Blood Spells by Alicia Ellis

SPFBO7

After her parents' deaths, she turns to illegal blood magic to hunt a killer. But is it worth her freedom—or her life? Was it suicide? Two months after finding her stepmother’s corpse, Maddy is still unconvinced. Magic users like her stepmother don’t spill their blood without purpose. Blood magic is illegal for minors. But both of Maddy’s birth parents are long dead, and the truth is all she has left. She starts her investigation with a few familiar spells—finding lost objects, summoning dead people. Soon, she draws the attention of a man with an unexplained connection to her stepmother—a man with power so big and so lethal that it shouldn’t exist. But who’s going to believe a grief-stricken kid when she claims impossible magic killed her stepmother? Maddy must decide what the truth is worth. Her friends? Her freedom? Or even her own life? If you like dark young adult books full of dramatic twists, you'll love this thrilling, standalone urban fantasy about a lost girl who may find a reason to live.

Young Adult • Fantasy/Dark • Diversity Representation/BIPOC