Blood Debts is a YA story that took me on quite the journey. There was a suspenseful element to the story that intrigued me. Twins, Christina and Clement are on quest to find out who has tried to bring harm to their mother. While uncovering the culprit, the twins find themselves discovering many secrets spanning back 30 years. They uncover the death of their father and their grandparents, including the Queen. Although they were twins, the two are very different. Christina has a chip on her shoulder and is eager to bring justice to their family. Clement is a bit more reserved, though he finds his voice later in the story. The story features many characters but was easy to follow; it is also broken into three parts. I will say parts two and three were my favorites. I felt that was when the story started to make sense and when questions were answered. The author was very vivid with her descriptions and explained the magical elements well. I listened to the audiobook, and I felt the story translated well. It almost felt like I was watching a movie, without seeing it. There were so many secrets harbored by so many characters, I didn't know who to trust. The ending is open, so I am curious to see what else is next for the Council. I would recommend this story; the narrators did a great job.

I received an arc copy from the publisher and netgalley, all thoughts are my own.

Justice will reign.

Thank you MacMillan Audio and Tor Books for the #gifted ALC/ARC of BLOOD DEBTS!

When TJ Klune posts about how amazing a book is, you obviously run to @Netgalley to request an ARC which is exactly what I did for BLOOD DEBTS!

Like many other reviewers, after looking at the cover I thought this book was set in historical New Orleans. But it’s actually a present day, urban fantasy book. And I think that the present day setting for this story about generational magic and trauma was the perfect choice to tell this story.

The setting of New Orleans was so perfect for a 30 year mystery surrounded by magic. And I found the different magical systems fascinating. The author really nailed the racial tensions and political machinations in this book and it feels like he left it open for a sequel which I will definitely be reading.

I listened to the audiobook for this one and it was fantastic with a full cast. The narrators’ voices and inflection just added that extra layer to make this listening experience fabulous. Some other reviewers complained that the writing was really young and petty… ummm this is a YA book. The characters are teenagers. Teenagers are whiny and petty! It would be weird if they were written so that they weren’t!

If you’re a fan of YA books with mystery and magic or books with meaningful discussions about racial justice and generational trauma, do not miss out on this one!

BLOOD DEBTS comes out on April 4, 2023.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4877643425
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqnrEi8J7SN/

I greatly enjoyed this atmospheric and intriguing YA mystery. Its setting is a magical New Orleans and the book oozes that milieu from start to finish. There is an important message behind the story but it never overwhelms or hits the reader on the head. I think because I listened to an incredibly well done audio version that my appreciation of the book was heightened. As such, I highly recommend the this first rate audio production featuring several voice actors.

Story: It is in New Orleans that magic was found and has been practiced by both the white community and the black, each with their own affiliations and affectations. Teen twins Chris and Clem know of magic's effects personally - they are the grandchildren of the former generation queen who was responsible for governing the black mages. But now their mother is dying, Chris is afraid to touch magic despite a huge talent, and Clem is frustrated by a series of bad romances. The past never stays buried and the events that led to their grandparents' deaths (and perhaps even their father's) is rearing its ugly head. It's time Chris and Clem fix what was broken 30 years ago before another massacre happens in New Orleans.

The book has several POVs: twins Christina and Clement, Valentina (daughter of the current queen), and occasional side characters. The POV transitions are smooth and never feel abrupt or annoying. I can't say that Valentina's was needed at this point in time and since she is coming from an antagonist position as a former best friend to Christina perhaps we'll see her more in future books (though this ended on a clean arc). But I enjoyed the different view points and how each one was distinct to the character.

The story is serious with a lot of swearing and grit - it feels modern even with the fantastical setting. The magic system isn't thoroughly explained but it isn't just thrown out there either. It feels like an organic part of the world. The characters act like their age and don't fall out of character: they make mistakes that are expected but also can be heroic when pressed. But the real star is the setting of New Orleans.

The audio version has three different voice actors who embodied the characters perfectly. I can't imagine enjoying this half as much with out their stellar performances. The audio version was easy to follow and I loved every Louisiana drawl. It is definitely one of the best audio versions I have heard and well worth the time over reading in this particular instance. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

OHMYGOD. Y'all this was so good I literally could not put it down!!! I was so wrapped up into these charcaters and I loved the family elements and black history and experiance within these pages. Walker does a fantastic job of playing with morals and the choices one has to make when it comes down to it. I was ranting and raving about this book to my group chat (without spoilers of course!) I am so excited that I had the chance to read this! Do not walk, RUN and go pick this up right now!

Happy Release Day Blood Debts you're a star and congragulations Terry J Benton-Walker, your work is fantastic!

