Set in New Orleans, two twins must deal with a legacy of magic and curses in their family.

An interesting world of magic. I wish there had been more background early on but overall an interesting magical book!

Firstly - thank you to torteen and netgalley for the e-arc of Blood Debts. The title and cover hooked me right away and I couldn't wait to start reading.

Clem and Cris are twins and their sibling bond is strained after the death of their father due to magic and a mysterious death. There are many families at play in the hierarchy of magic and once their mother also falls ill - they start to uncover some truths that had been hidden away for many years in regards to these families. They are faced with uncovering things that have tried to stay hidden as well as growing back into themselves after the traumas they have faced.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book when I picked it up because it seemed to kick off right from the start with some action. I enjoyed the plot and the characters (although the dialogue was sometimes a little bit funny) and there were no dull moments in this book! The middle did feel like there was a lot going on but the end of the book ties up all of the loose ends nicely.

If you are a fan of magical realism, sibling bonds, character building and multiple POVs this book is the one for you! Based on the last sentence of the book - I am intrigued to see where this takes off next.

Blood Debts follows twin siblings, Cris and Clem, as they investigate their mother’s mysterious illness. The story is set in New Orleans and involves generational black magic, necromancy and light magic.

According to the publisher this book is targeted as YA for teens ages 13-18. In my opinion, while the writing style was appropriate, thematically this should be geared to the higher age range of YA.

The plot felt a bit uneven. I didn’t always understand what was going on. The use of magic was good. Definitely some irredeemably bad antagonists. Never got much layer to their motives and they felt a bit one- dimensional. I also wanted more emphasis of the city.

There were parts I really liked and parts I didn’t. The last 20-25% was probably the best of the book. I’d read another book in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

First of all, thank you to TOR and NetGalley for the E-Arc. It was most appreciated.

Now…on to why we are here.

So, the premise of this book was everything I was wanting and craving in anticipated books this year. Magic, New Orleans, siblings (even twins at that), a curse and mystery. Ooh wee, serve it to me on a platter. This was screaming I’m going to be so good. I’m going to be one of your top reads of the year. What’s that noise at when they lose on the Price is Right…yeah that is what was playing in my head.

I have been honestly trying to write this review for a few days because I sat with the book to think of a gracious way to say the things I wanted to say after reading a 5-star review given to this from one of my favorite authors.

One very amazing thing I do have to say is that the Black and LGBTIA+ representation in this is absolutely fantastic. That is one thing that Benton-Walker did not pull punches on. She showed up for that with a fierceness that impressed and did not disappoint.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to bash Blood Debts. It was a decent book for a YA fantasy and maybe it is me and just the reading stage I’m in my life. I’m not going to rush out and buy the physical copy for my shelf. What I’m saying is that, in MY opinion, idea of the story was great, but the prose just didn’t hold it up throughout the entirety of the book. It fell flat in parts and tended to get whiney and immature at parts. I kept putting this book down and then returning to it to read a couple of chapters between other books and then putting it down and going back. It took me over a month to finish this because it just couldn’t hold my attention.

Cris and Clem were interesting characters in the beginning and interesting to get to know and but just became kind of annoying and self -centered the more and more I read and I just couldn’t deal with them for long amounts of time. And the aunts were just a lot along with the multitude of side characters. It just became a chore to me. But I’m sure this will be MANY, MANY people’s cup of brew and they will love it and truly hope they do, it just wasn’t for me.

Three stars.

This book is phenomenal! I loved it from beginning to end. It has a bit of Louisiana culture, a bit of cajun culture, a whole lot of meaty story to keep you entertained, and a great plot. It's a great mystery/fantasy YA.

I had a thousand high hopes for Blood Debts due to the premise and featured cover. However; I could not get into the story and felt the chapter lengths were very long for a young adult read. I did enjoy the three character arc stories and wanted to know more about them however; this would have been done better with shorter chapters and quick pacing moments. While I had to “DNF” this book at twenty four percent, I have high hopes for this author and look forward to trying another book that he puts out.

This is a great contemporary YA with magical elements that pave the way for lots of intrigue. The main character points of view are the two siblings and I appreciated how their narratives and perspectives differed. The mystery and the overall plot kept me hooked until the end, and the writing style was highly engaging. All in all this was a great read and I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a contemporary YA fantasy. A huge thank you to the author, publisher, and B2Weird tours for organizing a tour and providing me a free copy of this arc in exchange for participation and review!

