to pursue a new relationship and get into necromancy, and Cris having a whole character arc going from shying away from even touching magic because she’s scared of hurting anyone to wanting to rain blood down on her enemies.
It’s a lot. But it’s not like the plotlines don’t grow and branch off organically, because they do, like an invasive species.
Stick it out and the payoff is worth it. Once the branches converge and everything starts to clear up, the book becomes unputdownable. Reading Blood Debts is like watching True Blood or The Vampire Diaries, shows with multiple plotlines introduced throughout the season that all tie together in an explosive finale.
I ended up really loving this book and can’t recommend it enough. The characters are interesting, there’s never a boring moment, and the way the author masterfully weaves together racial tensions with magical drama adds a lot of depth to the story and characters. It’s more than simply a magical fantasy, the author wanted Blood Debts to evoke complex feelings about justice, morality, generational trauma, and cycles of violence, and these themes are definitely felt throughout the book. This series is absolutely one to watch for.
+Trigger Warnings (may contain spoilers)+
-Non-consent: Cris finds out her “boyfriend” has been using love magic to make her want to be with him. This causes her to spiral pretty heavily, especially because while they hadn’t had full-on sex, they have come pretty close and done other very intimate sexual acts.
-Under-age sex: Clem and his boyfriend are both 16 and engage in a pretty explicit spicy scene.
*thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy of this book.