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purplepenning 's review for:
Blood Debts
by Terry J. Benton-Walker
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
There is a lot going on in this dark, contemporary urban fantasy. It's a great concept, but it didn't end up working for me. (I'm not giving a star rating because I'm definitely not the target audience.) Blood Debts is, as promised, absolutely dripping with generational magic, trauma, and family and community drama. But the cast and scope felt too big, and the characters managed to feel both underdevoped and belabored. I hope it works better for other readers, or that the series as a whole comes together better than this first part.
Graphic: Death, Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Digital bullying, necromancy