I feel like I might be the only person on the planet who was not super invested in this book! This is a story with a bit of mystery and intrigue, a bit of sibling relationship exploration, and a lot of love toward the written word. But I just felt like it was taking a bit too long for anything to happen, which made it hard to keep pressing forward. If you really like to get swept up in the details of a world, then this book is for you. If you prefer action-driven plot, then maybe try something else.

This one had me intrigued. The publisher description hit all the right spots for me. Sisterhood. Magic. Drama and mystery.

I wanted to be hooked.

I wasn't until the 60% mark and, in my opinion, that's too long.

The first (roughly) 30% of the book is told in alternating POV from two characters, two estranged sisters. A third character is added at that point. Between the three of them, they take us into a world where spells are inked in blood in books. There are scribes and those that can read the spells.

It was the alternating section, the world building and the character development that I struggled with. It just felt clunky. I kept feeling like I was missing things or that references to seemingly important things were dropped in but not picked up again.

At about the 60% mark, the stories of the three characters converge. I liked that part. It's where we got some more understanding about what was going on, the betrayals became evident and, shall we say, the plot thickened. I felt like, at this point, some things finally clicked into place and the end was satisfying. I just wish it hadn't taken so long.

Thank you to the publisher, HCC Frenzy, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Esther and Joanna have always known that their family’s collection of books is extremely rare and valuable and has been guarded by several generations, for these are magical books that allow the person who reads them to cast certain spells. But this magic comes at a cost, and the sisters have not seen each other in many years. Esther fled home, never staying too long in one place to escape the fate that befell her mother and Joanna lives an isolated life in their family home, caring for and guarding the books. But when their father dies suddenly after reading a book that Joanna is certain is not part of their collection, it’s up to the sisters to figure out what happened and protect both themselves and their family’s prized books. Esther is being hunted by a mysterious foe and as she begins to seek answers, she realizes that there is more to the world of magic than her father ever told her – more possibilities to what magic can do, but also more dangers and secrets than she ever imagined.

Libraries full of magical books and spells was literally the only thing I needed to hear to add this to my TBR. That the early reviews for this were already pretty favourable was a bonus. The premise for this book also reminded me vaguely of Sorcery of Thorns with the magical library full of secrets, one of my favorite reads, so I was excited to pick this up.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe had a really unique premise – many families across the world with the gift of magic in their bloodlines collect handmade books that allows them to cast spells. But these books can only be used a certain number of times, and it takes a Scribe to write a new one – and Scribes are incredibly rare, not to mention that they have to write the book in their own blood, an effort that has often killed them. Joanna and Esther come from one such family that owns a sizeable collection, but where Joanna has the ability to hear and use these books, Esther is completely unaffected by magic of any kind.

This book is technically urban fantasy, but seeing as most of the story takes place in the characters’ homes which were so steeped in magic, it didn’t have the feel of the genre – a good thing for me at any rate because I always have trouble with stories that reference magic and modern technology in the same line, it makes it hard for me to get into the mood of a fantasy novel.

Honestly though, in terms of plot and world building, this book had so much more potential than was used. Even once the story started moving faster, I kept checking Goodreads to make sure it was a standalone, because the depth of the concepts as well as the leisurely pace was characteristic of what I usually see in the first book of a series. But this was actually a standalone, and pacing aside, I’m quite impressed with the amount of detail the author has managed to go into in a single book.

The way this book started, without too many explanations, made it a little confusing for me. Ink Blood Sister Scribe definitely took its own sweet time to actually get things moving, focusing more on the characters lives at that moment in time before actually providing enough plot context to understand what was going on and figure out how the different POV characters were going to be connected.

This made this book kind of a difficult read initially, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through 400+ pages of this. While it did take quite some time for the narrative to stop dragging, close to 35% of the book, the pacing did eventually pick up and I fairly flew through the rest of it, much to my surprise. It was an engaging read throughout and even in the parts where the story dragged, there was enough going on to hold the reader’s attention and curiosity, and the mounting tension in the plot kept me turning the pages.

