Blood Debts Book Review

For the joy of estranged siblings with different feelings about magic and curses.

Song Vibe Check:

1. "Trigger" By: Major Lazer, Khalid

2. "Dolly Song (Devil's Cup)" By: VIZE, Leony

3. "Suspicious Minds" By: Paravi

NOTE: Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy of this book!

2023 has been proving to be a promising year of having my anticipated reads either meet my expectations or to exceed them and for Blood Debts to be in my Netgalley shelf, well... I was absolutely thrilled to jump into this one! Think of if we would have had time to delve into the darker side of the world from the Princess and the Frog, particularly on the world that the villain, Dr. Facillier was involved in with the voodoo magic and the dazzling, yet dizzying world of New Orelans. Or, if you enjoyed Dhonielle Clayton's series The Belles (which remains one of my favorite series and book 3's review will be out soon!)

This is the book with estranged siblings, voodoo magic, curses and a fight to reclaim a lost throne that had me clutching onto my tablet for dear life. And also because I love Clement so much and will hurt anyone who dares to hurt him more. He remains my favorite character who drew me in since the very beginning.

So, here we go.

Short Summary: Two estranged siblings enter into a world of dark magic after discovering that their mother is not sick, but cursed and that it needs to be fixed before she dies.

Long summary: 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. For Clement, magic is his lifeline. A distraction from his anger and pain. Even better than the random guys he hooks up with.

Cristina and Clement used to be each other’s most trusted confidant and friend, now they barely speak. But if they have any hope of discovering who is coming after their family, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other and their family's magic, all while solving the decades-old murder that sparked the still-rising tensions between the city’s magical and non-magical communities. And if they don't succeed, New Orleans may see another massacre. Or worse.

They could all end up dead.

Now, the story was separated into 4-5 perspectives throughout, but mostly focused on Cristina and Clement. Honestly, I was not entirely a fan of Cristina but I absolutely loved Clement and the anger/ disastrous love life he carries was an absolute mood for most of the book. I connected with his character and the bitterness he carries within himself and the way he sees the world was very raw and very much felt in my heart. While it drew me in at the beginning, there were parts of the book that did drag on a bit and while it was not too bad, I did have fun reading this. And the ending was a cliffhanger that while not an agonizing one, is still enough to make me want to read more.

So, there is that.

Overall: 4/5 stars