Reviews with content warning for Racism - Blood Like Magic

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

59 reviews

mostlykenny's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

omg, when I first picked up this book I was expecting some cheesy normal romance book because was focused on the potential with Voya and Luc AND THIS BOOK IS WAYYYYY MORE THEN THAT. I fell in love with this book, so much that I ordered the sequel as I was in the midst of reading the first book! CRAZY! Everything is just beautiful. To the world-building, the unique take on witches and the magic system, the story driven narrative, the twists and turns, the characters, the writing. Ms. Sambury you have wowed me. This book not only is family oriented, which I love and talks about how not only romantic love is the only love you can feel and that platonic love exists, but I connected SOOOO much with Voya. Especially her anxiety about choices and decisions and what she wanted to do in the future. I connected with her about her love for her family and also how her community wasn’t as close anymore and I FELT that. I felt that. Off topic but I LOVE the dedication of this book

“To Black girls everywhere: you can be more than a slave or a lesson for someone else. You deserve to be a witch or a dragon tamer. To fall in love with a vampire or lead your friends against a villain. You are more than the best friend or comedic relief. You are a hero.” It inspired me so much to read this and I love this author so much. This book might have just became my favorite book of all time. I love it so much. I can’t wait to read the sequel !! 🩸🕯️❤️⭐️

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emzhay's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I really really wanted to love this book. At the mid-point it was looking like 4 stars, then 3.5 but the ending really ruined things for me.

The characters were the highlight of the book for me from the beginning. I cared about literally everyone and wanted to know more about them. I liked how messy their relationships
were too. The plot, however, was way too drawn out. It could have been edited down. There was too much telling and not enough showing. There was so much repetition that could have been excluded, and so many details that were over explained at least 3 times sometimes in the same chapter. It made listening to the book such a chore especially toward the end.

I know this is a duology, but the ending is incredibly unsatisfying.

We’re told (many times) that Voya struggles with choices, but we never see her struggle with a choice that isn’t somehow related to the task which literally anyone would struggle with. Her major character flaw is that she’s never thinking about the right things. She only looks at the surface of a problem. So much of the book could’ve been avoided if she (or anyone in her family) had thought about things beyond like two steps. I know they’re dysfunctional, and I liked that about them, but eventually it made for a difficult reading experience

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mallotar's review

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dark inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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cosmicwillow's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this was such a fascinating and gripping world! the story was cool, but i think the setting sold me the most; i found the balance of fantasy and a future sci-fi to be really fun - not quite the typical urban fantasy you’d expect! im very much looking forward to reading the sequel.

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melodyseestrees's review

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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therainbowshelf's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

If you're looking for a dark, witchy sci-fi fantasy centering a strong female protagonist, this might be a pick for you! I enjoyed it but I didn't love it. A few things didn't work for me, especially every characters' insistence that words without set meaning definitely have this one specific random interpretation that doesn't make a ton of sense. That part was just frustrating and was a major plot element.

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sashahc's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Blood Like Magic” by Liselle Sambury is both near future Sci Fi and Urban Fantasy YA. Voya is a hereditary witch from a Trinidadian family living in Toronto in the year 2049. It is a time of ubiquitous genetic manipulation and ever increasing social stratification. Voya is given her magical coming-of-age task from an enslaved ancestor: she has one month to destroy her first love or she will destroy her family. It’s full of the difficulties of being in two cultures and a complicated and sometimes stifling family. There is a lot of self examination on what being “good” means and how to stay true to oneself while knowing what you owe to the ones you love and to your legacy. There are also thrills and mysteries and conspiracies, a trans love interest, and lots of queer folks. Also also, some mouthwatering food descriptions.

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