I loved this book. I had to stop several times while reading because of life and I wasn’t in the mood to read. I’m glad I took those breaks because it made the experience more enjoyable. The last half of the book was the best part. Seeing the character growth of all those characters was beautiful and heartbreaking. Watching Aru Shuh keep her feelings inside only for them to be fully manifested in this book was profoundly raw. We experienced many levels of loss and betrayal in the book. I have high hopes for some characters and uncertain by others moving forward! I can’t wait to read the next book. 

I wasn’t liking the story and or the characters.

I loved this book!

This was everything and MORE!!!!! 
Catch the replay of me interviewing Amanda Ross. 
In the House of Transcendence | Author Interview Amanda Ross
https://youtu.be/5Dml195HnNU

I found myself very frustrated with the MC. Every decision she made in book one and book two was surrounded by a person that she didn’t really. A person who had the power to destroy. But through this frustration there was great character growth! One of the things I loved and really sold this duology for me was how the family put a name to generational trauma AND through stubbornness this family moved through blood and intent. 

I truly love reading a book by us and for us and with representation that focus on equal aspects of being Black and not just focusing on aspect. There was hard decisions that were made in this book. I don't know if I could have made the decisions that the MC and her family made for survival. 

This was a nice cozy mystery to get into. I mainly did not like how slow the pace was in the beggining. I wanted more info on the murder rather than family dynamics. Although the MC relationship with her grandfather was top tier. I am excited to read book two because I am semi-attached to certain characters in this story. 

I didn’t know it was possible but now I know that it is. This is the best book that has come out of the Rick Riordan present series. The level of consciousness moving through generational trauma in this book is unmatched. I found myself either wanting to cry or clap at the same time and choosing to clap more often. A long time ago my grandmother once told me that “an old dog can learn new tricks.” This is an example of that. There was a section in this book that discussed trauma and how it is felt in the body. Tristan‘s grandmother was giving him space and giving him permission that he is allowed to feel his emotions after experiencing a trauma. The incorporation of mental health was one of the biggest things of this book because often you see with families that have intergenerational trauma that mental health is often not discussed, explored or validated. The discussion around mental health and how it is related to root magic was done so beautifully that I just can’t help but just give the author praise. The incorporation of mental health was one of the biggest things of this book because often you see with families that are intergenerational that mental health is often not discussed or explored or validated. The discussion around mental health and how it is related to route magic was done so beautifully that I just can’t help but just give all the praise to the story and the wonderful author that put it in the world.  I am so happy that this book exist and I’m so happy that it will continue to exist for generations to come. This book is normalizing that although there are living descendants of enslaved people and that our minds were once shackled and our bodies were once beaten and abuse… in spite of that there is still room for expansion and understanding our mental health and how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to become.

To be a novella, this book had a twist at the end that I wasn’t prepared for. I thought that I knew who did what and how it was done until the last chapter of this book. This is a story about how a black woman is trying to live firmly in her truth and get out of a relationship that no longer serves her but unfortunately due to toxic masculinity and ego her husband is making her life difficult. In the mist of this difficulty she is attacked and experiencing what I think are symptoms of post traumatic stress syndrome. But she is attempting to ignore those symptoms and try to affirm or confirm with other people that she is in fact a strong black woman.

If I could give this book a higher rating I would. This book is an example of how I feel personified. I loved how both authors discussed what main stream media would call casual racism and how they have real life affects on how a black woman navigate white spaces or spaces that are not affirming. This book open my eyes that I can literally say fuck that job. I can literally say fuck that person. I don’t have to make myself a little in order for racism to fill up the room so much that is suffocate my own voice and I don’t recognize who I am . The humor in this book was on match and perfectly timed with a level of sarcasm that I feel can only be explained if you are a person who have experience similar lived experiences. I think every black person who has had enough and just need a moment of reprieve but filled with honesty and humor this is the book for you. I am so thankful that a book like this exist. Shadow to a black man I saw on TikTok who recommended this book. If I find his TikTok again I will put it in this review.