Talk about a debut! This one was special!

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a magical, yet gruesome tale of a family who has special gifts and keeps magical books hidden from the world. The story follows half-sisters Esther and Joanna—their family has been keepers of magical books for as long as they can remember. Across the globe in London, Nicholas is the author of many a magical book, but that unique skill could put him at risk. How are they all connected? It’s hard to summarize this one, because it is so unique! I have never read a story like this before, so I really enjoyed that experience.

This story was interesting and so complex. As the characters crossed paths, it became clear that there was more to the magical books than I originally thought. The world building was fabulous, and how the book magic worked was really interesting. This book gave me “The Librarian” vibes. I throughly enjoyed diving into this magical world! I couldn’t put it down! I recommend this one to anyone who enjoys books about books, magical things and events, and family—even chosen family.

Thank you to Book Club Girl, the author, William Morrow, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book to read!

This was my introduction to "witchy" books and I am obsessed!

Ester, Nichalos, Joanna, Collins, Madam!!!! I love them all.
This book has everything; friendship, family, family trauma, found family, tiny bit of romance, action, suspense, magic! I mean seriously what more could you possible ask for.

If you are even a little interested in starting your "magic book" journey, I 100% recommend you read this book. You will be hooked on this book from beginning to end!

I see this novel compared to novels by Leigh Bardugo and Holly Black as well as those who enjoyed Practical Magic, The Magicians or Ninth House. I believe fans of Discovery of Witches would also enjoy reading this story. We do not know why Esther and Joanne are separated from one another, only that the two sisters grew up in their family home where their father and his wife (mother to Joanne) also guarded ancient texts full of magic. Now Jo is the protector of the books while Esther travels the world, mysteriously following her father's warning to leave her current location by a certain date each year.

There are so many mysteries and unknowns to unravel along with the characters within this novel. Told from multiple points of view, the reader can put the pieces together as the story is unraveled. I truly enjoyed this novel, and I am going to easily round up to 5 stars since I think it would make a superb fantasy series if continued, and I am hoping that one of the many streaming services I subscribe to looks at it as a possible series as well. Excellent world building in terms of the magic, superb character development, adventure, action, suspense, along with a dash of romance. Choose this contemporary fantasy as your next read.

INK BLOOD SISTER SCRIBE is a unique blend of the supernatural, intrigue, and personal discovery in one positively spellbinding tale. Törzs sets the stage with a richly developed world of magic within the books.

From the first part of the book, the reader is introduced to four people who will become the core of this narrative. As each of their paths reveals itself, the looming sense of danger becomes more and more present. However, it isn’t until Esther, Joanna, Nicholas, and Collins come to work together that the story truly becomes compelling. They must deal with duplicity, secrets, blood magic, and all the emotions coming to the surface after years of unknown realities.

In this debut, Törzs brought her readers down a spiral where mystery and magic meet. The writing was eloquent and perfectly paced exposing a heart and realness within these pages grounded by the more fantastical elements. Those we meet are diverse and wonderfully complicated adding another layer to an already rich story. All in all, an amazing read.

Here’s something I don’t find myself saying very often: I wish this Fantasy novel was LONGER.

Such is the magic of Ink Blood Sister Scribe (horrible title, great book), which combines all the best elements of the genre in a unique and intriguing way.

I really appreciated the originality of this, which really stands out in a genre full of copycats and reimaginings. The magical system is both unique and well-rendered, and I loved that the world building made this book both dreamy and immersive but also tied to the real world experience.

The characters are also unusually intriguing and well drawn, in addition to just being a likable bunch you want to root for. And canine sidekick Sir Kiwi didn’t hurt the likability factor either.

I think I’m happy this was a stand-alone, despite being sad when it was over and wishing the book had been longer. It’s a relatively light read for this style of Fantasy, intense and full of feeling without being too overwrought and tragic.

In all, a delightful adventure well worth a read.

This is seriously such a surprising story. It starts off a little slow, but once you get into it, introduce yourself to all the characters, and read more about the magical world that exists here, then you're hooked.

I think the most interesting part of this entire book was the magical world. It's a little gorey for those who aren't fans of blood magic, but I was obsessed with the idea of magical spells existing in the world, that anyone can read them and use the magic for whatever they need, and the idea that there are scribes that use their own blood to write these stories. It's not witchy, which I'm glad about but it has that witch-like feel with natural elements playing a big part in it.

