Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs is such an atmospheric and magical read—it had me hooked from the start. It’s about two sisters, Joanna and Esther, who are estranged but share the responsibility of guarding a mysterious library of magical, and sometimes dangerous, books. When tragedy pulls them back together, they’re forced to unravel secrets about their family and the powerful magic tied to their legacy.

The world-building is so vivid, and I loved how the story balances dark magic with deeply emotional moments. The alternating perspectives kept the tension high, and the characters felt so real—flawed, complex, and easy to root for. It’s a story about family, loyalty, and the power of storytelling itself, all wrapped up in a suspenseful, beautifully written package.

If you’re into books with a mix of mystery, magic, and emotional depth, I’d definitely recommend this one. It’s such a unique and immersive read!

I loved this one so much more than I thought I would. The unique story drew me in and I quickly became invested in the characters' stories.

I was really looking forward to this book, but it took me forever to get through even half of it. I also tried doing it on audio and it was slow for me so unfortunately, I DNF'd. I can see why people enjoyed this book a lot, I just wasn't one of them.

✨ Review ✨ Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

Thanks to William Morror and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

This one's been in my top backlist books to tackle this year and I'm so delighted I did. It has a slow start with a lot to mentally juggle as we jump into this world, but when it picks up steam, it really gets going!

This is a hard one to summarize without giving away info, but I loved how this featured sisters with very different relationships to magic and this whole world of magic via old books and limited uses.

I loved how all the characters came together in this book and could have kept reading for hundreds more pages as they adventured together. Absolutely adored this one!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: magic in the real world style of fantasy
Setting: London, Vermont, Antarctica
Pub Date: 2023

Read this if you like:
⭕️ family dramas + fantasy
⭕️ new magical systems
⭕️ sister bonds
⭕️ old books

If you like books, magic, family fantasy and intrigue, this is a book you pretty much have to read. The characters are easy to follow and stand out on their own, the story itself is very inventive, and I honestly did not see everything coming.

This book feels like a great blend of dark academia, fantasy, and a little bit of mystery. It also reminds me of a book I read a little while ago called The Book Eaters and I loved that one too, so it was definitely a good sign when this one reminded me of that book right away. This is the story of two sisters, Joanna and Esther, who have been separated, but share a common goal of protecting their family's magical books from those who seek to collect and use them for nefarious purposes. While Joanna lives in her family home where the library is and Esther is never in one place for a long time and is unable to return home. In addition to their POVs, the reader gets Nicholas's POV, who is another magical librarian, also trying to keep his library safe. Nicholas is the last remaining scribe who can actually write new books.

It did take me a little bit to get into the story and understand where all the characters were at the start, but once the plot got going, I was fully immersed. The writing was really well done and I really enjoyed reading this book. The way the magic of the books is incorporated into the story is fantastic and I think the lyrical writing really lends well to this type of story. The villains were also really well written and as the reader I could see how the villains manipulated the main characters and tried to obtain the magical books. Each POV also had a distinct voice and helped separate the main characters and their personalities a bit. I had a great time reading this book and I'm so glad I buddy read this with a friend!

4.5 stars!

The Kalotay family has protected a rare collection of magical books for years, with the youngest daughter Joanna having the power to feel the magic in the books and the ability to cast ward spells to hide their home. While the eldest daughter, Esther, is immune to magic and therefore a liability to her families' safety so she runs from home and must leave every place after a year or risk exposure to their secrets. However, the magic crafting father received a book that killed him and Joanna's mother left after Esther out of anger for losing her daughter. So, Joanna feels alone, while others are conspiring to find Esther and maybe for more than just her immunity to magic.

This was a very cool magic system that also deals greatly in colonial violence and theft of culture and heritage. The "Library" either buys or steals all of the magical books and has made sure only their family has a scribe in order to control all magic. Nicholas, the Scribe, is kept under lock and key at the mass estate of the Library being bled to ink books into being (magical books). He has an uncle who cares for him, a caretaker named Maram, and a bodyguard named Collins. However, things seem suspicious and you can tell that Nicholas is using too much blood without enough recovery time to regain strength. The Library is very suspicious, as all big institutions that horde knowledge should be.