Thanky you netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC

This book blew me away. Despite a slow start it was able to discuss what most authors would consider “difficult subjects” with relative ease in such a way that YA readers of all ages can understand and empathize with.
The story follows, mainly the twins Clem and Christine, who work hard to protect their feuding family and overcome the fallout from a decades-old mystery. To protect their family, however fractured it is, they must first find out how it broke. The story goes deeper than they expected, and it was precisely what I yearned to learn the moment I read the mystery! Who killed the mayor’s daughter all those years ago?
By splitting the MAIN PoVs stories, we are able to see 2 sides of magic, 2 sides of New Orleans, 2 sides of the same coin, and we see them work both together and apart. There are more PoVs than the main 2, such as Valentina, the mean girl with trouble at home, and I appreciate that they used each PoV to add depth to an already existing character.
It’s nigh impossible to approach the context of race in the South without first giving a very painful and frank history lesson, but this author manages to. By spreading the experiences of PoC in the South, both through current events happening to the characters as well as flashbacks and establishing history throughout the book, this author manages to not infodump all at once. It’s a fantastic read, especially for YA readers who might have been exposed to topics such as implicit racial bias within law and political structures. This author does not flinch from calling out systemic racism, and at one point illustrates that even though 2 teens hate each other and wish harm, they don’t wish harm on each other enough to call the police. Because they are Black. They are Black, and they are 16, and they have grown up in the American South, and not even a blood feud such as theirs goes deep enough to throw each other to the mercy of an inherently racist police force as well as system.
Okay, hard topics aside: This story was amazing! There are several PoVs, and the number only grows at the end of the book-all of which suggests a sequel that I am SO buying!
Only problem: Zach. Justice? No justice? What about his dad? What happened??? I MUST HAVE THE SEQUEL.

I was fully engrossed in this book from the very first chapter. It was so good from start to finish. I love the magic and all the different representation within the book. I highly recommend to everyone.

Blood Debts is an interesting story. I love the alternate reality Louisiana. Reading from different characters perspectives helps build the story and leaves you ready to see what happens with the character from the previous chapter. Clem and Christina are typical teenagers who love their family but also think the world revolves around them. The magic system is fresh and uniquely American. I love the humanity of the Gods in the book. The mystery kept me wanting to read and find out who was behind everything. Please tell me our author is busy writing the sequel. I need to know Clems fate. The voice actor for Christina had me thinking of Riley from the Boondocks when she would do Clems part.

I really liked the south gothic, New Orleans vibe. Blood Debts jumps right into a fast moving plot dealing with family history and magic. Defiantly leans more YA. Great job with anxiety and mental health representation. Also the cover art is beautiful. The audio book had fantastic narrators who really matched the vibe of the book.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blood Debts is the story of intertwining families, generational magic, and trauma all revolving around a decades-old murder and the side effects it had on the community for generations. Twins Clement and Cristina try to solve the real story behind this murder to save their family while also tackling their internal and personal struggles.

The magic system was great, the characters felt so real, there weren’t really any twists but I was still shook multiple times, and we love when we get the pov of morally grey characters. I totally wasn’t praising Cristina as she watched her abuser slowly die by his own mistake. My petty Tauras ways were thriving when I realized we were going full revenge mode.

I highly recommend if you enjoy intertwined stories and when characters do bad things for good reasons. Also if you’re petty like me and enjoy ‘Better Than Revenge’ by Taylor Swift.

P.S. the audiobook narrators were also great.

The story follows twins Clement and Cristina trying their best to save their family. It all started years ago when their grandmother was accused of a crime where she was executed and dethroned as the Queen of Generational Magic. Since this tragic event, a ripple of other events happened such as their close family members being part of each other’s lives, Clem and Cristina’s dad's death and their mother growing deadly ill.

Once the two discover the truth behind their mother’s illness, they start to wonder what else is there to uncover about their family’s misfortunes. To heal their family issues, traumas and own self worth, the two need to find a way to bring everyone together and solve the many mysteries haunting and harming their family. With the use of magic, bold bravery and the help of those around them, the twins set off on a journey to bring peace.

For me, I really loved the different POV told in the audiobook/novel. Each performance by the different narrators gave me a chance to hear what each one sounded like but also how to follow along their unique personalities to find answers/discover more information in their own way. I admit, it was hard at times to follow and a bit confusing but with reading a long into the book, the confusion was not so much of a problem. I love the use of magic in this book and how casual it exists in the real world and not just a niche power that seems like it was too much fantasy like other books have already done. I really was glad that themes of race and racism existed in this book because that is what made the problems true to what many of us live every day. We can eliminate the factor about magic usage but the problem of racism is very much alive in this book.

