HOLY WOW. I just loved this story. Two siblings who definitely have issues are going to solve their problems all the while also dealing with some very supernatural nonsense that may or may not end everything. I just adored the writing and the story and I can’t wait to read more by this author.

In Blood Debts, Terry Benton-Walker has created a novel that is powerful and emotional, the debut of a contemporary fantasy series. Both Cristina and Clement are emotionally engaging, powerful voices, and take you on a thrilling ride of drama, magic and intergenerational pain and curses. The other characters in the novel are well developed and equally intriguing, three dimensional and layered with complexity. The novel engages the reader in an exploration of power, history, and justice and whether justice can ever truly satisfy, especially if there is blood at the end of it. It also asks the question of when one must stand up and fight for one’s family. Terry Benton-Walker raises these questions, deftly answers them in different ways and voices but leaves the reader to decide for oneself the response that speaks to them. 

One of the aspects that I loved the most is the different point of view that we get in the novel. Not only do we get both Clement and Cristina’s point of view but also Valentina, a rival of Cristina. Despite being at odds, the viewpoint gives a realistic picture of Valentina’s thoughts, never painting her as black and white, letting the reader see both her flaws and her struggles. No one is completely innocent and this is well explored in this novel. I also love how different Clement and Cristina are from each other. They do not agree on what justice is and what it entails. While they come together at the end to protect their mother and family, some of these thoughts and considerations clearly are set up to address in future books. And I love that we see how powerful and emotional the situation is for both Clement and Cristina, how each struggles to resolve. The ending is impactful and while there are notes of hope, there are also questions left unanswered. 

If you love contemporary fantasy, you will love this novel. It is diverse, full of vibrancy, power and emotions. The characters are full of depth and the novel explores ideas that any person should ask, whatever their circumstances. I found the characters easy to connect with, even though my background is vastly different and it gave me insight into the generational trauma people of color experience. The ending leaves questions and yet the novel provides hope to readers. It is powerful and emotional.

I started this book in October, made it past the halfway point, put it down, and never felt the urge to pick it back up. My main problem was the pacing. I was 55% into this book and I feel like the things that had happened could’ve happened in the first 65 pages. I also didn’t like these characters at all. I was interested in the story at one point, but it just didn’t keep my interest. The story had so much potential. I wish I had been able to stay interested.

Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.

TW: racism, murder, magic, betrayal, Attempted SA, attempted murder, mention of lynching & pain.

The plot twists & secrets coming to light kept coming, and they did not give up!

The slightly different writing styles for each twin helped capture each character in my reading. It brought out their uniqueness and similarities perfectly.
The characters in this book were all grey. Some are more on the evil side than others, but I loved seeing their pov. You can feel for them & recognize that they are terrible people - rival families.

I will say that I was surprised that this was set in the current day and not the 40s. I got a 40s vibe from it. However, I think I realized why.... the family was lynched, and we like to pretend that happened 100 years ago, but that still happened today, and we aren't as welcoming & in the future as a society like to pretend. Those not affected can pretend, but those who suffer don't.

The structure being a bit too fast & too slow is the only complaint; it gives some whiplash.

Blood Debts by Terry J Benton-Walker published April 4, 2023. Not a fan of the writing style or the first couple chapters - did not finish.

The characters and worldbuilding were absolutely PHENOMINAL!!!!!! The writing style was simply unique! The descriptions of the world were creative and also so vivid I pictured everything and the story came to life the farther I read into story!The magic was chefs kiss! The main characters had such depth and Prowse!!!!! The plot was carefully placed and will now live rent free in my head!!!! Wish and hoping for a part 2!!!!!!

Honestly I didn't really like this. I thought the characters needed more fleshing out, I thought the plot was confusing, but mostly I was just so bothered by the change in POVs and tenses. It was such an odd choice to have different POVs be in different tenses, and it really took me out of reading. I think that choice really sunk this book tbh.

Clem and Chris have my heart! It's a supernatural mystery with plenty of twists for all to enjoy. I also enjoyed the careful exploration and consideration of mental health and loved the setting in NOLA which is one of my favorite cities.

This books starts slow. Once I hit about 25-30% of the way it picked up pace and was amazing.

The book had some great twists and turns, character development, and a satisfying ending. I could do with a second but if it is a standalone I would be okay.

I love how the author talks about family love, hate, relationships, and forgiveness. This family is strong willed and can be strong knitted. It was a wonderful read.

I didn't love this as much as I was hoping which is a shame. The magic in this book is really amazing, and there were some truly fascinating parts to read. Also a few 'gasp' moments that surprised me (in a good way). However, there were far too many background characters and their roles were not adequately described, so even though I took notes I was still confused. For example, there are these magical 'councils' that oversee the different types of magic and there are people on these councils who are mentioned ex: 'so-and-so is priestess of etc' but there's no explanation of what that means? So I felt the world-building could have been fleshed out more.


Content Warnings:
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Death, and Car accident
Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Blood, Grief, and Gaslighting
Minor: Alcohol, Addiction, and Slavery

Today is my stop on the tour for Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker. Thank you so much Pride Book Tours & Hodderscape for my copy and for having me on the tour!

Blood Debts was one of my most anticipated reads for the year and it was FANTASTIC! I need to take a minute to really appreciate the cover too because it is absolutely gorgeous!

