Blood Debts is an interesting story. I love the alternate reality Louisiana. Reading from different characters perspectives helps build the story and leaves you ready to see what happens with the character from the previous chapter. Clem and Christina are typical teenagers who love their family but also think the world revolves around them. The magic system is fresh and uniquely American. I love the humanity of the Gods in the book. The mystery kept me wanting to read and find out who was behind everything. Please tell me our author is busy writing the sequel. I need to know Clems fate. The voice actor for Christina had me thinking of Riley from the Boondocks when she would do Clems part.

I really liked the south gothic, New Orleans vibe. Blood Debts jumps right into a fast moving plot dealing with family history and magic. Defiantly leans more YA. Great job with anxiety and mental health representation. Also the cover art is beautiful. The audio book had fantastic narrators who really matched the vibe of the book.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blood Debts is the story of intertwining families, generational magic, and trauma all revolving around a decades-old murder and the side effects it had on the community for generations. Twins Clement and Cristina try to solve the real story behind this murder to save their family while also tackling their internal and personal struggles.

The magic system was great, the characters felt so real, there weren’t really any twists but I was still shook multiple times, and we love when we get the pov of morally grey characters. I totally wasn’t praising Cristina as she watched her abuser slowly die by his own mistake. My petty Tauras ways were thriving when I realized we were going full revenge mode.

I highly recommend if you enjoy intertwined stories and when characters do bad things for good reasons. Also if you’re petty like me and enjoy ‘Better Than Revenge’ by Taylor Swift.

P.S. the audiobook narrators were also great.

The story follows twins Clement and Cristina trying their best to save their family. It all started years ago when their grandmother was accused of a crime where she was executed and dethroned as the Queen of Generational Magic. Since this tragic event, a ripple of other events happened such as their close family members being part of each other’s lives, Clem and Cristina’s dad's death and their mother growing deadly ill.

Once the two discover the truth behind their mother’s illness, they start to wonder what else is there to uncover about their family’s misfortunes. To heal their family issues, traumas and own self worth, the two need to find a way to bring everyone together and solve the many mysteries haunting and harming their family. With the use of magic, bold bravery and the help of those around them, the twins set off on a journey to bring peace.

For me, I really loved the different POV told in the audiobook/novel. Each performance by the different narrators gave me a chance to hear what each one sounded like but also how to follow along their unique personalities to find answers/discover more information in their own way. I admit, it was hard at times to follow and a bit confusing but with reading a long into the book, the confusion was not so much of a problem. I love the use of magic in this book and how casual it exists in the real world and not just a niche power that seems like it was too much fantasy like other books have already done. I really was glad that themes of race and racism existed in this book because that is what made the problems true to what many of us live every day. We can eliminate the factor about magic usage but the problem of racism is very much alive in this book.

I do wish the book stuck with only some plots and not a whole bunch because I wasn't sure which ones were truly important. It was as if the main plot of the story would subside then come back after the smaller ones were out of the way. Same with the POV/ characters involved because I wasn’t sure which characters were important or if all of the characters were important.

The biggest thing for me was how casual Clem’s queerness never impacted the story. It was mentioned without anyone feeling it was shameful. Even with the side characters and talking about their queerness was so natural and as it should be, especially in a world of magic since other books tend to make it a deal where its almost frowned upon

I overall loved the book and would recommend (I already have!) to others to check out.

Due to my time crunch, I chose to request the audioARC so I want to thank MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for granting me this opportunity to listen to the audiobook.

Blood Debts I went into knowing nothing about it other than it was a YA story that had magic. I was BLOWN away by the intricacies of the story, the magic system and the magical factions that our characters come from. It is a very dark story, but in the best way. The writing was smooth and very easy to follow, but at the same time it was still complex with plenty of detailing to keep the story intriguing and moving.

The arc I received (special thanks to the publisher and Netgalley) was an audio edition of the book. The narration was done amazingly, and I think the production was pretty spot on to how well it was also written. I really hope that in the next book, the same narration and production team are used to keep that same stellar performance going.

