I absolutely adored this book. The setting and world alone drew me in initially, but the characters kept me there. Thanks so much for the eGalley and the opportunity to read it early. The writing in Blood Debts is both fun, descriptive, and interesting. The multiple POV storytelling really worked for this too! Absolutely adored it! 5 stars!

Debts is a magical YA Fantasy about warring magical families in New Orleans. It has themes of family drama, coming of age, family secrets, and voodoo or other magical practices. I really enjoyed the relationship between twins Cris and Clem, and their practice in generational magic and holding their family legacy close to their hearts. However, I did find certain parts to be slow and it took away from the story for me which is why I'm rating this 3.5 stars. I will be giving the sequel a try, but for now this remains on my "It's good, but I didn't love it" list.

Blood Debts follows twins Cristina and Clement, who are heirs to a magical but dethroned family. The twins are mourning their deceased father and caring for their sick mother. But on the eve of a brutal murder that took place thirty years ago, they discover that their mother isn't sick--she's cursed--and someone on the magical council their family used to rule is the one who did it.

The twins disagree on magic. Cristina gave it up after accidentally casting an ancient spell that killed her father, while Clement views magic as a lifeline and distraction from his pain. The twins don't get along anymore but will have to work together to figure out who is coming after their family.

Overall, I thought this was a fantastic start to a new series! I loved the twins' relationship and the worldbuilding. I look forward to reading the rest of the series when it comes out and following along their journey!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Teen for giving me a copy in exchange for my review!

This is a book filled to the brim with family secrets (and drama) that I can't get enough of. I definitely see the comparison to the show The Originals, and the witches of the French Quarter.
The introduction of the book is super cool too. I love the news article style of introducing us to the world and it's political status in a simple and straightforward way. The magical politics works right alongside the racial in a very relevant way. The characters are also so diverse in their personalities and ideologies, it's interesting to see all of their different perspectives and how they clash against one anothers. The mysteries in this book are so fun, and the queer reader rep is immaculate.
I did struggle a bit with the necromancy, because it really just isn't my thing, but overall I liked it!

This was a fantastic read! I love a good revenge/vengenance story. And add in some magic and I was hooked! I really liked this book from Terry J. Benton-Walker and I look forward to reading more from them in the future,

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

blood debts by terry j. benton walker: 5 out of 5 stars

i had a blast reading this. i loved every layer that was uncovered by the characters and how history and racism were woven in. i enjoyed seeing clem and cris grow in different directions and learn different lessons while also starting to get close to each other again.

there were a few times i thought there were too many POVs, but overall i had fun reading this and am excited about the sequel. thank you netgalley for an arc that i should have read a while ago!

An interesting, fast-paced read! Intriguing plot and had so much potential.

Unfortunately this book fell flat. I didn’t like the writing style and it was my biggest issue with the book. It felt choppy and almost juvenile. The dialogue was unrealistic too.

The magic system was so interesting but I wish it was expanded upon more as it plays such a major role in these characters live!!

Great premise of a book, but subpar execution.

Thank you for the ARC!

I gave this a four out of five stars, I can’t wait for book two to come out. I loved the characters and character growth in this books I love that it takes place in New Orleans. There is just something about witchy or magical books set in New Orleans my soul loves so much.

Blood Debts is a YA book about magical twin siblings, Cristina and Clement, in modern day New Orleans. Their mother was going through a medical crisis and the siblings find out that it was caused by a curse. The two then seek to find out who cursed the family and why. I love a good modern magic story, especially in a cool setting like New Orleans, and was excited to read this book!

The magic system is so cool! I loved the differences in the two types of magic and the parallels between race, control, and threat of the unknown. The author describes in the author's note that this novel was a response to police brutality in the US. I thought the translation to a magical system worked well and made me think a lot about how the areas overlapped throughout the book. I loved that it was set in New Orleans and had strong representation with points like mental health, sex work, race, and sexual identify. I thought the romance between Clem and Yves was adorable and was my favorite parts of the book.

...So I was doubly disappointed that this book struggled with dropping plot lines between characters. There was not a strong conclusion to these characters and I'm not really sure what even happened with these two or a lot of the other characters. This book is multi POV and one is the villain, who again I didn't think had a strong conclusion. I got confused with a lot of the adults and didn't feel satisfied with the ending. Which is sad because I felt like this book had a good premise, good characters, good romance, and a strong magical system. In my opinion, they did not come together well enough for me to enjoy the book. I really struggled to get through after about the first third.

