Ink Blood Sister Scribe follows two half-sisters Ester and Joanna, as they both are charged with a paramount task: to protect their family's library of magical books. The Kalotay family has guarded ancient and magical books for generations, and now the undertaking has fallen to the sisters. The sisters have been separated for years, both in their own ways protecting the books in their care. Ester has fled to a research station in Antarctica, only able to stay in a single place for a year at a time. Joanna finds herself at their home in Vermont, studying and caring for the beloved volumes. One day when their father is killed reading a book Joanna has never seen before their world is turned upside down, bringing the sisters back home together and opening up doors they never even knew existed.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
I give this novel 4 stars because I really enjoyed most all elements of it and the writing. It was an entrancing read. I took off one star because of the pacing in the beginning. Because it was slow to start, it was slow for me to get into. I highly recommend it and encourage anyone and everyone to give it a go!

What a ride! Emma Törzs debut novel is nothing but amazing. The layering of dark academia, mystery, fantasy, and thriller, all atop a very real environment is just such a breath of fresh air. Amid the influx of magic systems in the fantasy genre, it was refreshing to me to come across something that feels like it belongs in our natural world. While magic does exist it operates through texts written in blood --texts that often require far too much from those who write them, and require more blood still to operate.

The characters are fully developed and layered, growing and changing. I really loved the sisters, Nicholas, and Collins. I often found myself really sympathizing with their struggles. There is ample amount of fierce familial loyalty, duty, loneliness, betrayal, expectations, liberation, redemption, and freedom. I really enjoyed trying to figure out how all of the characters connected to each other and what their loyalties and motivations were throughout the novel.

I found that the pacing was a bit slow in the beginning, but definitely picked up in the second half. Other readers may find this too, but I encourage you to stick with it. Once the story really begins to reveal itself it takes off. I really recommend this novel for fans of dark academia, mysteries, and thrillers. It's got such an engrossing environment and feel, with the complex genre blending. It was such a joy to read and I loved it all the way through!

Ink Blood Sister Scribe releases May 30, 2023!

Tremendous thank you to Netgalley, William Morrow and Company, and Harper Collins Publishing for the Advanced Reading Copy for my review and the opportunity to read this title.

An amazing, magical adventure that I didn’t want to end.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
Publishing May 30, 2023

I absolutely loved reading this. Ink Blood Sister Scribe was so atmospheric and completely transported me while reading. I loved the mystery, the plot twists, and the secrets that slowly come out as you read. I was hooked from chapter one!
I loved the multiple points of view throughout the book. I adored the characters, and getting to know them. The magic system and how it worked was so intriguing and unique.

I would totally recommend Ink Blood Sister Scribe to anyone who loves fantasy!

Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for my e-ARC copy of Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe made me nostalgic for Inkheart in the best possible way--a book that reminds me of the inherent magic in books. But Ink Blood Sister Scribe is so grown up, atmospheric, and moody that it stopped me in my tracks. When I started the book I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters (wait, who is Joanna again?) and their familial ties. As I spent more time in the world, I couldn't help but keep reading to see if all of my theories about how the story pieced together were correct.

While it's technically classified as fantasy, and I think that classification is correct, I think Ink Blood Sister Scribe will be an easy-to-digest book even for people who don't typically read the genre. The magic system is well-developed, but didn't require a big info dump or make my brain hurt when it was explained. There were also classic elements of dark academia and suspense that were woven in, which made it a propulsive page-turner.

I adored the sister storylines with Joanna and Esther, but I wanted a little bit more out of Nicholas's character. I do think he served his purpose--I just could have done with a little more oomph out of his character.

Overall, though, this book is as damn near perfect as a book could be for me, and I will be purchasing a physical copy for my shelves because I loved it so much!

Well this is embarrassing! I thought I had already written this review and posted it weeks ago. My bad but I’m here to rectify that now and hope that my memory does it justice.

There was a lot going on in this book. Given that it was not confusing and easy to keep up with. There was definitely some surprises (yes some, as in more than one😉) though and I found that wonderful. It’s not often that I get a good surprise from the mystery running the story. I will definitely be mum lips zipped about that!


SYNOPSYS

For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements—books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect.