I loved the New Orleans setting, it’s a place I would love to visit one day and so perfect for stories with magic! I really enjoyed the magic system in this story, the generational magic aspect was so interesting and I really liked seeing each character’s relationship with it! The multi-POV format worked perfectly for this, I loved being in each characters mind as they came face to face with their struggles!

And the family drama was so good!! When a story starts with the family trees of the characters then you KNOW it’s gonna be good! I love the complicated family dynamics of the Mikaelson’s from the Originals & Blood Debts has perfected that! I really liked how even though there is a big secret that has divided the family, when one of them is in trouble they all come together!

On top of everything that is already amazing about this story there is also an intriguing and twisty 30 year old murder mystery that was so twisty and clever! I loved watching the twins try to figure out this mystery for their family and wondering whether this will be something that will bring them closer together or set them on divergent paths?

Blood Debts is a brilliant story full of twists, magic and vengeance! I am so exited to see what happens next!

I really wanted to try this book because I lived in NOLA for years and the cover got me hooked immediately. I knew i needed to set aside some qualms to read it, especially because it was YA. Way too many PoVs for my taste and some that didn’t really need to be there.

What a whirlwind! So many ups and downs within magical families specifically the 16-year-old twins Clement and Cristina Trudeau. Both are still grieving their father's death and caring for their sick mother. They investigate the 30-year-old murder of Alexis Lancaster-the mayor's daughter at that time. Their grandmother Cristine was blamed, and they want to clear her name. Set in New Orleans, a world of Voodoo and generational magic while addressing such current issues as mental health, homophobia, racism, and bullying. There's plenty of story to tell with so many characters, but this had a satisfying ending of good vs evil.
"I received a complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow this book was REALLY good. The magic system was something I haven’t read before, it was complex and beyond interesting. I love how the magic was linked with ancestors, and discussed how issues like slavery influenced the magic that the black characters had. The main story itself was easy enough to follow, and I found myself drawn into the story. While i guessed some of the plot twists it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story. I loved how complex the characters were in this, they were all a little morally grey and i felt myself sympathising with those considered the villains. I am definitely excited to see where this book series goes!
(*3.5)

A really great read with an interesting magic system and multiple POV. The history was interesting and the twists and turns were surprising.

I think maybe I am just not the right audience for this book. I truly thought I would love it. an urban fantasy set in New Orleans along with magic and mystery, murder and mayhem with black representation seemed perfect. But I just could not get into the YA story. The characters were too immature for me and I found myself frustrated with the pacing and point of views. the premise was really great and I really truly think this could be a great fantasy series for the right crowd.

Unfortunately, the premise of this book was great but I found its implementation a little lacking.
The idea of the story was great, but the moment I started to immerse myself in it, the point of view changed. Regrettably, I had to stop reading as I couldn't fully engage myself in what I sincerely believe is a great story for young adults.
Maybe I am too old for this book, and I fiercely believe adolescent readers could love it, but the execution did not allow me to get carried away in its very promising premise.

My thoughts are overwhelmed after reading this robust and suspenseful debut.

I love that your mood while reading this goes from light and playful to all in your face/whiplash. The characters actions are unpredictable and can become really intense. The amount of "wtf" moments are innumerable, that I incorporated working out on while reading to help me regain focus.

Though Blood Debts is told from many perspectives, I found it fairly easy to follow along who each character is, their relationship to the BD cast and the role they play (most often sketchy lol).

I found myself constantly daydreaming of this title, replaying scenes in my head throughout the day and unconsciously reaching for my kindle to continue reading on. Many nights I have gone to sleep in the early hours of the morning breaking my promise that "I will go to sleep after this chapter".

When I found this book on NetGalley, I was super intrigued and thought that the synopsis sounded like a fun read! I mean... magical families? Generational curses? Twins who have to save the family? LGBT themes? what more could I ask for from a book?

Well, apparently, I needed to have asked for good prose and writing that draws me into the story. Right from the get-go, the writing was sloppy. I could tell the author was trying to incorporate modern slang/terms into the teenage dialogue, but it just wasn't working. Getting myself through the first 5 chapters was a slog, and I could not force myself to get through the rest.

Additionally, while I typically love books that tackle difficult topics such as race relations, capitalism/consumerism, and politics, Blood Debts felt like it was trying to shove an ideology down my throat rather than allow me to read the story to glean what commentary the author was making. I was incredibly frustrated by this and didn't think I could enjoy a story with such aggressively in-your-face social commentary that overshadowed the characters and plot.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me, and I don't foresee myself picking it up again in the future.

*** While I received a free ARC of this from NetGalley, all thoughts and opinions given in this review are 100% honest. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC***

I'm a little conflicted about this book. There were things that I liked a lot about it and things that just didn't work for me. I felt bogged down about a third of the way through and took a break before coming back to it. I like the worldbuilding and the characters and the idea of the present generation having to deal with something that happened three decades earlier.

But some of the tone seemed to be a bit inconsistent, and one of the events in the end seemed way more, uh, graphic than I was expecting. We also mostly get the story from the first person POV of the siblings, Clem and Cris. But then there are some third person POV chapters, one from a minor character that doesn't seem very important except for an action he takes (why did we need to see parts of his story? They weren't relevant for anything else going on), a few chapters from a more important character yet those chapters really didn't add much, and one chapter from a character who was important to the story but again didn't add much from that POV. So I think leaving out those random third person POV chapters would have made the book stronger.