This book was absolutely magical. What a delight to be introduced to a story that combines magic and books together in a way that doesn't feel gimmicky. Starting a book off with murder is one way to capture my attention and it didn't end there. The two sisters are endearing, I feel like they develop well through their journey together and there's a level of sympathy and relatable for the roles they have to do in life. I will be getting a physical copy of this book and it's definitely one to reread

A fantastic book which kept me reading into the early hours.
Joanna has stayed at home looking after her family’s collection of magical spell books - this is a solitary role which she has taken on. Esther, her magic immune sister, suddenly left home aged 18. Esther moved around constantly, never staying anywhere for more than a year - until now.
Nicholas is on the other side of the world. He is looked after and protected by his uncle and the Library a place he has always felt safe - until now.
And now, their lives are in danger. Secrets are everywhere and they must uncover the truths and learn who to trust if they are to survive.
A story of family (and the lengths they will go to keep each other safe), secrets, friendship and mist of all magic.

What a great story! It was really the blurb that grabbed me in on this one - I love a dark mystery and the added fantasy element definitely suggested it would be right up my street.

This is one of those stories that you need to bare with a little at the beginning with the differing POVs - I definitely favoured Esther’s chapters to begin with as they got straight to action and found Nicholas’ a little slower, but as the story progressed I loved the way each time the perspective changed you were left wanting in another.

As the story approached the half way mark I felt like things really took off and I was solidly invested in what because a twisting and turning, dark and thrilling mystery. I loved the world building, the magic and the themes of power and privilege - this was a fantastic read and I’ll definitely be adding a physical copy to my shelf on publication!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

My first read of 2023 and off to a fantastic start.
This book was absolutely magical!
I love the trope of magical books and libraries and this one didn’t disappoint. Mystery, intrigue and magic. Definitely my cup of tea.
The beginning is a little slow as we meet the characters and start to understand the magic system but by chapter 3 I was hooked and couldn’t wait to find out where the story was going to go.
I love the characters, especially Nicholas and Collins and I’m already excited to see what happens next!!
Definitely one I’ll be adding to my bookshelves as a physical copy 💕

Wow, so much love for this book! I was hooked from chapter one, loved the characters, the setting, and the world-building. I will do a fuller review later. My only criticism is the title, it doesn't fully capture the magic of the book and felt cumbersome. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book, a great concept of books only being able to be written by a scribe who had no other magical powers. I hope there will be a second book.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe follows the story of estranged sisters Joanna and Esther and their family connection to rare magical books. Joanna has stayed home her entire life to be the protector of their book collection while Esther has moved to a new place every year to avoid the deadly magic that she lost her mother to. When a situation happens, she realises both her and Joanna are in danger and they must figure out family secrets and so much more.
Though the beginning of this feels quite slow it’s definitely worth sticking with and the second half of the book really picks up the pace and I didn’t want to put it down! The characters are all really well developed and believable, the world building is fantastic and I enjoyed all the details. Looking forward to whatever comes next from Emma Törzs!

Esther must move her life once a year, Joanna stays at home, never changing, Nick lives a life of privilege with no freedom.

The books are the magic that will bind the sisters and Nick.

When Esther is in Antarctica and content, she makes the decision to not move on this year. But when she realises that using magic, someone has found her, she understands why her father told her she must move on November 2nd every year.

The magic that we book readers suspect our books have anyway, is used here with the last Scribe, the wards, the spells written in blood.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC, thoroughly enjoyed this book and will look forward to more books by Emma Tőrz

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a smashing new debut from Emma Torzs in the dark academia genre. Magic is real and spells are cast from books, spells that are written with the blood and life of Scribes. But the magic is getting rarer, books are limited and valuable and this story follows two different families who have libraries to care for. Joanna cares for a small library of books, alone and isolated, following her father's wishes, whilst her sister Esther mysteriously cannot come home, and is forced to move every 12 months or something bad will happen.

