This was a fantastic read! I love a good revenge/vengenance story. And add in some magic and I was hooked! I really liked this book from Terry J. Benton-Walker and I look forward to reading more from them in the future,

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

blood debts by terry j. benton walker: 5 out of 5 stars

i had a blast reading this. i loved every layer that was uncovered by the characters and how history and racism were woven in. i enjoyed seeing clem and cris grow in different directions and learn different lessons while also starting to get close to each other again.

there were a few times i thought there were too many POVs, but overall i had fun reading this and am excited about the sequel. thank you netgalley for an arc that i should have read a while ago!

An interesting, fast-paced read! Intriguing plot and had so much potential.

Unfortunately this book fell flat. I didn’t like the writing style and it was my biggest issue with the book. It felt choppy and almost juvenile. The dialogue was unrealistic too.

The magic system was so interesting but I wish it was expanded upon more as it plays such a major role in these characters live!!

Great premise of a book, but subpar execution.

Thank you for the ARC!

I gave this a four out of five stars, I can’t wait for book two to come out. I loved the characters and character growth in this books I love that it takes place in New Orleans. There is just something about witchy or magical books set in New Orleans my soul loves so much.

Blood Debts is a YA book about magical twin siblings, Cristina and Clement, in modern day New Orleans. Their mother was going through a medical crisis and the siblings find out that it was caused by a curse. The two then seek to find out who cursed the family and why. I love a good modern magic story, especially in a cool setting like New Orleans, and was excited to read this book!

The magic system is so cool! I loved the differences in the two types of magic and the parallels between race, control, and threat of the unknown. The author describes in the author's note that this novel was a response to police brutality in the US. I thought the translation to a magical system worked well and made me think a lot about how the areas overlapped throughout the book. I loved that it was set in New Orleans and had strong representation with points like mental health, sex work, race, and sexual identify. I thought the romance between Clem and Yves was adorable and was my favorite parts of the book.

...So I was doubly disappointed that this book struggled with dropping plot lines between characters. There was not a strong conclusion to these characters and I'm not really sure what even happened with these two or a lot of the other characters. This book is multi POV and one is the villain, who again I didn't think had a strong conclusion. I got confused with a lot of the adults and didn't feel satisfied with the ending. Which is sad because I felt like this book had a good premise, good characters, good romance, and a strong magical system. In my opinion, they did not come together well enough for me to enjoy the book. I really struggled to get through after about the first third.

I rated this book 2.5 stars rounded down to 2 due to my anger about the unresolved romance plot but raised it to 2.6 stars rounded up 3 after further reflection. I recommend giving this book a try yourself because these issues may have just been a me problem and someone might not be as bothered about it. Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I thought that Blood Debts was a good start as a debut book! A very fascinating story that kept me intrigued the whole time!!

THE 411...

New Orleans is where this story begins, the city is rife with tension between the magical and non-magical communities. We follow 16 year old twins Christina and Clementine in dual POV as they learn of their family's painful history. Thirty years ago their grandmother was accused of murder, removed from the throne as queen and lynched alongside her husband, the twins grandfather. Flash forward to present day where Chris and Clem have recently lost their father leaving them to look after their sick mother. Or so they thought. When a voodoo doll is found under their mother’s bed, they realize they’re the target of the same magical council who dethroned their grandmother and a war for the throne is on the horizon. Told in dual POV this is a YA Fantasy centered around the Trudeau family and their generational magic. There are some mystery elements that play into the overall arc as we see Christina search for answers to her family's tragic past and present day. Who is trying to kill their mother? did a spell Christina cast indirectly cause their father's death? will Christina ever practice magic again? will the crown ever return to its rightful heir in the Trudeau family?

WRITING & FINAL THOUGHTS...

New Orleans is where this story begins, the city is rife with tension between the magical and non-magical communities. We follow 16 year old twins Christina and Clementine in dual POV as they learn of their family's painful history. Thirty years ago their grandmother was accused of murder, removed from the throne as queen and lynched alongside her husband, the twins grandfather. Flash forward to present day where Chris and Clem have recently lost their father leaving them to look after their sick mother. Or so they thought. When a voodoo doll is found under their mother’s bed, they realize they’re the target of the same magical council who dethroned their grandmother and a war for the throne is on the horizon. Told in dual POV this is a YA Fantasy centered around the Trudeau family and their generational magic. There are some mystery elements that play into the overall arc as we see Christina search for answers to her family's tragic past and present day. Who is trying to kill their mother? did a spell Christina cast indirectly cause their father's death? will Christina ever practice magic again? will the crown ever return to its rightful heir in the Trudeau family?


What I Loved? the strong presence of the twins elders, grief explored, necromancy, queer main character and side characters, and last but not least Clementine's POV. I absolutely LOVED being in Clem's mind who is loving, hopeful and has a strong desire to unite his family and help them get past their differences. This is a spoiler free review so I won't go into detail but Clem's story line definitely broke my heart and got me to shed some tears. It's why I am absolutely picking up the follow-up Blood justice next Spring 2024. 

