Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

(William Morrow, 2023)

Reviewed by Ksenia Shcherbino

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a love ode to books and their intrinsic magic. It is also a fantasy with elements of a thriller and has all the right ingredients for a captivating read: libraries, mirrors, dysfunctional families, powerful villains, spells, secrets and magic. There are a lot of traditional fairy tales elements that work (or don’t work) according to expectations: evil (or not so evil) stepmothers, old houses filled with magic and mirrors opening passages, magical (or not so magical helpers) along the quest, and the quest itself—a discovery of one’s true story, one’s belonging and one’s identity. There is also gun violence, mutilation and murder. In a nutshell, three narratives are tightly woven together by three main characters: two estranged step sisters, Joanna and Esther, and Nicholas, a scion of a wealthy and powerful family, all with different degrees of book-bound magical abilities and crossing their paths to uncover the secrets of their heritage and parentage.

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Review from BSFA Review 22 - Download your copy here.