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Blood Debts (Blood Debts, 1)

Terry J. Benton-Walker

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GODS MEDDLE AND MAGIC WILL BETRAY YOU, BUT THIS TIME JUSTICE WILL REIGN.

Terry J. Benton-Walker's contemporary fantasy debut, Blood Debts, is "an extravaganza from start to finish" (Chloe Gong) with powerful magical families, intergenerational curses, and deadly drama in New Orleans. Featured on NPR Weekend Edition Sunday, Buzzfeed, BookPage, Nerd Daily, POPSUGAR, and more.

“A conjuring of magnificence.” —NIC STONE

“A force.” —ROSEANNE A. BROWN

“An extravaganza.” —CHLOE GONG

“Powerful.” —AYANA GRAY

“Sings with hope and rage.” —TJ KLUNE

“An unforgettable thrill ride.” —J. ELLE

“Steeped in magic.” —ALEXIS HENDERSON

“Crackles with mystery and ferocity.” —MARK OSHIRO.

Thirty years ago, a young woman was murdered, a family was lynched, and New Orleans saw the greatest magical massacre in its history. In the days that followed, a throne was stolen from a queen. On the anniversary of these brutal events, Clement and Cristina Trudeau—the sixteen-year-old twin heirs to the powerful, magical, dethroned family—are mourning their father and caring for their sick mother. Until, by chance, they discover their mother isn’t sick—she’s cursed. Cursed by someone on the very magic council their family used to rule. Someone who will come for them next.

Cristina, once a talented and dedicated practitioner of Generational magic, has given up magic for good. An ancient spell is what killed their father and she was the one who cast it. For Clement, magic is his lifeline. A distraction from his anger and pain. Even better than the random guys he hooks up with.

Cristina and Clement used to be each other’s most trusted confidant and friend, now they barely speak. But if they have any hope of discovering who is coming after their family, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other and their family's magic, all while solving the decades-old murder that sparked the still-rising tensions between the city’s magical and non-magical communities. And if they don't succeed, New Orleans may see another massacre. Or worse.

★ “Riveting and relevant.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

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Posts about this title from Left Unread Books

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Nov 30 2024

The Secret Power of Literature... and spoiler alert, it's not escapism.

Escapism is lovely, but that is not what reading does for me. So I thought I would share a little bit about one of the biggest things I get out of reading.

***Trigger warnings: grief, slavery, trauma, parentlessness, broken family, racism***

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Apr 11 2024

Blood Justice: 200 pages in

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Apr 8 2024

Male Crush Monday: Terry Benton-Walker

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Mar 30 2024

Preparation for a new podcast episode!

I am reading Blood Debts and Blood Justice in preperation for a podcast episode with the author, Terry Benton-Walker.

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Posts about this book from across Bindery