This book has a ton of characters to keep track of and is fairly repetitive. I wish some plot/backstory aspects were mentioned just a few times rather than anything associated witj them was brought up (the purported reason behind the father's passing for example). The book overall isn't for me, but I know it will be for folks that enjoy contemporary fantasy set in real, rich locations like New Orleans.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC! I loved the prose in this one, and the characters and plot were both very intricately woven! I especially enjoyed the nuance of the different characters, especially Cristina. They weren't anywhere close to perfect but I loved rooting for them! The middle fell a little flat for me action-wise, but other than that I really enjoyed this and I can't wait to recommend it to customers and look out for more books from this author!

What a great story! I loved how different this book was compared to the other YA fantasy books I've ready. I could not stop reading.

I chose to DNF at 38%. While I loved the events happening, the magic, and themes. I struggled greatly with the monotony in each of the character’s thoughts, actions, etc. Not only that, but a lot of the internal and external dialogue was the same/similar each time we met the character. There wasn’t any development for them. The repetition could easily have been mitigated if each character hadn’t been in a constant state of ‘woe is me.’ Through the almost 40% of the book I read, I was struggling to get the same voice from the author that we got in his author’s note.
2/5 stars

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Blood Debts releases April 4, 2023

2.5

This is a multi-pov story set in modern day New Orleans, where we uncover the (predictable) truths behind a stolen legacy from 30 years ago within the Gen Council.

Part of me feels like this would have been much stronger written as a historical fantasy. This came across as less fantasy, and more so a subdued mystery with a sliver of magic/voodoo/necromancy.

The writing often shifted between first and third narration, and I wish they chose to stick with just one to keep it cohesive.

The reveals were spotted miles away, and the only thing I found remotely interesting was the identity of Jacquelyn’s baby daddy.

I would have wished for more of an on page rivalry directly tied to the gen council between the Savant’s and the Trudeau’s to make this more high stakes and engaging of a read.
Perhaps utilizing a past/present style with flashbacks of the murder from 30 years ago would allow the reader to feel more connected and invested.

Some character pov’s weren’t necessary at all in the grand scheme of things, like Zachary’s, whereas it probably would have been beneficial to further develop others, like Oz’s, since he was directly in the middle of both rivaling families.
I also think that the descriptive sex scene could have had the same overall effect if it was written more fade to black, because as it stands now, it really sticks out from the story as a whole since the rest of the writing had a more YA tone.

Unsure if this will have a sequel… right now, there’s definitely an open opportunity for that in regards to Yves’ plotline. If that’s the case, I would hope for richer and complex world building and deeper developed characters.

Thirty years ago the matriarch of New Orleans magical community was lynched along with her husband. Now, twin heirs to her legacy, Clement and Cristina Trudeau, are trying to cope with the sudden death of their own father and equally sudden illness of their mother. Except neither event could be blamed on chance or natural causes, instead someone has cursed the family. As the twins work to unravel what is happening it becomes more and more clear that the events surrounding their grandmother's murder are playing a direct role in their current losses.

Benton-Walker creates a phenomenally lived in magic system and world with this book. It is messy and painful and still filled with the potential of love and growth. This magic system mirrors the way that Benton-Walker writes about family in a fascinating way. The ambition and loyalty that is attributed to each character within that context drove the plot and my enjoyment of the book. The nature of that ambition played so well who the reader was meant to cheer for while being perfectly mirrored in others, offering a complex understanding of how real people move through the world.The mystery of the book wasn't particularly complicated but it never needed to be. The goal was more to understand how far someone would go for power, for family, for a second chance. That goal is what made this book a fun read.

3 🌟

Blood debts had all the elements to be a complete hit for me. It brought fantasy, supernatural, witches, magic, friendship and love. What I wasn’t expecting was the underlying strong sense of racial tension that was very much a main part of the storyline.

Blood debts in some ways reminded me of beautiful creatures, but I quite enjoyed the beautiful creatures series a bit better.

The characters through this book were quite busy getting themselves and others in all the predicaments they could muster and some never felt quite concluded.

