Blood Debts is a fantastic YA fantasy! Some parts do feel a bit older than YA in my opinion. The overall storyline is fantastic and I absolutely love the magic system. I love that it’s a matriarchal power structure and events were set up nicely for a sequel. I hope it gets one and I’m excited to see where everyone’s stories go.

Blood Debts
by Terry J. Benton-Walker

Hardcover, 416 pages
Expected publication: April 4th 2023 by Tor Teen
Original TitleBlood Debts
ISBN125082592X (ISBN13: 9781250825926)

New Orleans magic, mythology and wrapped in mythos that leaves magic connected by generational magic. The idea that oppression may bring magic into the world. The story of crime, and reproduction of generational hatred spice the pages of the story. Two young girls disagreement is more then one level of hatred and jealousy. Their fight shows more and more of the history of the people. The magic has consequence, and evil gives blood debt.
The book is a good young adult story that would connect to children. The book shows that your actions have consequences.

The audible version is clear and extremely helpful for middle school students. The pairing of the audible and book can help class discussions, now allowing reading ability to inhibit the reader.

“We’re here to interact with one another, across the broad spectrum of all the different, innumerable ways living beings can.”

Blood Debts follows a set of twins, Clem and Cris - two Gen(erational) magic users. The moon gods gifted magic to Black slaves and it's been passed down since. Their mother is sick and they can't seem to figure out the issue until they discover a hex doll in her room. She's not just sick - someone is trying to kill her. Cris is weighted down with the fear that her magic may have killed their father and has sworn off it but Clem still strong fastly believes. Together they need to round up their aunts - which is a whole trip on its own since their family is so so messy and figure out who's trying to take down their family.

All of this is set to a backdrop of unrest in the community due to magic. People are demanding that magic becomes more regulated in hopes to take away power from Black folks once more. There's also the White Witches - those who use sun magic and Vamps (not too much is explained about them yet).

The political unrest is shown throughout the novel with glimpses into the Black magic council as well, who have their own agenda. This book is honestly full to the brim with plot. There are so many characters (humans and Gods!) and even generations of them that are at odds with each other. Since we get the POV's of both twins its like we get double the plot since they often seem to go off on their own storylines. The family dynamics in this book are so key. You can really see the underlying love that everyone has for each other even when they're at odds.

I'm so glad that this is going to be a trilogy because one book of this world is simply not enough for me!

rep// Black MCs, MLM, Gay MC, side WLW

cw// death of family members, illness, homophobia, racism, lynching, shooting, near death experiences, sexual assault, loss of bodily autonomy, bullying

Great and unique story and concept. So glad I could read this early. I would recommend this to readers of fantasy. This was a new to me author, which I will be reading more from

This was super enjoyable! Definitely a new YA contemporary fantasy series to keep an eye on. This first installment does have some debut growing pains - mostly repetitiveness and some minor pacing issues - but it's overall a solid debut.

I personally could have benefited from a little more worldbuilding - I wanted to know about Vamps and how all the sects of magic fit together - but I can be patient to learn more in future installments.

I've seen a lot of commentary about the content feeling too adult, and I actually disagree. These are things teens are doing and conversations teens are having and it's dealt with in an age appropriate way. I think this book really meets Gen-Z where they're at.

I received an arc from netgalley in exchange for an honest review (is this little thing necessary? I feel like since I shelved it netgalley it isn't but also it can't hurt).

This book was... fine? The magic system and how it was ruled was really cool. I loved it, and it was honestly my favourite part of this book. I also really appreciated how Clem's family wasn't at all homophobic and he was never worried about how they would perceive him for his sexuality. Cris and Clem's relationship was really cool, such as how they would fight over something but still be able to have each other's back the next minute. It was complicated, but it was always clear how much they loved each other.

The rest of the relationships were more confusing for me. <spoiler> Clem's relationship with Yves seemed to move extremely quickly, and I didn't really feel the connection between them? And it was cute how they were trying to figure out the meaning of life, but it didn't really spark any interest in me. Yves just felt like he was too perfect. </spoiler> I also didn't get the relationship between Cris and Clem's mom and all of their aunts. Because they were always arguing about something, and then somebody would say something and another somebody would act like it was the most hurtful thing and I just didn't get it. Like those were just words. Words that did not nearly warrant the reaction they received. So sometimes in this book it felt like the communication between characters just wasn't there. Also I couldn't remember which aunt was which. Oops.