What I wanted? More of the city/setting, it’s New Orleans only because it’s stated but it’s not really shown. More of their mother's POV, after all she is the rightful heir to the throne, lastly a slightly less morose Chris. She’s a force to be reckoned with and her powers are hinted at having the potential to be huge but she lives in perpetual guilt until about the last 10% of the book. That being said, I have a ton of respect for Christina who has her boundaries set firmly in place. Non-consent is discussed when magic is used for a love spell, seeing Chris firmly oppose this was one of those moments that stand-out and give you insight to her character. We also get introduced to a few side characters, some like the necromancer are very interesting. I’d love to see them explored more in the next book, especially because it was giving Frankenstein vibes and that is one my all time favorite classics. Given that the last 20% of the book was fast paced, violent and bloody...I predict Blood Justice will be delivered swiftly and mercilessly. High hopes from this Book Lover 🤞🏽

Review goes live on LairOfBooks Blog on 6/5/2023 7am EST

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Clement and Cristina are twin siblings, legacies of a magical family in New Orleans, where tensions between those with and without magic are high. When their mother is attacked with a curse, they are forced to delve into old family conflicts and rivalries to untangle what really happened.

I had trouble getting into this one. I was expecting a historical setting, so was a little surprised that it was actually a modern-day magical setting. The magic system was interesting and I liked the complicated family dynamics. The pacing felt a little off to me, dragging in the middle, but picking up with action towards the end. There were a lot of characters and story lines to keep track of, and it made me feel a bit lost at times. I definitely think it showed potential, and I’m curious to see what this author will write next.

I wanted to like this the premise was super promising but it didnt go into the magic as much as i wanted.

I liked the comparison of magical registration to gun registration and how laws have to be adjusted to not disproportionately affect POC

Something about Clement rubs me the wrong way half the time and I don’t know why. I feel like he has a bit of a victim complex?

I feel like the beginning takes a while to connect to the point but it doesn’t feel like much set up is being done either.

Valentina felt kind of cartoonishly like a Blair Waldorf, evil queen bee type. I couldn’t take her POV chapters super seriously.

The mom and aunts literally always yelling at the twins and never answering a single question gets old fast.

I feel like the characters keep getting obsessed and trying to solve all these mini mysteries and none of them seem to connect at all to a) what is supposed to be the main mystery and b) who was trying to kill them and their mom?

Random new POVs so late in the book threw me off

I feel quite torn about this book but I think that was a "it's me, not you" kind of issue.
The different forms magic can take were so interesting and I loved the world-building Benton-Walker does. Even the characters were easy to follow and had distinguished voices that seemed realistic. However, I sometimes had the feeling that this was written by two different people. Some chapters felt so in tune with the overall plot and vibes this was going for and then there were others where I felt like... I was reading an entirely different book, almost like they were out of character which made no sense since the same characters were obviously featured.
Especially when the plot wasn't as tight and meandered, I had a hard time staying invested and making myself pick up the book.
Nevertheless, this was quite an interesting read so I hope others will adore it!

Thirty years ago, a young woman was murdered, a family was lynched, and New Orleans saw the greatest magical massacre in its history. In the days that followed, a throne was stolen from a queen.

On the anniversary of these brutal events, Clement and Cristina Trudeau―the sixteen-year-old twin heirs to the powerful, magical, dethroned family―are mourning their father and caring for their sick mother. Until, by chance, they discover their mother isn’t sick―she’s cursed. Cursed by someone on the very magic council their family used to rule. Someone who will come for them next.

Cristina, once a talented and dedicated practitioner of Generational magic, has given up magic for good. An ancient spell is what killed their father and she was the one who cast it. For Clement, magic is his lifeline. A distraction from his anger and pain. Even better than the random guys he hooks up with.

This was a fun YA read. I loved the magic and the New Orleans setting. There was lots of drama, twists and turns. I really liked Cris and Clem, but thought ,aybe there were too many POV's in this one. Still a great read for anyone wanting a quick, urban fantasy whodunit, set in the stunning New Orleans. And this cover. So good.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Okay so this premise and the prologue really drew me in, but the execution was meh.

Some of the language used in this book felt cringey to me. Clem's one night stand calls him "my king" when trying to convince him to stay, Clem calls his sister "my good sister" and "sis," Cris refers to Valentina as her "ex-bestie," and someone says "you better werk." Yeah.

The writing style never changes between POVs, and there are way too many. If we had just gotten Clem's and Cris's, that would have worked, but the book was sprinkled with Valentina, Zachary, Lenora, and Justin, which did not add anything to the story. Additionally, only Clem and Cris narrate in first person, while everyone else is third, which was... a choice.