4.5/5
Wow. I saw the cover of this book on Goodreads, social media, and around my local bookstore for what felt like weeks until I saw it on NetGalley and decided to click ‘request.’ Either this book was haunting me and needed to be read, or Terry has a great marketing team - maybe both. Either way, to my surprise, I was approved and quickly dove in. I’ll be honest, my expectations were low. I’ve read a string of ‘meh’ books lately and I’m always hesitant with YA. I love the genre when it gets it right, but when it misses, it really misses. I am happy to report that Blood Debts not only hit, but hit it out of the freaking park. I loved this book. The audio narration was fantastic and the story had me on the edge of my seat.

Often in YA books they feel like an adult writing how they think a teen would sound, but the voices of these characters felt strong, thought out, and honest. The magic was complicated but understandable and the things I found myself not fully grasping were easily pushed aside because I was along for the ride and enjoying it.

What kept it from a full five stars comes down to, I think, personal preference. Specific plot turns weren’t what I fully wanted to see and some left me wanting, but not enough to take away from the full story as they read like setups for future books.

What to expect:
- Magic
- Sibling contention
- Family contention
- Just… contention
- Morally grey, like, legit
- Fairly saucy for a YA, but not in a weird way
- Multiple POV, and not just the ‘good’ characters
- A bitch-slap heard ‘round the world (very well deserved)

You should read this if
- You love complicated magic systems based in ‘real life’
- You love YA but often find yourself wanting a bit more grit and nuance
- Your favorite color is grey
- You enjoy the slow torture of not knowing when the next in a series is coming out

You should not read this if
- If your favorite superhero is Superman - let me explain - he’s so boring with his strict good vs evil, golden boy, superiority nonsense, booooo, we want morally grey
- Magic and spooky stuff scares you even a little bit, but you’ll probably be fine. I am a big baby and I loved this; it’s the perfect amount of spooky
- You are a real life Regina George - pre bus incident

If you’re in the mood for
- A high stakes thriller meets YA fantasy meets family drama that all equals out to a revenge plot in the best way.

If you like _ you’ll like this
- ‘Better Than Revenge’ by Taylor Swift
- ‘True Blood’ - Maybe? I’ve never actually seen this but doesn’t it take place in Louisiana and is magic-y so I kept thinking of it the whole time
- ‘Preacher,’ second season - Again, it's the magic adjacent and New Orleans connection but I have seen this one, it’s great, and I also kept thinking of it
- ‘Crescent City’ but if you wanted a teen version and with more humidity

Blood Debts is an urban fantasy set in New Orleans that follows twins Chris and Clem as they dig into their family’s sordid past. This story is rife with secrets, drama, and a bit of murder. It took me a bit to get through, but it was definitely a good read, especially once things started picking up in the latter half!

I liked the various types of magic introduced throughout the book and the cultural significance of each of them. It was cool to see how the discussion of magic mixed with the discussion of race. I did want a little more world building in digging into the details of how generational, light, and dark magic work. We got a bit of it, but I’m looking forward to hopefully getting more in the next books (assuming this is the first in a series - it better be with that ending!).

On top of the magic system, I thought the character development was done really well in this book too, especially for a YA. All of our characters grew in different ways that aligned with their own trauma and anxieties. They felt like real people.

Overall, I would definitely recommend for YA fantasy readers!

Magic, long standing family drama, Inter-magical feuds, racism, homophobia is all going on in this one.

Our main characters, Christina and Clem, are twins and heirs to a magical family. Their grandmother, the queen of generational magic, was accused of murder and lunched along with their grandfather in 1989 thus throwing off the family line of rulers.

Too much doesn’t add up so they start investigating the death that led to their grandmother’s downfall for the truth.

Tbh I didn’t expect so many 16 year olds willing to commit murder. Nor school having little to no impact on their daily lives. Nor people being killed willy nilly with no arrests or investigations.

