4ish stars, maybe just under

This was an intense, magical YA story of family, love, betrayal, revenge, and so much more. It deals with racism, appropriation, death, mental health, and other heavy topics; it also made me laugh or smirk at a few key moments. The characters have been lovingly crafted, the plot is fast-paced and suspenseful, and the ending is tragically ambiguous in a way that (I really hope) leaves room for a happier, less devastating conclusion for one of the central queer relationships. I’m intrigued to see what comes next from this writer, and I’ll be adding this title to my list of books to purchase for my classroom library.

Note: I think this book is considered a young adult novel, and the protagonists are teenagers, but a few more intense moments have me wondering if it could almost be considered new adult by some categorizations. Or maybe just an older YA choice? Either way, I did mostly enjoy it and think some of my students will as well.

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker

Published: April 4, 2023
For Teen
Genre: Teen & Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy
Pages: 404
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Terry J. Benton-Walker grew up in rural GA and now lives in Atlanta with his husband and son, where he writes fiction for adults, young adults, and children. He has an Industrial Engineering degree from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Georgia State. When he’s not writing, he can be found gaming, eating ice cream, or both. Blood Debts is his first novel.

“Because I’m free.”

Cristina is trying to work through her feelings, she knows it’s all her fault, but she doesn’t know how to fix it. Clem wants to have someone stay, and he also doesn’t want to risk losing anyone else. The mystery and the magic are all-knowing.

This book was beautiful. I loved the mix of old and new mythology, and the generational history is woven together.

The characters were all well-developed. I loved the emphasis placed on family, both blood and chosen. The power contained within the safety of the family is so strong.

This was unlike any story I’ve read, and I devoured this book. I could not read it quickly enough—how the plot builds and the plummet to the truth will leave you breathless.

This was a beautifully written novel, and I enjoyed how magic was used. The way light and dark elements were represented, as well as the undertones of relevant topics, was fantastic.

I hope this is the beginning of a series because so many things could happen if this story continues, and I desperately want to know what happens next.

With magic, Nola and Black leads, I should have eaten this YA up in a day and yet it caused a month-long reading slump trying to slog through. The twist was more of a straight country road. I unfortunately can't recommend this title. I found the writing, plot and characterization immature and underdeveloped. I feel horrible writing this review but part of my role on Netgalley is to give honest reviews in exchange for the privileges of accessing these titles and a month later that reminds my honest opinion.

Based off of the synopsis, I was hoping for social commentary with a magical twist- that is not what this novel is. This book is a young adult, contemporary, revenge story with a magic system & a villain you love to hate.
I’m giving Blood Debts ⭐⭐.5 stars because of several factors. The book kept me interested enough to finish but events really began to feel staged for me. I was meant to feel a certain way but it felt very forced so it took me out of the moment- events felt forced instead of flowing through time. There were also too many people with too few personality traits. I will admit that I am terrible with names but I don’t think this was simply a me issue this time. For example, Cris and Clem have four (or was it three… or five?) aunts but only one has a strong personality. The others flit in and out of the narrative but have nearly zero personality.
The other big area of discomfort for me was the resolution to the main problem- it took a very dark turn. I’m a fan of thrillers and am not unfamiliar with dark themes but this again, felt a bit forced. I’ve seen other reviewers mention that Cris and Clem sound very similar as our two, main POV. While I can definitely see this, the issue I, personally had, was Cris’ personality felt too fluid. Sometimes she seemed meek and weak, other times downright cruel. That was confusing as a reader.
Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillon-Tor/Forge Publishing for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

A dark, high stakes story about siblings, magic and prejudice.

I enjoyed the concept and the plot of the story was intriguing, but ultimately the writing wasn't great. I felt like the pacing was off, but I loved the setting and the magic history behind it. This book was dark and made me angry at times due to the instances of injustice being shown, but I was rooting for the siblings. I just wish the characters were more fleshed out!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-arc!

Creepy, atmospheric, dark, moody. The title and cover really encompasses the book and the vibes! Such a fascinating setting for this book. I found our main characters so interesting to follow!

Blood Debts is a beautiful, character-driven novel that immerses you in a world of magic and betrayal. The lead characters, Cris and Clem, are the kinds of character you want to root for, even when they make mistakes. I really enjoyed the magic in this book, as it really feels like a deep tradition that is valued by the families who practice it. Many books make voodoo inspired magic seem like spooky nonsense, but this book actually took the time to understand and respect the traditions and culture. I loved the combination of personal and political motivations for the characters, even those who are on the wrong side of things. And all of it steeped in a wonderful depiction of magic and bloodlines. Would absolutely recommend this book!

