Clement and Cristina Trudeau are sixteen-year-old twin heirs to a disgraced but powerful magical family that saw their matriarch dethroned by some pretty vicious and powerful enemies nearly thirty years ago. Fast forward to the present-day and it seems like the same folks that usurped, nay murdered, their grandmother all those years ago are still out to wreak havoc on their family when they discover that their mother has now been cursed in a pretty bad that was seemingly meant to kill her as well.

So what do you do when you have tremendous conjure magic flowing through your veins, you just discover that your mother has been hexed, and it's likely by the same folks who usurped your family’s crown in the first place? You take a beat to readjust your crown and you team up with your equally powerful twin to take your family’s legacy back, that's what you do!

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker is a marvelous debut that tells the story of powerful magical families, intergenerational curses, and twisted family dynamics in contemporary New Orleans. Touching on themes of grief, racism, mental health, as we well as some political machinations and backstabbing thrown in, this book does a wonderful job of highlighting traditional african spiritual practices as well as the journey to self-discovery especially when destiny is calling and it doesn’t feel like you’re ready or prepared.

So do I recommend this book? Hell yes! I really enjoyed my time while I was reading and even though some bits were slightly predictable from the whodunnit perspective, the overall story and pacing were written really well and I look forward to seeing where the author will take the characters as it's the first in a series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Teen for the e-ARC. Pub date April 4, 2023

I’m not sure why, but I was expecting this to be a stand alone story, but the book ends just as things are happening and certain story threads are completely unresolved, so I assume there will be another book to follow this one. This story focuses on siblings, Cris and Clem, and although we get parts of both of their stories in this book, it felt very much like Cris’s story. Based in where the book leaves the reader, I hope the next book will focus on Clem. I need to know what happens next!

This was such a fun, spooky fantasy thriller! One thing I really liked about the world was that magic wasn't a secret like in many paranormal novels. Everyone knows about magic, and as such, it's turned into a political issue. This concept and how it relates to race was explored heavily through the events in the book. I really liked Clement and Cristina; while I tend to relate to female main characters in most of the books I read, I really related to Clem's anxiety and the pressure he felt on a daily basis to live up to his family's expectations. While the twins were mostly following their own mysteries for most of the book before they eventually came together, I was equally invested in both situations. At first, I didn't like the chapters from side characters like Valentina. Especially with Valentina, I knew from Cristina's POV that she wasn't a good person. But I do think that showing her relationship with her grandmother added more layers to Lenora's true nature and eventual fate. Seeing her dote on Valentina and obviously love her very much, contrasted with how she acted with literally every other character was a great use of the shock factor. The cliffhanger at the end made me really mad so I can't wait for the next book!

3.5

The New Orleans setting was so top notch in this book, I want more books with this as the back drop, it felt so real and I loved the historical magic representative of the city.

Dual POV, brother and sister, BIPOC rep, LGVTQI+ rep, which is just so important in YA books.

Fast paced and fun, with darkness lurking at the edges.

The characters were funny and well developed my only major issues were some editing errors I felt that could have been tidied up and the ending was far too rushed.

This author is going places and I think this book will be a hit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Torbooks for the digital ARC all opinions are my own

Thank you to the publishers at netgally for sending me an eArc I am so incredibly greatful

Oh my goodness, this book! The themes, the characters, the magic, everything!! Considering the length of this book I sped through reading it and it had me caught from the very start. This was written so well, it was extremely easy to read and it was easy to understand the magic system. The magic system was so beautiful and I also loved the way it highlighted racism and how it’s utterly ridiculous to treat people different just because they look different.

Clem and Christine have my whole heart for so many different reasons. The way they were both written with so much depth just made me feel for them and relate to them and the way that they showed coping with trauma was so incredibly beautiful. I loved Christine for the way she wished the best for her family and for the fact that she was brave and embraced her magic and that helped save other people. I loved Clem because I can never not love some good queer representation, but he also broke my heart, he was such a beautiful character who wanted the absolute best for everyone and I think he’s the person everyone would want as a friend. Clem broke my heart with his magic, but I loved the way it was foreshadowed and when the plot started to turn I just new I would root for him and whatever mistakes he made.

The plot of this book, is amazing. A magical mystery! It was executed perfectly and now all I need is a sequel. The way small details fit together to create the story of what truely happened to the Duparts just made it worth the read and then to see the scene I like to call Blood Debts just was the cherry on top.

