A book about books, with magic! What's not to love??

It also iincludes:

- sibling love
- magic
- mystery
- romance
-intrigue
- dogs
- bodyguards!!

I absolutely adored this tale about sisters who embark on a journey to save books and protect the magic that surrounds them. Esther and Joanna are sisters living separate lives but come together when their father dies.

I found this book to hook me from the very first chapter set at a research base in Antarctica. It throws you into the story with sensuous writing and a world that glitters and shines through the pages. We meet many characters along the way, but it's the sibling love that stands out the most. There's so much intrigue, romance and of course BOOKS that this reading this book made me breathless.

I loved every page and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and mesmerising read! It's definitely a page turner, and I can't wait to read more books by this author! Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for the e-arc!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#InkBloodSisterScribe by #EmmaTörzs is currently my book of the year. There is nothing I didn't love about it. Fresh magic, clever world building, wonderful characters, generous and intelligent writing. This is contemporary fantasy at its best.

A brief example of my favourite sentences -

"Listening, always, for the rare susurration of magic."

"...just another bitter bead in her rosary of missed opportunities."

“In order to avenge herself she must be free. And to be free , a prisoner has to pierce a wall, detach bars, cut through a floor— all undertakings which a patient and strong man may accomplish, but before which the feverish irritations of a woman must give way.”

"He stepped closer to examine a drawing of a naked woman with a very full bush pulling a three-headed snake out of her vagina."

Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe is published on July 6.

With enormous thanks to @randomhouse and @netgalley for the free e-ARC in return for an unbiased review.

This is one of those books that I was thinking about and wanting to go back to when I was doing other things. I had to make myself put it down and focus on listening to real people, rather than keeping it open and finding my gaze wandering back to the page.

I was eager to return to it to discover what was going to to happen to the characters next.

It's really well written and I will read more from this author, probably starting with the follow-up book to this one.

Horror, thriller, fantasy, what more could someone want really? Such a great, interesting and addicting book.

Joanna is a caretaker of books of magic, just like her father before her, who died clutching one of his beloved books. Since his death Joanna has lived alone. Her sister Esther, moved out of their home when she was 18 to keep the family safe and has continued moving ever since.
Nicholas is a scribe, he can write spells but every one he writes makes him a little weaker. His Uncle tells him he is the only scribe still alive and keeps him safe in the house they call The Library. But is the place that keeps him safe the place where he is in the most danger?
When the three are brought together, things that they had always trusted will be challenged, new truths will be learned and their lives will never be the same.
Absolutely spellbinding. Characters you will connect with and feel for. A subject you will be enchanted by. A story you will not forget. Full of twists, turns and hold-your-breath moments.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s hard to believe it is a debut novel. I loved the writing style and found it easy reading. I hope this is the beginning of a new series. Magic and witchcraft are two of my favourite things to read about. Highly recommended!

Enjoyable fantasy novel about magic in modern day society with an adventure element to it..

You sometimes find fantasy novels with a huge list of characters in the front so that you can keep track of who is who. This can be quite tedious. I'm please to write that this fantasy novel about books and magic has a mere 7 to 8 important characters. Esther and Joanna are sisters with different links to the magic connected to their father. They become involved in the machinations of others plotting to use them to further their own ends. The characters are original and interesting and the plot moves along nicely with a few cliffhanger endings to chapters.. It's well worth a look and i recommend it to all lovers of straight-forward fantasy novels (as opposed to trilogies and sagas). I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I thought Ink Blood Sister Scribe was terrific, a mesmerising blend of fantasy, horror, and a little drop of thriller – three of my favourite genre’s. The first half of the book moves between Esther’s story as she settles into some kind of stable life and love, ignoring the warning’s from her childhood at her peril and the story of Nicholas, a scribe who can use his blood to write magical books. I wanted two know how these two threads were connected. The way the story moves back and forth between both of them works really well. The moment when Esther and Nicholas meet is well written, and I had no clue what their connection was. This is a gripping, highly original book.

