"Ink Blood Sister Scribe is so many things at once: an adventure, a puzzle, a twisty thriller, and a tender romance. It's a magical book about the magic of books; I adored it." — Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of The Once and Future Witches
“A twisty and thrilling fantasy in which both the magic and the characters have real complexity, real shadows. If, like me, you’re a fan of Holly Black and Leigh Bardugo, pick up this book at once.” — Kelly Link, bestselling author of Get in Trouble
“The best kind of books do not simply expand our world, they let in light from new ones. Törzs's spellbinding Ink Blood Sister Scribe embodies that completely. Chilling and charming in equal parts, Törzs's debut is a love letter to stories everywhere." — Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Tale of the Flower Bride
"Follow where this novel leads and you will be lost in a bewitching spell, a book of magic about books of magic, and the people who reel from reading them. Go beyond the magic and you're left with a heartbreaking tale of family where truth blurs with lies, and blood isn't thick enough. A bold, new novel from an extraordinary new voice." — Marlon James, New York Times bestselling author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf
“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
"A fierce story of secrets, enchantment, and family both born and built, Ink Blood Sister Scribe left me more spellbound with each turning page. These characters will steal your heart—and perhaps, your blood. Törzs has conjured true magic." — GennaRose Nethercott, author of Thistlefoot
“Bewitching . . . Törzs pulls off such an expert series of twists that readers would be advised to cancel their plans until they get to the end. A fantastic magical adventure, not to be missed.” — Kirkus (starred review)
"Exceptional . . . This suspenseful dark fantasy, full of family drama, is perfect for readers of Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House, Holly Black’s Book of Night, and Peng Shepherd’s The Cartographers." — Booklist (starred review)
"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." — Library Journal (starred review)
“Spellbinding . . . Unraveling the twisty mysteries that connect Nicholas to the Kalotay sisters and dismantling the dark constraints on their lives keep both characters and readers guessing throughout. Meanwhile, threads of hope and love keep the grimly gorgeous worldbuilding from growing too dark. Törzs’s lyrical, idiosyncratic prose (at one point, the sky is described as ‘so pale it seemed infected’) elevates proceedings. This is a must-read.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Confident and powerful . . . An enchanting book about enchanted books.” — Bustle, The Most Anticipated Books Of Spring & Summer 2023
★ 04/01/2023
DEBUT Törzs's debut novel features a wonderfully realized and atmospheric world and a plot filled with unexpected twists. It takes place in modern-day Vermont, where a family plagued by tragedy, including two half-sisters, guards a collection of books that contain, and are themselves, spells. Esther, the eldest sister, is immune to magic, and her presence counteracts the protection wards over the collection. To save her sister, the books, and likely herself, she has fled and changes locations every year (living most recently in Antarctica). Meanwhile, in London, lives Nicholas, a scribe who inherited his family's legacy of writing the spell books, as well as the burden of protecting them. But from what, or whom? Over time he learns the perceived danger might not be as he thought. VERDICT 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.—Leigh Verburg
★ 2023-03-11
Two half sisters work to protect their dead father’s collection of magical books in Törzs’ bewitching debut.
Esther and Joanna Kalotay are keepers of an impossible secret: that magic exists, and it's channeled through certain enchanted books. Esther and Joanna’s father, Abe, is fanatical about his collection of these books, but despite having devoted his life to magic, he's never been able to figure out how they were written. One terrible day, he tries to enact a spell from a mysterious book and is killed. This tragedy leaves Joanna, who shares her father’s ability to sense magic humming in a book, to tend to the library. Before he died, Abe had warned Esther, who is mysteriously immune to all magic, that she must take care never to stay anywhere for longer than a year, always leaving on Nov. 2, or she will risk being hunted down and killed by the same people who murdered her mother. Only once did Esther test this rule, and after barely escaping a strange man bent on killing her in her bedroom, she’s careful not to put down roots. But when Esther’s travels take her to a science station on Antarctica, she discovers that someone who knows about magic has finally found her, and her only chance to save herself is to trust a stranger who sent her a note and a plane ticket through an enchanted mirror. When Esther uses that ticket, she soon meets more people who know about magic and is forced to decide whom she can trust as she tries to discover why someone wants her dead. Törzs’ simple magic system of books is straightforward, with clear rules set out for readers early on, leaving her plenty of space to explore how an obsession with power can twist people so deeply that they betray the ones they love. Esther and Joanna’s complicated but loving relationship is wonderfully rendered, and Törzs pulls off such an expert series of twists that readers would be advised to cancel their plans until they get to the end.
A fantastic magical adventure, not to be missed.