I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes magic and justice and of course a good mystery!

Blood Debts was a well developed fantasy mystery with touches of romance and a heavy multigenerational family drama. I enjoyed the multiple point of views, although I preferred to read Clem’s the most, followed by Cris. The plot was complex and while the mystery isn’t difficult, the steps taken to get justice are intricate. The story ties with only part of it resolved and there is a cliffhanger ending. Overall, I enjoyed the rich magical culture and familial relationships that evolved throughout the book and plan to read the sequel.

The cover for this is hands down the best one that I have seen in awhile! The culture of it and all! LOVE IT!
While the writing for this book wasn’t what I expected it to be I still enjoyed it. I thought that it would read “older” at least older teen young adult YA but I’d honestly let my daughter 13 read this. Which isn’t to say that it isn’t a good book, just that it isn’t for the older crowd looking for a more in-depth writing style.

Obsessed with the plot line and CAN NOT wait for the finished book to come out! It’s going to be a good one if you can find the right people to market it to!

What did I not love about this book? Literally nothing. This was amazing and I will not stop raving about it for a long while, I’m sure. I’m definitely partial to witch stories, but this one was next level. Cris and Clem are descended from magical royalty, but there family is in disgrace after being accused of murdering the white mayor’s daughter 30 years ago. With their father dead and their mother suffering from an unexplained illness, Cris and Clem are left mostly to their own devices. But when they discover that there mother isn’t ill, she’s actually been hexed, they set out to discover not only who put the hex on her, but if their family really was guilty of the decades old crime. Danger lurks around every corner, but so do friends and family who are willing to help.

This was a delightful yet heavy read - how Benton-Walker interwoven the types of magic with left and right politics was fascinating and something I have never seen before.Highly, highly recommend.

This book was amazing. I loved all the magic in it, we go from love spells to necromancy to gods to moonlight to fire! It also tackles important topics and has great black & LGBT+ rep! I love the main twin characters but I'm super interested in Valentina and Aurora too. Really excited for book two already!

“Blood Debts” is an exciting contemporary fantasy debut that’s full of mystery, twists and turns and a beautiful story about family, generational trauma, love, loss and the ties that bind us and the things we inherit from our relatives, good and bad.I can’t express enough joy at reading a gay male POC protagonist in a fantasy story. There’s not enough of this. Gay men should get to be main characters more often in every genre! Overall I enjoyed it, but I do have some minor gripes. I wish that Clem and Cristina had more distinct voices cause I would find myself reading a chapter and some point forget which character I was reading and I usually don’t have issues like that. I also felt like the magic system could have been fleshed out a little more. The messaging at times can be a little strange in the way it’s delivered, it often feels like it isn’t growing organically from the storytelling. It also takes a little bit to find its footing and felt like maybe it was a tad too long. Still this is a fine debut that is sure to delight readers and it’s filled with characters and stories that don’t get enough attention and representation in the publishing world. This is an excellent start to what is sure to be a great series. Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for honest review.

As a Black women with the love of magic and fantasy I loved the story! this author has major potential and I will be sharing this with my friends and family.

‘Blood Debts’ by Terry J. Benton-Walker was amazing: magical, atmospheric, and emotional. Absolutely, highly recommended!

If you like the family drama, New Orleans setting, power struggles, and magic of The Originals you're going to love this book!

We follow Clement and Cristina as they try to uncover who cursed their mother. After their fathers death the siblings have a falling out. The investigation brings the grieving siblings together as they must uncover the truth about who cursed their mother before they become the next targets.

Clement feels abandoned by his sister and his aunt's when they decide to shut him out. As a way to cope he has a series of flings with boys. While Cristina carries a guilt that has caused her to turn her back on magic since her father's death.

I loved so much about this book especially the siblings and their dynamic. They fought but in the end they were there for each other and cared about each other a lot. The magic system was intricate and I loved that it called upon ancestors for it to work. I know the author took inspiration from voodoo and I think he took great care of the traditions he was inspired by. It was also refreshing to see that the teens interacted with the grownups which I don't see much in YA fantasy. I liked seeing their aunt's all with very different personalities come together to protect the family. The New Orleans setting was another thing I loved. It's such a history rich city that lent itself well to this story.

Seeing the magical power struggle between the different magic factions was also very interesting to me.

So if all of this sounds interesting to you definitely check out this book!!!
Out April 4 2023!