A good thing about this book is that I loved Cris' independence in the later part of the book. I love how her relationship with magic changes along with her relationship with herself. She is an amazing character.

Lastly, I have some editing/ formatting issues. I am not sure if this first one is just because of how it shows up on netgalley, but it was impossible to tell who was sending texts in the parts of the book that were text conversations. The texts also didn't feel real, but I am not sure if I just operate in a bubble and other people do text like that (I am extremely ready to be wrong here). I also felt this way about some of the word choices, that were more formal than I was expecting for a sixteen year old to say. Like, do teenagers use words like "therein" now? Because if so, good for them. I just didn't find it very believable and it separated me from the story. My last and probably biggest edition thing is that I didn't get the pov choices. Clem and Cris, the main characters, had first person present tense pov (I don't know why anybody would tell a story like this but it is up to them I guess). But them, side characters who had a few pov chapters had theirs as third person, past tense (superior). It was jarring, and I can't figure out why the book was written like that.

All in all, this was an enjoyable enough read. It is thoroughly ya (not a bad thing, just something to be aware of), going all in with teenagers feeling very strong emotions about people they have just met. The magic was cool, some of the characters were good, and the story itself was fun enough. Based on the way that several things were not in the slightest bit wrapped up, I am assuming there will be a sequel to this book at some time. I won't go looking for it or reading it, based on how I felt about this book. I think this is a good book, and a solid debut, but it won't be making it onto my list of favourites any time soon.

The cover may have misled me, but I ended up in a pretty fabulous place anyway.

This was such a solid debut! It was a lot of fun to read with some great characters at its heart and on the periphery to keep things constantly interesting. There are magical gods, revealing twists and terrible betrayals, and big family love. Clement and Christina are twins, but they approach magic very differently. For Cris, she is a natural with Gen magic but turned her back on it a year ago after a spell she crafted dealt her a heavy loss. On the other hand, Clem tries so hard to get better at it and just can't, so his frustration with his sister is palpable, especially in the beginning.

I guess I should quickly explain why the cover misled me, and it's nothing dramatic. Without looking too closely I had assumed this was a historical fantasy. I came into it expecting 1920's New Orleans and was surprised to find it modern day. I don't read a lot of urban fantasy but books like this just prove to me I need to change that. And for what it's worth, I think the magic system fit best into this setting. It gave the story extra nuance that I appreciated reading. As a whole, the magic system was quite neat, even if I did wish for more of it throughout the entire book. Gen magic, moon and sunlight magic, necromancy--there are so many possibilities for it that makes me want more books in this world.

Audio was a great way to read this. The narrators were absolutely fabulous, especially Joniece Abbott-Pratt. I've not read a single book narrated by her that I'd call a flop, and anything she touches is a must-read for me. I did see a few reviews complaining about the prose, but I honestly didn't notice and am a little shocked that anyone found it "bad." When given the voice of the characters, it is perfectly done. Maybe hearing them is what's missing from the physical version, but I had zero concerns.

The last quarter is what knocked a star off for me. It lost it's footing a bit. I read this pretty much back to back across a few days and I genuinely forgot who certain characters are. Don't even remember them being introduced, actually. Aurora? Don't know her. Xavier? Never met him. And the problem is they were involved in a large part of what Cris was doing in the last half of the book, and I didn't know why or what the connection was.

The ending itself was great though! So much excitement and very satisfying. It does mostly wrap up, but there are definitely some loose threads that need to be tugged further. I know a sequel is coming and I saw the author tweet he was hoping to do his planned five(!) books, but I'll happily take the sequel to this when it comes.

