2.4k reviews for:

Black water sister

Zen Cho

3.89 AVERAGE


I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, in terms of plot beats. That made it more interesting to me. I liked that the story felt really organic. There’s quite a lot of worldbuilding scaffolding, the character relationships feel spot on, and I really, really liked the various conflict resolution in this. Every situation feels dynamic and appropriate.

Craft-wise, there is quite a bit of exposition but I would wager that’s because it’s a challenging setting to convey to people. Everything about it is not something the average reader would be familiar with it, then the fantasy elements are added to it. So, I think it makes sense. The prose isn’t particularly evocative or flowery, which makes it feel pretty commercial—but is perfectly serviceable. The flow especially stands out as being great.

Jess is not steeped in the culture so experiencing everything through her eyes worked well. I think this will be big for representation for some people. She’s both trying to pass in a new culture that has some heavy prejudices, passing for straight with her family, and feels like she doesn’t belong to either culture. The fantasy elements are interesting but the standout aspect to me was the character drama. I actually wish there were more character development/interactions between Jess and her girlfriend. But did like the ending. Feels pretty solid to me.
adventurous emotional mysterious 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: Complicated

A really wild ghost/spirit possession fantasy meets family legacy and cultural expectations meets a gangster action packed novel that really took me for a ride!

I was so invested, found the characters really vibrant, and thought the concepts layered in the story were done incredibly thoughtfully.

This was my first by this author and I’m excited to read more.
adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

1 star deducted because the beginning kinds of drags and IIIIII think if you introduce a mean gay god you should be legally required to let her and the protagonist bone, but nevertheless, i had a good time.

dnf at 30%
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I think this was an absolutely delightful read! It was amazing to step into an entirely different culture from my own. The author did such a wonderful job using language that was unfamiliar to my self but having it integrated in a way that context clues SHOW us what the words mean. I genuinely felt like I got to experience a piece of another culture within this work of fiction. Plus the story was constructed in such an elaborate way. Every character had a purpose. Whether it was part of the story or to help express the cultural landscape, they all came together in a wonderful show of storytelling. 
adventurous medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes