Picked this up because the NYT review was so effusive, noting that for a debut book it was incredible and exciting to imagine where the author can go from here. I didn't vibe with it as strongly as the Golem and the Genie (another great debut), but the story was pretty gripping and I was with it each step of the way. Ultimately, the focus on blood throughout was kind of off-putting and it makes for a less than interesting magical system. And I didn't really strongly connect with any of the characters or their emotional lives. But this was well-written, well-plotted, and a good story.
It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel. I was captivated by worldbuilding and characters. I especially loved how what seemed like several separate stories all came together at the end in surprising ways. If you enjoy fantasy set in a modern world, you should give this one a try.
Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a standalone novel about magical books, families, and secrets. Overall, this was just a fun ride. Plenty of action, fun worldbuilding reveals, good foreshadowing but also a few reveals I didn't see coming.
The three main characters that it follows all are sort of trapped in their own way by their family. Joanna (who can hear magic), is trapped protecting her family's magic book collection after her dad has died. Her estranged half-sister Esther is trapped on the run, following (until she doesn't, kicking off the plot) her dad's wishes that she move every year on November 2nd so that her mom's killers don't catch up with her. Nicholas is trapped by his overbearing father and his assistant Maram for his own safety after several attacks. They all in some way work towards their own freedom and untangle secrets about the past and each other. …
Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a standalone novel about magical books, families, and secrets. Overall, this was just a fun ride. Plenty of action, fun worldbuilding reveals, good foreshadowing but also a few reveals I didn't see coming.
The three main characters that it follows all are sort of trapped in their own way by their family. Joanna (who can hear magic), is trapped protecting her family's magic book collection after her dad has died. Her estranged half-sister Esther is trapped on the run, following (until she doesn't, kicking off the plot) her dad's wishes that she move every year on November 2nd so that her mom's killers don't catch up with her. Nicholas is trapped by his overbearing father and his assistant Maram for his own safety after several attacks. They all in some way work towards their own freedom and untangle secrets about the past and each other.
I enjoyed the magic system in this book a lot. Magic in this world has a cost (sometimes people's lives) to create magic books (as the title might imply), doesn't come with infinite uses, and often has a short time limit on how long the spell lasts when read. I enjoy that the success of the creation process is largely vibes-based, in that (for example) to create a better book with a truth-spell one needs to obtain accoutrement to recreate a similar context where they personally felt great truths being told. There's also an in-world reason why book magic is bloodline-related.
This has almost everything I love, and you can pet the dog and the cat.
Fantasy mystery with conspiracy, magic books, (queer) relationships, nerd with sweet/sarcastic bodyguard, and did I mention magic books?
Jo and Esther Kalotay have a complicated relationship. As sisters, they love each other and want to support each other. As their parents’ daughters, they can’t be anywhere near each other. Families are complicated but I’ve never seen one quite as complicated as the tangle of obligations than what I found in Emma Törzs’s Ink Blood Sister Scribe. Even stranger, the weirdness is all because of books. Magical books...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
