Reviews

This was my first time reading one of Leslye Penelope’s books and I really enjoyed it. It was a nice escape but still informative and fun to move through. Exploring 1920’s Black DC was engaging and cool. Meeting her characters in it made it even better. They all had such great personalities and I was attached to each of them. The Hoodoo and Black Spiritualism plot points made it extra unique. A great and refreshingly creative read!

cloudwatcher's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

loved it, great listen

danielles_reads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow, this was absolutely incredible! An easy 5 stars. I loved every second of this. This is the rare book where every single character in the main cast has their own backstory and motivations that were just as compelling as the main character's. I really loved the folklore feel this book had in sharing the story of every minor character that moved the plot forward. It really made this world feel alive, like it's a story you're being told over the campfire.

I love the main character, Clara, and how she wants to be humble and modest so as to not bring attention to her past, but still really wants to help people. Her struggle to understand what would actually make her happy in her life was really relatable too, and I was so glad to see her get her happy ending (with a little bit of cute romance too!). Her story was made even better by the author's note at the end explaining how she is based on a real life person! Sometimes the world can be just.

I also loved Zelda--her lines made me laugh so hard. Her constantly telling Clara that she'll be out of their apartment tomorrow was great, and I loved her badass moves and "black pajamas" outfit haha. I mean I really did love all the characters in this cute little found family. I actually teared up hearing Aristotle and Jesse's endings because they deserve to be happy!! Israel was great too, even if he was mostly just the hot guy haha.

The plot was really exciting too, and I'm not normally a huge plot-driven reader. I really like how Penelope shared information with the reader only when it was needed, leading to a constant level of intrigue throughout the entire book. I kept reading because I was curious to find out more about Clara, and we kept getting more bit by bit, as well as learning more about the ring and how wild this plot was.

The world building and atmosphere was fantastic too. Penelope's prose was full of vivid imagery that made DC of the 1920s really come alive. I really loved the idea of humans being made of four parts: a soul, body, spirit, and destiny, and how humans are different from other creatures because we have a destiny. That's a really unique take on the world of spirits that made this book feel fresh. The greys were an interesting addition too, and I loved the little twist at the end that

they were actually protecting Clara and weren't something to fear, even though they are unconscious / non-sentient ghosts.

This book also explicitly condemned the classist attitudes some of the higher class Black people had towards the lower class at the time, which is an issue usually overshadowed by white people's racism in most people's minds. While white supremacy was still a threat throughout the book, almost all the characters are Black and Clara struggled to feel like she belonged in some Black-only spaces. I really liked seeing her solidarity with lower class Black people and

I was so happy when she said she wanted to be a lawyer.

This is such an important topic that I'm glad is discussed in a fantasy novel.

Lastly, Shayna Small's performance in the audiobook is incredible!! I can see why it won the Audie Award. Small has such a wide range of character voices and accents (her voice for Zelda was pure comedy and made her lines even better). Even the voice she used to narrate Clara's POV vs the voice for the parts describing the backstory of other characters had completely different vibes that were perfect for the story. I highly recommend consuming this story via audio!

Overall I had a wonderful time with this book. I loved it so much that at times I didn't want to read it because I didn't want it to end! This book feels criminally underrated so I really want to shout from the rooftops that more people should read this! I definitely look forward to reading more of Leslye Penelope's work.

bratzdoll444's review

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4.0

do you like jazz but also love ghost adventures? Well you’re in luck! This book has an all black cast set in the 1920s in DC.
Our main cast is short on their luck when it comes to making deals with powerful spirits, our main character who’s a psychic medium and has a gift for summoning spirits is tasked with a helping a young boy with a strange case of possession.
trust me when i say this this book is great i absolutely loved it!

shana21's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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