Joanna lives alone in the woods of Vermont, the protector of a collection of rare books; books of magic. Her older sister Esther, who just upped and left with no explanation, moves constantly between countries and jobs , never staying anywhere longer than a year. Esther desperately trying to avoid the deadly magic that killed her mother. However, she has found love and possible happiness on a research base in Antarctica and decides to stay put for the first time in ages. 

She then finds spots of blood on the mirrors in the research base and she knows someone is coming for her, and that Joanna and her collection of books are in danger. For them both to survive, she and Joanna must work out the secrets their parents kept hidden from them - secrets that could possibly cost them their lives.

This book had me gripped from the first chapter. It was intriguing and I really wanted to know why Esther couldn’t return, who was after the books and the secrets. It did drag slightly in the middle but it picked up again and oh wow it was a roller coaster ride right up until the last page. Thoroughly enjoyed this book

Any synopsis that mentions mentions magic books and mysterious libraries has my ears pricking up, and this had me hooked from the first page, I really enjoyed the whole adventure. The perfect balance of humour and intrigue, combined with great characters and an interesting take on how magic works.
The author seemed to have a lot of fun with the story, taking inspiration from classic fairytales and magical tropes but mixing her own unique style and wonderful elements such as Sir Kiwi, who made me very happy.
I’ll definitely be recommending this to everyone.

This fantasy story takes quite a while to really get going. But when it does it sucks you in and doesn’t let you go. That is until the sadness or is it satisfaction when you realise you have come to the end of a good book. (Thank you to Random House Uk, Cornerstone and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine freely given.

The idea of magical books is nothing new, neither is the idea of working spells by reading specific books. But the way this book was set up, was very different and quite exciting.

The story was very well thought through. Everything made sense, but it took some time for the explanations to be revealed. I enjoyed how interwoven everything was. This made for a slow beginning, but it was also nice to see the characters have their own lives that suddenly got completely messed up in different ways.
The way the story pushed all of them together was great. It was obviously constructed and felt like it, but it also felt as if this feeling had been left on purpose. The ending revealed a pretty good explanation.

There are a couple of darker tones in this novel - it's not a cute or funny read, it's pretty serious and sometimes a bit gruesome, but it worked really well.

I loved the depth of the characters and their interactions. The relationships of both the sisters and Collins and Nicholas were great. It was also nice to see a fantasy novel without a focus on romance. The romantic parts were sweet and well fitting and did play a role, but not a big one.

The writing style was nice. Easy to read, nice language.

I also liked the representation aspects of this book. Not over the top, but very fitting and in my opinion well written.

Emma Törzs really did a great job and you can see how much work she put into her book. It's a fantastic debut and I can only recommend.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was a really enjoyable book. Admittedly, it was rather slow-paced and with a lot details. The first part especially is a bit long. That aspect won't appeal to anyone but at the same time many things happen and I enjoyed the mystery, the magical books. I never felt bored but i sometimes wished some things went a bit faster. I wish there were more time with all the characters together fir example, and less introduction.
I really loved the characters and the dialogues but also felt that we just scraped the surface of their relationship that had more potential. I wanted romance for my handsome British one-eyed scribe but sadly, it didn"t happen.
I just want to add that you don’t want to expect romance, not really. Anyway, It is well-written and I enjoyed it. It is a good standalone in which magical books are truly at its center.

Emma has written an impressive debut novel one that keeps you riveted as you read as quickly as you can! It’s full of magic, romance and family relationships all tied in with the writing of magical books.