All magic comes with a price, the death of a beloved father and years of family separation. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna’s isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they’ll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries .


This book was fantastic! The story was very interesting and added a new spin on the world of magic. I love when new ideas about magic arise because that in of itself is magical. Books, blood and mirrors individually are not unique but the way they are laid out here just put a fresh spin on things.


Now, the characters, I did have some issues with. Though maybe it was an attempt to make them more relatable the two sisters characters biggest flaws was their self depreciation. Both of them lacked confidence in almost every way which I found a little sad and in Joanna’s case kind of annoying. Nicholas kind of reminds me of the oldest Volturi vampires in the Twilight movies that verge on the edge of albinism or like a bubble boy. And I think he hams up the fact every and thinks he’s so fragile. and then there is Collins who is pretty much the stereotypical body guard-not actually a body guard character (no not really spoiling anything there). So clearly I think the characters could use some development but I didn’t let that take away from the meat of the story.


I give Ink Blood Sister Scribe a 3.5 solidly, I’d lean toward 4 if the characters had a little tweaking.

I am a sucker for stories about books and libraries–particularly magical books and libraries! Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a fantastic debut written by Emma Tőrzs.

Joanna cares for and guards a library of magical books, just as her father did before he was killed by one of the books. Her sister, Esther, wasn’t gifted with their magical abilities; in fact, she was immune to magic. A danger to her family and the magical library, Esther can’t stay in one place for more than a year. When she decides not to run, mirror magic connects her to Nicholas, who lives a solitary life as a Scribe, protected by his Uncle Richard. As the only known Scribe, Nicholas writes the magical books–with his own blood.

Nicholas and his bodyguard Collins are intrigued by what they saw in the mirror and travel to find Esther, and thus, Joanna. The four of them form an uneasy alliance and must discover who wants them to uncover the library’s secrets and why.

This fast-paced story is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Holly Black, and Olivie Blake.

"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.

For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements - books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect.

All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna's isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they'll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries...

In the great tradition of Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue - and marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in speculative fiction."

Family library of magical books? Sold!

This novel's prose lacks depth. The small cast of characters should have made for better development. It did not commit to the lore of imagination and world-building that is done exceptionally in this genre. I thought Part Two would clean up the messes of Part One. However, it did not.

This lush, literary fantasy traverses the globe, from an isolated Antarctic research station, to a cozy Vermont farmhouse lost to maps and memories, to an ancient British library hiding a sinister secret. The story shifts between three perspectives: Esther and Joanna, two estranged sisters who have had vastly different reactions to their upbringing as caretakers of a collection of magical books, and Nicholas, a pampered prisoner of his own wealth and status with the unique ability to write the magic books the sisters at once fear and revere.

I love stories that transcend genre, and Törzes' debut expertly walks the line between magical realism, dark academiA thriller, and family epic. Despite the compelling plot and the dark, glittering allure of the magic, the heart of the story is the beautiful relationship between Esther and Joanna, and the complex web of secrets that binds them, their mother, and their late father into painful tapestry of love and grief. It is rare that I come across a sibling dynamic that feels as tangible as theirs: rich with silly childhood details and petty resentments and deep, enduring love. Törzes is a master of character-building, and slips in clever details that go a long way towards making the siblings feel like three-dimensional people I could easily meet in class or chat with at an airport. Nicholas was a strong character in his own right, but his narrative felt slightly overpowered by that of the sisters'. Even so, I liked following his journey towards freedom and independence, and found him a sympathetic link to the villainous machinations of the Library. it was highly gratifying when everyone's stories finally converged - I read late into the night to finish the last few chapters, because I didn't want to let the characters and the world go. Even the minor characters were full of life - Nicholas' gruff, Bostonian bodyguard Collins, Joanna and Ester's doting mother Cecily, and Ester's glamorous scientists lover Pearl.

The magic system was mesmerizing, with whimsical spells and fascinating rituals offset by the violent, brutal realities of writing books in blood. It leans into the idea of this story as a fairytale through a funhouse mirror: sisters and stepmothers and mirror magic and animal familiars carefully translated into a modern context, such that I didn't realize half the tropes were present until I reflected at the end. Something integral to a good literary fantasy is subtlety: there is certainly magic explicit to the plot but the true artistry of Törzes' work is the way that the fairy tale feels real, and honest to the state of world in the way that many classic tales were in their time.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Here it goes!

