A review by mallorypen
Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

3.75

The premise and magic system of this novel felt very original, and the voices of the protagonists were strong. This was one of those stories that played out very easily in the mind's eye like watching a television show - I could see the emotions and actions of each of the main characters clearly, and the magic made sense in how it behaved in the world and the consequences of using it.

Racism and classism were also main characters in this novel, and the concept of Gen magic fit into the "real world" aspects of the story in a way that didn't at all feel forced or awkward. If magic did exist, I could believe wholeheartedly that this was how magic came to be, and that this is how it is practiced, demonized, and regulated.

Other things I really enjoyed:
  • The duality of the gods and how magic could be good or evil - and that even when gods became personally invested,
    like Papa Eshu backing Marie,
    they still have their own agendas.
  • Chris' story arc away from and back to magic - especially being a badass in her first act back to magic
  • The relationship between Clem and Chris as twins

My main qualm with the book was the cast of characters got to be a lot to keep straight; recognizing this is book one of three - and that characters who played smaller roles in this story may have different roles to play later - I still got confused on who was who, and which characters did what as the twins unraveled the mystery of who tried to kill their mother, and ultimately, who set their family up to take the fall for a murder. It also made some of the relationships a little hard to believe - Ursula is meant to have a special connection with Clem, and yet there's so much other stuff from other people happening in between their scenes and Clem's thoughts about her, it doesn't show as entirely as consuming as the characters tell us it is. 

I also wanted the pacing to be a little tighter:
  • fewer characters and less of the added POVs would have helped with my perception of how the story lagged in some places. 
  • I get leery of instalove, and though I thought Ives and Clem's relationship was VERY cute and sweet, it got strong WAY fast - I wanted more development in some places, like with their courtship.
  • The ending - after allllll that build up - was abrupt. Again, acknowledging this is the start of a series, but the loose ends didn't really feel like "ooh, read on!" cliffhangers
    besides the moon god arc and of course, WHATEVER IS GONNA HAPPEN WITH IVEEEEEEES

All told, I enjoyed this novel, but I don't think I'm going to continue the series.
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