As a book lover, I am always a sucker for stories that are centred around books themselves, and Ink Blood Sister Scribe might have just become one of my all time favourite 'books that feature books.' Joanna Kalotay lives a life of solitude, in a house that only a handful of people could actually find, because her house holds a secret. Joanna's family are caretakers of books, but not just regular books, magical books, books that can allow you to fly, walk through walls... books that can kill people. Her older sister, Esther, moved out when she was 18 and has since lived the life of a nomad, never settling in one place for too long to ensure her safety and that of her family, until one day she finds somewhere, someone worth staying for. These two sisters both love and fear magic in their own ways, but neither can truly fathom the danger they are in and, when outside forces start looking for them and their library, they will have to search into their families past, and the past of the books themselves if they are to survive the coming war.

In Joanna and Esthers world, books aren't just magical in the traditional sense, there are actual magical books out there, books that can transport you across continents, allow you to become invisible, books that can kill you, and the sisters have spent their lives around these books, but there is one massive thing that sets them apart; while Joanna can hear, even feel the magic coming off the books and can read their spells into existence, the magic doesn't work on Esther in the slightest, she cannot be affected by it, nor can she hear/ feel or read it to life like her sister can. But there is a darker side to these books, the truly magical ones are written in blood and by people called Scribes, Scribes can write magical books into being using their own blood but can never read them to life, and readers, like Joanna, can read books but could never write one. The whole history of the book making, the danger behind it as well as the magic added this whole other dark aspect to the story, something that starts off as magical and wondrous, somehow becomes darker and creepier the more we learn about it, and Torzs does a brilliant job of showing just how wonderful magic can be, but also how dangerous it can be in the wrong hands.

The story is told from three different POV's. Joanna, Esther & Nicholas. Joanna lives an extremely isolated life, her father is dead, her mother is not allowed into the house, her sister left when she was 18 and the only contact they have is through sporadic postcards. She's the quintessential golden child, the one who has always done what she was told, and if that means locking her mother out of the house and spending the rest of her life looking after the books, then that is what she will do. She's a character that really grows throughout the book, coming to see that blind belief isn't all it's cracked up to be, and I loved seeing her open herself up to new opportunities and meeting new people.

Esther comes across as the stereotypical run-away child. Never staying in one place too long, nearly cutting off all contact with her family. But the more time we spend with her, the more we understand her reasoning, why she chose this lifestyle, and that is something that instantly drew me to her as a character. If Joanna is easy to empathise with because of her solitude, Esther is equally easy but because of her decisions, her choice to cut herself off from the people that love her to save them. She's feisty and a little more forthright than Joanna, but she's just someone desperate to find a safe place in the world, one where she can stay without their being any consequences.

Nicholas is the last living Scribe, someone who can write magical books into being using his own blood. He has lived a sheltered, if not privileged life, never wanting for anything except that which he cannot have, a normal life, with friends who haven't been paid to 'babysit' him. Nicholas is a character who can't seem to see his own predicament, but we as the readers definitely do. We see him being used and abused for his ability, and I loved seeing him come to realise this throughout the book and start to fight back against those who have kept him under lock and key his entire life.

As well as the above pov character's, Torzs treats us to a brilliant cast of side characters such as Cecily, Joanna's mother & Richard and Maram, Nicholas's Uncle and his partner. But my favourite side characters was by far Collins, Nicholas's bodyguard/reluctant friend. He's the person who starts to show Nicholas how bad he's been treated and his character definitely add's a little humour, as well as tension to the story. In fact all of the side character's add something to the story, whether it's drama, intrigue or danger. We have characters that you will love, as well as a good old antagonist whose comeuppance can't come quickly enough, but Torzs weaves them all into the plot so effortlessly, you're never quite sure who you can trust.

Her writing style is incredibly lush and almost seductive in how it slowly but surely drags you into the story. It's filled with introspection, but still manages to move at a steady pace thanks to Torzs using these parts to drip feed us not only the history of her world, but the books themselves as well as the characters. In fact, Torzs has written this book in a way that had me questioning whether these magical books actually ever existed, whether they still do. She uses the character's, their backstories and the histories of the families to weave these magical books into history so well that it's hard to imagine they didn't exist at one point. There are plot twists a plenty as well as a few well placed fight scenes that also help the story not feel too slow, but it's just one of those books that, once I started reading it, learning about the books and the types of magic they could create, I never managed to put it back down.