Bookish AfroLatina's Library\ \ Gabby\ \ • Oct 22 2025

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\ \ I'm currently reading Blood Slaves by Marcus Redmond and it got me thinking about the numerous books out there with "blood" in the title. So I pulled together 12 BIPOC books with "blood" in their titles that I thought would be fitting reads for spooky season!\ \ Let's get into them:\ \ Blood Slaves by Markus Redmond \ \ For fans of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners and readers of Victor LaValle, Tananarive Due, Stephen Graham Jones, and Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, this ingenious reimagining of the vampire origin story set during the early days of American slavery blends alternate history with supernatural horror, as the last surviving member of an ancient African vampire tribe meets a slave desperate for freedom, and together, they lead an army of enslaved people in a cinematically blood-soaked battle for freedom and revenge.\ \ -Penguin Random House\ \ The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le \ \ Nhika is a bloodcarver. A coldhearted, ruthless being who can alter human biology with just a touch.\ \ In the industrial city of Theumas, Nhika is seen not as a healer, but a monster that kills for pleasure. And in the city's criminal underbelly, the rarest of monsters are traded for gold. When Nhika is finally caught by the infamous Butchers, she's forced to heal the last witness to a high-profile murder.\ \ As Nhika delves into the investigation, all signs point to Ven Kochin, an alluring yet entitled physician's aide. Despite his relentless attempts to push her out of his opulent world, something inexplicable draws Nhika to him. But when she discovers Kochin is not who he claims to be, Nhika will be faced with a greater, more terrifying evil lurking in the city's center...\ \ Her only chance to survive lies in a terrible choice—become the dreaded monster the city fears, or risk jeopardizing the future of her kind.\ \ -Macmillan\ \ Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi \ \ They killed my mother.\ \ They took our magic.\ \ They tried to bury us.\ \ Now we rise.\ \ Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.\ \ But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.\ \ Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.\ \ Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.\ \ -Bookshop.org\ \ Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okosun \ \ A brilliant new voice brings us a brilliant new epic fantasy novel: Ehigbor Okosun’s first book in an action-packed, poignant duology inspired by Nigerian mythology—full of magic and emotion and set in a highly atmospheric, complex world in which a young woman fights to survive a tyrannical society, having everything stripped away from her, and seeks vengeance for her mother’s murder and the spilled blood of her people.\ \ -Harper Collins\ \ Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury \ \ A rich, dark urban fantasy debut following a teen witch who is given a horrifying task: sacrificing her first love to save her family’s magic. The problem is, she’s never been in love—she’ll have to find the perfect guy before she can kill him.\ \ -Simon & Schuster\ \ Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams \ \ A teenager on the run from his past finds the family he never knew existed and the community he never knew he needed at an HBCU for the young, Black, and magical. Enroll in the debut of a fresh fantasy series unlike anything you’ve seen before.\ \ -Penguin Random House\ \ The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport \ \ Blending fantasy and science fiction, N. E. Davenport’s fast-paced, action-packed debut kicks off a duology of loyalty and rebellion, in which a young Black woman must survive deadly trials in a racist and misogynistic society to become an elite warrior.\ \ -Harper Collins\ \ Blood & Brujas: An Elements of Iteria Novel by Mikayla D Hornedo \ \ From the moment Dayanara could wield a blade, she's been used as a weapon for Caldera, a kingdom of fierce brujas. Whenever her mother, the all-powerful Acna, points her in the direction to kill, Dayanara follows.\ \ After centuries of war against the vampire kingdom at their border, her mother offers their king Dayanara's hand in marriage as a truce. Their agreement is bound by magic, and Dayanara must decide if she wants to kill the king, seduce the king, or embrace the union.