Blood Justice DESTROYED ME in the Best Ways!

Blood Justice picks up right where Blood Debts left off. The Trudeau family has experienced massive changes to the overall structure of their lives, but this also means they have more enemies than ever coming after them. This book kept me on the edge of my seat from page one. Not only did I not realize that I missed Cris and Clement, but I was desperately missing the gen magic and all the world-building. Also, dare I say that I was missing Valentina's devious self. Where we left her last, life is in flux and although my heart broke for her at the end of Blood Debts, she isn't planning on staying sad for long.

This book had me by the THROAT! It refused to let me sleep, it didn't let me sleep, and anytime I tried to put it down my heart was racing because I needed to know what happened next. Just like Blood Debts, this is a fast-paced thrill ride. Many of the things that happened in this novel had me shocked. Lines were drawn in the sand, then redrawn, and then probably redrawn one more time. You don't know who is working for who and I think that was a great part of this story. Because this is such a character-driven story you will be desperate to know who is going to make it out alive. [ALSO THE REVEALS IN THIS STORY HAD MY JAW ON THE FLOOR]!

Words cannot express how excellent this book is! They say that lightning doesn't strike the same place twice, well obviously that is not true, because the world that Terry J. Benton-Walker has created and established is truly exceptional. I love this series and am desperate for anything that comes next!

Blood Justice immediately drew me in and I found it difficult to tear myself away from its pages. The magical storyline and well-developed characters evoked a range of emotions in me. From being angry right along with them to wanting to shake some sense into them (especially Cris). It's been awhile since I've highlighted and annotate passages but with the many gems dropped I found myself doing so quite frequently. My only frustration is that I now have to wait for the next installment to find out what happens next. This author has easily become one of my favorite writers, and I can't wait to spend more time with Cris and Clem.

Justice is served! Terry knocks it out of the park again with this second book in his series. Honestly I absolutely love his characters. His magic system is very interesting and the lore just sucks me into this world. Really looking forward to the next book and whatever else he comes up with.

"Blood Justice is the hotly anticipated sequel to Terry J. Benton-Walker's Most Anticipated debut Blood Debts.

Cristina and Clement Trudeau have conjured the impossible: justice.

They took back their family's stolen throne to lead New Orleans' magical community into the brighter future they all deserve.

But when Cris and Clem restored their family power, Valentina Savant lost everything. Her beloved grandparents are gone and her sovereignty has been revoked - she will never be Queen. Unless, of course, someone dethrones the Trudeaus again. And lucky for her, she's not the only one trying to take them down.

Cris and Clem have enemies coming at them from all directions: Hateful anti-magic protesters sabotage their reign at every turn. A ruthless detective with a personal vendetta against magical crime is hot on their tail just as Cris has discovered her thirst for revenge. And a brutal god, hunting from the shadows, is summoned by the very power Clem needs to protect the boy he loves.

Cris's hunger for vengeance and Clem's desire for love could prove to be their family's downfall, all while new murders, shocking disappearances, and impossible alliances are changing the game forever.

Welcome back to New Orleans, where gods walk among us and justice isn't served, it's taken."

Power is always so hard to maintain.

I got the arc for the first book of this series, so of course I had to request for the second book too. I had a hard time understanding the motivations for the characters or the way they react to certain events. It made it hard to relate to the characters more. That being said, their feelings are valid. Although I don't quite resonate with anyone in this book, I still enjoyed the overall story. There's a lot of impulsiveness within these characters that are deep-rooted in the hardships that they go through. I feel like I learned alot more about black cultures and their history and connection to magic. I definitely enjoyed this book more than the first one.

This was so unputtdownable and wild from
Start to finish!!! I absolutely loved it. The characters felt so real and I was really into the story. The author did such a great job at creating this world and making the reader feel like they’re witnessing everything.

An absolutely incredible sequel to Blood Debts! There is not a moment wasted in this book. This was a non stop thrill ride because I love these characters and everything they stand for.

With more family drama, more magic, and tons more encroaching forces trying to take what belongs to Cris and Clem. With this book, we get so much more of these powerful twins. I adore these characters completely, flaws and all! There is a much richer story on top of the continuation from Blood Debts. There are forces human and inhuman that are thrashing to get power, and Cris learns just how far she is willing to go to protect her family and her magic.

Meanwhile, Clem is going through an evolution of sorts. He is still trying to make up for past mistakes, even those made in the name of love.

The convergence of forces against the Trudeau family (and the magic these Black families hold) is coming fast and the stakes are high. With rich world building and complex character relationships, this was a pure delight to read!

