Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review. I read another review that said this was similar to Encanto and I would completely agree! So much familial magic that is written throughout the book and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

'Blood Like Magic' by Liselle Sambury follows the story of a young witch named Voya Thomas, who after years of waiting for her coming of age ritual.. a trial referred to as her Calling, ends up failing it.. and failing it spectacularly. When her ancestor gives her an unprecedented second chance.. she accepts.. only to find out it means she has to kill her first love or every Thomas witch will lose their magic.

Determined, not only to secure her own future, but more importantly.. to save her family's magic.. Voya has to quickly find the perfect guy to be her first love. Her plan? Sign up for the brand new genetic matchmaking program, fall in love, and complete her task before the big deadline.

Unfortunately, she's paired with Luc.. an infuriating guy she does not hit it off with. Caught between her personal morals and her blood obligation, if she is going to save both her heritage and Luc, she has to find something her ancestor wants more than blood.

Honestly, I really wanted to love this book. I was excited for it the moment I saw it. The premise is full of potential conflict and witchy happenings, what's not to love?

For me though, Voya is incredibly annoying. No, not just Voya.. the characters in general lack any real sense of depth, but since she's the protagonist.. most of our attention is obviously centered on her. What seems meant to be simple insecurity and indecision is presented in the whiniest, most self-involved package imaginable.

The Calling itself is an interesting concept, if a bit cringey in spots.. though that's only my personal discomfort. Regardless, it is refreshingly original and it's nice to see coming of age tied to physiological changes that are inherently feminine energy.

Though modern society has gotten really obsessed with masculine virility (and there's nothing wrong with that either or any other option), it's important to note that many ancient civilizations worshipped heavily feminine gods. Therefore, in a story throwing back even a hundred years or so and focused on an age old theory like blood magic, it adds that extra something that seems to give the story a bit more kick.

There are definitely some things that are hard to read, but that's made more so because of the root of historical truth in them. Though the specific scene is fictional, obviously there are plenty of horrible actualities it could be drawn from.. and if possible that makes it even more difficult.

Anyway, this book wasn't for me, but the writing is solid and the story is interesting. If you're sensitive to cruelty and violence, you might want to skip a couple of pages though. Otherwise, though I wasn't a fan.. if you like urban fantasy and stories about witches, give it a try.

I actually never got around to reading this book and I don't think I am. It's not because of the book itself, it looks really good, but I'm just not into YA like I used to be. I pick one up and it's just not what I want to be reading right now. However, I will definitely still recommend this book and our library has both books in this series.

If you loved encanto you should read this. Many parallels. Matriarchy, family member we dont talk about, a unique magic to each family member except our main character who hasnt come into her magic.

This reallystruggled in the beginning but then picked up in the last 25% and I absolutely loved it. Luc is a great love interest, I love our main character and their chemistry, and the ending had a lot of pieces i did not see coming which was a pleasant surprise.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review

When I first opened Blood Like Magic, I was so intrigued by the first line. You know those kinds of first lines that leave a lasting impression? Blood Like Magic has one, a damn good one.

“There’s something about lounging in a bath of blood that makes me want to stay until my fingers shrivel enough to show the outlines of my bones.”

I mean I don’t know about you, but that just screamed read me right now. And I don’t really know how to feel about this book. It was good but at the same time, it wasn’t.

One of the best parts of this book was the family. It’s rare to see such an awesome family dynamic in a YA book. There is no doubt that this family LOVES each other. Even when people screw up and make big mistakes, they have each other’s backs.

Now the pacing issues, some parts were easy to read while others I had to force myself to read because it was slow. There were multiple parts where nothing was happening and it took so much energy to continue to read. I admit some parts I skimmed because I couldn’t handle it anymore.

But the ending? Literally makes no sense and I am looking forward to the next book to explain what the heck happened. I do not see a way out of this ending so it will be super interesting to see where this goes.

I thought this book was so fun, yet a classic take on urban fantasy that of course I loved--especially centered on a Black girl! I would absolutely recommend this to my students looking for a paranormal read.

I wanted to like this book so much more than I actually did… honestly it’s probably like a 2.75 rating. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

1) I kind of hated the whole “you become a witch once you get your period” thing because they focused on it way too much. I’m all for normalizing periods, but I don’t want to listen to them talk about stewing in their own blood in the bath.
2) Luc was super annoying the whole time. I just never ended up liking him or Voya… I’d rather have the story focus on Keis or Alex.
3) Quite literally how did no one pick up on the fact that “you have to destroy your first love” never once mentions the word “kill” in it?? My immediate first thought was “Wow, she should just make it so Luc loses his internship, that would destroy his life”. I also figured from the beginning that first love meant a family member or cooking or something, because she definitely was not in love with Luc.
4) SHE CHOSE A BOY’S HAPPINESS OVER HER COUSIN’S?!? AND IN THE WORST POSSIBLE WAY??????? Idk, that part was unforgivable to me, maybe this book deserves a 2 star rating instead lol.

Little baby Eden is the only reason this book gets at least 2 stars. She was so cute. I will maybe read the sequel, if only to know how Keis can be rescued from her awful fate.

Blood Like Magic is a fun YA fantasy-science fiction novel set in a dystopian future. Liselle Sambury blends the two genres in a remarkable way and sets up a magic system that draws readers into the story. What happens when Voya gets a second chance to complete her Calling and come into her powers, but that second chance requires killing her first love or every witch in her family will be stripped of their powers? To make matters more complicated, Voya hasn't fallen in love yet. There is a genetic matchmaking program Voya can use to speed up the process - only her match is Luc, who wants nothing to do with her. The stakes are at their highest in this fun, fast-paced diverse fantasy story. Highly recommended!!