Thank you TorTeen for the eARC! This was a cool read with familial magic and magical politics. I will say that Clem’s storyline seems so underdeveloped compared to Cris, but I’m hoping we get more focus on him as a character in Book 2. Valentina reads as a typical mean girl with a hint of depth; I understand why she’s needed for the overall plot, but she’s incredibly superficial, so I’m also hoping we get more depth of character for her in the next book, as well.

Rounded to 3.5 stars.

CONTENT WARNING: murder, death of a parent, anxiety, grief, excessive use of profanity, racism, homophobia, bullying, violence, depression, toxic relationship, gaslighting, gore, gun violence, trauma

I’d be lying if I said that the stunning cover isn’t what caught my eye first, but the summary held my attention, and I couldn’t wait to escape the New York winter for the sultry heat of a New Orleans summer. There was so much that I enjoyed about this one, although there were a few things that fell a teeny bit short for me. But overall, it was a bumpy ride and I couldn’t put it this page-turner down.

Clement and Cristina are fantastic and well-developed characters. I loved the difficult dynamic that they have with each other, as twins who are struggling with various relationships in their lives, but in different manifestations. And most importantly, they are struggling with their relationship with the other twin, in the aftermath of the death of their father and their mother’s sudden illness. While Cristina is blaming herself for her father’s death, Clement is struggling with mental health issues, vacillating between depression and anxiety, and closing himself off from most of his meaningful relationships other than Cristina, who has been slowly pushing him away.

It isn’t just the dynamic between the twins that is difficult, but the story also addresses other relationship difficulties, whether it is between friends, families, or romantic partners, and that is where a lot of the strength in the story comes from. It’s an intensely relatable situation, not just the situation in Clement and Cristina’s family, but in the other narrators as well—a family with parents that aren’t willing to separate but only fight between themselves and don’t have enough emotional resources to devote to their child, and even a queer child who plays a role in an effort to appease their intensely homophobic parent. It allows a snapshot into each of their lives, although it doesn’t necessarily feel like we get enough insight into some of the side characters that play a smaller role.

Another strength of the story is the way that it doesn’t hesitate to talk about the hard topics—the magic system is rooted in a way to fight back against oppression during slavery and beyond, yet it sets up additional conflict by entitled characters who feel as though they have the right to learn and practice generational magic that doesn’t belong to them. We see multiple instances of racism and preferential treatment of white characters in terms of justice, as well as the very different ways that the white and Black characters are treated by law enforcement. There’s also no shortage of homophobia, and the presence of magic itself is another facet for control of Black people, as evidenced by the growing movement for legal control over generational magic, while the forms of magic that are practiced by white people aren’t even addressed as needed to be controlled.

There’s a lot of profanity in the story. And I do mean a lot. This is coming from someone who curses like a drunken truck driver, and even in an adult book, I’d find it to be excessive, but when it’s in a YA book, finding an f-bomb on nearly every single page at least once, and sometimes more than that feels like a bit much. There were also some intimate situations discussed, but at least one sex scene occurs semi-explicitly between two of the teen characters. As an adult reader, this didn’t bother me and wasn’t anything as graphic as would be found in an adult romance, but probably wouldn’t be as suitable for readers on the young end of the YA spectrum.

The other, more pressing issue that I found with the story is that it felt as though it was trying to do almost too much in too short of a time. Although there was a range of POVs in the story, not all of them really played out fully throughout the storyline, and some of the plot threads were kind of left hanging by the end of the book. We never get any resolution for three of the side characters, and I was left wondering if they just got away without any consequences for their own actions, despite the massive harms that they had throughout the book, and there’s no explanation at all for the actions of one of them.

Overall, this was a fantastic debut, and I loved the way the story unfolded. I was hooked early, and only got more so the further into the book I read. Clement and Cristina are two characters that I was sad to say goodbye to, although their story still felt complete by the end of the book. I especially loved the world-building and the way the magic system was connected to their history of oppression and ancestry, both distant and recent. Benton-Walker is absolutely a talent to watch.

Had to DNF 10% in. This was not my speed, but it will be someone else's. I was very excited about the concept and the cover art. But I wasn't a fan of where the story was going. It's not you it's just my personal taste.