Clem and Cris's relationship annoyed me. There's sibling rivalry and then there's this, where they get heated over the randomest things and stop talking to each other. The author tries to save it by having them think about how much they love each other, but it just didn't feel like a realistic depiction of siblings.

The instalove between Clem and Yves was really meh. They barely know each other but Clem is instantly obsessed with him. Cris becomes close friends with Aurora way too fast as well, so it might just be a relationship writing issue.

The main thing my disappointment stems from is this book's predictability. Clem and Cris face injustice that has existed for generations, and uncover the mystery that their family was screwed because of - surpise - racism.

I appreciate what the book was trying to do and it's clear that it was a labor of love. There are positive mentions of mental health and sex work, as well as issues of consent and revenge. I wish I liked it.

DNF @ 25%

It’s not you exactly, it’s mostly me. I have a very low tolerance for books where everyone feels angsty and no one really likes each other. I maxed out on teen angst watching The OC in 10th grade. Now I’m in my 30s and I need my characters to have at least one champion that absolutely adores them. This is obviously a personal preference and probably these characters start to like each other more? Or like someone? Eventually?

I also have a hard time with multiple POVs that are too similar. If all the characters are the same age I tend to get characters of the same gender mixed up. A lot of this has to do with me being an audiobook listener.

The narrators were fantastic and the audiobook was very well done.

Not all books are for all people, so this might be for you if you like really atmospheric fantasy. It seemed like it would be a fun tour around a magical New Orleans.

I feel like I’m in the minority in this, but Blood Debts really did not do it for me. I did not finish. However, my book club absolutely loved it

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker is the perfect mix of magic, family, and vengeance! The Trudeau family, once rulers of the magical community in New Orleans, is now dethroned and cursed. The teenage twin heirs, Clement and Cristina, are mourning their father's death and caring for their mother when they discover someone on the magic council has cursed her. Talk about bad luck! With time ticking away, they're on a mission to rescue their loved ones.

Benton-Walker's writing style is impressive, weaving an intricate and captivating plot to have you on the edge of your seat. You'll be captivated by the thrilling plot twists and turns woven throughout this story, leaving you anticipating what comes next. Benton-Walker has incredible attention to detail in character development, with each character having unique personalities and motivations.

Cristina's character is easy to connect with, as she has given up practicing Generational magic after the tragic death of her father, caused by an ancient spell. Her reluctance to return to magic is understandable. I adored her character arc.

Clement finds solace in magic, using it to escape his anger and suffering. His ardent devotion to the art is apparent in his words and deeds, and I was impressed by the growth of his character as the story progressed.

Overall, Benton-Walker has crafted an engaging story with compelling characters that will leave you wanting more. Blood Debts is a thrilling and captivating read that I highly recommend and give a 5 out of 5-star rating.

Benton-Walker's masterful storytelling and intricate world-building will have you eagerly anticipating the next installment in the series.

All in all, I think this was a pretty solid read. There were some interesting world/fantasy/magic elements and character work throughout. However, it didn’t particularly feel like YA to me, although not strictly Adult either. Ultimately, if this book sounds interesting to you, I think it’s worth a read as long as you’re fine with it being on the upper end of YA!

For me, I think some of the best elements of this book were the generational magic and the idea of family found within. The concept for this book is really interesting, and seeing the way it played out was probably my favourite part overall. Most of the other elements were generally fine, but nothing particularly stood out, so it’s a pretty alright book instead of a great one. I will be very interested to see how it all develops more in the sequel though.

On the other hand, I did find the plot line a little bit confusing, and I think that some of the elements meaning to be mysterious just ended up being hard to understand. While I understand it’s setting up a sequel, it felt like some elements were either introduced really late in the book or introduced with no real point in the overall story. I have my guesses as to what will happen, but it felt frustrating instead of anticipatory. I also didn’t feel as connected or invested in the story as I wanted to be, in the sense that I generally wanted to keep reading but I didn’t care as much about what was happening as I wanted to.

As I said, I think it’s a fairly solid book, and I’ll be interested to see what happens next. If this is the kind of book that usually interests you, then I would recommend it.

As Cris and Clem reclaim their family's lost legacy in vibrant New Orleans, they embark on a mesmerizing odyssey intertwined with haunting tragedy. With compelling character arcs, particularly Cristina's exploration of her father's death and her complex relationship with magic, this book captivated me! Blood Debts was one of my anticipated reads and I enjoyed it very much! Genuine representation of anxiety, nuanced sibling dynamics, diverse queer characters, skillful romance, and mesmerizing voodoo-inspired magic make it an irresistible blend of mystique and adventure!

I did not finish this at 30%. Some of the story feels a little mature to be a Young Adult book. The writing is clunky and a little too modern, so much that it pulls me out of the story. I may try to revisit in the future.