I do wish the book stuck with only some plots and not a whole bunch because I wasn't sure which ones were truly important. It was as if the main plot of the story would subside then come back after the smaller ones were out of the way. Same with the POV/ characters involved because I wasn’t sure which characters were important or if all of the characters were important.

The biggest thing for me was how casual Clem’s queerness never impacted the story. It was mentioned without anyone feeling it was shameful. Even with the side characters and talking about their queerness was so natural and as it should be, especially in a world of magic since other books tend to make it a deal where its almost frowned upon

I overall loved the book and would recommend (I already have!) to others to check out.

Due to my time crunch, I chose to request the audioARC so I want to thank MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for granting me this opportunity to listen to the audiobook.

Blood Debts I went into knowing nothing about it other than it was a YA story that had magic. I was BLOWN away by the intricacies of the story, the magic system and the magical factions that our characters come from. It is a very dark story, but in the best way. The writing was smooth and very easy to follow, but at the same time it was still complex with plenty of detailing to keep the story intriguing and moving.

The arc I received (special thanks to the publisher and Netgalley) was an audio edition of the book. The narration was done amazingly, and I think the production was pretty spot on to how well it was also written. I really hope that in the next book, the same narration and production team are used to keep that same stellar performance going.

4.5/5
Wow. I saw the cover of this book on Goodreads, social media, and around my local bookstore for what felt like weeks until I saw it on NetGalley and decided to click ‘request.’ Either this book was haunting me and needed to be read, or Terry has a great marketing team - maybe both. Either way, to my surprise, I was approved and quickly dove in. I’ll be honest, my expectations were low. I’ve read a string of ‘meh’ books lately and I’m always hesitant with YA. I love the genre when it gets it right, but when it misses, it really misses. I am happy to report that Blood Debts not only hit, but hit it out of the freaking park. I loved this book. The audio narration was fantastic and the story had me on the edge of my seat.

Often in YA books they feel like an adult writing how they think a teen would sound, but the voices of these characters felt strong, thought out, and honest. The magic was complicated but understandable and the things I found myself not fully grasping were easily pushed aside because I was along for the ride and enjoying it.

What kept it from a full five stars comes down to, I think, personal preference. Specific plot turns weren’t what I fully wanted to see and some left me wanting, but not enough to take away from the full story as they read like setups for future books.

What to expect:
- Magic
- Sibling contention
- Family contention
- Just… contention
- Morally grey, like, legit
- Fairly saucy for a YA, but not in a weird way
- Multiple POV, and not just the ‘good’ characters
- A bitch-slap heard ‘round the world (very well deserved)

You should read this if
- You love complicated magic systems based in ‘real life’
- You love YA but often find yourself wanting a bit more grit and nuance
- Your favorite color is grey
- You enjoy the slow torture of not knowing when the next in a series is coming out

You should not read this if
- If your favorite superhero is Superman - let me explain - he’s so boring with his strict good vs evil, golden boy, superiority nonsense, booooo, we want morally grey
- Magic and spooky stuff scares you even a little bit, but you’ll probably be fine. I am a big baby and I loved this; it’s the perfect amount of spooky
- You are a real life Regina George - pre bus incident

If you’re in the mood for
- A high stakes thriller meets YA fantasy meets family drama that all equals out to a revenge plot in the best way.

If you like _ you’ll like this
- ‘Better Than Revenge’ by Taylor Swift
- ‘True Blood’ - Maybe? I’ve never actually seen this but doesn’t it take place in Louisiana and is magic-y so I kept thinking of it the whole time
- ‘Preacher,’ second season - Again, it's the magic adjacent and New Orleans connection but I have seen this one, it’s great, and I also kept thinking of it
- ‘Crescent City’ but if you wanted a teen version and with more humidity

Blood Debts is an urban fantasy set in New Orleans that follows twins Chris and Clem as they dig into their family’s sordid past. This story is rife with secrets, drama, and a bit of murder. It took me a bit to get through, but it was definitely a good read, especially once things started picking up in the latter half!

I liked the various types of magic introduced throughout the book and the cultural significance of each of them. It was cool to see how the discussion of magic mixed with the discussion of race. I did want a little more world building in digging into the details of how generational, light, and dark magic work. We got a bit of it, but I’m looking forward to hopefully getting more in the next books (assuming this is the first in a series - it better be with that ending!).

On top of the magic system, I thought the character development was done really well in this book too, especially for a YA. All of our characters grew in different ways that aligned with their own trauma and anxieties. They felt like real people.

Overall, I would definitely recommend for YA fantasy readers!

Magic, long standing family drama, Inter-magical feuds, racism, homophobia is all going on in this one.