On the other side of the world, the majority of the magical books left are housed in a giant library, controlled by a family who also contain one of the last known living Scribes, Nick, allowing them to make - and sell - spells for massive amounts of money. But this puts their Scribe in great danger, and he lives an isolated and controlled existence, whilst the act of making spells takes a huge physical toll.

These two families are going to come together in unexpected ways to solve a thrilling mystery - why does Esther have to keep running? Who is killing Scribes? Twisty, dark and exciting, I loved it!

A must read for any urban / modern fantasy or dark academia fans.

I was offered this book as an ARC by NetGalley and found it to be an enjoyable, easy read. To me Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a refreshing slant on the dark academia genre that is so popular at the moment (there are no universities or lecturers here but it has some similar vibes).

Joanna Kalotay lives a lonely existence, in the woods of Vermont. She lives in a remote house in the middle of the woods, completely alone. No one ever comes to visit her, because they can’t. She is the protector of a collection of books, books with power. Some allow you to walk through walls, others to turn water to wine, others to control animals. Others, to make the world forget where you live, to keep you and the books safe. Others still can kill you if you read them.

Her older sister, Esther, ran away when she turned 18, and changes jobs, and countries year after year. They don’t talk, and only keep in touch via postcards that Esther sends Joanna from each new location. Joanna is desperate for Esther to return. But she doesn’t realise that Esther is keeping away in order to avoid bringing danger to Joanna’s door. While working on a research base in Antarctica, Esther finds herself happy, and in love. Rather than moving on at the one year mark, she decides to stay another year. What could happen? Then she finds blood marks on the mirrors in the base, and knows someone is using magic to try to get to her. She is in danger, and her sister and the book collection too.

Their parents kept so many secrets from them, but now, in order for the sisters, and the books to survive, they have to unravel the secrets, and find the truth behind the books and their magic.

For those of us who find books magical, this is a book about magical books, and gives us what we wish for, when a book is read it is a truly magical experience. This story was a journey into a new fantasy world, fantastically written. I was gripped from the first page, and truly hope it becomes a series. The characters were engaging, and believable, and the story full of twists, turns, and more and more questions. The pace and flow really set the story up very well, and immerses you into this world, full of tension, danger and mystery. I really enjoyed this book and didn't want it to end!

*I received this book from NetGalley for review, but all opinions are my own.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs

Joanna Kalotay lives alone in the woods of Vermont, the sole protector of a collection of rare books; books that will allow someone to walk through walls or turn water into wine. Books of magic.

Her estranged older sister Esther moves between countries and jobs, constantly changing, never staying anywhere longer than a year, desperate to avoid the deadly magic that killed her mother. Currently working on a research base in Antarctica, she has found love and perhaps a sort of happiness.
A very different type of book to my usual read but I enjoyed it and the characters especially Joanna and her purpose in life to protect her books of magic.

What a great read
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First, I must start by saying I'm not a big fan of this book's title, it just feels wrong. However, the story itself is brilliant, with some great characters and a refreshing plot idea that keeps the reader hooked.

Its about two sisters, Jo and Esther, and their family's connection to some dangerous magic books. They are not witches as such, in fact I don't think the word is used other than a brief reference to the Salam trials, but spells can be cast.

An elite organisation seek to get these books at any cost, so they have to take drastic action to keep the family safe.

It's a slow starter, but do stick with it if you find it at all lagging, as the plot really picks up after some initial scene setting/character development. After that, all the little threads become entwined, with lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing throughout. I hope there are going to be more, as there is definitely the opportunity to expand, but it does work well as a stand alone too.

Intriguing name for an intriguing book. It’s got witches, mystery, suspense and drama. The concept of the book initially drew me in but it did struggle to grip me.

It’s a slow starter that plants some great seeds to keep you questioning what’s going to happen and what direction it’s going to take. A slow burner, it didn’t instantly pull me in and I found it difficult to stay in the book. I’m not sure why as it’s a lot of what I love. Some characters were better than others and I think you always find some that you back more.