Characters wise, I felt that Esther was the best in terms of character development and I found it easiest to follow the plot as well through her arc. Joanna, to a lesser extent, though I found it very odd that neither sister thought to question anything that their father told them in all those years and simply agreed – Joanna to watching over the books, practically never leaving the house and Esther to living a life always on the move, far from her family.

Nicholas and Collins added to the story mostly in terms of plot and bringing all the pieces together, but I don’t feel like I really got to know either character, despite Nicholas having a POV. Nicholas was also not mentioned in the synopsis, so when his character was introduced in his first POV chapter, I found it rather confusing to try to figure out who he was. The romance felt a little out of the blue for me and wasn’t really necessary in my opinion, especially as it was introduced pretty late into the book.

As for the villain, I thought it was a masterful twist from the author. It was evident who was the villain much earlier than I expected, but it was the extent of how far they were willing to go that was truly shocking and this reveal was excellently done.

While a bit rushed, all the pieces came together in a logical manner and I did like the note the last chapter ended on. It does leave room for anther story and I’m really curious as to what might happen in one.

I do wish that this book was either longer or perhaps a duology, because as I mentioned, the way the plot was unfolding felt to me throughout, as indicative of a sequel or two. But overall, this was a great read and I enjoyed the unique magic system and for a standalone, impressively layered plot. I’d be interested to see if there will be a spin off of some sort for this book, if only to explore the fascinating world some more, as well as the potential consequences of the ending, but all in all, a satisfying read and one I would definitely recommend for fantasy fans this summer!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs.

I thought this novel was excellent on many levels. The characters were all magically developed, meticulously written and twisty in their characters. They all had their own surprises right to the end.

As I was reading this novel I started to enjoy the writing and the story more and more. This is a book of twisty adventure and a lot of magic. There is pure evil and pure love in a centuries old family drama that unfolds with every page.

The story is complicated yet not confusing because it is brilliantly written. There are also some moments of humor. I loved that.

Magical books. Magical libraries. Magical herbs. Magical mirrors. Evil hiding in plain sight. A witchy cat. Sapphic (closed door) romance. Sisterhood. What more could you ask for?

I absolutely loved this standalone fantasy/thriller/dark academia mashup. It’s been a long time since a book made me want to text live updates to someone who’d already read it, but that’s what happened here. I also stayed up 3 hours past my bedtime to finish it, sooo.

The book has three main characters: Joanna, keeper of her late father’s library of magic books; Esther, her sister who’s been on the run from magical danger since she was 18; and (later) Nicholas, who is also magical and lives in England — but I won’t tell you more about him because of spoilers. I pieced some of the things together before they were revealed, but it was one of those books where that doesn’t take away from the experience at all. And there were surprises too!

One thing I really loved about this book was its structure, where one plotline builds the mystery while the other plotline answers it, so you get info you know some characters are missing, and then eventually the two plotlines merge. And yet it’s never frustrating like a miscommunication trope would be. (How!)

Anyway, you should read this. Kbye.



CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Kidnapping; Confinement; Death of a parent; Abandonment; Body horror

5/5 stars

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

AH I loved this book. The writing and narration are authentic, which is so refreshing. The dialogue is real. Even at the 5% mark I already thought it was fantastic. Also, shoutout to this:

“It spoke of a kind of preordained movement, a socially constructed pathway that forced people, particularly women, into a series of steps they’d been tricked into believing they’d chosen for themselves.”

“Esther had known this was a trap and had stepped directly into it, telling herself all the time that it was her decision, that she was in control.”

I love that the author is exploring that concept because I know exactly what she means.

I really enjoyed all three protagonists and I liked how I was guessing whether Collins and Maram were allies or not until the very end. The characters were all very human and I loved that Cecile was Esther’s stepmother and that wasn’t a problem.

