An instant new favourite. I don't often go for witchy elements, so I was surprised how quickly this sucked me in and then completely swept away by all three characters, their imminent convergence, and the unravelling mystery. Captivating, human, magical, mysterious intimate and gorgeously written, with a thoughtful love for words and the real ways they can negotiate power (and with a bonus sapphic)

I enjoyed the slow build to this one, as we are introduced to a new world and intriguing magical system. And how can anyone not love a magical library, truly spellbinding.

A really enjoyable fantasy. I found the magic system really intriguing and the writing captivating, but it did take a little while to get going.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a book about two sisters surrounded by a life of magic-one has magic and one is immune to it. I enjoyed this book as I liked the idea of books being magical objects and potentially dangerous, and although I found the story a little bit difficult to follow at times, the multiple POVs made it really interesting to read as the characters’ stories overlapped and the mysteries started to unravel. The start felt a little bit slow but it really picked up a few chapters in and I enjoyed reading it. I’d recommend this to anyone interested in magic and spells, as it’s a great book.

I've fallen out of love of fantasy and magical fiction after reading nothing else for many years. However this story is full of magic books and secret libraries so how could my passion for this genre not be renewed? There is also a cat

The first part of the book is a slow build as the characters are introduced and the magical system is explored but I was completely captivated. I found the magic in this story interesting if a little bit disturbing. Spell books are only written by scribes using their own blood. Eeeek! However once the spellbooks are written anyone can read them. There are secret libraries where the spellbooks are protected and kept hidden as some books are dangerous and should never be opened.

Once this story gets going it really takes off and there is plenty of action. The threads of the characters all weave together flawlessly and you begin to see how everyone is connected.

It's hard to believe that Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a debut by Emma Torzs as she has totally smashed it with this novel. I can definitely see this adapted for TV and I really hope there maybe a sequel.

I really struggled with this, I didn't find it engaging enough. The writing is good on the whole although sometimes it struck me as a little 'juvenile' for want of a better word. I found the story didn't really come together till nearly half way through and by then I was getting impatient.

I didn't finish this book sadly. I really loved the sound of this book, I loved the chapters leading upto chapter 5. Unfortunately chapter 5 just bored me and I didn't see any relevance to it at all. I really wanted to love this book. For me I wouldn't normally read this genre so maybe that's probably where and why I couldn't finish it sorry.
Thank you to Netgalley and Century publishing for an advanced copy. Good luck Emma with the release!

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.

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.