No thoughts. Head empty. Just WOW.

This was a binge-worthy read with a unique magic system, compelling protagonists, and complex family dynamics. I picked it up this morning and did not set it down again until I had finished it. Few books have gripped me from start to finish recently but I never felt safe setting this one down.

I initially thought this one was a historical fantasy in the vein of Justina Ireland, so it took me a minute to orient myself and figure out it was contemporary urban fantasy. But once I figured that out, I felt like this was an incredibly atmospheric read. The setting was so vivid, and I could easily picture each scene. Blood Debts takes place in modern day New Orleans and follows siblings Clem and Cris, whose family is being targeted after the loss of their magical throne. I feel like most YA today focuses on sister/sister relationships, so it was really refreshing to read a brother/sister relationship in this. Both the main characters were flawed, complex individuals who were so easy to fall in love with. I feel like the character development in this book was just phenomenal, too.

I did have some trouble differentiating between their POVs (I would have liked their voices to be a little bit more distinct), and I did struggle to remember some of the side characters since the cast of characters seemed a little big. However, this was a really minor gripe for me; it did not detract from my enjoyability of the story at all.

I definitely recommend this one. It felt like the tone of Legendborn meets a modern day The Beautiful and I was here for it. I think fans of either of those books will definitely enjoy this. It was a solid 4.5/5 stars for me!

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC!

Blood Debt is an urban fantasy set in New Orleans. It tells the story of sixteen year old twins, Chris and Clem, who come from a long line of black witches that have been disgraced in the generational magic community. Chris and Clem are thrown into the dangerous politics of the gen magic community as they discover that their father's death was not an accident, someone is attempting to kill their mother and a 30 year old murder may not be what it seems. As they deal with the grief and the non-linear process healing, the author shows the strengths and bonds of family. It showcased how grief takes different forms for everyone , while immersing us into a world of ancestral magic . At times the pacing felt off and there were several lingering storylines. The characters continued to make frustrating decisions but I'm invested in the story and development of the Chris and Clem as the series continues. 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“No matter how hard I try, I can’t fucking escape magic. No matter where I hide, it always finds me.”

Plot: 4/5
A really compelling mystery plot with elements of fantasy and strong themes of racism, overt and systemic. I really enjoyed the idea of the siblings trying to solve this 30 year old murder.
The plot arc flowed really well with only a few small lulls.

Characters: 4/5
Cris and Clem are such incredible main characters, I love books centering siblings where we get to see their character arcs.
Clem also has anxiety and is medicated for it, which is representation I really appreciated.

I loved the family dynamics with all the aunts as well. And the way everyone kept secrets from each other, it created so much mess and it was great for the story.

I think there were quite a lot of characters and they were all connected in different ways, it got to be a lot to keep track of.

Writing: 3.5/5
I enjoyed Benton’s writing style, he created suspense and mystery really well. The alternating perspectives of the siblings, with a two others mixed in occassionally, work really well for the story.
I felt like the magic development was a little lacking. The bounds and structure of the magic weren’t well defined. That lowers the stakes of the casting when I don’t really know what’s possible or what is out of the range of their casting.

Overall: 4/5

📖 ARC Review 📖

Blood Debts by
Pub. Date : April 4th, 2023
⭐⭐⭐.75

I would like to thank @NetGalley and Tor Teen for the opportunity to review this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

✨

Blood Debts is an urban fantasy about a family curse. 30 years ago, Cristina and Clement's grandparents were lynched. It was believed their grandmother killed the mayor's daughter. Three decades later, they still suffer from this outcome. Their father died last year, their mother is extremely sick, friendships have been destroyed, their whole family is estranged. That's until they find a hex doll. Someone's after them.

The main characters are essentially trying to find out who tried to kill their mother and who keeps trying to destroy their family. They believe someone powerful is after them and digging around, they find a trail of evidence.

Overall, I really liked this novel. The story was interesting and the characters were loveable. Be aware that this story is DARK! Really dark. Which is not something you would expect from an urban fantasy. The villains usually have redemption arcs but here, they are just pure evil, despicable to the end. I thought the magical system was very interesting, mixing elements from different cultures.

The story is told in several POVs. The twins are told in the first person POV and the others on the third person POV which can sometimes be confusing. The story deals with a lot of trauma and it sometimes felt like the author was just checking boxes. The story dragged a bit with unnecessary descriptions of everyday actions and routines. Be mindful that this book has a very Young Adult narration style but deals with a lot of mature subjects.