DID NOT FINISH! Stopped at 30% / Ch 10

Plot: The concept gets a 5. I wanted this book so badly and just...could not.
Characters: 2
Writing Style: 3
Cover: 5
Enjoyment: 2
Buyable/Re-readable?: Not for me.

→ Need to include the disclaimer that I am not Black, and therefore may have received this differently.

→ This book would have been so amazing! It has generational, light, and shadow magic branches, which sound neat as heck, coupled with Mages, Queens, Cardinals, etc. Generational has a focus on the Moon, Light the Sun...ugh, I wanted to bask in all of it.
→ Three voices - 1st POV for twins, Cris and Clem, 3rd for Val. Not sure why Mom and Granny, etc are in present tense vs her mom, etc. That style made for awkward reading, honestly. Thus far (chapter three), not much of a difference in voices. Plus, a Zachary, Lenora, Jean-Louise.
→ Like some name choices.
→ Stop telling me the same things over and over, please.
→ A ton of cursing… like, I get younger characters, but everyone swears a questionable amount (and I love to use curse words), including adults around younger characters. Like, every character is angsty AF (or badass or bold or insert similar adjective here, since the characters were all similar, so much so I would forget whose chapter I was reading).
→ Ch. 2 - Confusing scene with Cris re: Oz - loves him and then gets into major accusation fight? IDEK.
→ A few run-on sentences.
→ Ch. 6 - The character states they can't do anything to stop their aunt...but then tries to intervene. ??
→ Overusing the whole "it's all up to me" burden.
→ Overusing "Can't tell him, I'll lose him, he'll hate me," blah, blah, blah.
→ Points for discussing lynching, mental illness (a character takes and openly discusses anxiety meds).

Thank you Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 but rounding up to 3 stars.
Judging by the gorgeous cover and the setting being magical New Orleans I wanted to like this book so bad. And there were parts I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved the dynamic of Clem and Cris, and as a twin myself it felt like a genuine depiction and was easy to connect with. My other favourite relationship was between Clem and Yves. While maybe a tad rushed, they were just too cute not to immediately adore. Though the family dynamics were by far the highlight of the book.
Unfortunately there was a lot that I just couldn’t get into. I went in knowing that it was a YA debut however the prose really through me off. It just felt a bit to immature even for YA. The povs that weren’t Clem and Cris felt thrown in unnecessarily and took away from the overall plot. I also really hate the “homophobic bully is secretly gay” trope which was present but honestly could’ve been removed and not taken away from the story.

Overall I enjoyed the idea of the book, and certain dynamics but there was lots that could’ve been edited out that made it a miss for me.

This book sounded so good, but I ended up not really enjoying it. The writing and story was just dull to me. Not for me.

This ended up being so much better than I was expecting. It hits on so much relevance in the world today in a way that young people can truly see and feel seen.

Magic and mystery two of my favorites.

This book is an emotional roller coaster.

I read it in one sitting.

I fell in love with some characters, hated other. I felt love, anger, despair, and hope.

The book made me leave wanting more

Highly recommend

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars.

Spoilers ahead. I will not reveal anything big - most of the review vaguely alludes to plot, structure, and characters.

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The plot of this book was so interesting to me, and it was incredibly well crafted. I found that it progressed well for the most part, but it definitely did drag on at points for me. The characters were the shining spot for me - they were all very well crafted and multifaceted. I was incredibly grateful to be able to experience how cultures other than the "majority" interact with magic (and by "majority" I mean that so much of fantasy is white, and as such is grossly considered the default by many). Having Black culture intersecting with magic is an important aspect of the genre that needs more focus and attention. Overall, I really liked this book, and the only reason it is getting 4 out of 5 stars is because I went into it expecting a bit more mystery, and that aspect of the plot didn't quite do the trick for me.

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Again, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book*

"Blood Debts" is a contemporary fantasy novel about New Orleans, about magic, about intergenerational curses and feuds, and about racism, lynchings, and the aftermath of slavery. While the magic system is influenced by voodoo and the author's own heritage, it does not feel stereotypical. I had some trouble to get into the story though because there was so much past history, ongoing mystery, and the connection to various characters that I somewhat lost track. I could also foresee some of the major twists and was not really surprised. In addition, the ending felt kinda rushed and I feel like there's a sequel lurking in the corner because the fight very much isn't over. But overall this was enjoyable and nicely queer. 3.5 stars