New Orleans! Witches! Murder! Curses!
Thank you NetGalley!
What more could you want from a book! After a brutal murder and lynching years ago Cris and Clem need to figure out how it’s all connected. Figuring out their mother isn’t sick and actually curses was a big shock, and knowing it must all be connected starts them on a wild ride! This mystery novel has many themes and just an amazing book that I couldn’t put down. Getting to know all these characters and, seeing it from their point of view made me realize how hard some people have it. I related a lot with Clem because of how much anxiety, he has along with the need to help whenever he could. I was so worried I wasn’t going to be a fan but the book was an eye opener and I will be on the look out for more from this author for sure!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for both an ARC and ALC for exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

This books shocked me on so many different levels in such a great way it was so much fun to read!

The representative: amazing so many different groups were represented in this books
The plot: very well done and very fun to read
The audiobook: excellent narration and i love the fun extra sounds
How this book approach racism: extremely well done and very easy for readers of any age to understand

I plowwweeeedddd through this book and i highly recommend to fantasy fans of all ages!!

Blood Debts is an urban fantasy novel set in present-day New Orleans where magic is openly practiced and managed by different organizational bodies. I would describe the plot as a two-fold murder mystery, one from the past and an attempted murder of the present.

Clement & Christina are twins whose family has a dark history. Their grandmother was accused of murder many years ago which resulted in not only her fall from Queendom of their magical community but a family lynching from a local mob. In the present day, the twins’ mother falls ill and when they discover a hex doll in her room, the teens decide to figure out who is attacking their family and why. As the reader moves through the plot, they stumble upon information surrounding the notorious grandmother as well as complicated politics plaguing the magical and non-magical communities of New Orleans at present.

I finished reading this book yesterday and have been struggling with how to rank my final review for this book. On one hand, it contained many elements I loved but then it also included a lot of shortcomings as well. I suppose the best place to start is to share what this book left me wanting.

First off, I felt like the plot twists and outcomes were not overtly surprising, so I was missing the shock factor. The novel weaves a decades-old murder as well as a present situation, and therefore the cast list was incredibly long. As the climax approached and it was revealed who was tied to which plot points, I realized just how overwhelmed I had been with the numerous characters. I had a hard time connecting who was who and how they were interconnected to others in the mass web; to me, the many threads of characters convoluted the story. I was also missing information about the motivations behind the opposing communities and their overlapping relationship with the gods.

The story contains information about two main warring families in this magical community, and we see a generational cycle of targeted abuse from one to the other. This toxic vengeance carried the theme of, “an eye for an eye,” and I kept hoping for a character of good conscious to stop the cycle. This volatile relationship felt unsustainable and gives the reader a sense of hopelessness that there will never be peace amidst the community. My last critique ties into the previous one as well, which is that I felt like elements of the story lacked depth. The main characters didn’t show substantial character growth. If anything, they spiral more into chaotic choices and traits than finding strength or growth.

Okay, I know that seems like a lot of issues and you may be asking why I was struggling to review this book. Well, that’s because there were many elements I really enjoyed in this story! The setting of modern-day New Orleans was very atmospheric, and I loved seeing how magic was performed on the page for each of our character’s POVs. The reader gets to witness several instances of conjuring and the resulting aftermaths. I loved the simplicity of the objects needed for the spells and how when tied with their generational gifts, it brings magic into the world.

I also felt like the family dynamics were a highlight. I love a good sibling bond, where twins add a double layer of tension. I felt like Clement & Christina had a realistic sibling dynamic and their relationship was one of the most interesting for me to see unfold. The extended family was a messy element in the best of ways; I bask in dramatic family relationships like we see in this story.

A theme explored in Blood Debts surrounded the sexual activity of the teens. I personally like seeing this in young adult books, because it would have been the type of story I’d of sought out during my adolescence. There are mentions of sex workers, safe sex practices, consent, and LGBTQ+ representation with one of the main characters. All of which I felt were handled beautifully and included important messages for the reader.

Finally, I listened to the audiobook format of this book and absolutely loved the production. The story contains multiple POVs, and the narration includes a full cast of voice actors for each one and included some of my favorites such as Bahni Turpin, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Torian Brackett, and Zeno Robinson. Jazz music was an appropriate and fun special effect that opened the book and served as an interlude between each section of the novel.

