Pop-Culturalist.com

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury is about a Black Canadian teen named Voya who has to kill her first love or her family’s powers will be lost forever. The only catch? Voya’s never been in love before.

I have to say it was incredible to read about a Sri Lankan family in a fantasy book, which is something I have never seen before. Perfect for fans of Legendborn and Matched.

Trigger Warning: A whipping scene in the context of slavery, gun and police violence, a character with an eating disorder, blood/gore violence, death, substance abuse/addiction, and mentions of child neglect.

 

Highlights

• A genetic matchmaking program.
• One of the best world-building I’ve seen in a fantasy book!
• Enemies to lovers.
• Urban fantasy.
• A diverse group of characters! I love how Sambury included characters with different cultural backgrounds and large families.
• Sacrifice.
• Magic!
• Unlikeable characters (this can be a pro or con for some)! Voya is not a perfect character- she makes mistakes and she doesn’t always do the right thing, but I loved that about her. Voya’s just trying her best. She wants to do the right thing, which is what makes her so believable.
• High-stake fantasy that will keep you up all night!

Lowlights

• Slow start, but it picks up!

 

Overall thoughts: This was a magical debut novel and I can’t wait to read the sequel whenever it comes out! If you’re a fan of enemies-to-lovers fantasy books with a dysfunctional family dynamic then this is the perfect book for you.