Our main characters, Christina and Clem, are twins and heirs to a magical family. Their grandmother, the queen of generational magic, was accused of murder and lunched along with their grandfather in 1989 thus throwing off the family line of rulers.

Too much doesn’t add up so they start investigating the death that led to their grandmother’s downfall for the truth.

Tbh I didn’t expect so many 16 year olds willing to commit murder. Nor school having little to no impact on their daily lives. Nor people being killed willy nilly with no arrests or investigations.

There are too many plot holes for this to be an excellent book but it has good bones. Seems like it’s the start of a series so those holes may be closed up later.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this AudioARC.

I really wanted to love this.
LGBTQA representation, mental health /anxiety awareness, strong characters fighting back.
That being said, I thought this was a historical Era setting. The multi POVs confused me, I have had to have the ebook and audio going at the same time.
I did like the different cast for the audiobook but needing to still have the ebook open to understand the pacing and who is who defeats the purpose of audio imo.

The book has potential.

I really enjoyed this book! To be fair, the themes explored were so many of my favorite things. Family healing/secrets, New Orleans, generational magic, and LGBT representation - there was a lot to love. The younger characters were definitely a little bit difficult to like at times but I think that it was representative of their age and growing pains. The book was slightly long but I felt that the story carried you at a good pace and covered a lot of ground. A delight to read and a fantastic ending.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read from beginning to end. Having access to the audio as well further enhanced my reading experience. A HUGE thank you to Macmillan/Tor Publishing Group for the opportunity to review this release ahead of its release. The ending leaves room for more and I for one am looking forward to following where the story goes next.

4.5✨

I was a little worried I went into this one with my hopes to high for a little while. The pacing in the beginning is pretty slow and just building up the knowledge we need to be able to move forward and once you hit 40% everything starts to pick up and the story begins to piece together more as we get to the mystery aspect of this story.

I was intrigued in the beginning and it took me awhile to get hooked with how long this one is, but I’m glad I didn’t stop. I’ve seen so many reviews where people stopped reading and was getting worried, but the pace picks up and I urge people to continue.

The vibes in this one are perfect and I love the stage set for this story and think that is one of my favorite aspects. The writing is easy to catch hold and follow along. There weren’t hiccups in the story and everything flowed really well for me.

Overall I deeply enjoyed this one and it lived up to the hype I wanted to have it present. My only wish is that the twins were older for how this story unfolds. I also think this gets a little too dark to be considered YA.

There are mentions of grief, mental illness, & injury (due to accident).

I was provided an audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. Thank you to Macmillan Audio & Macmillan Young Listeners for providing me the opportunity to listen to this book early. This book will be out on April 4, 2023.

I was initially drawn to the beautiful cover! This has a little bit of everything. It touches on social issues like race, cultural appropriation, LGBT issues, mental health and so much more. Not only does the author present important topics to the reader in a way that makes you think, but we get a mystery and story full of magic, emotion, and characters you won't soon forget.

There is alot going on in this book. The audiobook has multiple narrators, and mulitple POVs. The story is mainly told from the perspective of the twins Clem and Cris, but every once in a while we get the occasional POV from another character. Having so many characters made it a little hard to follow at times especially when you are trying to keep track of the plot as well. That being said, I had a hard time putting this down. I kept opting to listen to this instead of picking up the other book I am reading at the moment. I found the characters engaging, the plot moved at a good pace, and the magic was intriguing. I really liked the magic system and the concept of the magical community. The twins both go through some things in the book but like all teenagers they struggle to reach for help despite having a support system in each other and their family. They both have to struggle through some things before they are ready to face their problems and ask for help from their loved ones. Their is alot of good discussion about family in this book, and I suspect we will see more in the future as Clem and Cris still have more obstacles to face down in the future.

There are some dark moments in this book, and while I do feel it is appropriate for a YA reader I would recommend it for the older more mature reader. This does end on a cliffhanger but I believe this is book one of a trilogy, and I'm anxious to get my hands on the next book. I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next. There are alot of loose ends that need to be tied up and I expect that there is going to be some backlash based on the events that took place in this installment. This is my first book by Terry J. Benton-Walker but it certainly will not be my last.

twins clement and cristina are mourning their father and taking care of their sick mother. but then they realize their mother isn’t sick but cursed, and whoever cursed her is after them next. cristina gave up on magic, though, and barely speaks with clement anyway. to avoid another massacre in new orleans, they have to put aside their differences and solve a decades-old murder.

this is the kind of book you want to reread immediately after finishing it. i was so drawn in the entire time i was reading, and by the time i got to the epilogue, i wanted to back up all the way to the beginning. i’m so glad this will have a sequel because i don’t know if i could’ve moved on from that ending if not. i highly recommend this book and i can’t wait for book two!