14 must read YA book releases to kick off summer right this June
By Lacy Baugher
June 2021 release: Blood Like Magic – Liselle Sambury
Described as A Song Below Water meets Legendborn, Blood Like Magic is a rich, dark urban fantasy debut following a teen witch who is given a horrifying task: Sacrifice her first love in order to save her family’s magic. The problem is, she’s never been in love—so she’ll have to find the perfect guy before she can kill him.
Set in a future Toronto, the story follows Voya Thomas, a young witch from a powerful family who’s been waiting her whole life for her Calling, a.k.a. the test she must pass to claim her powers. It’s the biggest moment of a witch’s life and the last possible thing Voya expected was that she would fail. Except now that she has, her entire family’s bloodline is in danger – and the only way she can stop it is to kill someone she hasn’t even met yet.
Featuring witches, blood magic, romance, plenty of LGBTQ+ representation, and more, Blood Like Magic promises to be a wholly unique story.
The official synopsis describes the story in greater detail.
"After years of waiting for her Calling—a trial every witch must pass in order to come into their powers—the one thing Voya Thomas didn’t expect was to fail. When Voya’s ancestor gives her an unprecedented second chance to complete her Calling, she agrees—and then is horrified when her task is to kill her first love. And this time, failure means every Thomas witch will be stripped of their magic. Voya is determined to save her family’s magic no matter the cost. The problem is, Voya has never been in love, so for her to succeed, she’ll first have to find the perfect guy—and fast. Fortunately, a genetic matchmaking program has just hit the market. Her plan is to join the program, fall in love, and complete her task before the deadline. What she doesn’t count on is being paired with the infuriating Luc—how can she fall in love with a guy who seemingly wants nothing to do with her? With mounting pressure from her family, Voya is caught between her morality and her duty to her bloodline. If she wants to save their heritage and Luc, she’ll have to find something her ancestor wants more than blood. And in witchcraft, blood is everything."
Blood Like Magic is available on June 15.