*ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Voya Thomas is a sixteen year-old Black witch from a long line of witches, on the cusp of getting her powers through her Calling, a coming-of-age challenge that every magic user is given from one of their valued ancestors, and must pass in order to be gifted their powers and become a witch. There is a lot of pressure put on this challenge and families and/or the children who fail their callings are often shunned, and it hasn't happened in Voya's family in generations. When Voya is given her task from Mama Jova, she is told she has one month to destroy her first love, or her family will lose their magic forever.

Voya is a person who has always had trouble making decisions, and she is also someone who has never been in love, so this task proves difficult from the beginning. The Thomas's have been a family of "pure" magic users for quite some time, meaning they don't kill, even with pure intent, like some other witch families. But a lot hangs in the balance for Voya. Her only lead is a genetic matching program she is a part of at a futuristic tech company called NuGene, where an intern named Luc is her highest match. She sets out to fall in love with Luc, all while grappling with the idea that she will eventually have to kill him.

This book was absolutely incredible. I do not give five stars lightly. It was an incredible blend of fantasy and sci-fi, with absolutely amazing worldbuilding that made me long for the sequel immediately upon finishing this book. Voya's world in future Toronto is very casually queer, with two main characters who are trans (including Voya's love interest, Luc), a gender-neutral term for their ancestors, and many queer characters in the main and surrounding cast of characters, in all different positions of power.

Sambury even goes into the benefits that gene-modding (gene modification) has for trans folks in this futuristic world, an expensive gene-mod replacing what today would require surgery, but people needing money and status to get up the list, meaning not everyone has access. I loved these little bits of information about Sambury's ideal future almost as much as the sheer CANADIAN-NESS of the whole story (everyone constantly saying 'sorry', even to automated machines, the not-so-subtle Tim's mention).

I loved the little bits of internal monologue where Voya discusses how racism has become in the future, the part it plays in sponsorships like Luc's and how microaggressions still exist in a world many would consider progressive. I enjoyed the added information about required low-income housing, and how richer people get around it by hiding money in secret bank accounts and taking housing from the poor.

This book paints an incredibly detailed picture of Voya's world and community through her life experience and it's a story with high stakes, a unique magic system, and lots of Black Girl Magic that will have you looking up the release date of the sequel the moment you put it down.

I was so excited to get an ARC of Blood Like Magic! Witches living in futuristic Toronto? What's not to like! Sambury is a talented writer, and I look forward to reading the sequel!

First off, this book will make you VERY VERY VERY hungry! The main character, Voya, is a talented chef, and a lot of this book is about her cooking delicious food for her family or in cooking competitions etc. You will probably be getting on UberEats at least once while reading this; I know I did!

As someone living in Toronto myself, I loved all the details of the setting. I was especially a sucker for the stuff at OCAD, where I've taught some classes! The parts at the Dixie mall was also excellent. I love low-fantasy books where the magic is right there under your nose in ordinary places, but no one notices!

BLM is not a fluffy YA book. Despite me just saying it will make you hungry, it will also make your stomach turn at parts! Sambury does not shy away from the bloody imagery that the title "Blood like Magic" suggests! The author describes her style as writing stories about "messy Black girls in fantasy situations," which is precisely what you get here! There are no easy decisions or tidy bows. Definitely check out the content warnings that Sambury provides because this book has some heavy scenes.

The first 100 pages or so of the novel are heavy on exposition, making all the narrative threads a bit hard to hold in your head. When it clicks, it clicks, but it took me a while to get into the book for that reason. Every member of Voya's family is very well developed, but to such an extent that it's sometimes hard to keep track of. No one could ever accuse Sambury of having underdeveloped characters.

This brings me to my last point. Voya is a girl with PROBLEMS. No one could argue that there isn't enough conflict in this book. But she maybe has a few too many problems. To the extent that one of her close friends being missing is almost at the bottom of the list. BLM is a fantasy novel about witches, but it is also a sci-fi novel, a romance at times, a multi-generational family drama, a futuristic dystopia, a coming of age story, a mystery novel/ who-done-it. It looked at all sort of issues, from LGBTQ issues, gender issues, racial issues, economic issues, the undervaluing of the arts, drug addiction etc.

It also has a sub-narrative that seems inspired by Octavia Butler's Kindred, in which Voya sees and experiences the pain and suffering of her ancestors first hand. And another subplot that seems inspired by the sci-fi novel Timer, in which people wear something on their wrist that helps them find their soulmate. I think I'm forgetting some more layers; that's how many there are! These are all very cool ideas, but it is a lot. I found myself feeling like the book was turning to me and saying, "and another thing!" I feel like Sambury had a ton of great ideas and tried to cram them all into her first book. I think a few of these threads could have been removed, and it would not have harmed the book whatsoever.

All overall, I enjoyed reading Blood like Magic, and I recommend you check it out when it comes out on June 15th 2021!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Blood Like Magic in exchange for an honest review.

What the hack! I have no idea how Sambury managed to seamlessly throw so many awesome things in one book, but she did a fantastic job. Blood Like Magic has everything you could possibly want in a YA fantasy. Witches! Quests! Enemies to lovers! 'I love you, but I also have to kill you! Strong family relationships! Past and present racism commentary told through both directly and throw magic and metaphor! Casual queer rep! Canada (okay, I'm biased on that one but I live for seeing place names I recognize in YA).

I absolutely lived for every second of this and can't wait to see it blow up.

The author has recreated many of the sites and sounds of Toronto during Catrina. This deliciously written tale of a young girl coming into her own while focusing on her family and at what lengths she will go to to preserve it are enveloping. I want more.

Publication Date: June 15, 2021
TW: Slavery, Whipping, Gun Violence, gore, death, substance abuse, child neglect

Every witch has a calling, a trial arranged by one of their long dead ancestors when they hit puberty that tests their worthiness. If successful, the ancestor will award the witch with a magical gift, if they fail, they lose their witch status forever.

Voya has waited a long time for her calling. She’s blown away when one of her more notorious ancestors sets out her trial. She has 30 days to kill her first love, except Voya hasn’t experienced her first love yet. What follows is a story of family, love, loyalty and hardship.

Firstly, thank you for including content warnings at the beginning of the story. I also want to shout out the author for writing such wonderful, loyal, messy and diverse characters. Voya has entered my list of favourite female characters in literature.

I’ve never read a book that takes place in Toronto nor did I ever realize how much I craved a fantasy story to take place where I’m from. While this story takes place well into the future, Liselle’s inclusion of future Toronto as almost a character itself in the story was really neat. From the inclusion of the TTC arrival jingle, to famous landmarks and our unabashed multiculturalism, it was so interesting to see how years into the future the best of Toronto still shines.

As for the plot, it was a bit of a slow start in terms of the story. There was a lot of worldbuilding thrown at the reader all at once. I do appreciate when authors flesh out the world before they introduce the stakes in the plot. However, the story didn’t really pick up until about 20% in. It was bogged down by repetitive details about the same concept.

The premise of the story was definitely what intrigued me about this novel and it continued to keep me interested throughout the book. I’m normally the type of reader that guesses how the story is going to turn out long before the ending but this was not the case in this book.

I’ll be keeping my eye out for the next book in the series. I’m excited to see where the story goes and what happens to a number of characters.

Thank you to #NetGalley and @SimonandSchusterCanada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Feel free to send any future books my way…. but actually.