Unless you enjoy being pitted against other races, I wouldn’t recommend this book.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Blood Debts is an intriguing YA contemporary fantasy debut, weaving Black history and social justice into a magical story. I was immediately intrigued by the magic system, which is inspired by voodoo, and how it ties into Black heritage and community. And while I’ve never been to New Orleans, I felt I got a sense of the landscape and scope of the place, albeit with an infusion of magic.
The family dynamics form a central part of the narrative, from that between co-protagonists, twins Clement and Cristina to the rest of the Dupart family. They’re a bit messy and chaotic, but endearing all the same. I also enjoyed seeing Clem and Cris come into their own, both individually and together, especially as they faced some of the magical and societal challenges life threw at them. Cristina’s arc in particular struck me, as she is dating a white boy, and he is one of many white people who express a bit too much covetous interest in their magic. But Clem also won me over, as he’s also navigating his own misadventures in love as a Black queer teen boy.
There’s a lot of unrest and intrigue, and myriad twists and turns, so there’s pretty much always something going on. Sometimes the story feels a little too intricate, but I managed to follow it, from the murder mystery to the “smaller” situations, fairly well. The pacing does take time to build, but the intrigue is there early on, and picks up steam gradually before really hitting at around the halfway point.
This is a solid debut, and I am interested to see what Benton-Walker writes next. If you’re interested in contemporary fantasy set in New Orleans and/or following Black leads, I recommend checking this out!

As a Louisiana native, it's very easy to find books set in New Orleans, but much less so to find ones that portray the city (and voodoo especially) with respect. I was shocked to learn Terry wasn't from here, as this is the most respectful rendition of New Orleans magic fantasy I've ever seen.
Blood Debts follows a Black family who have had their rightful place as leaders in the magical world taken away from them. When their mother almost dies from a curse, twins Cris and Clem decide to find out once and for all who has it out for their family. The web of hate and lies they uncover is bigger than they imagined.
The story itself was enchanting, and the characters endearing. But I was always especially impressed by the author's depiction of magic in New Orleans.
I'm absolutely snatching up the sequel when it comes out.

I really struggled through this one. I felt like my attention was being pulled in a hundred different directions at once in this story. This is interesting, and it's entertaining, but I think I would have loved this a lot more if each point of interest was given enough space to really be thorough with these ideas.

Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC of Blood Debts. I, for the most part, enjoyed my time reading.

Blood Debts takes you into the magical world of Cristina and Clem, two twin siblings in New Orleans, Louisiana. I found the strongest part of this book was the lore behind it and the way the magic system in the story worked. I found myself itching to know more as I made my way through the book. The mystery involved in the book was also quite interesting, and I felt the setting created the perfect backdrop.

I do wish that we had more time with Cristina and Clem, our two main characters. The story is told in multiple POVs, but I felt as though not all of them were needed to tell this story. I would've loved to solely have a dual POV between Cristina and Clem, as they are the driving force of the story. I also would've loved a slightly faster pace, as for me, I felt the plot really only started to pick up in the latter half of the book.

There were a couple of loose ends I'm still left asking questions about, so I'm hoping that this becomes a series and we can delve deeper into this world.

In spite of my few small critiques, this was a joyous experience and I would definitely recommend picking up this book once it comes out.

I loved the themes of reparations, justice and magic but overall, the book felt very underdeveloped. From the description, this book had a lot of potential but I think the many different plot points distract from the overall story and lead to underdeveloped plots and characters.

Even still, I liked some of the characters and finished the book. I just wish the writing had been a bit more substantial and shown rather than told.

An interesting premise that Benton-Walker delivered on. The characters felt realistic and whole, individual with their own identities, wants, and opinions. I liked that they weren't on the same page always and that I could predict how Clem and Cris would respond to each other's actions. It showed me that the author had a clear grasp of the characters, enough that I did too.

This is a great story for fans of sprawling fantasies with intricate worldbuilding. I didn't particularly love the large cast and complex history, but I don't think they were poorly executed at all. I definitely started to get the hang of it toward the end.

Cris's romantic storyline felt a little rushed towards the 75% mark. While the subplot with her boyfriend Oz was great from a worldbuilding perspective as it showed me the dynamic of magic among different communities and how that can affect interpersonal relationships, I don't think it had much value for Cris as a character, and while I appreciated where it was trying to go, the reveal came too late and so her emotional arc in response to it felt too rushed. There were a few lines that felt dramatic considering how quickly the revelation went by, so we didn't get the full breadth of what was supposed to be her betrayal.

Still, an excellent debut that surpasses some of its contemporaries and I highly recommend!