There were fairytale references woven into the story as well, which I adored.

I wish I got to know more of Collins, but I loved that he looked guilty after protecting Nicholas, which made me think he was a bad guy, but it turned out his guilt was for a whole other reason and I liked that subversion. Also, I did NOT see Maram being Esther’s mother coming.

Anyway this book was amazing.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is such a creative novel! It’s not an epic fantasy and yet there is some really good world building in terms of the magical elements that are behind the scenes of their everyday lives.

I loved our main characters and the different POVs and I loved the idea of this super secret and behind the scenes magical organization. I was rooting for our main characters and felt invested the whole time, which made for a great reading experience!

This is a great witchy book and I highly recommend it! It’s not your typical witchy rom-com.

Blood magic, spellbooks, magic libraries, assassins, kidnappers- all the right ingredients for a great book! Esther and Joanna grow up in a house hidden by a spell to keep out the world. At 18, Esther is forced by her father to flee for the safety of her family from assassins. Joanna is left alone with no clue why Esther left. In England, Richard is a lonely young man forced to give his blood to write spellbooks for his uncle who heads the Library. He also is kept secluded for fear of kidnappers and assassins.Suddenly parts of their worlds start to collide and they all must decide who they can trust.
This book was great fun!
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC- my opinions are my own.

4.5 bloodied pages out of 5

"Flesh of my flesh, it began."

A near perfect read! I wouldn't be surprised if this universe remains my favourite for 2023.

Joanna and Esther are sisters. Within their blood runs a different genetic.. one of magic. It's brought to life through spellbooks, written in blood; spellbooks their parents collected throughout their lives, their hidden knowledge having gone with them to their graves.

It's been years since their father's mysterious death, his body drained of blood by one of his spellbooks, and a decade since Esther has been home.

She has no choice. She cannot return.

But she isn't the only one keeping secrets.

Across the ocean, another with the gift of magic is lifting the veil of truth from the death of his own parents.

Is blood thicker than power? The unlikely trio will get the answers they seek, and then some.

"And power is always a reflection of the world that has created it, regardless of intention."

This might be the coolest, most realistic magic system I've come across. If D&D 5E met a coven of witches and had a unicorn baby, this book would be it.

I became very much attached to the main characters, who are young and flawed. The dialogue is hilarious, and the pace is so even-keeled, in the best way possible. I can't believe that much backstory was packed in under 400 pages!

It gets docked 0.5 stars because of my most hated trope: unnecessary romance in the middle of a serious plot.

I will auto-buy any book that Törzs writes in the future that's linked to this world; sequel, prequel, spinoff, 0.5 novella, a drunkenly half written draft without autocorrect... Just take my money.

Big thanks to William Morrow for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5/5 stars

This was super mysterious especially at the beginning. I really enjoyed the magic and the intertwining POVs. A hint of dark academia. Really interesting characters and complicated family dynamics. Funny at parts as well. There was a lot of build up to a main kind of conflict and that felt a bit too easily resolved. But the build up was fascinating and the ending was good after that too

Joanna and Esther are estranged half-sisters that grew up with a dad obsessed with magical books. When their father is killed by a rogue magical book, the sisters must work together to save their collection of books and each other.

I really loved Ink Blood Sister Scribe! While the first few chapters were a lot of foundation laying, the plot really picked up after that and I devoured this book in a few days. It had a unique magical world – almost an ode to book lovers – and featured interesting characters told through alternating points of view. I liked the pace at which new information was uncovered and the way the author kept me on my toes.

Thanks to Harper Collins Canada and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although this book has a very slow start, laying tons of would building it felt like all of a sudden it just picked right up.
The magic system seemed very unique and overall the book was enjoyable but ultimately a little forgettable.
For whatever reason nothing really seemed to resonate or stick in my mind. 3.5 overall but I just don't feel like it was good enough to round up to 4.

