Another debut novel for us in November.
Ink Blood Sister Scribe’ is an intriguing fantasy debut exploring family, power, and the implications of secrets. .
For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a rare collection of books: books that don’t just tell stories, but have true powers.
The story follows three perspective characters: Joanna, Esther, and Nicholas.
There are light side romance elements – one sapphic, one male-female – but no central romance, with the focus more on the central mysteries and magic.
The atmosphere is one of the strongest elements. Torzs does an excellent job building secrecy, paranoia, and mystery at every turn. The magic system itself feeds into the eerie atmosphere, centred around blood magic and herbalism – yet without seeming too gory. The first half of the book is slow paced, building that atmosphere and introducing each character – the second is much faster, allowing the thread to unravel.