\ \ On the bright side, the marriage is set to make her the next Acna, granting her all the power that comes with the role. Depending on how much the Goddess Naom gifts her, it could be enough to regain control of her life. Or maybe everything will crumble beyond repair.\ \ -Bookshop.org\ \ Blood Moon by Britney S. Lewis \ \ Legendborn meets The Vampire Diaries, in which an 18-year-old girl is mysteriously accepted into a university in a midwestern town known for its legends about werewolves and vampires...\ \ BLOOD MOON is a dark and thrilling, intensely romantic ride, a fresh take on a werewolf love story for a new generation of paranormal romance readers, and is the first book in a series. It is set against a high-stakes paranormal backdrop—a world ripe with secret identities, rich supernatural lore, and a forbidden romance... that comes with a deadly bite.\ \ https://www.britneyslewis.com/bloodmoon\\ \ \ \ Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn \ \ Book 2 of the Legendborn Cycle\ \ The shadows have risen, and the line is law.\ \ All Bree wanted was to uncover the truth behind her mother’s death. So she infiltrated the Legendborn Order, a secret society descended from King Arthur’s knights—only to discover her own ancestral power. Now, Bree has become someone new:\ \ A Medium. A Bloodcrafter. A Scion.\ \ But the ancient war between demons and the Order is rising to a deadly peak. And Nick, the Legendborn boy Bree fell in love with, has been kidnapped.\ \ Bree wants to fight, but the Regents who rule the Order won’t let her. To them, she is an unknown girl with unheard-of power, and as the living anchor for the spell that preserves the Legendborn cycle, she must be protected.\ \ When the Regents reveal they will do whatever it takes to hide the war, Bree and her friends must go on the run to rescue Nick themselves. But enemies are everywhere, Bree’s powers are unpredictable and dangerous, and she can’t escape her growing attraction to Selwyn, the mage sworn to protect Nick until death.\ \ If Bree has any hope of saving herself and the people she loves, she must learn to control her powers from the ancestors who wielded them first—without losing herself in the process.\ \ -Simon & Schuster\ \ Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye \ \ Following one girl’s journey of magic, injustice, power, and revenge, Deborah Falaye’s debut novel, inspired by Yoruba-Nigerian mythology, is a magnetic combination of Children of Blood and Bone and An Ember in the Ashes.\ \ This is what they deserve.\ \ They wanted me to be a monster.\ \ I will be the worst monster they ever created.\ \ Fifteen-year-old Sloane can incinerate an enemy at will—she is a Scion, a descendant of the ancient Orisha gods.\ \ Under the Lucis’ brutal rule, her identity means her death if her powers are discovered. But when she is forcibly conscripted into the Lucis army on her fifteenth birthday, Sloane sees a new opportunity: to overcome the bloody challenges of Lucis training, and destroy them from within.\ \ -Harper Collins\ \ Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker \ \ Thirty years ago, a young woman was murdered, a family was lynched, and New Orleans saw the greatest magical massacre in its history. In the days that followed, a throne was stolen from a queen.\ \ On the anniversary of these brutal events, Clement and Cristina Trudeau—the sixteen-year-old twin heirs to the powerful, magical, dethroned family—are mourning their father and caring for their sick mother. Until, by chance, they discover their mother isn’t sick—she’s cursed. Cursed by someone on the very magic council their family used to rule. Someone who will come for them next.\ \ Cristina, once a talented and dedicated practitioner of Generational magic, has given up magic for good. An ancient spell is what killed their father and she was the one who cast it. For Clement, magic is his lifeline. A distraction from his anger and pain. Even better than the random guys he hooks up with.\ \ Cristina and Clement used to be each other’s most trusted confidant and friend, now they barely speak. But if they have any hope of discovering who is coming after their family, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other and their family's magic, all while solving the decades-old murder that sparked the still-rising tensions between the city’s magical and non-magical communities. And if they don't succeed, New Orleans may see another massacre. Or worse.\ \ https://tjbentonwalker.com/blood-debts](https://bookish-afrolatina.binderybooks.com/item/CQj2mSuPhTXp7uyXlZni/)

