Blood and intent.
That is the main lesson a young Voya Thomas must learn if she is to complete what seems like the world’s most unfair witch initiation. This story was set in the not-so-distant future of the 2040s in Toronto, Canada. My most favorite thing about this book is Leslie Sambury’s ability to build a vibrant world full of complex characters that bring this afrofuturistic world to life. From the very first sentence, I was hooked.
I will say that the pacing was a bit slow, especially in the middle of the book. There were several moments where I grew impatient waiting for Voya to take action instead of just thinking about it, but I understand that ultimately it was important to show all of her ruminating and what would happen because of her natural indecisiveness. Her generational relationship with the women (both alive and dead) in her family was beautiful. I thought that Sambury did a great job taking the reader through the different points in time as Voya uncovered more and more about her family’s history and her community’s true past.
For those of you who love romance, Sambury weaves this in by saddling Voya with the task of killing her first love – a young, moody, brilliant tech genius named Luc. Luc is not interested in being around anyone, let alone a twitchy witch such as Voya, making her task ten times harder. Sambury takes her time building the bond between the two teenagers sweetly and believably, full of angst and insecurity but also optimism and hope. There were some surprising twists thrown in the story between the two of them as well, which was just as fun to read.
As a Black girl, I’m always happy to stumble across new afrofuturistic writing, especially when it combines witches, magic, and mayhem and Sambury did not disappoint. She wove together actual African American and Trinidadian history with her world’s magical lore, which was fascinating to read. I loved how much Voya’s heritage plays a part in her day to day. The book shows how mundane life can be enhanced by magic, and casts a bright light on what family karma and knowledge look like as it is handed down from generation to generation – often showing up from the way we speak down to the foods we eat. It made the entire story feel even more realistic and kept you locked in even through the slower parts.
Most fantasy stories have a good villain and Blood Like Magic is no exception. Luc’s billionaire father, tech genius Justin Tremblay, is hellbent on unlocking the next level of genetic manipulation and thinks that the Black witch community could be the key. With Luc and Justin’s plans playing out in the background of Voya’s story, Blood Like Magic uses their schemes to showcase how interconnected the Black witch community is in the presence of, and sometimes despite, nefarious outside forces at play.
Overall, this book was excellent and Sambury did a great job bringing readers into this vibrant world that will definitely leave your mind buzzing, wondering what adventures await us readers in Sambury’s future books.
You can learn more and grab a copy of Blood Like Magic on Leslie’s website or on Amazon. Enjoy!
