“…it's the steps themselves that make a path, instead of the other way round. We are creating even as we believe we are following.”

This was my second attempt at reading this book after being very kindly given the ARC, the first time round I just could not get into it at all - maybe it was just that the books I was craving to read at the time was not this vibe? Either way, I am SO very glad I went back to read it again as a buddy read with some of the sub club girls! As I absolutely loved it!

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a magical woven tale of three people: Joanna who spends her days caring for her late fathers collection of magical books, whilst trying to figure out what or who killed him.

Esther, Joanna’s estranged older sister, who has been on the run for nearly a decade thinking that by doing so, she is keeping her family safe.

And finally, Nicholas, a scribe who spends all his days locked away and trapped within a library, catering to the demands of his uncle.

We follow them separately until all three are suddenly thrown together on a magical self discovering journey. The authors writing style was captivating and all of us who read it were honestly just amazed it was her debut! The book keeps you guessing (and second guessing!!) and I really found it hard to put down, as I just wanted to know what was going to happen next.

I really can’t wait to see what the author will come out with next as if it’s of the same quality as this, it’ll be great!

Dangerous books and magic, sounds exactly like my kind of read, so I was pulled to this story. The prologue instantly drew me in, so I was hoping the rest of the story would live up to it.

There was this compulsion to read early on, which I can’t quite put my finger on why, despite the characters taking a while to grow on me, even though they are intriguing in parts. But I enjoyed how the characters had a similar overarching theme explored different ways, as well as the slow tension and the developing intensity as we’re introduced to these mysterious people and organisation trying to acquire these dangerous books and not knowing who you can trust.

However, after a while towards the middle, the story felt stagnant because the rhythm of what was happening felt too similar leading up to midpoint, giving me too much opportunity to set the book aside, as well as shifting POV at interesting points that sometimes diminished some of the tension built up. But when the mystery and plot picked up again, the book was unputdownable, and overall was a enjoyable fusion of thriller and fantasy.

Thanks to Cornerstone and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and of course the author for gifting me this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic, magical fantasy following two estranged sisters, Esther and Joanna, who have to guard the family library which contains magical books but they have to work together to get to the bottom of a massive secret that ends up with family loyalty, betrayal, magic and power.

Really loved this book, beautifully written and gets the imagination flowing wildly, brilliant plot and character building.

In Ink Blood Sister Scribe, Emma Törzs delivers a delightful world of books, magic and found family that had me gripped from the start. All their lives Esther and Joanna have known that magic exists in the shape of books that give temporary powers to people. While Esther left home at eighteen and left the world of magic behind her, Joanna remained behind and continued to protect their family’s collection from falling into the hands of those who would misuse it. It is a duty that she takes as seriously as their father, but when he dies suddenly, Joanna is left alone to carry on their legacy alone. When Esther doesn’t return home for the funeral, Joanna is hurt and confused, but Esther was told to stay away and keep moving lest something bad happen. Most importantly, she was told not to tell her sister.

Meanwhile, far away in London lives a boy who has also grown up surrounded by books. But Nicolas’ life couldn’t be more different from the Kalotay sisters. Part of a wealthy family with an even richer knowledge of books, his entire life revolves around them. His legacy is one of blood, and danger, and his life is inexplicably tangled up with Esther and Joanna’s lives.

As two legacies and decades of events come to a head, a group of young people find themselves making difficult decisions that will change their lives forever as everything they’ve ever known comes crashing down.

From the first few pages of Ink Blood Sister Scribe, Törzs had me completely hooked. She has a vibrant and unique writing style that breathes life into her characters. Each of them could have so easily become dull clichés, and yet Törzs’ unique style puts a stop to that. Instead, they felt like individual people to me who had been shaped by their experiences, even when those experiences had been very limited in the cases of Joanna and Nicholas. I particularly liked the way that she juxtaposed the two of these characters. Both have spent most of their time with books, and spent little time with the outside world. While they have similarities, their relationships with other people, especially with family show clear differences. As an only child I especially noted how Joanna having a sister effected her, compared to Nicholas who had no siblings.

