Ink Blood Sister Scribe: the Sunday Times bestselling edge-of-your-seat fantasy thriller

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This is a tale that’s so multilayered, so richly woven together that the narrative entertainingly meanders through puzzle solving, uncovering long hidden family secrets and self discovery. Throughout Törzs deliciously blends together contemporary with classic fairytale staples such as various enchantments, magic mirrors, forest animals, a quest, absent parents and even a stepmother. Like any dark fairytale, it is also drenched in blood. There is a fascinating twist on witches and mages as instead of spells just being read aloud and cast, blood is the key to activating the magic or for creating it. There are those who can feel and even hear magic but cannot create it, and there are those who can create it but never feel or hear it. Then there are some spells that are ongoing, that are a work in progress, that hold the power to drain the user’s blood dry. But when she finds spots of blood on the mirrors in the research base, she knows someone is coming for her, and that Joanna and her collection are in danger. Follow where this novel leads and you will be lost in a bewitching spell, a book of magic about books of magic . . . extraordinary.” – MARLON JAMES

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs - Goodreads Editions of Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs - Goodreads

I loved the book based magic system and I really appreciate how the author explored the topics of conservation, power, and control through the library and the books. I always appreciate when a magic system has very strict and clear rules. Each character in this book had their own advantages and limitations within the magic system. This helped build the “found (or reunited?) family” vibes. The ending was too soon for me. I finally had a grasp on the characters and was excited to see where they were going, only for it to end. I never think standalone novels should be a series, but this book is the exception. While the plot concluded nicely, the characters had finally found their stride, and I was really enjoying the relationships starting to flourish. Fingers crossed that there will be another book! Finally, I was enamoured by the descriptions of the sisterly bonds and the longing for belonging, affection, and an identity. A sense of knowing who you are, who your people are, and where you can belong.

In the world of Ink Blood Sister Scribe, books possess the power to grant individuals extraordinary powers—books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther were raised to honor and protect. However, all magic exacts a price, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has been on the run for ten years, fleeing the same fate that claimed the life of her mother. Joanna isolates herself in her home, all alone, save for the company of the magical tomes. But when Esther makes a grave mistake, the sisters are thrown into a fight for their lives, against an evil that they can't seem to identify. No,” said Pearl without hesitation. She herself worked with the carpenters. “Nerds are always absolute party freaks. I used to go to these kink nights in Sydney and it was all surgeons, engineers, orthodontists. Did you know that people who’re into BDSM have notably higher IQs than their vanilla counterparts?” Because of their different duties and different schedules, their paths hadn’t really crossed again until the end of the first month, when Esther had hung a sign in the gym looking for sparring buddies. Boxing, Muy Thai, BJJ, MMA, Krav Maga, let’s fight! :) :) :) She’d added the smiley faces to counteract the aggression of “fight,” but had immediately regretted it when another electrician—an obnoxiously tall white guy from Washington who insisted everyone call him “J-Dog”— saw it and began giving her endless shit.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe: A spellbinding, edge-of your seat

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is itself a magical book, brimming with all the elements that make a story sing - an engrossing plot, characters that steal your heart and make you laugh out loud, and a compelling energy that reveals a true storyteller at work. What a gorgeously satisfying read. Lesley Nneka Arimah, award-winning author of What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky This is a poignant book about power, knowledge and how greed can capitalise on magic and something that deserves to be shared with the world. I’m glad, too,” Esther said. She had practice around Pearl now and could trust her own face not to betray any of her sudden, melancholy mood, and she watched Pearl relax beneath her smile. “Come get me when you’re dressed,” she added. “We can fortify with a shot.” But when all three of these characters discover hidden secrets that redefine their lives, they're thrown together on an unexpected and emotional journey. Esther: Joanna's older sister who has been on the run for 10 years, after her father commanded her to move to a new location every November. Estranged from her family, and in a constant state of motion, she has no ties. But after spending the past year in Antarctica, she's decided to stay another season. For the first time she has a reason to stay: a girlfriend she's really starting to feel something for. And besides, what could possibly go wrong?All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna's isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they'll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries . . ." In this spellbinding debut novel, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family’s library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection—a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe - Goodreads Shelby’s review of Ink Blood Sister Scribe - Goodreads

Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe, is a magical book that reminded me of why I loved reading in the first place. I fell in love with Torzs's writing style and how she made this magical book come to life. I am eager to read what else she has in store! Un fantasy libroso/stregonesco che interpreta a suo modo quello che consideriamo il "potere" di una biblioteca, con libri raccolti, tramandati, custoditi e inseguiti nei secoli.In this spellbinding debut novel, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family's library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection--a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power. Esther and Joanna were good characters for me and their storylines were well developed. I found them both interesting and convincing. However Nicholas was never very convincing to me - he felt more like a caricature of a posh boy. His storyline seemed rather naive and possibly contrived. In terms of the magic content I thought this was generally good. In particular the mirror magic was very good and well used. Esther wanted to answer but found she couldn’t quite look at the woman in front of her, this person she liked more than she’d liked anyone else in a very long time. She felt a tight longing spread through her chest; not desire, but something even more familiar, something that was always with her. It was that she missed Pearl despite her presence. An anticipation of missing, like her emotions hadn’t yet caught up to the idea that this time was different, this time she was staying. Downright irresistible. . . . keeps the surprises and twists coming. . . . Through it all, Törzs stays grounded in her characters' emotional lives, including their tangled family relationships but also their love for the books in their care. By the end you'll gladly follow these people anywhere. Charlie Jane Anders, Hugo-award winning author of All the Birds in the Sky

Ink Blood Sister Scribe – HarperCollins

While I like elements of it, I feel like the execution is going to bring out the ranter in me. Which is a pity, because it's so close to being something I could have loved. And for a book about books, there's very little concern with the contents inside them. It's more about the physical object and the feeling you have when you either hold one or walk into a room full of them. Which is fine and I relate, it just doesn't make me personally connect with the novel or its characters in any way. Nicholas is similar to Esther in that magic doesn't seem to interact with him. Only, his upbringing has taught him much more about what that means. He is a Scribe and can actually write new spell books. When he was orphaned, his uncle took over his care and Nicholas has essentially been catered to and fawned over his entire childhood. He is the only living Scribe his uncle is grateful to use him and allow him to create new spells, which they can sell and profit from. His uncle is also determined to keep Nicholas in a gilded cage. Nicholas has barely interacted with any person that has not been paid to interact with him. He is isolated, slowly going crazy without any meaningful connections in his life, and also slowly dying as he is continually pushed to use more and more blood to create spells. Nicholas's uncle's partner, Maram, who feels like family to Nicholas, seems to step in and give Nicholas a set of instructions for escaping his uncle. Nicholas and his bodyguard, Collins flee and run into Esther.

Though a note for the editor: there's no airport in Brattleboro, and NYC is a 3.5-5.5 hour drive from Vermont, not 8 hours.) This debut novel is an absolute delight, weaving a convincing occult underground into real-world settings.' Guardian All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna’s isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they’ll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries . . . I think the sister relationship and the daughter/mother relationship were the strongest here, but still pretty weak overall. Part of it is that the characters don't feel real to me since they never make choices and don't really seem to have passions outside of the scripted path I mentioned above in the section about their agency. Likewise, the romantic relationship is so brief and unimportant to the story that I honestly forgot about it until it resurfaced at the end. Pearl grinned. She had unusually sharp canine teeth in an otherwise soft mouth, an incongruity that did funny things to Esther’s blood flow. “Can you imagine the variables?”