It was like reading a high fantasy story without all the high fantasy. It has your power-hungry villain, the characters who are swept up in all of this against their will, the characters who are just learning about everything that's happening, and a chosen one destiny that I could not deny. Honestly, I would say this is a great fantasy book for anyone who wanted to read high fantasy but felt it to be a bit intimidating.

I absolutely loved the family dynamics of this story. It's both found family and blood-related family and they both play into this story super well. I absolutely loved Esther and Joanna. They were the kind of sisters that reminded me a lot of my own; who have been apart for many years, but somehow still keep the bond from childhood. The found family elements with Nicholas were wild and like any family story, there's huge twists and turns along the way that really kept my jaw on the ground.

The pacing was lovely too. There was a good amount of diving into the characters, but it is also moved the plot and kept you interested. With each big reveal or piece of plot that is revealed, you invest deeper and deeper in the story and the way the characters are written make you want to look out for them more and more.

Overall, I found myself enjoying this one way more than I imagined and glad for it. I'm surprised it was picked up for the GMA Book Club since it doesn't seem like something they would typically pick, but it is definitely worth a read regardless of the fancy book sticker.

Joanna and Esther are half sisters charged with protecting their family’s magic library. Joanna can read the spell books and make the magic happen, Esther cannot make magic happen and is unaffected by magic so she questions her value and role. She has been away from home for years, and must run for 24 hours each November to avoid capture and an untimely fate. While running, she meets Nicholas, who is also involved in the world of magic books in an extremely dangerous role. The three come together to try solve the mysteries of the dark magic they are encountering, the long-held family secrets that challenge them and their own potential futures in their roles with magic books.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I loved the characters, the writing, the twists and turns, the danger, the mysteries, the magic and the relationships that evolved over the course of the story. What an excellent debut novel! I didn’t want it to end. It truly brings out the magic of books and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC copy of this book.

I devoured this. INK BLOOD SISTER SCRIBE deserves all its hype, and not just because I'm a sucker for stories about sisters who are fiercely protective of each other. The story was engaging and suspenseful, and the writing was flawless.

It's a contemporary fantasy series about witches set in multiple locales (including Alaska!). The story follows two half-sisters who are the children of a father with a magical book collection. At the beginning of the story, he is killed by one of the books. One woman is immune to magic and on the run, forced to move every year; the other is basically trapped in their family home, maintaining the wards around their house to protect the precious books - even from her own mother. Then there's a sheltered, wealthy young man who is the last known scribe, with the ability to write magic books with his blood.

The plot was skillfully constructed, with the kind of excellent writing that dissolves into the story. The characterization is superb, and Törzs manages to maintain suspense and action while building an intricate world.

I really enjoyed it and highly recommend!

As a big reader, often times I’m not surprised by the direction a story takes. This novel, however, had twists and turns I literally could not have even dreamed about. Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a new and exciting twist on the age old tale of magic. We all know books hold power, but this novel makes that power come to life. Torzs is definitely an another to watch and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a brilliant tour de force by Emma Törzs, with an impeccably built world, a cast of loveable characters, and a tension that yanks the reader by the teeth through and forward through a fast-paced and delicious plot. The only thing better than the way this book ends. I am so thankful to Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I don’t read a lot of contemporary fantasy. Something about cell phones and magic existing in the same world takes the mystery and wonder out of the experience of reading fantasy and escaping to another world. But I love books about sisters and the bonds between them, so when I read the synopsis of Ink Blood Sister Scribe, I knew I’d be breaking my self-imposed rule.

The world of Ink Blood Sister Scribe isn’t that different from our own. People go to work, spend time with their friends and family, and pursue their hobbies. But there is an undercurrent of magic running through objects that you probably have within your view as you read this review: books. In the world of this story, certain books contain spells that can alter the very fabric of reality for the people that possess them. What fuels these books? Blood. Blood flows through so many aspects of this story, and it is blood that separates the two half-sisters at its core, Joanna and Esther. Joanna has the ability to read magical books, while Esther cannot be touched by magic at all, destined to always feel like an outsider in a family steeped in magic. Raised to protect their family’s library of magical books, the two sisters become estranged after one of those very books kills their father. Esther leaves home and never comes back, while Joanna is left to try to hold on to what her father held most dear, the house, the books, and herself. After their father dies, they are forced to reckon with the very forces that drove them apart, finding that they are in a lot more danger than they anticipated: someone is after their family, and they’ll stop at nothing to get to them.