Nicholas was an interesting character who could have quite easily have become yet another annoying rich kid. What made the difference for me was the way that Törzs kept bringing Ink Blood Sister Scribe back to books. While Nicholas made the typical rich kid comments about an average house being “small”, he then noted that something being “threadbare”. His thoughts on this instinctively jumped to books and how that was something he had only ever read about in books. On the one hand, yes it’s a very snobby thing to think, but when you think about it, it’s an incredibly sad and lonely thing to only be able to see things through the lens of books. As wonderful as they are, they exist to heighten our experiences not be the only experience.

There were moments in Ink Blood Sister Scribe that were I saw coming, and then there were layers and twists I didn’t. This is a deliciously fun and complex book with wickedly interesting world building, and my only complaint is that it appears to be a standalone that ends on a cliffhanger. It can’t (but sadly does) end like that; I need to know what happens next! So if you’re someone who hates books that end like that, probably best to avoid this one as the fact that the cover says “a novel” suggests that’s all we’re getting from this universe right now.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the characters a lot especially Esther she seemed so capable and cool headed under difficult situations. I liked the way the magic worked it was quite unique. I would definitely be open to reading more books I'd there were to be any.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A good interesting read, Recommended.

that was good, but nothing's special.

The concept of magical book isn't something new of course, but this book still made me curious enough to see how it ends. half-sisters has been separated "for their own good": Joanna assigned to guard her family's library, not even allowed to have guest in her home sine their father's death. Esther has to constantly moved so she didn't end up like her deceased mother. but danger was approaching and they had to help each other out.

the pace was quite slow because of the occasional flashbacks. Nicholas's life kinda reminded me of The Inheritance Games setting bc of the massive house that brimming with mystery. The dog was adorable, The character dynamics was only so-so. I think I missed out the mystery behind the father's death or was it not explained?? IDK. it felt important o the plot so I ws confused why it's not talked enough. Oh and the climax final battle scene somehow felt... anticlimactic? But okay I guess

What a brilliant , thrilling ride. The world building is superb and the characters rounded. I would definitely tell anyone interested in magic novels to give this one a try!!

Joanna lives alone in Vermont, where she spends her time protecting the collection of books. But this is no ordinary library. These are books of magic & people have died to get their hands on them. A long way from her sister Esther works in an Antarctic base. Usually he moves on every year but this time she has met a woman & fallen in love. She had decided to stay but when she sees blood on the edge of mirrors she knows she is in danger. She has a rare talent & someone wants to use it!

This short summary in no way captures what a wonderful read this was! Like the subject, reading this was like being under a magical spell. It is a fantasy, but not how one usually thinks of that genre. Thank you so much Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book. It is my favourite read of the year so far- & there have been nearly 150!

When I first tried Ink Blood Sister Scribe at the beginning of Summer, I knew from the first line that it had potential, but I wasn't in the right mood for it. I decided to wait, and I'm so happy I did, because do you know? When I started it again last week, it just *clicked*.

But what is Ink Blood Sister Scribe, really? Is it a book about books? Yes. Is it a mystery? A book about sisters? About family secrets? Yes, yes, and yes.

The book in a glance:
✨Standalone literary/mystery novel with magical elements
✨Magic in the real world: spells written in blood-inked books
✨Estranged sisters
✨Family secrets and legacies
✨Secret organization

Considering it's a standalone novel, the plot was rather contained and I personally enjoyed that: I read so many Fantasy series that it made for a good change. I do think that expectations matter: if you go into it expecting a Fantasy novel with complex world-building and in-depth characterization, you might be disappointed. First, it feels more like a literary/mystery novel with magical elements than a Fantasy book. Secondly, I'm not saying that the characters are one-dimensional, because they aren't, and I did care about them, but they're still sketched in rather broad lines, and some of the relationships shifts were SO abrupt that they didn't make sense to me (*cough* what the second romance even was? Is that insta-lust or whatever? I'm too demi for that haha)(also I had another romance in mind for this specific character, ngl).

As for the plot itself, I did find some of the assumptions the characters made rather *convenient*, and there were a couple inconsistencies, but overall my reading experience was great—it was well-written, I flew through it, and if the "big bad villain" identity was predictable, I enjoyed his demise very much 👀

I'll definitely check out Emma Törz's next books.

I really enjoyed the storyline and writing style of this book, the plot was well paced and the twist really got me, will definitely be following Emma Törzs’ future works!

