Blood Like Magic
“High stakes, big heart, and lots of Black Girl Magic…unputdownable.” —Aiden Thomas, New York Timesbestselling author of Cemetery Boys
A rich, dark urban fantasy debut following a teen witch who is given a horrifying task: sacrificing her first love to save her family’s magic. The problem is, she’s never been in love—she’ll have to find the perfect guy before she can kill him.
After years of waiting for her Calling—a trial every witch must pass 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.
A rich, dark urban fantasy debut following a teen witch who is given a horrifying task: sacrificing her first love to save her family’s magic. The problem is, she’s never been in love—she’ll have to find the perfect guy before she can kill him.
After years of waiting for her Calling—a trial every witch must pass 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.
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Community Reviews
Originally reviewed on Cyn's Workshop
A compelling urban fantasy, Blood Like Magic focuses on the present without sight of the past and the injustices based on power, sexuality, gender, and skin color.
Compelling Storytelling
Blood Like Magic is a richly told urban fantasy that pulls together the past to create a new and compelling debut novel. It is incredible to think of this novel as a debut because the writing is so powerful, pulling the past forward to highlight the injustices that continue.
The story follows Voya, a young girl from a witch family who just got her calling – the moment where the ancestors gift her power. She just needs to pass a test, and then she is all set. That is until her task is to sacrifice her first love.
Voya has to constantly straddle this line of morality, questioning whether she can destroy one life to save another. It puts her position into perspective because she is a young black woman with power, making her dangerous to some. But Voya has a code, she has hope, and while her indecisive nature makes others look down at her, it is her greatest strength.
Voya’s indecisive nature gives her perspective. She can look at a situation and come up with various alternatives. It is what saves her and her family, this ability to find creative ways to solve a problem.
Furthermore, the story gives the reader much to think about. While the reader sees Voya think outside the box and grapple with the tough decisions she is forced to make; the reader also sees the past.
There are some brutal scenes in the novel, scenes depicting the cruel brutality that is slavery. These scenes should hurt; they should make the reader feel uncomfortable because we should never forget the past atrocities or be doomed to repeat them.
And Blood Like Magic is about uncovering the secrets of the past and learning from them.
Final Thoughts
There is so much about Blood Like Magic that was amazing. From the way it moved, the way it captured the pain of the past and brought it to life, using it as a teaching moment for readers. Injustices continue for people of color, and it is essential to highlight that. Voya and her family keep their magic secret so that they are not exploited as their ancestors were. But the story is about more than that.
The way Blood Like Magic was diverse, never letting anyone just be a “sidekick,” and highlight how unfair society is to transgender people or anyone in the LGBTQ+ community. It is incredible how Sambury was able to highlight those injustices and inequality by giving readers an incredibly diverse cast of characters. I loved it; every minute, every page was full of thoughtful storytelling and powerful characterization.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify Podcast | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
A compelling urban fantasy, Blood Like Magic focuses on the present without sight of the past and the injustices based on power, sexuality, gender, and skin color.
Compelling Storytelling
Blood Like Magic is a richly told urban fantasy that pulls together the past to create a new and compelling debut novel. It is incredible to think of this novel as a debut because the writing is so powerful, pulling the past forward to highlight the injustices that continue.
The story follows Voya, a young girl from a witch family who just got her calling – the moment where the ancestors gift her power. She just needs to pass a test, and then she is all set. That is until her task is to sacrifice her first love.
Voya has to constantly straddle this line of morality, questioning whether she can destroy one life to save another. It puts her position into perspective because she is a young black woman with power, making her dangerous to some. But Voya has a code, she has hope, and while her indecisive nature makes others look down at her, it is her greatest strength.
Voya’s indecisive nature gives her perspective. She can look at a situation and come up with various alternatives. It is what saves her and her family, this ability to find creative ways to solve a problem.
Furthermore, the story gives the reader much to think about. While the reader sees Voya think outside the box and grapple with the tough decisions she is forced to make; the reader also sees the past.
There are some brutal scenes in the novel, scenes depicting the cruel brutality that is slavery. These scenes should hurt; they should make the reader feel uncomfortable because we should never forget the past atrocities or be doomed to repeat them.
And Blood Like Magic is about uncovering the secrets of the past and learning from them.
Final Thoughts
There is so much about Blood Like Magic that was amazing. From the way it moved, the way it captured the pain of the past and brought it to life, using it as a teaching moment for readers. Injustices continue for people of color, and it is essential to highlight that. Voya and her family keep their magic secret so that they are not exploited as their ancestors were. But the story is about more than that.
The way Blood Like Magic was diverse, never letting anyone just be a “sidekick,” and highlight how unfair society is to transgender people or anyone in the LGBTQ+ community. It is incredible how Sambury was able to highlight those injustices and inequality by giving readers an incredibly diverse cast of characters. I loved it; every minute, every page was full of thoughtful storytelling and powerful characterization.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify Podcast | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
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