I picked up this book for the sisters, and I’m so glad that I did! Joanna and Esther’s relationship was so complicated, fraught, loving, and REAL. I have a half sister, and she’s one of the most important parts of my life. That quote about half sisters really hit home! We’re seven years apart, but it has never felt like a gulf that we could not cross. I’d do anything for her. So I’ve always been intrigued by representations of sisters in books. I love when it’s done well—when it pulls at your heartstrings, shows the sisters as their own people, and examines all the ways the relationship can fracture or come together. Ink Blood Sister Scribe shows a sister relationship on the brink; Joanna and Esther are having a hard time bridging the gap made by guilt, anger, disappointment, and distance. Both characters are fully realized and developed, and when they come together, their interactions are sometimes fraught but always brimming with hope that they can mend what’s been broken between them. They struggle—not only with outside dangers but with fitting together as individuals, as adults. They have not seen each other in a decade and that has taken its toll. But as a reader, I always felt like they’d make it back to each other, both literally and figuratively.

Okay, now let’s talk briefly about the magic in Ink Blood Sister Scribe. Even though the title has the word blood in it, for some reason I was not expecting this book to be as dark and bloody as it was. I have no idea why lol. It being a contemporary fantasy about sisters and magic books made me think it would be lighter than the fantasies I usually read, even though danger was mentioned in the synopsis. That was a mistake on my part! I mentioned above how blood permeates every aspect of this book, and it really does. Those magic books? Yeah, their ink is BLOOD. There is also a book made of human skin—I’ll say no more than that. In this world, there are people called Scribes, and it is their blood that is used to write magic books. There is currently only one Scribe in the whole world, so you can imagine just how much blood that person uses daily to keep magical books in production. Magic books are a rare and hot commodity, and their production is wrapped up in some shady hands.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a standalone book that manages to cover so many topics: family and the bonds they contain; power and who should be in control of it; privilege; loneliness. After finishing, I wanted more, and while I think it has series potential, I’m happy with how it ended. I cannot wait to see what Törzs writes next; she has a fan in me!

In the world of Ink Blood Sister Scribe, books possess the power to grant individuals extraordinary powers—books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther were raised to honor and protect. However, all magic exacts a price, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has been on the run for ten years, fleeing the same fate that claimed the life of her mother. Joanna isolates herself in her home, all alone, save for the company of the magical tomes. But when Esther makes a grave mistake, the sisters are thrown into a fight for their lives, against an evil that they can't seem to identify.

The best aspect of this novel for me is its magic system. There are two types of magical people: those who can write books, known as Scribes, and those who can sense which books contain magic. The rules and limitations of the magic system are well thought out, which gave me the opportunity to fully enjoy the book without any confusion. The fantastical elements really reminded me why I, as a reader, enjoy books so much in the first place. The plot completely revolves around the magic system, which meant we had the whole novel to immerse ourselves in it.

The plot of "Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe" is well-paced, balancing moments of action and suspense with building the magic and world system. The story unfolds gradually, which gave me time to absorb the intricate details of the plot while it built tension toward the climactic moments. The three different characters balanced the plot well, and all contributed to it.

While the plot excels, the character development falls slightly short. Our three protagonists, Esther, Joanna, and Nicholas, all are so interesting, but I wanted to get to know them more. We get a little more backstory about Emile and Joanna, considering they are sisters. Nicholas is introduced later and seems out of place for the first few chapters. I was hoping to see the sisterly bond between Esther and Joanna explored more, especially the hurt and grief they had to overcome in order to help each other. While I liked Nicholas, for he added some much-needed humor to the story, I wanted more from him besides having a tragic past and being comedic relief.

The ending was too soon for me. I finally had a grasp on the characters and was excited to see where they were going, only for it to end. I never think standalone novels should be a series, but this book is the exception. While the plot concluded nicely, the characters had finally found their stride, and I was really enjoying the relationships starting to flourish. Fingers crossed that there will be another book!

Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe, is a magical book that reminded me of why I loved reading in the first place. I fell in love with Torzs's writing style and how she made this magical book come to life. I am eager to read what else she has in store!

