Books I Love - Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs.
From the back of the book:
Joanna Kalotay lives alone in the woods of Vermont, the sole protector of a collection of rare books; books that will allow someone to walk through walls or turn water into wine. Books of magic.
Her estranged older sister Esther moves between countries and jobs, constantly changing, never staying anywhere longer than a year, desperate to avoid the deadly magic that killed her mother. Currently working on a research base in Antarctica, she has found love and perhaps a sort of happiness.
But when she finds spots of blood on the mirrors in the research base, she knows someone is coming for her, and that Joanna and her collection are in danger.
If they are to survive, Esther and Joanna must unravel the secrets their parents kept hidden from them – secrets that span centuries and continents, and could cost them their lives…
The tagline for this book is Not all books should be opened - but this one definitely should.
Author, Emma Törzs weaves an enchanting tale of blood magic and books, libraries, love and loss, mirrors, and palindromes.
The bond between two sisters forced apart years earlier can be felt throughout, and I loved reading the chapters from each woman’s point of view. I found myself engrossed in their very different lives and disappointed each time a chapter ended, and I realised that I would be leaving the current sister for a while. Of course, the disappointment didn’t last long as I was just as quickly and completely drawn into the other sister’s life.
Without spoiling the story for you there is a third point of view that we follow throughout the book which was very unexpected. I had some trouble with this at first as I was so in love with the two sisters and this third person seem to be randomly thrown in there. But I trusted the author and knew that there must be a reason that person was important and after the first few visits with that character I began to feel comfortable and intrigued. Although the story of the sisters definitely won out for me overall.
If you like books about magic and shadowy organisations who want to keep that magic for themselves this book might just be the one for you. And as author Alix E. Harrow said it’s “an adventure, a puzzle, a twisty thriller, and a tender romance” so there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
You can find Ink Blood Sister Scribe here.