Really loved this read, loved the building of characters, and loved the big twist, I only saw half of it coming - more adult books about magic please!

What a fantastic read, full of fully rounded characters and a compelling storyline that never disappoints. I loved all of the characters that we were meant to be rooting for and loathed those we were meant to dislike.

Half-sisters Esther and Joanna are brought up to believe in the importance of guarding the family legacy - a library of magic books. The role of each in doing that tears their family apart but that is only the beginning of their story. There is also, in another home filled with magic books, a lonely boy growing up in luxurious imprisonment, the last scribe. How their worlds collide is brought vividly and cleverly to life. Loved it!

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The absolute definition of a slow burn but once you get past the middle of the book, all the anticipation, build-up, story telling and exposition is more than worth it.

Magic, intrigue, secrets, blood and great characters that are all in some way interlinked. I liked (and got quite attached) to the majority of characters and I was a little bereft as the story came to a close.

The novel is incredibly well written, characters well developed, a satisfying ending and a plot that works very well. There’s plenty of twists as it races towards the finale with an ending that does not disappoint. The plot twists are on point.

The final chapters were admittedly anxiety inducing, the books, the magic and curses make for a wild ride.

4.5 starts – rounded up to 5.

Many thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I really loved this book. As a librarian I'm a sucker for any writing about magical books, but this one was really well done. The concept of magic being created by reading was cool, and I thought the characters were really true to life and developed well across the novel. I'll look forward to more work from Torzs in the future.

A fun, imaginative fantasy about magic, family and loyalty - with a surprising amount set in Antarctica! Extremely readable and pacey, although I felt it was a bit self-contained and I would have loved to see more of the wider world, and the way magic interacts with it.

This was such a well plotted and enjoyable read. I loved the way in which Emma Torzs constructed a web of secrets and mysteries around the central premise of spell books and those who collect them. The slow unraveling of all of these secrets was compelling and I thought the characters were really believable. The strained relationship between the sisters was poignant, as was the longing for connection on the part of Nicholas and I loved the way that the arcs came together in a satisfying conclusion. Overall, a very impressive and fun first novel and I will definitely look out for the author's future releases.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to netgalley & Emma Torsz for an arc of this book!

I really enjoyed this one, partly because it was surrounding my favourite subject - the magic of books. I loved the magic system and how different books required different sacrifices and different ways to be made.

This is filled with twists, turns, secrets and really likeable main characters. Nicholas was probably my favourite; having lived such a sheltered life before he just wanted that human connection with the others and I loved it when they eventually all got together and their dynamics.

Nicholas’ ‘uncle’ was so twisted in what he’s been doing to the family and to Nicholas his whole life. Setting up these attacks and killing the ‘additional’ scribes he found was so horrible. I love that he found friends in the end with Esther, Joanna & Collins and that they want to make a better world.

Maram was a massive mind fuck and I wasn’t sure what her motivations were, especially when Esther & Nicholas went through to destroy Richard’s spell and she seemed to be on his side. I like that she didn’t automatically turn into a mother figure because it definitely didn’t fit with her character.

Overall a very enjoyable stand-alone filled with a unique premise and characters I was really invested in.

LOVED IT. - I loved it so much i bought it in Hardback on day of release. I dont buy many books in Hardback unless they are particularly fantastic and this was an exceptional read.


A great fantasy debut, will read further books from this author!

If there's something I can't resist, it's books about books, magic books, libraries, and libraries of magic books, and Emma Törzs' debut definitely fits the bill.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is the story of two estranged sisters tasked with guarding their family's collection of magic books - Joanna leads an isolated life somewhere in Vermont, caring for the library in their warded home, whereas Esther is traveling around the world and currently based at a research station in Antarctica. She has been instructed to be on the move every year on November 2nd to avoid being captured.
When Joanna disregards her father's instructions, events are set in motion that lead to a race to save herself, her sister, and their family's legacy.

I absolutely loved the nuanced magical system, based on writing and reading spells, and the characters were engaging and well-developed. One of the central mysteries, how a book murdered the sisters' father, kept me intrigued, on the edge of my seat, and to be honest left me a bit grossed out in the end.

Twisty, intriguing and with a dark touch - this would make an excellent addition to your TBR for the spooky months!