Meanwhile, in Antarctica, Esther finally feels her life sort of fall into place and is hoping that what her father told her about staying on the run was false. She has met someone she thinks she could love and wants to stay. But, suspicious things begin to happen involving mirrors and she worries she put her love and trust in the wrong person.

I think that there was a lot of story building that happened in this book for a future novel. There is a cat connected to Joanna that I think is more than it appears. There are groups working outside of the Library that use magic and seem like covens. I am hopeful that this is not the only book in this world as I had a lot I was interested in learning that was unconnected to this storyline. I would like to know more about who can do what, why there are only a few scribes, why some people can read magic while others cannot. It is definitely a captivating world with characters who jump from the page and make you empathetic to their plight and to their desire to see magic wielded by more than just a few. Knowledge is power, but it is a power that should be shared with the powerless.

My favourite part of the novel is the bond between the sisters. Joanna is upset with Esther for leaving her without explanation, but Esther was doing it to protect her sister. So, when they reconnect it is both a relief for the two but also they have had years apart and all this distance created. But the novel is also about familial obligation, familial power, and parents misusing their children or withholding vital information from their children. It is that idea that you must protect your children, but at the cost of them not knowing about what is out there, what might want to hurt them, or about knowing who they really are. Family can be both soothing and painful.

My favourite relationship was between Nicholas and Collins, lord and servant. As Nicholas mistrusts everyone around him and he knows Collins is only there as a paid job. But, as Collins begins to help Nicholas out of his predicament with the Library, you realize that maybe he is truly working to help Nicholas out and not his family. They eventually have this easy bond build between them, that could be considered familial (brotherly). Both care for each other and do not want harm to come to the other. Also, Nicholas's dog loving Collins almost more than Nicholas is adorable. So, with the two sisters, these four become a found family that pushes back against what their parents and other family members have done for the sake of "knowledge," "safety," and "control."

This book was propulsive and bewitching. I loved the four main characters and genuinely feared for their well being. I did not care for the romantic plot between two of them, as I felt it added nothing to the story. However, I loved where the novel ended up and am intrigued to know more about this world and those four in particular.

OMG SO GOOD. I can’t believe I put this off so long, this is an absolutely wonderful blend of magic and family drama. It has the ineffable charm of a good page turner. I truely put this off thinking it would be more dense than it was. Still as serious as the premise and as grim as some moments are I could not put this down. Brilliant.

INK BLOOD SISTER SCRIBE by Emma Törzs had been on my shelf for over a year and I debated selling it or getting rid of it a few times and something (the book gods??) prevented me from doing so and IM SO GLAD.

This book reminded me so much of Practical Magic but make it a sweeping, harrowing adventure! It also was strikingly similar to THE BOOK OF DOORS, which I read last month.

Basically, there are three main characters and the book alternates between their perspectives. Ester was told she can never stay in one place for too long or else it puts her and her family in danger, so she’s literally in Antarctica. Her sister Joanna has the opposite job — she’s basically a shut in remaining in their childhood home protecting it and its collection of spell books.

Meanwhile on the other side of the pond, Nicholas is the last scribe alive and spends most of his day heavily protected by his bodyguard Collins and toiling over writing spell books. When his life is threatened one evening, he begins an adventure that coincides with the sisters too.

At no point in this 400+ page book was I bored!! I loved all of the characters sooooo much and was rooting each of them on! Would 10/10 devour a movie or tv show adaptation.

Seriously if this is on your shelves, start it today! It’s also probably available at your library — the audiobook (which was fab) was available immediately for me!

It took me a while to get into this book, as the beginning just didn't grab me (not sure why!). However, once I got a few chapters in, I was hooked! The characters were really well-developed and the story line was fresh (or at least fresh for me). It was more than just books and magic; it was intrigue and family and finding oneself through being vulnerable. Definitely recommend.

"Ink Blood Sister Scribe" feels fresh when compared to so many other dark academia fantasy novels. There's a lot of those out there, to be sure, but Torzs's debut is truly one of the better ones I've read. I feel like the author leaves the door cracked open for a continuation of the story -- perhaps she'll turn it into a series -- and if she does, I'm there for it. Another book with Esther, Joanna, and Nicholas in it would make me a very happy reader.


