[Book Review] Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker & New Orleans Roast Bourbon Pecan Pie

Set in New Orleans, Blood Debts follows 16-year-old twins Cristina and Clement, heirs to a powerful magic bloodline, determined to save their family while discovering the truth behind a 30-year-old murder that left a dark shadow over their name.

Book Info

Title: Blood Debts
Series: Blood Debts, #1
Author: Terry J. Benton-Walker
Publication date: April 4th 2023
Page Count: 336 pages
Age Range: YA/NA (blood, violence, death, nonconsent issues,  explicit spicy scene)
How I got my hot little hands on it: received a review copy
Publisher’s page: Tor Teen

GODS MEDDLE AND MAGIC WILL BETRAY YOU, BUT THIS TIME JUSTICE WILL REIGN.

Terry J. Benton-Walker’s contemporary fantasy debut, Blood Debts, is “an extravaganza from start to finish” (Chloe Gong) with powerful magical families, intergenerational curses, and deadly drama in New Orleans.

Thirty years ago, a young woman was murdered, a family was lynched, and New Orleans saw the greatest magical massacre in its history. In the days that followed, a throne was stolen from a queen.

On the anniversary of these brutal events, 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. An ancient spell is what killed their father and she was the one who cast it. 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.

Spoiler-Free Summary of Blood Debts

Blood Debts takes place in modern New Orleans thrumming with power from three known branches of magic: Generational (cultural magic passed down through Black ancestral bloodlines), White (light magic), and Vamp (dark magic). On the other end of the spectrum, you have your nonmagical people. This includes politicians and “Redeemers”, a movement for magical regulation whose members fear and hate the magical community.

30 years ago, Cristine Dupart, Queen of the New Orleans Generational Magic Council, was accused of murdering the daughter of the city mayor. A lynch mob consisting of the mayor, his wife, and nine others marched on Dupart’s home. The night ended in a bloody massacre and the Dupart family line dethroned and outcast from the Gen Council.

Current day, the Dupart family is fractured. Clement and Cristina Trudeau, 16-year-old twins of Cristine’s oldest daughter and heirs to the powerful magic of the Dupart bloodline, are struggling under the pain of their father’s recent passing and their mother’s crippling illness. Cris secretly cast a powerful spell she is certain led to her father’s death. The guilt leads her to self-isolate from her brother and her family magic, both once such integrals part of herself. Clem is drowning in anxiety and feelings of loneliness. Keenly feeling the loss of both his father and his twin sister, he throws himself into magic and boys.

When they discover their mother’s illness is actually a deadly curse, the twins turn to their mother’s sisters for help. Unfortunately, the aunts are more concerned with their own problems. With or without them, Cris and Clem are determined to find out who is trying to harm their family. Together they learn members of their own magic circle have targeted their family for years because of the power they hold – and it all leads back to that bloody night 30 years ago.

My Review

There are a lot of things happening in this book. And a lot of viewpoints. Cris and Clem are the main POVs, but there are also 3 others. I enjoyed both Cris and Clem, but my favorite point of view was definitely Valentina, Cris’s once bff now nemesis. Valentina’s family has held the crown of the Gen Magic Council since the Dupart family’s downfall and she’s the kind of villain you love to hate, with depth and nuance and flair.

By around the 40% mark, there are a lot of half-begun threads and new plotlines branching off. It can feel a bit meandering. We go from the search for who cursed their mom, to getting all up in their aunt’s personal business and harassing people from her past out of nothing but nosiness and curiosity, to Clem finding time to pursue a new relationship and get into necromancy, and Cris having a whole character arc going from shying away from even touching magic because she’s scared of hurting anyone to wanting to rain blood down on her enemies.

It’s a lot. But it’s not like the plotlines don’t grow and branch off organically, because they do, like an invasive species.

Stick it out and the payoff is worth it. Once the branches converge and everything starts to clear up, the book becomes unputdownable. Reading Blood Debts is like watching True Blood or The Vampire Diaries, shows with multiple plotlines introduced throughout the season that all tie together in an explosive finale.

I ended up really loving this book and can’t recommend it enough. The characters are interesting, there’s never a boring moment, and the way the author masterfully weaves together racial tensions with magical drama adds a lot of depth to the story and characters. It’s more than simply a magical fantasy, the author wanted Blood Debts to evoke complex feelings about justice, morality, generational trauma, and cycles of violence, and these themes are definitely felt throughout the book. This series is absolutely one to watch for.

Blood Debts Trigger Warnings (may contain spoilers)

Non-consent: Cris finds out her “boyfriend” has been using love magic to make her want to be with him. This causes her to spiral pretty heavily, especially because while they hadn’t had full-on sex, they have come pretty close and done other very intimate sexual acts.

Under-age sex: Clem and his boyfriend are both 16 and engage in a pretty explicit spicy scene.

Let’s Talk Coffee

Blood Debts is the kind of book where the setting is its own character. The magic of New Orleans, with all its rich history, really brings flavor and life to the plot. I recommend New Orleans Roast Bourbon Pecan Pie to immerse yourself in a little of that magic and flavor. It’s the perfect blend of brown sugar, pecans, and bourbon in a cup.