Review: Blood Debts

Clement and Cristina Trudeau are sixteen-year-old twin heirs to a disgraced but powerful magical family that saw their matriarch dethroned by some pretty vicious and powerful enemies nearly thirty years ago. Fast forward to the present-day and it seems like the same folks that usurped, nay murdered, their grandmother all those years ago are still out to wreak havoc on their family when they  discover that their mother has now been cursed in a pretty bad that was seemingly meant to kill her as well. 

So what do you do when you have tremendous conjure magic flowing through your veins, you just discover that your mother has been hexed, and it's  likely by the same folks who usurped your family’s  crown in the first place? You take a beat to readjust your crown  and you team up with your equally powerful twin to  take your family’s legacy back, that's what you do! 

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker is a marvelous debut that tells the story of powerful magical families, intergenerational curses, and twisted family dynamics in contemporary New Orleans. Touching on themes of grief, racism, mental health, as we well as some political machinations and backstabbing thrown in,  this book does a wonderful job of highlighting traditional african spiritual practices as well as the journey to self-discovery especially when destiny is calling and it doesn’t feel like you’re ready or prepared. 

So do I recommend this book? Hell yes! I really enjoyed my time while I was reading and even though some bits were slightly predictable from the whodunnit perspective, the overall story  and pacing were written really well and I look forward to seeing where the author will take the characters as it's the first in a series.  

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Teen  for the e-ARC. Get your copy here!