If there were more than 5 stars available I would be giving them all to this book. I absolutely loved it from dedication to epilogue!

We pick up just where Blood Debts left off and I was reeled right on in from the jump. I was hooked on every word. The experiences, choices, regrets, and affirmations of these characters really spoke to me. I recognized their rage, I felt their pain, and I understood their choices whether I thought they were right or wrong, which was hard to judge for so many reasons. These youths were giving “when they go low we going gutter” vibes, and I was here for it! 😏🤭
The audiobook was a great medium for me, the narrators killed it and I was grateful to have multiple narrators given the number of points of view. I would have loved to have the physical book handy to flip back easily when I got lost or needed to remember the significance of a more peripheral character. There is A LOT going on here and at times it was a little difficulty to keep up via audio. That said, I loved that there were so many people to follow and so many storylines to keep up with. There wasn't a moment where I felt bored or that the story was lagging. I was fully engaged and looking forward to every next move. I do feel like most of the storylines were wrapped up but there were one or two that I feel got left by the wayside.
Overall, I thought this was a fantastic book. I can't wait to hold it in my hands and be able to write notes to myself in the margins. I think this sequel shows the growth of this author in such a short period of time. Bravo!

This is one of the few instances where the sequel is better than the original. I truly enjoyed the social commentary on justice, oppression and standing up for what is right that Benton-Walker explores in this novel. The characters are flawed, Chris and Valentina are somewhat like Macbeth - they seek revenge to their detriment. They are real, raw, likeable, and honest. I truly loved everything about this novel and the characters who live in this magical world.

"Murder can be righteous when done in the name of blood justice."

This book is such a great book, one that touches on anger, pain, grief, revenge, family, rivalry, honor, discrimination, strength, and love, all the while incorporating magic which I loved so darn much! There are quite a few characters and povs in this story, which can make it difficult to follow at times, but it did add dimension to the story.

Cristina and her twin brother Clement Trudeau have taken back their family's throne and in the midst of doing so have gained many enemies.. many people have done them wrong. Cristina is tired of the injustice and is determined to make everyone who has caused her pain pay. She is out to seek blood justice. Meanwhile her brother, Clement, is just trying to hang onto the boy who he loves the most- Yves. Yves was fatally shot and killed one night and Clement went through great extents to bring him back, although he has only succeeded halfway. There's a lot of deceit in this story, dealing with grief and the anger that comes with it, vengeance, malicious gods, an upcoming spiritual war, moon magic, dark magic, and severed grandma heads! This book is GOOD.

And the cliffhangers (multiple).. ! I am already on the edge of my seat, anticipating Terry J. Benson-Walker's next book!

Thank you NetGalley and Terry J. Benson-Walker for this incredible ARC!

Welcome back to New Orleans is an understatement. Benton-Walker started off with putting his foot on the readers neck and never let me come up for breath. Cris did not come to play with time around and I was here for every damn minute of it. I loved that Valentina was able to connect with her heritage more but we already know she wasn't going to stop coming for that crown. As always I loved the relationship between Cris and Clem and how they are able to balance each other out in the difficult times when one of them was ready to go beyond the norm. This book left me wanting and needing more, I always through my phone across the office because that ending was chef's kiss and I thought this was a duology but you mean to tell me I get more time with these characters and I get more story but now I got to wait. Terry homie if you need a beta reader hit me up lol jk (no I'm not I'm serious). This is the type of book I craved as a child/teen and to have this book now it healing a huge part of my inner child who wanted to love fantasy. I'm so glad this generation gets to have these stories. Make sure if you haven't pre-order this book. You won't be disappointment.

This audiobook was made available to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has multiple narrators for the multiple POV characters/chapters. I like this because this world is complicated, and this makes it easier to keep track of who is who and who said what. Plus, this has one of my favorite narrators, Bahni Turpin. There's also little musical jingles at the start of the book between sections and, at the end of the book, delightful ragtime/jazz horns.

This is a young adult fantasy novel with a magic system based somewhat on Black culture set in and around New Orleans, Louisiana. The magic system features, in part, a blend of Conjure, Hoodoo, and other African Traditional Religions; including a version of the Crossroads Man/Papa Eshu. Magic flows from the moon and sun to practitioners. With white Mages & Warlocks using the less powerful Light Magic from the sun and Black & Brown Mages using the most powerful moon magic via Generational Magic. Between the two powers sits, Shadow Magic, which is practiced by Vamps. White folks have lesser magical ability but control how all magic and magical users are legislated.

This is a tale of multiple families with a long, complicated, and political history. The important players are: The Vincent Family comprised of siblings Xavier & Aurora. The Beaumont Family comprised of Evelin (Reverend Mother of the Temple of Blood) & Benjamin (mayor) parents of Sophia. The Delacorte-Strayer Family comprised of Bradley & Heather (Delacorte) Strayer parents of Benjamin & Oswald. As well as Madeline Delacorte (cardinal white mage).
The Savant Family comprised of Arturo & Gabriela (Rosier), parents of Valentina. The Dupart-Trudeau Family comprised of Ursula, Desiree, Jacquelyn, & Rosalie Dupart, the younger sisters of Marie (Dupart) Trudeau (current Queen of the Gen Council) mother of twins Clement & Cristina.
This novel has #LGBTQA+ characters and offers non-biased representation. This story deals with the themes of justice denied and power imbalance in society and its various communities.

This book is action packed and picks right up where the first novel left off. As this is such a complicated and complex story, I'd highly recommend reading the first book in this series before this novel. If you don't want to or can't, it's OK to start with this novel as much of the action from the first novel is explained eventually in this story. The magical system is further expanded in amazing ways in this novel. Cristina, Clement, and Valentina each grow along their path and develop as they are tested by the demands of their respective choices. This tells a complete story but also sets up the next and future volumes in this series. I can not wait to read book 3!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read/listen to and review this novel. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.

I was expecting so much more from this audiobook. I read the first and really liked it; but this one fell so flat.

Thank you Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio review copy of this great book. This is a sequel to Blood Debts and we’re back to New Orleans with Cris and Clem as they’re trying to lead the magical community to the better future they all deserve. There’s a LOT going on in this book as each of the characters is focused on their own path. Lots of twists, turns, and a cliffhanger toward the end suggest an unexpected third installment. Great writing! Looking forward to the next installment.