Stepmoms in pop culture get a bad rap. Actually bad rap isn’t right. We are maligned and reduced to a trope, typically gold diggers, people who don’t like kids, and someone who isn’t at all interested in the work of parenting (i.e., the original OG stepmoms like Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and Snow White or modern like Parent Trap, or the newer Parent Trap, repeat infinity with basically every stepmom forever).
In a recent episode of my podcast (linked here, self-promotion is never done) I talked about “being a not evil stepmother – navigating and understanding step-parenthood” and was desperate for a story that had a good stepmother in it. Slim pickings y’all. So slim in fact that Chatgpt tried to tell me that a good example of a stepmom in literature is Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. Um. Whaaaaat?!
Well, enter Ink Blood Sister Scribe because THIS BOOK HAS A STEPMOM IN IT WHO IS A GOOD PERSON. So much so a friend who read the book said “oh yeah, I forgot they were a stepmom” because she was just a good mom, good person, unremarkable even. THANK YOU EMMA TÖRZS. K. End rant.
If you are not vibrantly passionate about stepmom representation as I am, why should you read this book? It’s a well done fantasy story and delightful debut novel, and yes, it has elements of storytelling I’ve seen in other books; she did not invent the concepts of magical books and wrestling with destiny, but she uses these things in a way that seems fresh. Estranged sisters Esther and Joanna are on very different paths in life: Esther is exploring the world, moving every year to a new location, presently in Antarctica where her year is coming to an end, though she is loathe to leave again. Joanna has barely left the place she calls home and is content to stay in her solitude to protect the books they hold dear. But something threatens this delicate balance and they soon learn that secrets, not destiny, is what has kept them apart.
This book is full of characters you’d love to befriend and will enjoy rooting for as the story unfolds. Törzs employs jumps in POV that are abrupt, but I mean that in a good way. She leaves you hanging and eager to read ahead so you can get back to the other characters and find out what is happening. Eventually of course, everything is pulled together for a stirring and surprising conclusion.
BIG OL’ SPOILER PROBABLY DON’T READ IF YOU’RE GONNA READ IT – The ending gave me Buffy series finale vibes, in it’s open-ended nature. We aren’t quite sure what happens once the bloodline magic is reversed. Will they keep their powers and connection to books? Will everything come apart? She threaded a difficult needle of telling a complete story but leaving the door just cracked enough for a sequel that I would gladly pick up.