Ahhh! What a masterpiece. Terry somehow took everything in Blood Debt and turned it up to an eleven! This book is sitting at the top spot for the year and I feel like I'm going to be hard pressed to find something that knocks it out. I can't stop thinking about it and definitely need book 3 ASAP

Blood Justice is the incredible sequel to Blood Debts! In Blood Justice, the rich magic system and complicated politics are expanded on even more. There is a strong focus on the importance of justice and characters must fight to dismantle systemic racism. One of my favorite parts was the character growth from Cristina, Clement, and Valentina. One character’s descent into a more morally gray character as she deals with injustice was masterfully executed. Cris and Clem have an excellent relationship, but are still keeping secrets from each other that are bound to come out.

In Blood Justice, the characters deal with themes of grief and the many ways that it can manifest. I loved the found family and LGBTQ+ rep. Blood Justice is a compelling sequel that promises additional magical stories to come. Readers who enjoy Liselle Sambury (Blood Like Magic), fantastic LGBTQ+ rep, and spellbinding magic will love this book. I would highly recommend this series to anyone. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Thank you to Terry J. Benton-Walker, Tor Teen, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Goodreads, Instagram, Storygraph, Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc.

I thought I was impressed by Blood Debts, but this sequel blew it out of the water. The ending somehow managed to walk the precarious line between inevitable and surprising. I screamed, I cried, I threw my kindle across the room, and I preordered my own copy so I can do it all over again when the final book in the trilogy comes out.
I have always loved stories of witches and struggle, and the magic system didn't disappoint-but it was the real life issues that truly had me bound to the book. Magic is the setting, the story is one of oppression, resilience, regret, and consequences.
Terry J Benton Walker takes a no-nonsense yet nuanced view on the insidious ways that daily rhetoric, legislature, law enforcement, and cultural genocide all take part in oppressing communities of color every day-AND Walker manages to do it in such a way that young adults can understand, and empathize with. Taking on institutional racism in YA literature is a massive task, and TJBW rose to it. He treated every topic with both the care and brutality that it deserved, pulling no punches and acknowledging biases as he went with ease and grace,

When I was a child, I read too many books that were mirrors. Little girls who looked like me and thought like me. I wish I had more windows to look at the lives of other children and the struggles they had. This book series threads that needle, not bothering to disney-fy real life issues, all while keeping you riveted to your seat and frankly stressed for the fate of our characters.

I will be recommending this to ALL of my friends, regardless of demographic or preferred genre.
Thank you, Terry J Benton Walker.

Thank you to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Blood Justice begins nine months after the events of Blood Debt. Clem and Cris Trudeau did the impossible and got their mom, Marie, onto the throne. But a happily ever after is still beyond their reach. Valentina lost everything and wants revenge, and anti-magic protestors are trying to sabotage Marie's reign. Clem is also dealing with the fallout of Yves's soul being split, while Cris is consumed with anger and a desire for justice.

What I liked:
- Clem's entire storyline. He wasn't as prevalent in Blood Justice as he was in Blood Debts, and I often found myself missing his POV. Despite not being in the story as much, he had a solid arc and served as the lone voice of reason throughout the book. My heart broke for what he was going through. His choices fit the story well and pushed the narrative further along. I can't wait to continue with his journey.
- The world-building. Benton-Walker has crafted such an interesting, intricate world. I liked that he expanded on that in this book.
- The mystery. I love the way he wove mystery with fantasy.
- The inclusion of Valentina's POV. Look, did Valentina commit some horrendous acts in the first book? Yes. Is she a bad friend? Also yes. However, I appreciated getting her POV and found myself feeling sympathetic for her. She's been through pretty significant trauma like Clem and Cris, but unlike Clem and Cris, she doesn't have the kind of family they have - that was taken from her by the Trudeau's. That being said, I loved the scenes where Valentina connected more with her mom's side of the family and explored her heritage. It helped humanize her in a way that we didn't get to see in the first book.

What I didn't like:
- Cris. *SPOILER WARNING* I liked that the author gave her space to be angry and it's incredibly unfair when people are expected to constantly turn the other cheek. At the same time, I found her POV difficult to stomach. Cris was so cavalier about murder. While most of the characters she targeted were awful, I'm personally against the death penalty even when someone is convicted of something heinous. So, I'm never going to find vigilante murder to be justified. Cris also started going after anyone she perceived as wronging her even if they didn't do anything wrong. In one scene, she got super paranoid and wouldn't even give the accused character a chance to explain it before attempting to murder them. Cris kept framing it as a sense of righteous justice but girly embraced being a serial killer. Who's to say their families wouldn't be entitled to justice against her? The Trudeau family had the throne - they could've used their position of power to enact justice in a balanced way as opposed to a trial-less vigilante method. While the book later dismissed Cris's actions as her being under the influence of an evil god, she still chose to go down that path at the outset and embraced it. Also, some characters were pleased with the murders, which again, I'm just someone who is never okay with a life being taken, no matter how awful the person was. Also, despite desperately wanting to be named queen regent, she was annoyed whenever she had to actually do the work and only seemed interested in the title and the idea of power. I'm glad someone tried to point that out to her. At this point, bring democracy to the magical community of New Orleans.

