Special thanks to the author & @littlebrown for my gifted copy‼️ 

It took me a minute to really gather my thoughts on this one. While the book had an interesting premise the writing was very complex, multi-layered and often drawn out at times. 

Spanning across eight generations Fayne delivers a novel that delves deep into familial roots, the complexity of relationships, how the past affects the present, struggles with self, poverty, slavery, bargaining with the devil, weakness, spirituality and seeking atonement.

When I started reading this book I was hoping for more of a supernatural magical realism type of experience with the characters being visited by the devil. But whenever his presence was mentioned he was more like a person than an entity. It was also very different how Fayne chose to portray the devil his book. Most times we see themes of trickery which we do in a sense or the devil swindling people out of their souls. But in the book we see him offering help and protection to descendants of the Laurent family because he has a goal to free Black people in exchange for redemption to get back into heaven. 

Overall, the book was okay but very different and I wasn’t really invested until I was 60% in. My biggest complaints are the long chapters, the stories across timelines not connecting, the need for so many characters, and how there wasn’t a clear resolution for healing aside from the devils offerings for many of them. I wouldn’t say this book is for everyone but if you’re into deep introspective type literary fiction you’ll enjoy this book.

Rating: 3.75/5⭐️