Hi All!
I hope everyone’s weekend went well!
This weekend I read Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs. This incredibly lush story of family secrets, magic, and a group of misfit heroes has surpassed all other reads so far this year for me! Do yourselves a favor and check it out when it releases next week on May 30!
Want to know what makes this book so special? Here are my opinions!
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Date: May 30, 2023
NetGalley Blurb:
In this spellbinding debut novel, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family’s library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection—a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power.
For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements—books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect.
All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna’s isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they’ll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries . . .
In the great tradition of Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue—and marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in speculative fiction.
What I liked about the book:
1. Let’s first discuss the writing, which was perfect! Not only was the world building of the magic system super freaking interesting (which we’ll get to in a bit), but the grammar, spelling, and overall flow of this book was unequivocally flawless. This is not something that I mark an author down for unless it is excessive and leads to a large flow problem for the story, but this is DEFINITELY something I give points for when done well!
This story was written in third person POV, for three main characters: Joanna, Esther, and Nicholas. While I am not usually a fan of third person POV as I feel it is not as personal and intimate as stories told in first person, Emma convinced me that it can be done right with this book! I had no feelings of missing a character’s feelings or wanting to know more of what they were thinking, because Emma was able to expertly weave a third person POV story that felt like first person POV. Maybe I don’t hate third person POV after all!
The flow of the story was fantastic. Information was provided and clarified at the right pace to be mysterious but not daunting. I’m still not able to figure out how Emma did it, but essentially, I knew I was missing details while reading, but I also didn’t obsess over it because I had a bone-deep trust that Emma would get us there. Where and how this trust was developed I do not know, but somewhere within this story it happened and Emma did not disappoint.
2. Getting back to the system of magic, I was completely in awe of the idea and really dug it. I loved that there was definitely a yin-yang concept to it in that the people who wrote spells couldn’t wield them and the people who could practice magic couldn’t write spells; you had to have both for the whole system to work or it would cease to exist.
The methodology behind it all was wildly fascinating to me. The way that spells were written was unique and creative, but I was especially charmed with a book only having so many uses before it faded. This just made so much sense given how the books were written! I can’t say more about that, but trust me, it’s fantastic!
Finally, the background written around scribes and magic as well as all the artefacts found in the library totally fed into my lust for history! I loved the more immediate history we got detailing the FMC’s families before they were born, but also the history we got from generations before that. It made me think, “Did this type of thing actually exist?!?!” This was just like when I watched Jurassic Park for the first time and thought “THIS COULD TOTALLY HAPPEN!”.
3. I liked all three main characters and felt they definitely had their own voices as I read. They were all underdogs in their own ways and I love that! Usually we get one, but we got three here!
Joanna (little sister and magic wielder) was the quintessential goodie good who did everything she was told to without many questions, stayed dutiful and loyal to her family, and ultimately was a prisoner in her own life of solitude. I loved watching her step out of her comfort zone, forge relationships with new people, and ultimately learn to do something she thought she never could.
Esther (big sister and non-magic wielder) was the dictionary definition of the wild child, runaway. Never staying in the same place for too long and never establishing roots until one day everything changed, forcing her to go back to basics, find her way home, and simultaneously find her place in the magical world.
Nicholas (the lone, living scribe) was the sheltered but well-off “chosen one”. Left as the only scribe in the world, Nicholas was treated as no more than a machine for his…abilities, but otherwise was given anything and everything he could possibly want, including one super cute sidekick Pomeranian! Watching him develop relationships with several people and overcome his personal hurdles like a BOSS was so satisfying.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Collins, Nicholas’s hilarious bodyguard, who was really like the fourth MC. Collins’s love for the female Pomeranian, Sir Kiwi(!), his hilarious bickering back-and-forth with Nicholas, and his intelligence despite being sidelined as the brawn in their equation, made him easily my favorite character in the entire story.
4. Finally, this book did a great job tying everything together. From small things in the beginning of the book that later became significant, to the tattooed quote that followed Esther throughout the entire story, there were so many “AHA!” moments in this one that I loved.
What could have been better:
1. I wish we had gotten a bit more romance! I’m a romance junkie, and the description saying “this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue” tells me there is going to be some grand romance. However, I felt the book was missing this piece with both FMCs. Don’t get me wrong, there was romance for sure, both of which I was all for, but there just wasn’t enough there for me.
Final Thoughts:
Such a beautifully written story with a unique take on magic, sisterhood, and unlikely heroes.
Final Rating:
4.5 eye-opening stars!
About the Author:
EMMA TÖRZS is a writer, teacher, and occasional translator based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her fiction has been honored with an NEA fellowship in prose, a World Fantasy Award for Short Fiction, and an O. Henry Prize. Her stories have been published in journals such as Ploughshares, Uncanny Magazine, Lightspeed, Strange Horizons, and American Short Fiction. She received her MFA from the University of Montana, Missoula, and is an enthusiastic member of the Clarion West class of 2017.
Check out Emma’s social media at the links below.
While you’re at it, let’s be antisocial together!
Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Emma Törzs for the advanced copy of this book. The review expressed above is honest and my own.
Brittanica Bold's Book Babblings 