So, while it was entertaining and enjoyable, those little execution flaws brought the level down for me. This is only a matter of writing and reading preferences and all opinions are mine. This is still an EXCELLENT book but the flaws made it a 3.75 for me.

Good Premise, did end up dnf-ing halfway though chapter 3. Personally not my cup of tea but is a wonderful read for someone who loves magic and mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of Blood Debts in exchange for an honest review.

I was pretty excited to read Blood Debts, but I was left with a bit of a let down. Overall it just wasn't as strong as I thought it would be.

I think one of the main problems in the story was that there was just too much going on and it wasn't connected in a way that was easy to read. We jumped around a lot, with many different threads of investigation that made me question at times what was supposed to be happening. Another big problem was that a lot of the characters felt underdeveloped. This resulted in most of the characters having the same "voice" which was confusing. Especially when they all talked like cringey internet memes instead of actual people. Things like "Grandma was the goat" And "he was scared as f*ck" etc. Everybody talked the same with the same language, the teens and the adults. It was strange. The last thing I didn't really enjoy was all the fighting. This book is basically ninety percent verbal fights and ten percent everything else. It felt like every character fought with every other character at least once in this book. I get that some people come from families where that's normal, but it just felt very off to me. Why would I want to read about people fighting for six hours of my life? It was more frustrating than intriguing.

Obviously the story wasn't all bad. I thought the magic system was really interesting and the world building was intriguing. Everything else just kind of bogged it down and made the good parts less enjoyable. It was a cool idea, but with poor execution. I feel like it could have been rewritten for clarity, especially since it seems like there will be a sequel in this same world.

Blood Debts is a strong debut and one that will no doubt be loved by many readers.

I loved both Cris and Clem, and especially loved their dynamics. Twins aren't something that I often come across in the books that I read, so I thought that was really interesting! For me, the last 25% of the book was by far the strongest part for me (I found other parts dragged), and I'm intrigued to see where it may go next!

Blood Debts had me gripped from the minute I read the dedication and the author’s note at the beginning!

The magical world within Blood Debts was so unique to me - that Gen Magic was created for those oppressed to survive colonisation, slavery and lynching. We have on the other hand the white mages that work with light magic (the sun) and then of course the non-magic folk. Everything in this book was so carefully orchestrated and explained so well. There are multiple subplots within this book as well that add to the overall plot of the book (the mystery of who is coming after Cris and Clem’s family) and keep the story moving at a nice pace. The world building was phenomenal and the writing was beautiful - the imagery in some of the spell casting scenes is just pure perfection!

I think this book is so interesting with a wonderful fictional plot however it does clearly bring light to some very real and non-fictional issues that minority communities still face in the present day. The history to the Gen community and, of course Cris and Clem’s grandparents, is so relevant to real history and I think this book truly helps bring those discussions to light through a fictional world. The pure poc rage and also feminine rage within this book really moved me emotionally because so much that happened are unfortunately, still real problems.

Main things I liked about the book:
- Multiple pov, we not only get to see Cris and Clem’s perspective on things but also a couple of the side characters. It’s always a nice insight on how the scene is playing out from different point’s of view.
- The familial bonds! Yes there is romance in this book but I would say the main relationships are within the family, specifically sibling bonds. Any reader who loves to see unconditional love for family members will really enjoy this.
- The strong poc, and female, characters. I loved, especially Cris, who would not back down and see her family suffer or be further oppressed. She quite literally fought until the very end and stood up for what was right.
- The history! The way this story was written and gave so much magical historical context to the present life in New Orleans was done so well that at no point did I think the author was just giving a history lesson and trying to get as much information in as possible. It was appropriately mentioned at the right scenes of the book but done often enough that I did have the full picture of their history by the end.
- Clem and Yves, No words. They have my heart.
- Jean-Louise was such a tender character, his development was adoring to see and I loved how he kind of took Clem under his wing.

I genuinely got so emotionally invested with the story line and a few of the characters. I will now eagerly be waiting for the second book because what was that cliffhanger!!!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this gem of a book early!

I absolutely loved this book and its portrayal of a New Orleans that captured the magic of the city and added some more of its own. Where the story was fast-paced and heart-wrenching, it was the incredibly complex characters that stole the show. At its core, this book shows us that justice is neither simple nor easy, but necessary nevertheless.

I am also incredibly happy to see lgbtqia characters written in a way that is separate from their queerness—instead of it defining them, it is only one part of their identity. This book did an excellent job at achieving that.

Any fans of fantasy will love this book.

Intricately weaved magical system and a wealth of history and gravitas, but in an accessible YA framework. This beautiful story of revenge, family and redemption transports you to an alternate New Orleans where magic has been pulled into the world through trauma. Cris and Clem are twins whose lives are overshadowed by the past and their own inner demons. Their fight for their place in the world is inspiring and darkly satisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my free copy.