My sincerest appreciation to Emma Torzs, William Morrow, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All thoughts and opinion included herein are my own.

I really wanted to love this one more that I did. Unfortunately it took me FOREVER to get through, I just simply could not get invested in the characters and story line. It was definitely a slow burn but didn't lead up to anything exciting or shocking, making it just not worth it. Definitely didn't get deep enough into the romantic aspect either, felt so rushed and brushed aside when it definitely could have been used to help build some connection between the characters and the reader. The ending felt like it should have been a big reveal, but by the time I got to it I just was so checked out didn't really care.

I was very eager to get my hands on a copy of Ink Blood Sister Scribe, but shortly after I got my review copy I learned that this book contains animal cruelty and death, which are my two biggest triggers. I so wish I had known beforehand, as I never would have requested this book otherwise. I respectfully encourage publishers and authors to make trigger warnings available, especially for early readers who have no safety net and can't search reviews for trigger warnings. I understand that some people see these as spoilers, but this would have been very damaging for me to have read. Even just a note to check the author's website would have sufficed, but I went looking on this author's site and found no content information. I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to read this early, but I will unfortunately not be able to read it at all.

I absolutely loved Ink Blood Sister Scribe and feel terrible that my review is going up so late. I devoured this book in one sitting and have caught myself thinking about it several times since finishing last year. I was completely engaged with the story line, the characters and the magic. My local library is hosting a book club next month discussing this book and I can't wait to discuss it with other readers. Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for the digital ARC.

"In this spellbinding debut novel, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family’s library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection—a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power."

I personally could not have summarized this better. This is a slow burn speculative fiction that lays the story of Joanna, Esther and Nicholas. It took me a little to get my bearings on the unique magic system and family history but, I can't help but applaud Törzs' creativity with how she reveals little clues and moves the narrative seamlessly towards some of the larger reveals.

The most prevalent theme in this book moved a more emotional side of the novel as each character touches on their history and family and the losses associated with magic. Each one has paid a toll and watching that realization come to light was like watching a fire catch and consume. So well done.

If you love novels like Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, you'll want to grab this beauty and immerse yourself in Törzs' vividly crafted novel of mystery, magic and a little romance. True rating 3.5/5.

I enjoyed this book but I feel like it took me a little bit to get into. I enjoyed the story but felt like the writing style just wasn’t my favorite

I’ve found it difficult to categorize this book! A contemporary fantasy with a hefty dose of mystery and some suspense. Magical books tucked away in private libraries that are protected ruthlessly from unscrupulous individuals… Kinda. Also, these books require blood to activate and read and some don’t just stop with a little blood.

Törzs juggles three POVs: Esther, Joanna, and Nicholas. Each POV distinct and enjoyable, though I think Nicholas was my fav to follow around. Don’t jump into this read thinking it will be constant magic and tension. Truly, Ink Blood, Sister Scribe has a slow build up with a fantastical pay off! That slow start definitely has its draw back though.

I picked it up almost a year ago only to set it down and kind of forgot about it. When I finally picked it up again when I saw the audiobook was available and that helped me! Once the foundation was laid, everything picked up around 40% and by 60% I couldn’t put it down!

Overall? This is a great debut filled with magic, family, found family, and mystery. I would absolutely revisit this world if given the chance. After all, we all know the power of books. It was a delight to have them contain magical powers!

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Maarleveld is such a great narrator and this was no exception. Magical libraries are always fun, no matter how dangerous the books are. The world building was a lot to follow at first but as the story picked up in the middle, I didn't want to stop listening. Magical libraries are just...magical. Sure, some of their books might have the ability to kill, but that won't stop us from settling into an armchair with volume after volume. This story of family secrets and secret organizations vying for power completely captivated us for hours at a time. Narrator Saskia Maarleveld once again delivers a stellar audio performance, navigating various ages and accents for this eclectic group of characters.

This book was perfectly enjoyable, albeit quite long-winded for the first 150 or so pages.
It was fine, but definitely not one of my favourite books of the year.

This books makes me wish I was better with my words, by far. It was a genuinely interesting story, that felt original but also used fairytale themes that made it feel familiar to me in a way that I truly enjoyed.