Books by the Blood: BIPOC Books for Spooky Season

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Queer as Books\ \ José\ \ • Sep 14 2025

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👻🌈 Queer Books for the Spooky Season 🎃

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Not So Well Read\ \ Courtney\ \ • Mar 14 2025

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Did you fly through your read of Oathbound? Do you now have a Bree-shaped hole in your heart? Do you need some way to fill the void in your soul? Well, luckily, there are so many other wonderful YA Urban/Contemporary Fantasy books out there that you can dive into next!\ \ Here are 10 recommendations for books I don't see on the book internet nearly as often as I should and why you should read them:\ \ Wings of Ebony by J. Elle \ \ Read if you want: Explorations of grief, God-inherited-power, and timely social commentary \ \ Similar to Legendborn, Wing of Ebony features a young Black protagonist who has recently lost her mother and inherited an ancestral power. Through this she discovers a hidden world of magic wielders and an evil specifically targeting the neighborhood and community she loves.\ \ Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas \ \ Read if you want: More convening with ghosts, culturally diverse magic systems, and complex look at the "bad boy" trope\ \ If you love Sel and want another story with a "bad boy" that approaches their character with nuance and heart then Cemetery Boys is your book. Thomas allows Julian to fully defy the labels put on him in a way that will pull at your heartstrings.\ \ Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia \ \ Read if you want: Explorations of grief and family legacy steeped in monster-based mythology\ \ Okay, this is actually a middle grade novel, but that doesn't actually matter, so moving on. Like Bree, Tristan is also struggling to cope with grief after the loss of his best friend in a tragic accident. When he accidentally opens a rift between worlds allowing monsters into the human world–hello, Shadowborn Gates–he must become the hero he was always meant to be.\ \ Tangleroot by Kalela Williams \ \ Read if you want: Explorations of legacy, history, and generational trauma within a southern universtiy setting\ \ Tangleroot is not really fantasy, but I wanted to include it anyway, because it feels connected to the Legendborn Cycle in a lot of different ways. First major similarity is the university setting and the way it confronts institutionalized racism. Moreover, the way that Williams weaves together the historical mysteries with the present day reminds me a lot of Volition and Bloodwalks.\ \ Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams \ \ Read if you want: Secret magical societies, mysterious power, and a university setting\ \ Okay, the publisher literally comps Legendborn in the description... But truly, Blood at the Root is very similar on a lot of levels, but takes place at a magical HBCU. Without spoilers, this book also has a very similar mystery to the one Bree is wrapped up in in Oathbound with the missing rootcrafters.\ \ Alex Wise vs. the End of the World by Terry J. Benton-Walker \ \ Read if you want: Possession-based magic systems, mythology, and Black kids saving the world\ \ This is another incredible middle grade novel that everyone should read. Have you picked up that I love middle grade yet? Alex draws his power from a god, but like Bree, that possession can come with both good and bad. Also like Legendborn, this one plays into well-known lore–the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Oh, and the friendships in this book are top tier.\ \ Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker \ \ Read if you want: Generational magic systems and secret magical societies hiding in the real world\ \ I love this one for Legendborn because the main characters have to go through the same journey of uncovering their family's secrets that Bree encounters with her own mother. There's also a lot of emphasis on the way the magical and non-magical worlds interact (i.e. onceborns). Also, don't let the cover fool you, this is NOT a historical novel.\ \ I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea \ \ Read if you want: Demon possessions and claiming what you're owed\ \ This one is a crossover into the YA-horror genre, but I think it still has appeal to fantasy lovers. In this novel, Laure, a young Black ballerina decides to make a deal with a powerful demon in order to claim her rightful spot in the prestigious Parisian ballet world. Oh, and she also maybe falls in love with a demon, for those who ship Bree and Sel.\ \ Zodiac Rising by Katie Zhao \ \ Read if you want: Mythology-based story, academic setting, and generational magic systems \ \ Zodiac Rising is almost one-to-one in the way the magic system works, but centers on the Chinese zodiacs rather than Arthurian Lore. The descendants of the original zodiacs attend a secret elite boarding school, but when something goes wrong, they have to break a curse.\ \ Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston \ \ Read if you want: An incredible young heroine claiming her place in a world that wants to exclude her\ \ Ending with one last middle-grade suggestion! When Amari's brother goes missing, she takes his spot in tryouts for an secretive paranormal investigative unit to get answers. Amari goes up against the children of some of the world's wealthiest people and encounters a lot of the same things that Bree does during her own Kingsmage tryouts. Also, like Bree, Amari has a secret that might disrupt the entire system.

10 Diverse YA Fantasy Books to Read after Legendborn

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Queer as Books\ \ José\ \ • Dec 3 2024

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Nov 30 2024

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***Trigger warnings: grief, slavery, trauma, parentlessness, broken family, racism***

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Queer as Books\ \ José\ \ • Nov 25 2024

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Queer as Books\ \ José\ \ • Nov 20 2024

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"Blood Debts" and "Ring Shout"

Reading Update "Blood Debts" by Terry J. Benton-Walker "Ring Shout" by P. Djélì Clark

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Queer as Books\ \ José\ \ • Nov 20 2024

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Apr 11 2024

Blood Justice: 200 pages in

I am half way done with Blood Justice by Terry Benton-Walker, and I wanted to share my progress with you! Buckle up!

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Apr 8 2024

Male Crush Monday: Terry Benton-Walker

Let me tell you about a Black man you should be reading!

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Written Reveries\ \ Krystal\ \ • Apr 2 2024

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Book Mail from Terry J. Benton-Walker

Thanks so much @T.J. Benton-Walker Blood Justice is available April 23rd! The White Guy Dies First is out in June✨

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Mar 30 2024

\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://leftunreadbooks.binderybooks.com/item/A3vKNbV69AqcMZCUvEgr/)

Preparation for a new podcast episode!

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