I rated this book 2.5 stars rounded down to 2 due to my anger about the unresolved romance plot but raised it to 2.6 stars rounded up 3 after further reflection. I recommend giving this book a try yourself because these issues may have just been a me problem and someone might not be as bothered about it. Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I thought that Blood Debts was a good start as a debut book! A very fascinating story that kept me intrigued the whole time!!

THE 411...

New Orleans is where this story begins, the city is rife with tension between the magical and non-magical communities. We follow 16 year old twins Christina and Clementine in dual POV as they learn of their family's painful history. Thirty years ago their grandmother was accused of murder, removed from the throne as queen and lynched alongside her husband, the twins grandfather. Flash forward to present day where Chris and Clem have recently lost their father leaving them to look after their sick mother. Or so they thought. When a voodoo doll is found under their mother’s bed, they realize they’re the target of the same magical council who dethroned their grandmother and a war for the throne is on the horizon. Told in dual POV this is a YA Fantasy centered around the Trudeau family and their generational magic. There are some mystery elements that play into the overall arc as we see Christina search for answers to her family's tragic past and present day. Who is trying to kill their mother? did a spell Christina cast indirectly cause their father's death? will Christina ever practice magic again? will the crown ever return to its rightful heir in the Trudeau family?

WRITING & FINAL THOUGHTS...

New Orleans is where this story begins, the city is rife with tension between the magical and non-magical communities. We follow 16 year old twins Christina and Clementine in dual POV as they learn of their family's painful history. Thirty years ago their grandmother was accused of murder, removed from the throne as queen and lynched alongside her husband, the twins grandfather. Flash forward to present day where Chris and Clem have recently lost their father leaving them to look after their sick mother. Or so they thought. When a voodoo doll is found under their mother’s bed, they realize they’re the target of the same magical council who dethroned their grandmother and a war for the throne is on the horizon. Told in dual POV this is a YA Fantasy centered around the Trudeau family and their generational magic. There are some mystery elements that play into the overall arc as we see Christina search for answers to her family's tragic past and present day. Who is trying to kill their mother? did a spell Christina cast indirectly cause their father's death? will Christina ever practice magic again? will the crown ever return to its rightful heir in the Trudeau family?


What I Loved? the strong presence of the twins elders, grief explored, necromancy, queer main character and side characters, and last but not least Clementine's POV. I absolutely LOVED being in Clem's mind who is loving, hopeful and has a strong desire to unite his family and help them get past their differences. This is a spoiler free review so I won't go into detail but Clem's story line definitely broke my heart and got me to shed some tears. It's why I am absolutely picking up the follow-up Blood justice next Spring 2024. 

What I wanted? More of the city/setting, it’s New Orleans only because it’s stated but it’s not really shown. More of their mother's POV, after all she is the rightful heir to the throne, lastly a slightly less morose Chris. She’s a force to be reckoned with and her powers are hinted at having the potential to be huge but she lives in perpetual guilt until about the last 10% of the book. That being said, I have a ton of respect for Christina who has her boundaries set firmly in place. Non-consent is discussed when magic is used for a love spell, seeing Chris firmly oppose this was one of those moments that stand-out and give you insight to her character. We also get introduced to a few side characters, some like the necromancer are very interesting. I’d love to see them explored more in the next book, especially because it was giving Frankenstein vibes and that is one my all time favorite classics. Given that the last 20% of the book was fast paced, violent and bloody...I predict Blood Justice will be delivered swiftly and mercilessly. High hopes from this Book Lover 🤞🏽

Review goes live on LairOfBooks Blog on 6/5/2023 7am EST

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Clement and Cristina are twin siblings, legacies of a magical family in New Orleans, where tensions between those with and without magic are high. When their mother is attacked with a curse, they are forced to delve into old family conflicts and rivalries to untangle what really happened.

I had trouble getting into this one. I was expecting a historical setting, so was a little surprised that it was actually a modern-day magical setting. The magic system was interesting and I liked the complicated family dynamics. The pacing felt a little off to me, dragging in the middle, but picking up with action towards the end. There were a lot of characters and story lines to keep track of, and it made me feel a bit lost at times. I definitely think it showed potential, and I’m curious to see what this author will write next.

