ARC Review: Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

“Voya is unapologetic about her curves, her hair, her family, her magic, and I’m 100% here for it.”

~ Under the Covers

“We decide who we are, not the magic we practice.”

Blood Like Magic is a futuristic (sci-fi), dark urban fantasy about a family of witches. The magic in this book is summed up as being about blood and intent. Blood is required to cast the spell and intent is the spell. Voya lives with her family that consists of Granny the Matriarch, her mom, her uncle, and her cousins. Her family plays a huge role in this book. When she bleeds her first time, she starts her rite of passage called the Calling where she receives a task from an ancestor. Her task comes from Mama Jova and her task is to destroy her first love. Voya interprets this as meaning she’ll need to murder her first love—the problem is she’s never been in love. She does however have a genetic romantic match, Luc, who she feels she is called to woo and destroy. Luc is an intern at Nugene (the genetic matching tech company) and his Sponsor dad, Justin, is the owner of Nugene.

Voya’s task and her connection with Luc opens up mystery after mystery about Justin and Voya’s Aunt Elaine. Somehow the two are tied together and while trying to complete her task she’s also trying to discover secrets long since buried.

I’ve never experienced a setting like this one. It has a beautiful blend of science fiction and dark urban fantasy. Voya’s family was so well developed that you’ll see the complexity of each character and how each family member plays a role in shaping the family and how being a Matriarch can become a test of morality. I wanted way more Luc scenes. The way he resists and then is drawn and changed by Voya’s warmth is so irresistible. Voya also loves to cook which I thought gave the story, and her character, even more depth because she is more than a witch and a part of her family.

I had some issues with the breakdown of magic between pure and impure and how that tied into the story. Also, Voya is such a beautiful person and struggles with decisions (which I get) but the one decision that she makes and is almost proud of herself for I just can’t understand or stand behind. One other thing is that we spent SO much time getting to know Keis and then she just falls into the background at around the halfway point which I get because that happens when love interests come into play but I really enjoyed her character and wanted her around more.

Overall I’m so happy to have read this book and I absolutely loved Voya. Sambury has written a game-changer that I know will inspire more books like it. We need more black heroes and more women of color who are in the spotlight as the main character. Voya is unapologetic about her curves, her hair, her family, her magic, and I’m 100% here for it.

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