DRC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Terry J. Benton-Walker is a master storyteller who imbues every tale and character of his with such passion, emotion and meaning.

I adored this novel and I cannot wait to read what is next!

Short and Sweet Review
Blood Justice takes place nine months after the events of Blood Debts. Now that Clem and Cris have gotten justice for their family they realize that things aren’t going to be easier only more difficult because people are still coming for them. Clem is trying to figure out how to restore Yves back to his former self with very little luck, and Cris is out there trying to get blood justice and go after everyone who hurt her family. When the mayor ends up murdered and their mom gets the blame for it Cris and Clem get to work on trying to prove her innocence while also learning they have a lot of enemies in the city of New Orleans.
When I read Blood Debts I didn’t like it so I thought I was a bit crazy for requesting the sequel but this book exceeded my expectations. One of my biggest problems with the first book was the amount of different character POVs but I think in this book because I knew who the characters were it wasn’t too much of a problem. Clem and Cris are on different paths in this book, Clem is still trying to figure out how to fix Yves, and Cris has a lot of anger and she’s using it to get revenge. The thing that brings the siblings together is when they have to prove that their mom is innocent and find out who is actually causing all of the trouble. We also see Valentina who is still dealing with her grandparents death and she’s trying to figure out how to become the queen. There’s some new Gods in this book and one of them is not one to be messed with but he’s drawn to Clem and Cris. There’s a lot going on in this book but in a good way. I liked seeing Cris express her anger but also in the end she has a realization that she’s gone too far and someone who loves her pulls her back. Clem makes some sacrifices in this book. Out of the two siblings I think that Clem is the one who thinks more about how his actions will effect others, while Cris currently sees red. There was a lot of character development for both characters and I’m glad there was more to them in this book that I connected with. I will add that I enjoyed the mystery aspect in this book, we had murder, missing people, murdered peoples bodies being moved, it was great.
Overall, I loved this book. Blood Justice made me rethink how I feel about this series this was a redeeming book and now I can’t wait until the third book is released. The way this book ended just leaves you ready to see what will happen next and I’m excited to see what will happen to our characters and how they’re going to deal with the war that’s coming their way. I would definitely recommend Blood Justice, so go get it when it’s released!

Thank you so much for this arc!
What an awesome sequel. I will say the pacing is a touch off but it’s not the worst considering the writing is lovely.
The setting, the witches, the mystique. It’s all so lovely and the intimate discussion of prejudice and oppressed people of color was a different story for me to read about. I would love to continue exploring more stories about racially diverse and queer community’s. There was so much emotion in this book that I caught myself crying a few times!
Definitely understand that this kinda ends in a cliffhanger?
I’m hoping for a book 3!!!

Excellent..keeps you in the edge of your seat with layered characters and a cool magical system. Relevant issues of systemic racism and the impacts to the communities and individuals impacted

The sequel to 2023's Blood Debts did not disappoint. This series - a YA urban fantasy adventure in New Orleans - is severely underhyped. Come for the family banter, stay for questions about the line between justice and vengeance.

This series is at its best when Clem and Cris get to cook together and I am so glad we got more of that. Their love for each other made the final turn especially heartbreaking and set up the stakes for book three beautifully. (There is going to be a book three....right? Right??)

This book is exactly what you want from a sequel! Dare I say, it is even better?!

In Blood Justice by Terry J. Benton-Walker, you still get to follow Cris and Clem on their journey very closely, but I loved the added secondary view points that pop up throughout the story as well.

Now with the throne of the magical community of New Orleans in Cris and Clem's grasp, this second book explores a world in which that hold on the throne is very tenuous. Will Valentina win that throne back? Or will one of the other enemies seize control of everything? With gut-wrenching moments on every page, and beautiful prose, this book is a worthy sequel to Blood Debts. Everything you love about that first novel is found and expanded on in this one!