I wanted to like this the premise was super promising but it didnt go into the magic as much as i wanted.

I liked the comparison of magical registration to gun registration and how laws have to be adjusted to not disproportionately affect POC

Something about Clement rubs me the wrong way half the time and I don’t know why. I feel like he has a bit of a victim complex?

I feel like the beginning takes a while to connect to the point but it doesn’t feel like much set up is being done either.

Valentina felt kind of cartoonishly like a Blair Waldorf, evil queen bee type. I couldn’t take her POV chapters super seriously.

The mom and aunts literally always yelling at the twins and never answering a single question gets old fast.

I feel like the characters keep getting obsessed and trying to solve all these mini mysteries and none of them seem to connect at all to a) what is supposed to be the main mystery and b) who was trying to kill them and their mom?

Random new POVs so late in the book threw me off

I feel quite torn about this book but I think that was a "it's me, not you" kind of issue.
The different forms magic can take were so interesting and I loved the world-building Benton-Walker does. Even the characters were easy to follow and had distinguished voices that seemed realistic. However, I sometimes had the feeling that this was written by two different people. Some chapters felt so in tune with the overall plot and vibes this was going for and then there were others where I felt like... I was reading an entirely different book, almost like they were out of character which made no sense since the same characters were obviously featured.
Especially when the plot wasn't as tight and meandered, I had a hard time staying invested and making myself pick up the book.
Nevertheless, this was quite an interesting read so I hope others will adore it!

Thirty years ago, a young woman was murdered, a family was lynched, and New Orleans saw the greatest magical massacre in its history. In the days that followed, a throne was stolen from a queen.

On the anniversary of these brutal events, 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. An ancient spell is what killed their father and she was the one who cast it. For Clement, magic is his lifeline. A distraction from his anger and pain. Even better than the random guys he hooks up with.

This was a fun YA read. I loved the magic and the New Orleans setting. There was lots of drama, twists and turns. I really liked Cris and Clem, but thought ,aybe there were too many POV's in this one. Still a great read for anyone wanting a quick, urban fantasy whodunit, set in the stunning New Orleans. And this cover. So good.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Okay so this premise and the prologue really drew me in, but the execution was meh.

Some of the language used in this book felt cringey to me. Clem's one night stand calls him "my king" when trying to convince him to stay, Clem calls his sister "my good sister" and "sis," Cris refers to Valentina as her "ex-bestie," and someone says "you better werk." Yeah.

The writing style never changes between POVs, and there are way too many. If we had just gotten Clem's and Cris's, that would have worked, but the book was sprinkled with Valentina, Zachary, Lenora, and Justin, which did not add anything to the story. Additionally, only Clem and Cris narrate in first person, while everyone else is third, which was... a choice.

Clem and Cris's relationship annoyed me. There's sibling rivalry and then there's this, where they get heated over the randomest things and stop talking to each other. The author tries to save it by having them think about how much they love each other, but it just didn't feel like a realistic depiction of siblings.

The instalove between Clem and Yves was really meh. They barely know each other but Clem is instantly obsessed with him. Cris becomes close friends with Aurora way too fast as well, so it might just be a relationship writing issue.

The main thing my disappointment stems from is this book's predictability. Clem and Cris face injustice that has existed for generations, and uncover the mystery that their family was screwed because of - surpise - racism.

I appreciate what the book was trying to do and it's clear that it was a labor of love. There are positive mentions of mental health and sex work, as well as issues of consent and revenge. I wish I liked it.

DNF @ 25%

It’s not you exactly, it’s mostly me. I have a very low tolerance for books where everyone feels angsty and no one really likes each other. I maxed out on teen angst watching The OC in 10th grade. Now I’m in my 30s and I need my characters to have at least one champion that absolutely adores them. This is obviously a personal preference and probably these characters start to like each other more? Or like someone? Eventually?

I also have a hard time with multiple POVs that are too similar. If all the characters are the same age I tend to get characters of the same gender mixed up. A lot of this has to do with me being an audiobook listener.

The narrators were fantastic and the audiobook was very well done.

Not all books are for all people, so this might be for you if you like really atmospheric fantasy. It seemed like it would be a fun tour around a magical New Orleans.

I feel like I’m in the minority in this, but Blood Debts really did not do it for me. I did not finish. However, my book club absolutely loved it