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A review by ssmylie
Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? No
4.5
I saw this book on a YA fantasy list and didn't plan to read it. I already had my TBR list queued up and ready to go. But I'm a mood reader and it was recommended to me and received a lot of praise on booktok and bookstagram. So, I decided to take it out from my local library. I'm really glad that I did because I LOVED IT. 4.5 stars.
A little bit about the book:
This fantasy novel is set in New Orleans, Louisiana and it feels like you're there with our twin witch and warlock Clement and Cristina. When the book opens the reader is going through the twins inner thoughts as they are preparing for their mom's visit with the doctor. She is very sick and looks like she might be dying — which the doctor concludes that she only has a few weeks left. The twins, who already are dealing with the lost of their father and close family, refuse to deal with their mothers death and uses magic to try to give her good luck. Instead, they find out that their mother have been hexed by another magical person. While trying to figure out who would want to harm their mom, it could be just the start of them untangling the mystery behind their family's demise over the past 30 years. It's up to our magical twins to save their family and get justice for their family.
Why I loved the book:
- The reading experience was great for me. I got an audiobook via libby and the voice actors really acted their behinds off on this one.
-Benton-Walker is a wonderful storyteller. This book kept me up all night trying to figure out what's next. There were a couple of reveals in the book that had me GASPING out loud.
- I love seeing AAVE in books. As Black Chicagoan with southern roots, seeing Black English that follows the dialect's grammatical rules lets me know that the book was written for us and by us. I hate when it downplayed as slang because it is a unique dialect and it changes depending on where you're at. Anyways, it made the characters feel real to me.
- This book highlighted issues that past and present Black folks are dealing with. Also, the book did not leave out specific issues related to the lives of Black queer folks and Black women.
My Critiques:
- Less POVs: I'm a sucker for books with different perspectives. I love moving through the thoughts and inner debates each character are struggling with and we can see their rationale for the decisions they make even though we might not agree with it. However, I only wanted Clement and Cristina's POVs.
- There are some scenes that get a little spicy between the young characters and their partners. I felt like they were my younger siblings, I didn't want to hear/read any of it. I was literally pretending to throw up at those parts lol. I was like "OMG CLOSE THE DOOR. CLOSE THE DOOR!" *insert meme when baby turns around quickly*.
- I wanted to know more about the aunts!
A little bit about the book:
This fantasy novel is set in New Orleans, Louisiana and it feels like you're there with our twin witch and warlock Clement and Cristina. When the book opens the reader is going through the twins inner thoughts as they are preparing for their mom's visit with the doctor. She is very sick and looks like she might be dying — which the doctor concludes that she only has a few weeks left. The twins, who already are dealing with the lost of their father and close family, refuse to deal with their mothers death and uses magic to try to give her good luck. Instead, they find out that their mother have been hexed by another magical person. While trying to figure out who would want to harm their mom, it could be just the start of them untangling the mystery behind their family's demise over the past 30 years. It's up to our magical twins to save their family and get justice for their family.
Why I loved the book:
- The reading experience was great for me. I got an audiobook via libby and the voice actors really acted their behinds off on this one.
-Benton-Walker is a wonderful storyteller. This book kept me up all night trying to figure out what's next. There were a couple of reveals in the book that had me GASPING out loud.
- I love seeing AAVE in books. As Black Chicagoan with southern roots, seeing Black English that follows the dialect's grammatical rules lets me know that the book was written for us and by us. I hate when it downplayed as slang because it is a unique dialect and it changes depending on where you're at. Anyways, it made the characters feel real to me.
- This book highlighted issues that past and present Black folks are dealing with. Also, the book did not leave out specific issues related to the lives of Black queer folks and Black women.
My Critiques:
- Less POVs: I'm a sucker for books with different perspectives. I love moving through the thoughts and inner debates each character are struggling with and we can see their rationale for the decisions they make even though we might not agree with it. However, I only wanted Clement and Cristina's POVs.
- There are some scenes that get a little spicy between the young characters and their partners. I felt like they were my younger siblings, I didn't want to hear/read any of it. I was literally pretending to throw up at those parts lol. I was like "OMG CLOSE THE DOOR. CLOSE THE DOOR!" *insert meme when baby turns around quickly*.
- I wanted to know more about the aunts!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death