I loved every moment of this book and strongly encourage everybody to pick up a copy when this releases on April 23!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #TorTeen for a free copy in exchange for an honest, spoiler-free review!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Blood Justice picks up where its predecessor left off, delivering more of the seamless mix of drama, action, and social commentary that made the first work so well. With the first book already highlighting social issues that impact Black and queer teens, I especially liked the focus this time around on the injustices of the prison system.
The Dupart siblings are once again central to the narrative, although there are some other characters thar are also thoughtfully incorporated. Cris’ arc is one of anger and seeking justice following what happened in the last book. Clem, meanwhile, is on a much more tender journey, as he is reckoning with having lost the boy he’s in love with, Yves. and tries to bring him back to life, resulting in some complications. Between the two of them, it’s a solid balance of softness and darkness, high-action and more interpersonal.
Another prominent POV character is the antagonist, Valentina, and she’s a well-rounded, compelling villain, with a lot of nuance. While I don’t necessarily root for her, I understand where she’s coming from, having lost everything, and find her scheming interesting to watch. She also makes an intriguing foil for Cris in particular, as in some ways, they are very similar.
This installment was also fairly well-paced and engaging. I enjoyed the balance of character building and high action, meaning that there wasn’t much space wasted on anything that didn’t advance the narrative in some way.
Also, as the author has disclosed on socials, this is far from the end of the series, although who knows if his vision for the full scope of it will see the light of day. I do hope this publisher (or any suitable publisher) will continue to given Terry J. Benton-Walker the opportunity to continue growing this series and world.
This was a solid sequel, and I’m excited to see where the story goes next, if it happens. If you’re interested in a contemporary/urban fantasy starring Black and queer characters, I’d recommend checking out this series!

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group, for an early copy of Blood Justice by Terry J. Benton-Walker. Omg, I love the second book; I am so happy I read this book. The Magic, Teenagers Drama, and The Different Gods. I love it set in New Orleans and learning about Magic and how it relates to real-world problems. I love this high fantasy book with magic.

“Blood Justice” is a knockout sequel and a brilliant work of fantasy. Walker has delivered a riveting, heartbreaking, beautiful and electrifying work. A master in complete control of their craft. His work with character is remarkable. So many characters and everyone feels distinct, honest, real. His world building is thrilling and dynamic. His prose is a beautiful dance that takes your hand and leads you on page by page. Read it!

Thank you to the publisher and author for the advanced copy of Blood Justice to review.

Blood Justice is the sequel to Blood Debts. Blood Justice is full of murder, chaos and vengeance (I ain’t mad at it). Do not mess with the Depart Family because they will definitely come for you! You follow the journey of Chris becoming who she has always wanted to be and Clem trying to save the love of his life while battling high school homework. Blood Justice will keep you on your toes! I enjoyed reading the action and who ends up being the villain, now that was a shocker! And this cliff hanger?! I need more!

Blood Justice received 4 stars because it lacked pacing. Moments the story was slow moving and towards the end, it felt like the action was packed in. I am confused who has magic and who doesn’t.

If you enjoy some thriller with a side a magic, this is series for you!

I read Blood Debt last year after getting a copy on NetGalley, and I got lucky enough to be approved also for Blood Justice. And I have to say, I'm really loving this series. Terry J. Benton Walker has created such an interesting story, which weaves so many things, from racism and classicism to grief and generational trauma. It touches in many ways the question of right and wrong, of light and dark through the use of magic.
In this book, we follow Clem, Cris and Valentina, and while Valentina is the villain in many ways, they both showcase that struggle between good an bad in the hope of reaching their goals. Clem and Cris both are struggling to find their ways, to balance what the think they should do and what they want. And why they are challenged differently, they are facing the same kind of dilemmas.
Honestly, I'm just loving this series, and I'm already dying for the next book. I truly think that if you've read Blood Debt and enjoyed it, you will enjoy this one as well. If you haven't try this series, I definitely, think it is worth checking out.

I have been hearing so much about this book that I purchased part 1 and was gifted part two by NetGalley. Let me just say that I was not disappointed. I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book. Great read!!

An excellent follow up to blood debts. I loved the continuing interrogation of Clem and Cris deciding how they want their magic to help them while also dealing with how their choices were impacted by the decisions of people in the past. i really can't wait to read more by Benton-Walker both in this series (hopefully) as well as other stories he writes.

Magical New Orleans
•Witches
•YA
4.5 ⭐️
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If judging a book by its cover was a person. It's me! This cover is beautiful 😍.
Blood Justice is the sequel to Terry J. Benton-Walker debut book Blood Debts.
Holy gosh, the representation of this book, oh my, oh my! It's delicious 😋. It deconstructs African Americans generation curses, anger, grief, suppression, and pain and gives US readers a different outcome. And I am here for it!
This book ends with a semi cliffhanger.
Enough, I highly recommend this book.
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♡ Audiobook Review ♡
♤ Release April.23 ♤
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Thank you, Netgalley, for the eArc for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the early copy to review!

3.5 stars rounded up.

I really struggled with what to rate this book. In general, I enjoyed it. However, I did have some issues with that really influenced my overall rating of it.

Things I didn't love:

1. I'm still really struggling to understand what the magic system rules are. I feel as though we're not getting enough about the magic, the history, the how of the magic system. And maybe that's intentional, but I think right now it just leaves me with way more questions than we should have about a magic system at the end of the second book.

