To fry Granny’s battery, Auntie Maise gave the name to both her twin girls.

Granny used to say that Keishas were bad. Even a year after Keis got her mind-reading gift, I still sometimes forget that she has it. “Don’t call me Keisha, even in your head,” she says, casually reading the thought off the top of my mind. My canary-yellow robe with a V for Voya is hanging up in my room. Our oldest cousin, Alex, made one for everyone in the family last Christmas. The powder-blue robe she’s wearing is embroidered with a K for Keisha. She blows a breath out of her nose and crosses her arms. The toilet is so close to the bathtub that you have to prop your feet on the ledge when you pee. “Sorry to stop you waxing poetic, but you need to get out of the tub.” My cousin Keis slouches against the doorframe of our bathroom. Slick drops slide off my fingers and splash with an echo in the tub like spicy pone batter dripping off a mixing spoon. There’s something about lounging in a bath of blood that makes me want to stay until my fingers shrivel enough to show the outlines of my bones. If she wants to save their heritage and Luc, she’ll have to find something her ancestor wants more than blood. With mounting pressure from her family, Voya is caught between her morality and her duty to her bloodline. 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? Her plan is to join the program, fall in love, and complete her task before the deadline. Fortunately, a genetic matchmaking program has just hit the market. 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.

Voya is determined to save her family’s magic no matter the cost. And this time, failure means every Thomas witch will be stripped of their magic. 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. The problem is, she’s never been in love-she’ll have to find the perfect guy before she can kill him.Īfter years of waiting for her Calling-a trial every witch must pass to come into their powers-the one thing Voya Thomas didn’t expect was to fail. “High stakes, big heart, and lots of Black Girl Magic…unputdownable.” -Aiden Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of Cemetery BoysĪ rich, dark urban fantasy debut following a teen witch who is given a horrifying task: sacrificing her first love to save her family’s magic.

Blood like magic liselle sambury