By bestowing upon this novel a 4 star rating, I can now no longer claim that I dislike all urban fantasy. Well, maybe I never really claimed that, but in my head it has remained so.

SPOILERS!!!

Half-sisters Joanna and Esther have grown up in a house containing magical books. While Joanna can hear and feel the magic the books project, Esther senses nothing. While Joanna can read the books and cast spells, Esther’s words fall flat. While Joanna and the rest of her family can have magic cast upon them, the craft cannot touch Esther, not even protection spells. It is for this magic-repelling reason that Esther is sent away after she turns18. Her father tells her to run, to move and keep moving every year, November 2, on the dot. If she does not, she will be found. Who she is supposedly being hunted by, Esther does not know.

Nicholas has lived his life in a beautiful cage. The massive museum that he calls home has been his safe place, but he longs to be able to leave it for more than his uncle’s schemes. His Uncle, the head of The Library, has told him that he must remain within the safety of his home’s walls. If people knew what Nicholas could do, his uncle says, he could be killed. Wherever Nicholas goes, his new bodyguard Collins trails him. He is special. He cannot be affected by magic, but he can write it. Always being forced to write new spell books with his blood, Nicholas suffers from anemia and is incredibly weak. Seemingly out of the blue, one of The Library employees tells him to run away, and that someone close is not what they seem.

I enjoyed the story, especially once Nicholas, Collins, Esther, and Joanna’s lives finally intertwined. It was an interesting concept all around, the idea of Scribes (capital “S” thank you very much) as the real magic bearers, even though magic is totally untouchable to them. It’s a concept that should not make sense but that Emma Torzs executes nicely anyway. What was also interesting is the born ability to recognize magic… These people can wield the magic that the Scribes author, but cannot create spells on their own. Where does that leave the rest of humanity? The book did not make that clear. Overall, I think this was a unique take on magic!

This book had a huge appeal to me as it will to any book collector. Evocative styled writing with twists and turns, starting as a slow burn but working its way to unputdownable at about 40%. I enjoyed the wide range of geographical areas (Antarctic to English countryside). This didn’t feel like a debut novel, it felt like a novel from a well seasoned author. Excellent blend of mystery, magical realism and thriller all weaved in family secrecy. A solid four out of five stars for a wonderful read!

I wish I could be among the early readers who have loved this book. Unfortunately, it’s a DNF for me.

The writing is engaging and atmospheric, but the story execution lost me. Pacing crept along at a snail’s pace. Rather than a sense of suspense or foreboding, I was left irritated with the disconnected pieces. I was bored, finding excuses not to pick up my Kindle, and so I gave up at around the 30% point.

I noticed several reviewers said the second half picked up and got much better. I don’t have the patience, but ignore me and give this book a try if it appeals to you.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a captivating debut novel by Emma Törzs. The story follows two half-sisters, Joanna and Esther, who have been tasked with protecting their family's collection of magical books. However, their lives have taken drastically different paths, with Esther fleeing to a remote base in Antarctica and Joanna isolating herself in their family home in Vermont to study the magical volumes.

The story takes a thrilling turn when their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before. The sisters must come together to unravel the deadly secret that lies at the heart of their collection. As they dig deeper, they uncover a dangerous world of magic that goes beyond what they ever imagined.

The writing is enchanting, and Törzs skillfully weaves together elements of magic, family loyalty, and betrayal into a compelling narrative. The characters are well-developed, and their complex relationships add depth to the story.

The novel also explores the concept of the price of magic and the sacrifices that come with it. As the sisters delve deeper into the magical world, they begin to realize the true cost of their family legacy and the secrets that their parents had kept hidden.

Overall, Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a must-read for fans of magical realism and fantasy. It is a unique and captivating story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very end. Emma Törzs has truly crafted a remarkable debut novel that is sure to leave a lasting impression on readers.

Definitely a slow-burn, but worth it. Once I made it past the first third of the book I went from thinking about not finishing it to not wanting to put it down. I enjoyed the unique take on how magic works, and appreciated how the storylines came together with a nice twist.

