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

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The summer season had officially begun a couple days ago: November 5. Three days after Esther, according to her father’s urgent edict, should have been long gone. Especially in how their childhood has shaped their adult lives (namely their ambitions, motivations and approach to relationships) as well as the complicated feelings surrounding their long-time estrangement. 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?

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

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. Considering it's a standalone novel, the plot was rather contained and I personally enjoyed that: I read so many Fantasy series that it made for a good change. I do think that expectations matter: if you go into it expecting a Fantasy novel with complex world-building and in-depth characterization, you might be disappointed. First, it feels more like a literary/mystery novel with magical elements than a Fantasy book. Secondly, I'm not saying that the characters are one-dimensional, because they aren't, and I did care about them, but they're still sketched in rather broad lines, and some of the relationships shifts were SO abrupt that they didn't make sense to me (*cough* what the second romance even was? Is that insta-lust or whatever? I'm too demi for that haha)(also I had another romance in mind for this specific character, ngl). Ink Blood Sister Scribe starts with Esther at a research station in the Antarctic. She has found love in the shape of an Australian, Pearl, who has been there for a year with her. However new people are now arriving and Esther moves on every year on the 2nd of November discarding her old life. Meanwhile her younger step sister, Joanna, is still in their old home in Vermont. She is the only one living there now and she is tasked with looking after the collection of magical books that her family has. This role leaves no time for her to do much else as the wards need to be set on the house each day.My amazing body, yes, obviously,” said Pearl, whose lips were now trailing along the sensitive shell of Esther’s ear.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs - Publishers Weekly Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs - Publishers Weekly

Many thanks to HarperCollins for a free copy of this book. Please assume all normal legal jargon here- but most importantly, these thoughts are my own. The following is from Emma Törzs' Ink Blood Sister Scribe . Törzs is a writer, teacher, and occasional translator based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her fiction has been honored with an NEA fellowship in prose, a World Fantasy Award for Short Fiction, and an O. Henry Prize. Her stories have been published in journals such as Ploughshares, Uncanny Magazine, Strange Horizons, and American Short Fiction . She received her MFA from the University of Montana, Missoula. 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 Törzs's debut novel features a wonderfully realized and atmospheric world and a plot filled with unexpected twists...Törzs does a fantastic job creating a gripping and suspenseful story that keeps readers on their toes and wanting more. Fans of The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern will love this magic- and suspense-filled novel.For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements--books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect. I also found Nicholas’ upbringing quite fascinating and really enjoyed the juxtaposition between his own sheltered upbringing and that of Esther and Joanne’s, which, despite the similarities highlights just how severely lonely and starved of affection he is. Seeing how easily Nicholas risks his own well being to gain approval was genuinely quite heartbreaking—and his earnest attempts at friendship, with both his surly bodyguard and Esther made me want to give him a big hug.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe ‹ Literary Hub Ink Blood Sister Scribe ‹ Literary Hub

Calm down, Don Juan,” Pearl said, laughing. “I’m not questioning your technique. You just seem a little nervous.” With decadently rich prose and an intriguing mix of magic and mystery, Emma Törzs’ Ink Blood Sister Scribe explores loyalty, sisterhood, betrayal and obsession —in this gorgeously interwoven tale about two estranged sisters, their family’s magical book collection and the shady organisation willing to do anything to possess them. I love when magic is treated in a new and interesting way, and I got it in this novel. The characters were all distinct and likeable and had their flaws. When the storylines all came together, this book started to sing for me. The best aspect of this novel for me is its magic system. There are two types of magical people: those who can write books, known as Scribes, and those who can sense which books contain magic. The rules and limitations of the magic system are well thought out, which gave me the opportunity to fully enjoy the book without any confusion. The fantastical elements really reminded me why I, as a reader, enjoy books so much in the first place. The plot completely revolves around the magic system, which meant we had the whole novel to immerse ourselves in it.Esther slipped a hand beneath the hem of Pearl’s sweater, fingers finding the smooth dip of her waist as Pearl nudged one of her long legs between Esther’s thighs. But even as she moved her hips in friction-seeking instinct, her father’s long-ago words began to echo unbidden in her head—a cold glass of water thrown in the face of her subconscious.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs | Goodreads Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs | Goodreads

Emma Törzs is a writer, teacher, and occasional translator based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her fiction has been honored with an NEA fellowship in prose, a World Fantasy Award for Short Fiction, and an O. Henry Prize. Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a smashing new debut from Emma Torzs in the dark academia genre. Magic is real and spells are cast from books, spells that are written with the blood and life of Scribes. But the magic is getting rarer, books are limited and valuable and this story follows two different families who have libraries to care for. Joanna cares for a small library of books, alone and isolated, following her father's wishes, whilst her sister Esther mysteriously cannot come home, and is forced to move every 12 months or something bad will happen. She fetched them two glasses and Esther sat up on her elbows so she didn’t spill it all over herself as she gulped it. This was the driest place she’d ever been, every last bit of moisture in the air frozen into ice. It was easy to get dehydrated.Törzs's spellbinding fantasy debut imagines a parallel Earth where gruesome magical spell books are written with the blood and bodies of people known as Scribes...Törzs's lyrical, idiosyncratic prose...elevates proceedings. This is a must-read. 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?” 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. 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 . . ." 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!