Big thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love the sisters and this was such an interesting premise. The suspense was killer and had my anxiety through the roof (in a good way). Everything is so multilayered and richly written, such a stunning debut novel!

I feel like I might be the only person on the planet who was not super invested in this book! This is a story with a bit of mystery and intrigue, a bit of sibling relationship exploration, and a lot of love toward the written word. But I just felt like it was taking a bit too long for anything to happen, which made it hard to keep pressing forward. If you really like to get swept up in the details of a world, then this book is for you. If you prefer action-driven plot, then maybe try something else.

This one had me intrigued. The publisher description hit all the right spots for me. Sisterhood. Magic. Drama and mystery.

I wanted to be hooked.

I wasn't until the 60% mark and, in my opinion, that's too long.

The first (roughly) 30% of the book is told in alternating POV from two characters, two estranged sisters. A third character is added at that point. Between the three of them, they take us into a world where spells are inked in blood in books. There are scribes and those that can read the spells.

It was the alternating section, the world building and the character development that I struggled with. It just felt clunky. I kept feeling like I was missing things or that references to seemingly important things were dropped in but not picked up again.

At about the 60% mark, the stories of the three characters converge. I liked that part. It's where we got some more understanding about what was going on, the betrayals became evident and, shall we say, the plot thickened. I felt like, at this point, some things finally clicked into place and the end was satisfying. I just wish it hadn't taken so long.

Thank you to the publisher, HCC Frenzy, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Esther and Joanna have always known that their family’s collection of books is extremely rare and valuable and has been guarded by several generations, for these are magical books that allow the person who reads them to cast certain spells. But this magic comes at a cost, and the sisters have not seen each other in many years. Esther fled home, never staying too long in one place to escape the fate that befell her mother and Joanna lives an isolated life in their family home, caring for and guarding the books. But when their father dies suddenly after reading a book that Joanna is certain is not part of their collection, it’s up to the sisters to figure out what happened and protect both themselves and their family’s prized books. Esther is being hunted by a mysterious foe and as she begins to seek answers, she realizes that there is more to the world of magic than her father ever told her – more possibilities to what magic can do, but also more dangers and secrets than she ever imagined.

Libraries full of magical books and spells was literally the only thing I needed to hear to add this to my TBR. That the early reviews for this were already pretty favourable was a bonus. The premise for this book also reminded me vaguely of Sorcery of Thorns with the magical library full of secrets, one of my favorite reads, so I was excited to pick this up.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe had a really unique premise – many families across the world with the gift of magic in their bloodlines collect handmade books that allows them to cast spells. But these books can only be used a certain number of times, and it takes a Scribe to write a new one – and Scribes are incredibly rare, not to mention that they have to write the book in their own blood, an effort that has often killed them. Joanna and Esther come from one such family that owns a sizeable collection, but where Joanna has the ability to hear and use these books, Esther is completely unaffected by magic of any kind.

This book is technically urban fantasy, but seeing as most of the story takes place in the characters’ homes which were so steeped in magic, it didn’t have the feel of the genre – a good thing for me at any rate because I always have trouble with stories that reference magic and modern technology in the same line, it makes it hard for me to get into the mood of a fantasy novel.

Honestly though, in terms of plot and world building, this book had so much more potential than was used. Even once the story started moving faster, I kept checking Goodreads to make sure it was a standalone, because the depth of the concepts as well as the leisurely pace was characteristic of what I usually see in the first book of a series. But this was actually a standalone, and pacing aside, I’m quite impressed with the amount of detail the author has managed to go into in a single book.

The way this book started, without too many explanations, made it a little confusing for me. Ink Blood Sister Scribe definitely took its own sweet time to actually get things moving, focusing more on the characters lives at that moment in time before actually providing enough plot context to understand what was going on and figure out how the different POV characters were going to be connected.

This made this book kind of a difficult read initially, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through 400+ pages of this. While it did take quite some time for the narrative to stop dragging, close to 35% of the book, the pacing did eventually pick up and I fairly flew through the rest of it, much to my surprise. It was an engaging read throughout and even in the parts where the story dragged, there was enough going on to hold the reader’s attention and curiosity, and the mounting tension in the plot kept me turning the pages.

Characters wise, I felt that Esther was the best in terms of character development and I found it easiest to follow the plot as well through her arc. Joanna, to a lesser extent, though I found it very odd that neither sister thought to question anything that their father told them in all those years and simply agreed – Joanna to watching over the books, practically never leaving the house and Esther to living a life always on the move, far from her family.