A terrific setup, albeit one that ended up a little under-baked. Absolutely a read for fans of Alix Harrow and people who liked THE LIBRARY AT MOUNT CHAR but wanted it to be less gonzo-weird. The book-magic is delightful and inventive, and I like the hints of the wider world at play... but the book's balance felt off and I knew where it was going for each 'reveal' throughout in a way that left me deflated instead of ebullient. Still, worth the candle for sure.

It has a slow start, but begins to pick up around a quarter way through. I love the magical structure. Big bad was a little predictable, but I really loved how everything came together in the end.

It's a story of adventure and healing that feeds the broken little Sagittarius in me.

Book magic for the book lover.

This book was incredibly unique in concept. The characters were well written and easy to like and root for. This easily could have been a series but I appreciate the stand alone.

Loved this. It gave me everything I wanted from Leigh Bardugo's or Holly Black's adult fantasy but found missing. More specifically, I found this to be complex and dark without being gratuitously violent (despite the blood magic). Torzs does an excellent job of providing the reader with just enough information to be tantalizing, and I found it immensely satisfying (and frustrating in a good way) when I was able to put together information from the various narrative threads before the characters had a chance to find the answers. Overall, a compelling, fast-paced read.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a mysterious blend of magical realism + thriller with a sprinkle of dark academia vibes whose story revolves around two sisters whose family is responsible for maintaining their collection of magical books, some innocuous and some sinister but all written in blood, and the ties those books have to a nefarious and powerful library on the other side of the world. Joanna, the younger of the two sisters, is charged with keeping the books safe which means setting the wards that keep her and their collection hidden from the outside world every night while Ester, the eldest, travels around the world, moving every year prior to November 2nd, at the insistence of her father, until this year when she falls in love with an Australian woman and decides to forgo her father’s last request. Meanwhile, Nicholas, the last known scribe who can write these magical books, begins to question the safety and integrity of the library institution for which he works for and subsequently lives a very isolated existence.

The story starts off a little slow and spends a bit too much time building the setting but do not let that deter you from the book as when it picks up, it REALLY picks up! I personally found it to be more thriller with magical elements than fantasy with mystery elements but it absolutely worked for the narrative. There are so many things I enjoyed about this story…. The unique magic system, the portals to other places, the sapphic relationship/representation, the witty banter between characters (specifically Collins and Nicholas), characters of ambiguous morality, and the simple fact that it is a book about books (what is better than that, honestly?) The character arcs were well developed and Törzs expertly weaved in themes related to grief and complicated family dynamics bringing a heartfelt and humanistic touch to the story. I found the ending to be a great resolution to the plot and to each character’s individual story arc.

I was a bit surprised by the 3rd POV, Nicholas, since he was not referenced in any synopsis that I had read, despite being a significant character in the story. His introduction to the narrative is where the story really started to pick up as his arc got off the ground much quicker than Joanna and Esther’s.

The synopsis likens the book to Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, but as a consumer of all of these stories, I disagree. I think Blood Ink Sister Scribe stands entirely on its own as something uniquely different and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible! I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a magic-infused mystery and I honestly look forward to what Emma Törzs is going to bring us in the future!

Imagine opening a book that seems normal on the outside, only to find that it is something remarkable within. Imagine hearing the hum of magic as you read. This novel sounded like an interesting read, but I hadn't expected it to draw me in to its world like it did.

Magic centers on books written in blood. For Joanna, taking care of a centuries-old library hidden in her basement, it must be hidden at all costs. Her sister Esther has cut ties with the magical world, though she still fears that it will follow her. Across the ocean, Nicholas chafes in his role as the only living person who can write new magical books. For all of them, magic is ancestral and stifling, until it becomes dangerously, personally real. The system of magic is easy to understand but also deep.

If this novel isn't magic, it’s close. It’s rare to find such rich characters who struggle with themselves, a riveting plot, adventure and action and twists, basically everything you could ask for in a novel. If you’re at all a fan of books, I see no reason why you wouldn’t like this one.

This was a combination of a mystery, thriller that kept me on my toes, and an adventure I won't soon forget. This was a great fantasy that I can not wait to own in print. I loved the magic and the character and just wow!! I think fans of Holly Black's adult series will enjoy this one.