2. I feel like this book could have been roughly 100 pages shorter. I started and stopped this book three times. I tried to read it physically (thank you to the publisher for the physical arc), tried to read it on my kindle, and then finally was able to get into it by listening to the audiobook arc. It feels as though the first 65-70% of the book is a hurry up and wait kind of experience. Don't me wrong, when shit starts happening, it is HAPPENING. But it feels like less time could have been spent on the often times repetitive revenge parts and maybe more time could've been spent on building up the magic system.

3. In general, I keep finding myself wanting more and better for our main characters, which keeps me interested in the book. But, the main characters have never met a good decision and that feels a bit redundant.


Final thing I'll say is that I gave this book an extra star because of the potential that I see in it. I think this has the potential to be a really good series.

The sequel to Blood Debts, Blood Justice is filled with more drama, more secrets and more twists! I ENJOYED this book so much. The world building is this book as well as the magic is intricate and very done. Each character has their own story yet all are interconnected in such an amazing way. Terry Benton Walker touches on themes like racism, homophobia, grief and generational trauma. This book is great for Black, Queer readers. I recommend it highly! One of my favorite reads so far of the year!

I want to thank the author Terry J. Benton-Walker and the publisher Tor teen for allowing me receive this sequel as an early Arc.

I was so looking forward to the sequel to Blood Debts but this just fell so flat to me. As someone who grow up in Louisiana, especially around the New Orleans area I just didn’t feel it did it any justice. Even funerals of unliked people have a bigger celebration than the one described here.

I just can’t with Cris. I understand your rage but at the same time I don’t get it. Cris’ character is so hate driven and the continuous remarks about opposers and racist remarks just did me in. Then on top of that she seems to pine over every white guy she comes in contact with. I just couldn’t do it. I’m sorry but I had to dnf. I really wish I hadn’t and maybe I will pick it up again at later time but for now I have to put it down.

The constant revenge vibes just didn’t do it for me either. I liked how she took Oz’s magic however killing two and removing his magic should’ve been enough.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the arc copy in exchange for an honest review.*

My only complaint about this book is the beginning is a little slow and I couldn't get interested and thought about DNFing. However, if you stick around, you will not be disappointed. It picks up quickly and you'll want to see what happens.

This has dark, teen drama vibes which are one of my guilty pleasures as an adult. There's a lot of magic, murder, and mayhem going on. If you like politics, there's some political unrest as well. There's so much representation; I feel like this series has been written so that everyone can find something or someone to relate to and connect with.

🩸Mental health rep
🩸Twin rep
🩸Unhoused rep
🩸Inmate rep
🩸LGBTQIA+ rep
🩸Matriarchy
🩸POC rep
🩸Racial injustice
🩸Rage and Revenge

There are some "bad" characters in the book that you see more of and I could kind of understand them and where they were coming from at times, but I still think they were wildly out of control. There were also some "good" characters that entered their villain era and I was living for it. I love a good rage/revenge theme.

There are a lot of povs in this book. Sometimes with so many povs, the book and the story start to have issues with the pacing and how it flows, but I think the author did well and picked the perfect parts of the story to add in the other povs.

This book has a good and clean ending, but it also leaves you with a sneaky cliffhanger. Can't wait to see where book 3 takes us.

Baby what a book!!! This was so good. I am going to try and find the words because I am fresh off the high of this ending and my mind is blown!!! I thought Blood Debts was good but this was an amazing follow up. You don’t miss a beat especially if you haven’t read Blood Debts recently like me who read middle of last year. It catches you up to all the tea and then you embark on a whole new journey with the Trudeau Twins again.
The way this story was told was so fun, emotional and really engaging from beginning to end. I literally felt like I was with Cristina and Clem on this new adventure. I also never felt so much kinship to a character. She is me and I am her. This book was such a good experience for me I am not even upset that it ended on a cliffhanger. Okay maybe I am a little bit but I am willing to let it slide for now….😭😩

All opinions are my own.
Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC of Blood Justice

I'm really loving this series! I absolutely love the multiple POV narrators, especially as some narrators are against each other, but still think *their* perspective is correct. Benton-Walker does a good job of pacing and creating vivid characters, but this book especially has so much ANGER, from Cris especially. If you are looking for a book that does not turn the other cheek, this is definitely the book for you. There is even more hurting in this book, as the characters have to deal with the fallout from book 1, but it does not read like a 2nd installment slump at all, but it does have many heavy subjects and issues. I will absolutely continue reading this series.
There were a few moments where I felt the book skipped and jumped ahead, and then retroactively addressed what was skipped (particularly around the Emma character, who I hope is significant in the next book), but I think they were intended to keep the pace of the book moving (and it does MOVE), and I think was more of a "me preference" as a reader.