There are a few romantic sub plots in the story that I loved, but this book focused more on the familial style relationships than any kind of romantic ones. Joanna and Esther's relationships was so incredibly real and well written. These two sisters who love each other, and resent each other at the same time, but would do anything within their power to protect the other. And on the other side we have Nicholas and his Uncle who claims love whilst slowly stripping Nicholas of any free will, making him more servant than family member and using him for his own gain. Every single relationship was so well developed and showed the true complexities of family.

I'm gonna apologise because this was one mega review, but I just adored this book. It was magical, whilst still feeling incredibly real and Torzs manages to show the complexities of family, politics and magic in such a brilliant and effortless way. It's safe to say I will be keeping my eye out for whatever she writes next.

You'll find yourself trying to figure out what this book about books is all about. However, despite the mysteries, a lot is laid out in plain sight, which makes it easy to follow. About a quarter into the book we're introduced to everything mentioned in the title. Ink. Blood. Sister. Scribe. And the magic system is easy to understand as well: magic is bound in books and needs blood to be written, recharged or activated. There's those with magic and those untouched by magic - the latter able to become Scribes.
All this is the basis of a kind of mystery story, however it's not so much the plot I was interested in but the characters. We start with a triple POV and I have to admit that at first I only cared about Esther. But then - in very unique ways - these people slowly start coming together, and by 66% of the book I was so pleased with the team having been assembled (and yes Sir Kiwi is also part of this team!) that I just couldn't stop reading.
I would have luckily watched them inking and blooding and sistering and scribing for the rest of the book, but there's some twists and turns still in wait!
I was very satisfied by the end of the book, though I'd still love to read more of them, how they're all doing now in their own way. I'm sure there's room for plenty more!

4,5/5 stars

Thank you so much @netgalley and @centurybooksuk @delreyuk for the eARC!

#InkBloodSisterScribe #bookstagram

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me a copy in exchange for a review.

Let me preface this with some facts:
We've got Dark Academia, queer representation, disabled representation, hidden Libraries, spell books, and pints of blood.

This was such a gripping read, and I loved every second of it.
Esther was my favourite of the three main characters that we had, just because I felt for her the most- having to leave her family and move around the world every year. Not to say that I didn't enjoy Joanna, who was kick ass in a totally different way, and Nicholas, who was a gentle soul of a man, which I really liked.
I can see this becoming a fantastic tv series or movie, it was cinematic, and the writing style was so well done. I love a chapter that ends on a cliff hanger!
Trigger warnings for:
Loss of a loved one, divorce, blood, maiming, and abandonment.

Dark Academia isn’t my favourite area of fantasy but the ideas behind this one sounded so intriguing that I had to give it a try. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for me.
The story is told through the POV of the three main characters and while I enjoyed Esther’s chapters, I didn’t really engage with either of the other two. The pace of the book is very slow and I often found my attention wandering. However, it does pick up a bit in the second part of the book and I did become more involved with the story.
I loved the ideas behind the story but sadly, the book as a whole just didn’t hold my interest. Part of this I think was due to the complexity of the plot and it just might have been that this was the wrong book for me at this time.
I am very grateful to Net Galley and the publishers for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A beautifully written debut novel, a languid stroll down an avenue of dark academia scribe magic, secret societies and the ways people can deal with grief differently.
Although the pacing was slow there were enough twists and turns in the plot as secrets were revealed to keep me interested, the characters were endearing and relatable.

If you loved a Discovery Of Witches, Bable and book eaters or just dark academia in general this book is for you.

It is a bit of a slow burn but once you get through 40/50% you will not be able to put it down.

This is such a unique look into the magic world. And it has books in it what more could you ask for. Thank you #netgalley for my eARC.