There are too many plot holes for this to be an excellent book but it has good bones. Seems like it’s the start of a series so those holes may be closed up later.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this AudioARC.

I really wanted to love this.
LGBTQA representation, mental health /anxiety awareness, strong characters fighting back.
That being said, I thought this was a historical Era setting. The multi POVs confused me, I have had to have the ebook and audio going at the same time.
I did like the different cast for the audiobook but needing to still have the ebook open to understand the pacing and who is who defeats the purpose of audio imo.

The book has potential.

I really enjoyed this book! To be fair, the themes explored were so many of my favorite things. Family healing/secrets, New Orleans, generational magic, and LGBT representation - there was a lot to love. The younger characters were definitely a little bit difficult to like at times but I think that it was representative of their age and growing pains. The book was slightly long but I felt that the story carried you at a good pace and covered a lot of ground. A delight to read and a fantastic ending.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read from beginning to end. Having access to the audio as well further enhanced my reading experience. A HUGE thank you to Macmillan/Tor Publishing Group for the opportunity to review this release ahead of its release. The ending leaves room for more and I for one am looking forward to following where the story goes next.

4.5✨

I was a little worried I went into this one with my hopes to high for a little while. The pacing in the beginning is pretty slow and just building up the knowledge we need to be able to move forward and once you hit 40% everything starts to pick up and the story begins to piece together more as we get to the mystery aspect of this story.

I was intrigued in the beginning and it took me awhile to get hooked with how long this one is, but I’m glad I didn’t stop. I’ve seen so many reviews where people stopped reading and was getting worried, but the pace picks up and I urge people to continue.

The vibes in this one are perfect and I love the stage set for this story and think that is one of my favorite aspects. The writing is easy to catch hold and follow along. There weren’t hiccups in the story and everything flowed really well for me.

Overall I deeply enjoyed this one and it lived up to the hype I wanted to have it present. My only wish is that the twins were older for how this story unfolds. I also think this gets a little too dark to be considered YA.

There are mentions of grief, mental illness, & injury (due to accident).

I was provided an audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. Thank you to Macmillan Audio & Macmillan Young Listeners for providing me the opportunity to listen to this book early. This book will be out on April 4, 2023.

I was initially drawn to the beautiful cover! This has a little bit of everything. It touches on social issues like race, cultural appropriation, LGBT issues, mental health and so much more. Not only does the author present important topics to the reader in a way that makes you think, but we get a mystery and story full of magic, emotion, and characters you won't soon forget.

There is alot going on in this book. The audiobook has multiple narrators, and mulitple POVs. The story is mainly told from the perspective of the twins Clem and Cris, but every once in a while we get the occasional POV from another character. Having so many characters made it a little hard to follow at times especially when you are trying to keep track of the plot as well. That being said, I had a hard time putting this down. I kept opting to listen to this instead of picking up the other book I am reading at the moment. I found the characters engaging, the plot moved at a good pace, and the magic was intriguing. I really liked the magic system and the concept of the magical community. The twins both go through some things in the book but like all teenagers they struggle to reach for help despite having a support system in each other and their family. They both have to struggle through some things before they are ready to face their problems and ask for help from their loved ones. Their is alot of good discussion about family in this book, and I suspect we will see more in the future as Clem and Cris still have more obstacles to face down in the future.

There are some dark moments in this book, and while I do feel it is appropriate for a YA reader I would recommend it for the older more mature reader. This does end on a cliffhanger but I believe this is book one of a trilogy, and I'm anxious to get my hands on the next book. I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next. There are alot of loose ends that need to be tied up and I expect that there is going to be some backlash based on the events that took place in this installment. This is my first book by Terry J. Benton-Walker but it certainly will not be my last.

twins clement and cristina are mourning their father and taking care of their sick mother. but then they realize their mother isn’t sick but cursed, and whoever cursed her is after them next. cristina gave up on magic, though, and barely speaks with clement anyway. to avoid another massacre in new orleans, they have to put aside their differences and solve a decades-old murder.

this is the kind of book you want to reread immediately after finishing it. i was so drawn in the entire time i was reading, and by the time i got to the epilogue, i wanted to back up all the way to the beginning. i’m so glad this will have a sequel because i don’t know if i could’ve moved on from that ending if not. i highly recommend this book and i can’t wait for book two!

