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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i’m not a romance person, so the ending was not my favourite, and honestly did not have the right focus imo. their relationship plays a huge role in the book, but i felt the conclusion would have been more powerful focusing on the implications of the ending for both gods and men. i enjoyed learning about the characters and only wish i could know more about them. some parts of the book felt like they dragged on to me for this reason — i was very interested in knowing more about nneoma! for one, why she chose that name, as i don’t believe the meaning connects to her personality or life at all… i enjoyed shigidi’s transformation and the portrayal of the orisha.
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-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
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A heist novel featuring Yoruba gods trying to steal back a Nigerian artefact from the British Museum. This had a great premise, and some really interesting world building elements, but ultimately didn't work for me as I'd hoped.
I listened to this on audio, and while the narration was great, I found myself frequently not really following what was going on or realising I'd missed a time or POV jump. The structure is quite non-linear and chaotic, with a few different threads interweaved into the narrative. The main two are the present day planning of and executing the heist, and flashbacks to how our main two characters (Shigidi and Nneoma) met and developed a relationship, but we also have others to understand side character backstories, and wider goings on in the world. The chapters span different centuries and counties, making it quite vast in scope for a not particularly long book!
I don't typically reach for heist novels, but was looking forward to some political commentary in this one that turned out to not be a significant feature. What I do tend to enjoy about heists is seeing how ingenious the characters are and the satisfaction of seeing a well-thought out plan succeed (with a few bumps to add tension a surprise element of course), but in this book the heist was really only a small part and there wasn't much planning or preparation involved. That said, I did enjoy the heist part towards the end and do think the author writes action well!
In terms of the characters, I did like Nneoma and found much of her dialogue pretty entertaining, although it was hard to love her at times when we see her prey on humans (and not really care about consent). Shigidi had less of a strong personality, which is part of the point of his character development journey, but I found the resolution at the end to be too focussed on their relationship rather than his increased sense of self. While I enjoyed their interplay at times, I was never really rooting for them as a couple, which meant the ending felt a little saccharine for me. I did really enjoy seeing the Yoruba gods, especially in a corporate style setting (they run a 'spirit company' where currency is belief and prayers), and I also loved seeing Aleister Crowley join the narrative (despicable as he is, I enjoyed his interaction with other characters and seeing him put in his place).
While less political commentary about repatriation of cultural artefacts than I was hoping for, I do think the exploration of capitalism and working bullshit jobs was done really well.
I'm glad I read this - it was definitely memorable and a breath of fresh air in the fantasy space, but I'd probably suggest reading the physical/ebook over the audio unless you are ready to really pay attention (and potentially take a couple notes of dates etc.). There is enough promise in this that I'm keen to read more by the author and see what they do next.
I listened to this on audio, and while the narration was great, I found myself frequently not really following what was going on or realising I'd missed a time or POV jump. The structure is quite non-linear and chaotic, with a few different threads interweaved into the narrative. The main two are the present day planning of and executing the heist, and flashbacks to how our main two characters (Shigidi and Nneoma) met and developed a relationship, but we also have others to understand side character backstories, and wider goings on in the world. The chapters span different centuries and counties, making it quite vast in scope for a not particularly long book!
I don't typically reach for heist novels, but was looking forward to some political commentary in this one that turned out to not be a significant feature. What I do tend to enjoy about heists is seeing how ingenious the characters are and the satisfaction of seeing a well-thought out plan succeed (with a few bumps to add tension a surprise element of course), but in this book the heist was really only a small part and there wasn't much planning or preparation involved. That said, I did enjoy the heist part towards the end and do think the author writes action well!
In terms of the characters, I did like Nneoma and found much of her dialogue pretty entertaining, although it was hard to love her at times when we see her prey on humans (and not really care about consent). Shigidi had less of a strong personality, which is part of the point of his character development journey, but I found the resolution at the end to be too focussed on their relationship rather than his increased sense of self. While I enjoyed their interplay at times, I was never really rooting for them as a couple, which meant the ending felt a little saccharine for me. I did really enjoy seeing the Yoruba gods, especially in a corporate style setting (they run a 'spirit company' where currency is belief and prayers), and I also loved seeing Aleister Crowley join the narrative (despicable as he is, I enjoyed his interaction with other characters and seeing him put in his place).
While less political commentary about repatriation of cultural artefacts than I was hoping for, I do think the exploration of capitalism and working bullshit jobs was done really well.
I'm glad I read this - it was definitely memorable and a breath of fresh air in the fantasy space, but I'd probably suggest reading the physical/ebook over the audio unless you are ready to really pay attention (and potentially take a couple notes of dates etc.). There is enough promise in this that I'm keen to read more by the author and see what they do next.
adventurous
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
This book was pitched to me as an anti-colonial heist. And while there is a heist, and some pages of scathing rage about the plunder on display in British museums, the vast majority of this book is a nonlinear romance between an Orisha and a fallen angel. Also Aleister Crowley is here for some reason, but at least the author remembered he was bi? There is very little on-page prep for the heist and it goes by extremely quickly when it finally happens. There were some beautiful moments (who knew you could make a board meeting crackle) but it lacked both the social commentary bite (anti-capitalism was right there!) and the character moments I was looking for.
There's also a very uncomfortable chapter where our only female character of note uses her succubus powers on a unwilling man to have sex with him then eat his soul, from his perspective. Pure nightmare fuel that also left a bad taste in my mouth.
It was still wildly inventive and I will be reading future works by this author, but this wasn't for me. If you're a romantasy girlie who can handle immoral characters and are looking for something with the scales tipped more on the fantasy side, especially if you're looking for Black characters, you might want to give this a shot.
There's also a very uncomfortable chapter where our only female character of note uses her succubus powers on a unwilling man to have sex with him then eat his soul, from his perspective. Pure nightmare fuel that also left a bad taste in my mouth.
It was still wildly inventive and I will be reading future works by this author, but this wasn't for me. If you're a romantasy girlie who can handle immoral characters and are looking for something with the scales tipped more on the fantasy side, especially if you're looking for Black characters, you might want to give this a shot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation
One of our main characters is a succubus who seduces people then eats them. This process is described in detail from the perspective of a totally unwilling victim.
I didn't connect with this book, but am unsure how much of that is to do with the format I chose. If I were to read it again I would definitely try a physical copy, as I think listening to this on audio unfortunately negatively affected my enjoyment
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
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:
No