Nicholas and Collins added to the story mostly in terms of plot and bringing all the pieces together, but I don’t feel like I really got to know either character, despite Nicholas having a POV. Nicholas was also not mentioned in the synopsis, so when his character was introduced in his first POV chapter, I found it rather confusing to try to figure out who he was. The romance felt a little out of the blue for me and wasn’t really necessary in my opinion, especially as it was introduced pretty late into the book.

As for the villain, I thought it was a masterful twist from the author. It was evident who was the villain much earlier than I expected, but it was the extent of how far they were willing to go that was truly shocking and this reveal was excellently done.

While a bit rushed, all the pieces came together in a logical manner and I did like the note the last chapter ended on. It does leave room for anther story and I’m really curious as to what might happen in one.

I do wish that this book was either longer or perhaps a duology, because as I mentioned, the way the plot was unfolding felt to me throughout, as indicative of a sequel or two. But overall, this was a great read and I enjoyed the unique magic system and for a standalone, impressively layered plot. I’d be interested to see if there will be a spin off of some sort for this book, if only to explore the fascinating world some more, as well as the potential consequences of the ending, but all in all, a satisfying read and one I would definitely recommend for fantasy fans this summer!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs.

I thought this novel was excellent on many levels. The characters were all magically developed, meticulously written and twisty in their characters. They all had their own surprises right to the end.

As I was reading this novel I started to enjoy the writing and the story more and more. This is a book of twisty adventure and a lot of magic. There is pure evil and pure love in a centuries old family drama that unfolds with every page.

The story is complicated yet not confusing because it is brilliantly written. There are also some moments of humor. I loved that.

Magical books. Magical libraries. Magical herbs. Magical mirrors. Evil hiding in plain sight. A witchy cat. Sapphic (closed door) romance. Sisterhood. What more could you ask for?

I absolutely loved this standalone fantasy/thriller/dark academia mashup. It’s been a long time since a book made me want to text live updates to someone who’d already read it, but that’s what happened here. I also stayed up 3 hours past my bedtime to finish it, sooo.

The book has three main characters: Joanna, keeper of her late father’s library of magic books; Esther, her sister who’s been on the run from magical danger since she was 18; and (later) Nicholas, who is also magical and lives in England — but I won’t tell you more about him because of spoilers. I pieced some of the things together before they were revealed, but it was one of those books where that doesn’t take away from the experience at all. And there were surprises too!

One thing I really loved about this book was its structure, where one plotline builds the mystery while the other plotline answers it, so you get info you know some characters are missing, and then eventually the two plotlines merge. And yet it’s never frustrating like a miscommunication trope would be. (How!)

Anyway, you should read this. Kbye.



CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Kidnapping; Confinement; Death of a parent; Abandonment; Body horror

5/5 stars

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

AH I loved this book. The writing and narration are authentic, which is so refreshing. The dialogue is real. Even at the 5% mark I already thought it was fantastic. Also, shoutout to this:

“It spoke of a kind of preordained movement, a socially constructed pathway that forced people, particularly women, into a series of steps they’d been tricked into believing they’d chosen for themselves.”

“Esther had known this was a trap and had stepped directly into it, telling herself all the time that it was her decision, that she was in control.”

I love that the author is exploring that concept because I know exactly what she means.

I really enjoyed all three protagonists and I liked how I was guessing whether Collins and Maram were allies or not until the very end. The characters were all very human and I loved that Cecile was Esther’s stepmother and that wasn’t a problem.

There were fairytale references woven into the story as well, which I adored.

I wish I got to know more of Collins, but I loved that he looked guilty after protecting Nicholas, which made me think he was a bad guy, but it turned out his guilt was for a whole other reason and I liked that subversion. Also, I did NOT see Maram being Esther’s mother coming.

Anyway this book was amazing.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is such a creative novel! It’s not an epic fantasy and yet there is some really good world building in terms of the magical elements that are behind the scenes of their everyday lives.

I loved our main characters and the different POVs and I loved the idea of this super secret and behind the scenes magical organization. I was rooting for our main characters and felt invested the whole time, which made for a great reading experience!

This is a great witchy book and I highly recommend it! It’s not your typical witchy rom-com.