As a sequel, this book picks up 9 months after the events of Blood Debts. Clem and Chris are living with the outcomes of the events at the end of that book, both positive and negative.

I really appreciated the growth that each character has in this book. Clem is struggling under the pressure of his commitment to help Yves and Auguste, and Chris is letting her anger and desire for justice overwhelm her. They continue to be teenagers and they make a lot of mistakes, but I found their stories to be compelling because of this.

The expansion of our understanding of the gods and magical community was fascinating and I can't wait to see how that continues in the next book.

There were a few scenes that felt unnecessarily long and I thought could have been edited to be shorter without losing the impact. I also wished we'd seen more of some of the side characters but based on the ending suspect they will have larger roles in the next book.

Second in series books can sometimes be less compelling but this did not suffer from that. I could not put this down. Can't wait for the next book!

Thank you Netgalley and Tor Teen for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

Blood Justice the sequel to the amazing debut Blood Debts comes out swinging without missing a punch to the oppressive system that affects the twin siblings and their community. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 Its raw examination of the issues affecting the black community was so nuanced and it blew me away. Benton-Walker has wormed his way to my list of must read anything they publish list. There were so many lines I highlighted though it's an arc so they won't save, but I just couldn't keep reading without taking a moment of appreciation. Like the debut the sequel focuses on Cris and Clem's relationship and that of their family. There's also a great focus on community. The magic was just as wonderful but we do get more depth and world building. The fallout from the first book's ending is felt by both Clem and Cris. They must deal with new threats while still dealing with high school. I cannot recommend this series enough!!! If you like books that read like a CW teen drama please check out this series like now!

Blood Justice was a good sequel to Blood Debts. And based on this book, the story is definitely not over. Lots of messy loose ends. I felt this story had way more cussing and the kids are disrespectful to the adults, who do nothing. Why?! But I loved how they were all searching for something and going about it in their own ways. Not the best, but still they had autonomy. I loved the expression of oppression, homophobia, and vengeance. At times, the book did take on an essayish quality though. So why I enjoyed this story, I didn’t love it and will end the series for me right here. It has great promise for a continued good time though. Oh, and I love “sometimes violence is the answer.” Facts.

The story is grounded and powerful. Every character has an unique perspective for what they bring to the book. That made for a more well-rounded story because there are a few characters.

This series is so fun! I was just as invested in this book as the last, and I think TJBW really improved with this novel. The writing flows so well, the characters are fully fleshed out, and I was pulled in from start to finish. This would be a great Hulu tv show!

I loved how social justice issues were incorporated into the story, and I found all the characters to be interesting, despite the cast being quite big. I think I'll be rereading this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Awesome sequel to the first book blood debts!

This book picks up 9 months after blood debts ended and the twins are still coming to terms with the events of the first book


The sequel is dark and brilliant it touches on some dark subjects including racism and the oppression of black witches

I love the unique magic system terry has created!

Thank you for the ARC #torpublishing and #netgalley

I absolutely love this story! The characters, the drama, the black people with magic!!! Amazing! This family is a a vault of secrets, which is frustrating, but man the feels were absolutely there

I was given an early copy of this book for an honest review.

TLDR: I absolutely loved this book.

Let me start by saying I am biased because I loved Blood Debts so much and could not wait for the sequel. So I went into the book loving it. I am not really a fantasy girlie and I am definitely afraid of my shadow so horror is not for me. But somehow this author has become an auto-buy author for me. I have a physical ARC and an e-ARC but I just pre-ordered the finished copy.

For a new fantasy girlie like me, this book had A LOT of characters. I needed a list or something. But that’s normal for me because when I watched Game of Thrones I had to have my husband tell me a million times who people were because I kept forgetting LMBO. But what was cool about it was that it really reminded me of the format of a soap opera. By that I mean that there are several storylines with all of these different characters but each storyline is equally important and interconnected. And like soaps, there are favorite storylines that you want to get to and want more of (for me it’s always gonna be Clem). I am impressed that this author was able to so effectively fully develop so many characters. A soap opera has a lot of writers. This author did this alone. Wow!

My absolute favorite character is still Clem. I loved him in Blood Debts and really started to understand him more in this book. But the way Cris entered her villain era in this book has me singing Monica songs. Cris was giving that “kick down your door and smack your chick” energy. Cris was NOT with the $h!ts in this book and I love that for her. Now the necromancy stuff is out of my scope cuz now I’m in the sixth sense talking about I see dead people every time I go to sleep and I’m sure my husband is annoyed that I’m sleeping with the light on yet here we are.

And even after all that, I am still first in line for Book 3. In the meantime, this book is written perfectly for a series on television or a streaming service. Somebody needs to call Jordan Peele immediately.

SN: a book that can make me cry even if it wasn’t the author’s intent is an automatic 5 stars. It was probably a solid 4.5 and then something I really wanted to happen actually happened. Waterworks!!!!