The premise for this book is intriguing: a young witch must kill her first love to come into her magic and protect her family. This book is full of diverse and interesting characters: the MC is Trinidadian-Canadian and her family traditions take center stage. Characters come from other background as well and there is a range of sexualities and gender identities represented. As an adult reader, this didn't captivate me but I think it will find a real readership with a YA audience.

Blood Like Magic is a love story, but it is also the authors love letter to women finding themselves while in tough situations. The main character, Voya is relatable and strong but she grows and readers will grow with her. Blood Like Magic will leave readers begging for the sequel!
I have never read a book with a more interesting concept! Even though it's set on a futuristic Earth Sambury built an entire magic system that readers will admire.
Blood Like Magic moves quickly and stays interesting through the entire story. I definitely recommend picking up this book if you enjoy books with magic and strong leads!

Review also on Bookstagram.

I'm always on the lookout for new fantasy books. This book did not disappoint! The world building in Blood Like Magic was built pretty well and felt both real and fantastical. The characters were compelling and likable. The plot was a little slow. I think the author was trying to slowly build up the pressure/stakes, but with a plot of trying to kill your first love, well I did expect it to be a little more fast-paced. But at the end, the story was good and looking forward to the next book. I think my students will enjoy this great take win urban fantasy/fantasy romance.

This book was very well written, with amazing characters that it was impossible not to fall in love with. I loved Voya and her devotion to her family. Her indecisiveness was nuanced, depicted not entirely as a negative. I found it relatable and I liked how it worked towards the plot and Voya's character. I also loved the magic system and futuristic world. It was explained very well but not all at once. The idea of specific magical gifts also lent to the characters and helped make them more unique. The plot was where I struggled. I liked the mystery and the romance, but I could see many possible solutions and loopholes to Voya's task from the start. I went along because I was curious to see what she would do, and if it would be more clever than what I thought of, but in the end I did not like her solution, and I really did not like the messy ending with her, Luc, and her family. All that said, this book is definitely worth reading for the characters alone.

The blend of sci-fi and fantasy was so interesting! I will definitely be reading the next one.

Thank you for the arc in exchange for a review!

I was super excited to read this book. Everything about this book seemed right up my alley. This book has witches and the main character faces an impossible task: she has to kill her first love. Sounds great, right?

Sadly, I could tell immediately that this book wasn’t for me. The author’s writing style didn’t work for me. You know how sometimes you start a book and you feel a disconnect? That’s how I felt. The beginning was info-dumpy. Then, on top of that, I felt no connection to the main character and I wasn’t a fan of the magic system.

All of these reasons listed above are why I ended up not finishing this book. I hate not finishing a book, but I didn’t want to force myself. All that being said, if you’re interested in this book, then give it a chance! You might love it. This book just wasn’t for me.

Generally a good book, kept my attention. The story was great, characters well thought out, and the pacing was good. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would read more by this author!! Thank you so much for the ARC!

DNF due to triggering content, though this one is entirely my fault as I disregarded the lengthy and detailed content warnings provided by the author in the book and thought I could power through them. The concept of the book is gorgeous - generational magic passed through a family of black witches, contemporary fantasy with romance and familial love, and a protagonist's internal struggle with the pressure of responsibility placed on her. I'm honoring this book by giving a full 5-star review and I hope to revisit it in the future with the content warnings in mind.

Wow. That's all I can say is WOW! Everything about this was out of this world to be honest. The magic system that Liselle created had be sucked in from the beginning. While this could definitely classified as an urban fantasy, I loved the contemporary-esque elements involved. The focus on familial pressures, how secrets destroy relationships, and trying to figure out how to find yourself when you have no idea who you want to be, hit me right in the chest. Don't get me wrong, Voya frustrated me throughout the entire story, but I also understood her. She had a lot placed on her shoulders and it's hard to break out of people pleasing and stand strong in your decisions when you've had a life of people disappointing you and also telling you that your worth is measured in the gifts you have or what you can provide to your family. I can't wait for the next book.

CW for blood, discussions of murder, ritual sacrifice, dysfunctional family relationships, systemic racism, torture, familial death

This book is so creative! A family of Trinidadian witches in a cyberpunk Toronto = YES PLEASE.

When Voya Thomas fails the Calling that ought to bestow magical powers on her, she's given one more chance by her ancestor to succeed. If she fails, not only will she never have magic... her family will lose their magic, too. But the task is terrible: she needs to destroy her first love.

Too bad she's never been in love.

To protect her family, Voya sets out to A) fall in love and B) murder that love. When she's matched with grumpy trans techie Luc by a genetic matchmaking service, it seems she's found her target... if only he seemed inclined to fall in love with her. But as they grow closer, Voya finds herself torn between family and first love, and no matter what she chooses, someone's going to get hurt - not least Voya herself.

This was great. Vivid, fast-paced writing, impeccable worldbuilding, and so many lovable characters. I adored it and can't wait to read the sequel!

Man I just do not know how to feel about this. Like, it was excitingly written and way cool, but it had a truly large number of murders and horrible deeds (how could she do that to her cousin? How?!) for a character/family who wasn't even really written as an anti hero.