So, you may ask, what’s my final review? I decided to settle on 3 stars. I’m glad I gave this book a chance and though it had many elements I enjoyed, there were too many faults to ignore. Blood Debts will be a series, and this first book ends on a cliff hanger with many elements needing to be explored in the sequel. I don’t see myself rushing to pick up the next book, but if raving reviews poor out – I may reconsider. So it isn’t a hard no, but just unlikely. Coming to this decision is what moved me to keep my final review at 3 stars instead of bumping it up to a 3.5/4 star review.

To start off I wantt to say thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and thank you to Terry J Benton Walker for writing possibly one of my favourite fantasy books of all time

After finishing this book I was left speechless, very rarely do I find a book that is so consistently engaging that it is hard to put down. The book is set in new orleans and follows the two main characters (Clement and Cristina) as they try to figured out who cursed their mother. This unravels into a deep dive into their extremely messy family and many other secrets are later revealed.

The book takes place in multiple perspectives with the primary ones being Cristina and Clements and I just knew this book had a hold on me because when ever the perspective would switch I instantly wanted to read on to find out more.

If you are someone who loves family dynamics introduced into books this one is for you because their whole family made this book what it is. I don't know how he done it but every single interaction felt real and genuine.
I actually cared about each one of them and I loved how they would help the main characters but not take over, just allowing them to thrive throughout the story.

The magic system in this book is expertly written. I loved the fact that Walker was not afraid to bring up race and used gen magic to show how white people take what's not their even if it is culturally significant. I also love how the consequences of magic are explored in multiple scenes in the book because that is rarely ever mentioned in fantasy. Cristina’s inner struggle through out the book was realistic and the resolution was just as powerful.

Honestly, when this book comes out I am going to be the first to pick up a physical copy because this is such a fun and exciting novel and it really has potential to be one of the best modern fantasy series.

DNF 10%

The writing almost killed me i kept pushing so hard but nothing kept me going. Not the plot, nor the characters. The writing felt too passive in my opinion I may as well just read a summary

I think I must note something important that my issue was with the craft itself, not the subject matters tackled in the story. I do think so many people will truly enjoy this book, I am just not the target audience for it

Blood Debts is set in ghostly and haunted New Orleans with the titillating thrill of magic weaves into every fiber of the city, story and characters. It has a LGTBQ+ and African American main character and the story is told through multiple viewpoints. The story is filled with witty jabs between siblings that make the characters feel relatable. Terry J Benton-Walker intertwines the concept of racism into the story to teach us more about it and show how we can learn from it. 2 siblings have to solve a mystery that is intertwined with family and town secrets and are faced with betrayals from people who were supposed to be there for them. I would give this book 5 stars.

Wow I loved this book so much! Magic, New Orleans, some of my favorite things! I really hope there is another one and soon! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest review.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. It’s a genre I like….unfortunately I couldn’t connect with the writing style… it felt like a lot of superfluous swear words and unsophisticated language… Thank you to NetGalley for advance copy

I enjoyed this so so much. There were so many interesting characters, an amazing magic system, beautiful writing, an intriguing plot, and so much family drama!! It was so nice to see the characters’ growth and the relationship between Cris and Clem. Like all siblings they have their problems, but you could really tell how much they care for each other. I also really liked how we got to see a bit of Valentina’s POV, as she’s with the antagonists’ side, and I think it will be interesting how her character develops in the next book. The only thing that disappointed me a tiny bit was that there wasn’t some twist at the end, I feel like the characters got the answers too easily and I was hoping for a surprise. Buuut after that ending, I cannot wait for the sequel!!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for my review.

I’m so sad - I really wanted to love this. Every part of me loved the description of this, but in all, I think it’s a little too young for me and almost *too* YA.

I love what this author is trying to do, I love this idea of a plot and where they’re trying to go, but I found that the writing didn’t do it as much justice as I wish it could have.

I believe that someone else will love this book. Someone else will pick this up and find the book that changed their life, it just wasn’t for me.