4.5 stars!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for giving me an advanced readers' copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It's always a pleasure to read a book in advance when you know it's an absolute gem. This one is going to be a hit - and for more reasons than one. To start, it has an excellent premise - there's a community of Black people practising "gen" magic in New Orleans, and their practice of magic is limited both by racism (in context), and their own fellow practitioners. There's a generational murder to solve, and it has something to do with a lynching and a Queen. Interested yet?

I expected the plot to be interesting, but what I didn't expect was how well fleshed-out the main characters were. The book focuses on the twins Clem and Cris, their lives, their guilt, their magic, and how they feel about their families. It uncovers generations of drama, tragedy and intrigue, from the perspective of two young people. It's very representative, including an openly gay main character as well, in a happy relationship. The characters all had very interesting arcs, and the book touched on relevant themes of family, particularly Black families, generational trauma, and delved deep into the politics of witchcraft. It was also very atmospheric, and I really did feel like I was in magical New Orleans. It's full of curses and witchcraft and stylish riverboat cruises, and it's wonderful.

At about halfway through the book, I was hooked - each twist and turn in the tale kept surprising me, and the author made all the magic and the racism and the drama fit together so wonderfully, it just kept me reading. I remember racing through the second half, and being so excited when I finished it. I can't wait for the world to read this and love it as much as I did.

(Review to be published on Instagram closer to 4 April release date.)

NOTE: Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy of this book!


2023 has been proving to be a promising year of having my anticipated reads either meet my expectations or to exceed them and for Blood Debts to be in my Netgalley shelf, well... I was absolutely thrilled to jump into this one! Think of if we would have had time to delve into the darker side of the world from the Princess and the Frog, particularly on the world that the villain, Dr. Facillier was involved in with the voodoo magic and the dazzling, yet dizzying world of New Orelans. Or, if you enjoyed Dhonielle Clayton's series The Belles (which remains one of my favorite series and book 3's review will be out soon!)


This is the book with estranged siblings, voodoo magic, curses and a fight to reclaim a lost throne that had me clutching onto my tablet for dear life. And also because I love Clement so much and will hurt anyone who dares to hurt him more. He remains my favorite character who drew me in since the very beginning.


So, here we go.


Short Summary: Two estranged siblings enter into a world of dark magic after discovering that their mother is not sick, but cursed and that it needs to be fixed before she dies.


Long summary: Clement and Cristina Trudeau—the sixteen-year-old twin heirs to the powerful, magical, dethroned family—are mourning their father and caring for their sick mother. Until, by chance, they discover their mother isn’t sick—she’s cursed. Cursed by someone on the very magic council their family used to rule. Someone who will come for them next.


Cristina, once a talented and dedicated practitioner of Generational magic, has given up magic for good. For Clement, magic is his lifeline. A distraction from his anger and pain. Even better than the random guys he hooks up with.


Cristina and Clement used to be each other’s most trusted confidant and friend, now they barely speak. But if they have any hope of discovering who is coming after their family, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other and their family's magic, all while solving the decades-old murder that sparked the still-rising tensions between the city’s magical and non-magical communities. And if they don't succeed, New Orleans may see another massacre. Or worse.


They could all end up dead.


Now, the story was separated into 4-5 perspectives throughout, but mostly focused on Cristina and Clement. Honestly, I was not entirely a fan of Cristina but I absolutely loved Clement and the anger/ disastrous love life he carries was an absolute mood for most of the book. I connected with his character and the bitterness he carries within himself and the way he sees the world was very raw and very much felt in my heart. While it drew me in at the beginning, there were parts of the book that did drag on a bit and while it was not too bad, I did have fun reading this. And the ending was a cliffhanger that while not an agonizing one, is still enough to make me want to read more.


So, there is that.


Overall: 4/5 stars

Blood Debts starts a little slow, it took me just a bit to really get into the book as we are meeting these characters for the first time. Clem and Cris are two amazing protagonists, each with their own storylines that weave perfectly together with one another. Both of them trying to figure out the mystery that unfolds throughout the book in their own ways. Going through different hardships that are brought on by the machinations of others while finding their inner selves.

As someone who has read a lot of books with western magic, the gen magic system which is based off actual Voodoo traditions is written with absolute respect while also making it fit into the world that has been built by Benton-Walker.

Overall this is one of my favorite reads of the year. And I hope that there is more to come from this particular world even if it isn't the characters from before. But the way that this book ends, it leaves it open for it to continue.