I wanted to love this! It just...really did not grip me (at all). I didn't find the characters likable, I wasn't invested in the mystery, and the setting wasn't as riveting as I'd hoped when I requested the ALC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

I have to admit that I DNFed at about 40% in. I was excited about this and I was REALLY excited when I realized Bahni Turpin narrated one of the characters, but after listening to several hours of this, I have no idea what the story is. I turned it on day 1 and listened for several hours. It was the beginning so you have a lot to set up and that can be boring in books, so I always try to push through. And to be fair, day 1 of listening was fine. But when I went to pick it up on day 2 I found myself not caring that much to listen. I still turned it on and listened for a few hours.

By the third day it started to feel like a task to listen to this rather than something I was enjoying. And now that I'm sitting here writing this, I'm trying to remember what is even happening in the story. The mother is sick. And there was a car accident. That's literally ALL I GOT.

I'm giving it two stars rather than one because it's probably me. I am probably the problem here, but for some reason this story isn't speaking to me and I am not invested, and I honestly cannot remember what is even happening so I'm just going to remove it from my reading list and move on.

Holy Hannah that was amazing! I absolutely loved the heck out of this story! The history, the characters, the magic, everything worked for me.
Multiple POV books are always my favourite, especially when you get overlapping timelines. You get so much more depth from the story when you can see if from so many different angles.
This book was a whole lot darker than I expected it to be, and I was completely here for it. Ruthless and deranged in its places, while devastating and heart wrenching in others. I sobbed endlessly over a loss, and I’m honestly not sure I’ll be okay again any time soon.
The plot has a crap ton going on, but with the way it’s written, it didn’t feel like it was hard to follow. All the pieces fit together so well.
My only complaint…… IS THAT HOW YOURE GUNNA END IT?! Is there more coming?! I need answers!!!!
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

I know I am to old for this, so I will write this review for my younger self. As a younger teen I would have loved this book. I went in to just wanted to explore New Orleans and magic and I was given so much more. There is a blend of racism, homophobia, family drama, generation pain weaved in with magic. The magic we got I loved and I loved seeing the generation connection and rituals. I wish we could have explored more of the magic and seen it more through the family members. The ending was the type of ending I love. It had a darkness to and a desire to know what comes next.

4ish stars, maybe just under

This was an intense, magical YA story of family, love, betrayal, revenge, and so much more. It deals with racism, appropriation, death, mental health, and other heavy topics; it also made me laugh or smirk at a few key moments. The characters have been lovingly crafted, the plot is fast-paced and suspenseful, and the ending is tragically ambiguous in a way that (I really hope) leaves room for a happier, less devastating conclusion for one of the central queer relationships. I’m intrigued to see what comes next from this writer, and I’ll be adding this title to my list of books to purchase for my classroom library.

Note: I think this book is considered a young adult novel, and the protagonists are teenagers, but a few more intense moments have me wondering if it could almost be considered new adult by some categorizations. Or maybe just an older YA choice? Either way, I did mostly enjoy it and think some of my students will as well.

With magic, Nola and Black leads, I should have eaten this YA up in a day and yet it caused a month-long reading slump trying to slog through. The twist was more of a straight country road. I unfortunately can't recommend this title. I found the writing, plot and characterization immature and underdeveloped. I feel horrible writing this review but part of my role on Netgalley is to give honest reviews in exchange for the privileges of accessing these titles and a month later that reminds my honest opinion. This opinion is largely based on the e-ARC I received in addition to this ALC but the narration is unfortunately not strong enough to shift my view of this work.