The writing is fantastic though. An exemplary example of ‘how to set the scene’ and you really feel immersed. The language is brilliant and it’s so atmospheric. Definitely one of those books that you need to give a go to form your own opinion of and not read the reviews beforehand as it’s full of potential and it’s one many will love!

I struggled with this. Reading I found myself quickly losing interest as I just didn't gel with the characters enough to keep me pulled in. I'm sure others will love this book but for me not so much

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs is an adult fantasy that would be the perfect gift for any book lover. The story revolves around Joanna, whose family has been tasked with protecting a library of magical books. The books are being hunted down by a secret organization, and they'll do anything to get them. Can Joanna uncover the secrets of her family and protect herself and her sister Esther from the secret organization that is after them?

Here is an atmospheric excerpt from Chapter 1:

"Esther couldn’t get over the blue of the sunlit sky.
It was a variated blue, almost white where it met the snowy horizon but deepening as Esther’s eye followed it upward: from robin’s egg to cerulean to a calm, luminous azure. Beneath it the Antarctic ice was blindingly bright, and the scattered outbuildings Esther could see from her narrow dorm window drew stripes of indigo shadow on the white ruts of the road. Everything gleamed. It was eight o’clock in the evening and not discernibly darker than it had been at eight o’clock that morning.
“Excuse me,” Pearl said, and hip-checked Esther to one side so she could fit a piece of custom-cut cardboard in the window frame. Esther fell backward onto her unmade bed and propped herself on her elbows, watching Pearl lean over the tiny, cluttered desk to reach the glass."

Overall, Ink Blood Sister Scribe is an intriguing adult fantasy that will appeal to fans of Book Eaters. One highlight of this book is the interesting premise. I loved the idea of secret societies. I did take off 1 star because there were several character who I didn't really connect with. Also, I felt that the plot sometimes lacked urgency. I wouldn't classify this as a thriller, but more as a fantasy with some action sequences. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of fantasy books in general, I recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in July!

I really enjoyed this fantasy/thriller - it had me gripped until the end and merited 5 stars!

Books have magical properties and are written by Scribes who are immune to magic. Anyone reading their books out loud can perform magic.

The story revolves around Esther and Joanna whose father, Abe, collected magical books and was murdered by a vampire book and Nicholas, a Scribe who is protected by his uncle, Richard and the Library.

The story is slow to start but once the three meet the pace increases coming to a very satisfying finale.

twisty, exciting, dark and full of adventure.

One to be recommended.

I do not normally give up reading a book I have started, but I am afraid that I did with this one. I found the magic uninteresting, and the characters unbelievable. I can see that it would appeal to some people, but unfortunately not to me.

Don't be put off by the frankly annoying title or the slow start because once this gets going it's a great fantasy read.
Books are magic (which as bookworms we already know, right?) but some are more magic than others. Written in the literal blood of scribes, rare and resistant to magic, anyone can cast a spell by a drop of their book and reading the spell aloud. Maybe they are turning water not just into wine but a specific long dead vintage, maybe they have enchanted a rug to be an actual flying carpet, or maybe it's something a lot more sinister.
Esther and Joanna know all about the books. Their father was a great collector and Esther's mother was killed by people who wanted to get their hands on that collection. Now he too is dead and Joanna lives alone, dutifully guarding his library, setting wards every night to protect the books, lonely in the empty house. Meanwhile Esther left home at eighteen told by her father that she always had to move on the same day of the year, never able to settle or put dpwn roots. Never able to come home. But this year she doesn't want to move. She's happy in her relationship, happy in her work in Antartica. What really will happen if she stays this year? And on the other side of the world Nick is weak from bloodloss at the last surviving scribe, always watched by his uncle or bodyguard, the protections that keep him safe a prison.
The start is slow. The author states at the end that she received a grant enabling her to go to Antarctica to research setting a book there and who can blame her? But actually, great as the setting is, we spend too much time there, and too much time with Joanna and her dull daily life. It's with the advent of Nick a fifth of the way through the book that the story really comes alive. Twisty, exciting, dark and full of adventure, this was fabulous fun. Recommended.