I really enjoyed this one. I liked the focus on the sisters' understandably complicated relationship and it was an approach to magic I hadn't seen before. The mystery at the heart of the novel makes it incredibly propulsive and I had a very hard time putting it down!

Ink Blood Sister Scribe
Emma Törzs

⭐5⭐

I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing this book to me in exchange for an honest review.

“November 2 by eleven o’clock p.m., Eastern Standard Time,” Abe had said on the last day she’d seen him, ten years ago at their home in Vermont. “Wherever you are, you must leave on November 2 and keep moving for twenty-four hours, or the people who killed your mother will come for you too.”

Blood. Herbs.
Somebody here had a book.
Somebody here was doing magic.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a fantasy set in a modern time period. Magic is written in books and those books are written in blood; the blood of a magical individual called a Scribe.

We follow two estranged half sisters who come from a family who have the ability to hear magic. The Kalotay family houses a warded library of magical books and has tasked themselves with keeping them safe and guarded. Younger sister, Joanna, inherited their father, Abe’s, ability to hear magic. After Abe’s death (at the hand of a mysterious book that she had never seen in their collection before), Joanna is the sole protector of their valuable collection and is living her life alone with no visitors, per her father’s instructions.

Older sister, Esther, has not been home in a decade. Esther, frustratingly, is not affected by magic at all; she is unable to hear the books like her younger sister and spells do not work on her. When Joanna calls to tell her of her father’s passing, she begs Esther to come home and help her. Esther is forced to refuse, but not because she doesn’t want to help her sister. Her father told her she could never come home, could never stay in the same place for over a year, and to always be moving on November 2 so that she does not end up murder like her mother. Although there is no explanation for this, Esther has followed her father’s instructions. Well, until now, two years after his death, she decides to stay in Antarctica for another season (in order to remain near the woman who seems to have captured her heart). Esther soon finds out how important it was to follow those instructions when someone turns up with a book and someone is doing magic.

In England, a young man lives a shelter life in an enchanted manor with the largest collection of magical books in existence. Nicholas, his uncle Richard, and Richard’s partner, Maram, work together to protect the books and grow their magical collection on their property, The Library. It has been in Nicholas’ and Richard’s family for generations, and that’s not the only thing that has been passed down. Nicholas is the last living Scribe; books written in his blood have the ability to bring magic to life. He lives under constant lock and guard as he and his blood are extremely valuable. Nicholas longs for a life outside of the manor walls, however, past experiences in the real world make him afraid to leave the only life he’s ever known. Nicholas writes when he is instructed to do so, taking blood from his own body to write books for the betterment of the library. But, his health is getting worse and too much blood is being taken entirely too close together; it seems that he is getting closer and closer to being bled dry. Not to mention there is something dark and sinister afoot in The Library. When the secrets of his ancestral home and livelihood comes to light, Nicholas flees the manor with his bodyguard, Collins, in search of a means to right so many wrongs.

Brought together by the books and the magic, these unlikely allies work together to uncover many secrets of families and magic.

I really enjoyed this book! I actually went out and bought a physical copy for my collection after finishing the e-ARC! I thought that it was funny and captivating. I loved all of the main characters for different reasons, but enjoyed Collins the best. I LOVE a character who points out how insane everything in fantasies are, and the delivery is great!

TRIGGER WARNING: If you have an issue with blood drawing or a fear of blood, some parts of this book may be difficult to read. I personally have a fear of blood and having it drawn. I actually pass out 9/10 times when I have it done (dramatic, I know). I read and watch a lot of fantasy, thrillers, and true crime. Gore doesn't bother me in the slightest. However, the descriptions of the blood draws were so clinical, I could feel myself getting clammy reading it. This IN NO WAY affected my enjoyment of this book and I understand why it was included and important to the story. The sections in question were not extremely long and I was able to continue on just fine when they were over. I just thought I would note that as I know that I am not the only person who struggles with this phobia. (I understand that I also willing choose to read a book with “blood” in the title, so I should not be surprised at the mention of it in said book)

I highly recommend reading this book if the topics are interesting to you. I will be excited to see if another book is made regarding the characters! I’d love to follow up and get some additional adventures in with this group!

