tl;dr enemies to lovers excellence meets family bonds meets witches, urban fantasy, and scifi in this fantastic debut
Premise
After years of waiting for her Calling—a trial every witch must pass in order to come into their powers—the one thing Voya Thomas didn’t expect was to fail. When Voya’s ancestor gives her an unprecedented second chance to complete her Calling, she agrees—and then is horrified when her task is to kill her first love. And this time, failure means every Thomas witch will be stripped of their magic.
Voya is determined to save her family’s magic no matter the cost. The problem is, Voya has never been in love, so for her to succeed, she’ll first have to find the perfect guy—and fast. Fortunately, a genetic matchmaking program has just hit the market. Her plan is to join the program, fall in love, and complete her task before the deadline. What she doesn’t count on is being paired with the infuriating Luc—how can she fall in love with a guy who seemingly wants nothing to do with her?
With mounting pressure from her family, Voya is caught between her morality and her duty to her bloodline. If she wants to save their heritage and Luc, she’ll have to find something her ancestor wants more than blood. And in witchcraft, blood is everything.
Rating
5/5 stars
Review
Wow. I went into this book with high expectations, and they were definitely met. Blood Like Magic is an urban fantasy/sci-fi novel that follows Voya, a girl tasked to kill her first love to save her famliy's magic. The problem is: she's never been in love. A genetic matchmaking program leads her to Luc Rodriguez, who she's not the biggest fan of. As time runs out, Voya must make a decision between her morals and her family.
The world of this book is super interesting because it not only includes witches and magic, but it also takes place in 2049 and features sci-fi elements. One of the major conflicts revolves around the genetic modification that is prevalent in this futuristic world. Also, for my Canadian friends - this book takes place in Toronto! I really enjoyed exploring this world and found the world-building very easy to understand.
I also thought the plot was really interesting and really kept you on your toes asking questions and wondering what was going to happen next. There were a lot of plot twists that came in that surprised me, and I think the pacing was done relatively well (there were some slow points, but more dynamic plot points made up for that). I enjoyed the discussion of morality and purity vs impurity, and that will definitely be a conflict that continues in the sequel.
When it comes to characters, I felt really attached to all of them and enjoyed getting to know them. I think the side characters were well-developed, and Voya was a great protagonist that I loved following the journey of. The events of the book tested Voya quite a bit, and she grew a lot as the story went on. AND LUC. RODRIGUEZ. I need a moment to talk about him because he is quite literally "I hate everyone but you" excellence. I loved seeing his walls come down and learning about his background - he's such an interesting and complex character that I'm so excited to see more of. Him and Voya's dynamic was also very well-crafted, their relationship made me swoon, and their witty banter made me so happy. This is enemies to lovers at its peak (also hurt/comfort hehe).
This book also has a super diverse cast, as it centers a community of Trinidadian-Canadian witches with other POC side characters (Chinese and Sri Lankan). There are also many LGBTQ+ characters within Voya's family (including demiromantic rep, which was great to see) and Luc, the love interest is a Mexican-Canadian trans boy, There were also many aspects of Trinidadian culture incorporated into the novel (especially food, as Voya is an excellent chef) that I enjoyed reading about.
Above all, this is a story about family. The ties within Voya's family are so strong, and despite cracks and arguments, they still see each other as home. All of the family members had something different to offer, and I loved watching Voya's family history unravel.
Other Info
Ongoing series (only first book has been released)
14+
Rep: ownvoices Black (Trinidadian-Canadian) mc and scs, Mexican-Canadian trans boy li, Black trans girl sc, Black demiromantic lesbian sc, Black gay sc, Chinese scs, Sri Lankan sc
CW: whipping scene (within the context of slavery), gun/police violence, eating disorder, blood/gore/violence, death, substance abuse/addiction, mentions of child neglect
Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Like-Magic-Liselle-Sambury/dp/1534465286
Would I Recommend?
Without a doubt.
Similar Books
Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley
Opmerkingen