This was a magical read. In this book, half-sisters Joanna and Esther must go to extreme lengths to guard their family secret: that their family home has a small library of magical books. Across the ocean, Nicholas must also go to extreme lengths to keep his family's library of magical books safe and thriving.

This book has a slow start, but at about the halfway point it really gets going. I also had a hard time connecting with the characters at first, but I warmed up to them as the story went along. Since the book is told in the points of view of the sisters and Nicholas who have been only told bits and pieces (and sometimes straight up lies) about their family's magical books and magic, I found the magic in the story hard to grasp at first.

However, once the book got going, it was hard to put down! As the characters learned more, it was easier to understand how the magic in the world of the book worked and why characters acted the way they did. The book is full of mysteries that unravel one by one as the plot goes along, and I felt myself eager to keep reading to unravel the answer to the next mystery. Some clues I picked up on fairly early, but others were complete surprises to me.

The theme of isolation is prevalent throughout the book and the author did an amazing job at depicting it. Each of the main characters feel crushing loneliness and isolation in different ways as their circumstances are all different, but each one was relatable.

The ending of the book was satisfying and left the story open to possibilities for more. I would love to read another book in this universe!

After hearing so much praise about this book and after looking forward to it all year, I felt sad that this novel felt so incomplete when I read it. Ink Blood Sister Scribe feels like the definition of potential unrealized: A book that feels as if it really had a big story to tell but instead it was a little story that felt immature and underdeveloped to me.

Author Emma Törzs isn’t without talent: The bones are there in her writing for truly great novels. Her ideas have such great potential, her imagery is vivid and provocative, her grasp of how to write magic systems is already well-developed, and her prose will be something to behold once she gets a full grasp on it.

Where this book falls short is pacing, plot development, character development, and I would call it “egalitarianism of character time on page”. The pacing is scattered all over the place, which makes reading it feel like a slipshod experience. The plot development is either not happening at all or it’s happening all at once, which is tied into the pacing problems. You have three “tent pole” characters holding this book up: Joanna, Esther, and Nicholas. Three (for all intents and purposes) main characters with their own POV’s that braid this story together, but I felt none of them were given their fair shake. Nicholas should’ve been introduced a bit earlier (I almost DNFd the book before he showed up because I wasn’t seeing a conflict in the book that interested me enough to keep going), Joanna wasn’t given enough to do throughout the book, and Esther was given too much. This uneven character development also affected the plot development.

No matter how I look at it, all of these issues cited in the paragraph above equate to a game of “The knee bone is connected to the…”, because they each affect one another whenever tweaked. This is what this book needed more of, though: Tweaking. Editing. It probably could’ve used some more workshopping and a few more readers to lay eyes on it. Törzs is potentially a blindingly brilliant writer, but this is her debut and all writers have to put their first book babies out into the world sometime. It’s obvious I didn’t enjoy it near as much as others did, but it’s not the first time that’s happened.

Magical realism is probably my favorite genre of novels, right up there with speculative fiction. We need more voices in the genre, especially diverse and female. I want Törzs to keep writing. I want her to take in the constructive things reviewers have to say and come back to us with a fantastic second novel. I want her to blow us away.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. My own personal policy as a reviewer dictates that books receiving a three star or lower rating do not have their reviews posted on any social media or bookseller websites.

File Under: Fantasy/General Fiction/LGBTQ Romance/Magical Realism/Paranormal Fantasy/Secret Society/Standalone Fantasy Novel/Urban Fantasy

This book would make a great book club picks for fall/October because there is definitely a spooky vibe. Overall, it was a little difficult to engage with and fully understand. It felt like the characters were a bit jumbled and their magical abilities were unclear and unexplained. There wasn't a lot of history or background provided other than a few paragraphs of summary, so following the present day story was a bit confusing. The concept of blood, herbs and mirrors was fascinating and unique though. If a library patron asked for a fantasy/witch craft book, I would recommend it.

I was utterly enchanted by this unique story of magical books and family. A spectacular debut novel that deserves all of the praise it's getting, I couldn't wait to see how this story came to a close. I picked it up initially because it sounded like it would be a fun read, and because it's a standalone I didn't have to worry about waiting for the next book in the series to come out, and while I was right that it was a fun read I'm actually kind of sad it's a standalone because I wanted more. Not to say that the story isn't complete, because it is, but I was just having so much fun with the world and the characters I'm sad that it had to come to an end so soon and that there isn't going to be more featuring these characters and this world. Although I wouldn't complain if this does get turned into a series, or even just another book in the same world, because I do feel like there is potential for more even though it's not necessary. All of that being said I can't wait to start putting this in the hands of customers at my store. I've already written a shelf-talker and put that up for the days I'm not working, but when I am I have no doubt I will be recommending this one to just about everyone I can. I will eagerly be awaiting whatever Törzs comes out with next, because if it's even half as good as this one it's bound to still be amazing.

4.5⭐️

Half sisters Esther and Joanna were never told much about the books. They knew the books could be used for magic, the magic didn't work on Esther, and the magic could drive people to the brink of paranoia to keep safe. They even knew that their father thought the books were worth dying for. And that's what he did, leaving Joanna to maintain the daily wards. He also made Esther promise to never return home and never stay in one place for greater than a year, or else she'd put herself and sister at risk.

Nicholas is the only known living scribe and has spent his entire life in service to The Library. He's the only one who can write new spells and there are many in the know who would love to kidnap him for their own use. Sickly from the loss of blood needed to make the ink, his only real friend is his dog, Sir Kiwi, his uncle's assistant, Maram, and the body guard The Library pays to ensure his safety, Collins. But after a close call with an attacker, Maram and Collins begin fighting against the NDA spells keeping them in check to explain what Nicholas' uncle is after and why he needs to meet Esther to put a stop to it.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this and was pleasantly surprised. I feel like the magic system was very unique and I like the idea of the secrecy required for the society all revolves around a series of NDA spells so strung that one character can't even admit their own first name. It's also wild to think that most of the conflict between the sisters stems almost entirely on their parents casting a secrecy spell on each other so they could keep the girls safe but could also never explain. There was some instances where the characters decisions are so odd, like the level of dedication Joanna has to her father and just adding someone to the wards because they ask, but most of those can be explained by magic I think.

I feel like this minus the magic, this is also a great look at how family members handle traumatic childhoods differently but can still have the same resentment. Esther is the sibling that cuts ties and never looks back while Joanna is the one who holds on for dear life, even if what's she's holding on to is hurting her. Both of them resent their father and to an extent each other, but they also don't understand what the situation was like for the other sister and what situations lead them to making the choices they did. While protecting the magic, they were able to learn more about each other and put aside their differences, which was nice.

Thanks Netgalley and William Marrow for providing this ARC to me!

Emma Törzs tells of two sisters, the last of the Kalotay family who guard a library of books that can be used to work magic.Joanna guards the collection, keeping the books from her mother who once tried to burn them. Esther has been told to keep moving every November, but you can’t do that while working on a base in Antarctica. Unlike her sister , she can’t work the magic of the books, but she can be attacked through mirrors at the base. What neither Ink Blood Sister Scribe (hard from William Morrow) know is that there is another, very wealthy library in England and the last scribe in the world, Nicholas, constantly has his blood drained to make the magical ink. Unfortunately Nicholas is on the run from a mad uncle. Very intense tale and very enjoyable. This could easily be nominated for some awards if people find it.