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theabundantword's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
I impulse-bought this book because I liked the cover and I didn't do any of the checks I should have done. Let's just say it's been a lesson for me!
This was actually a good premise which, with some research and robust editing, could have been a great way to highlight some issues between (Black) men and women.
Unfortunately, I believe this book was published far too early. There was a typo on the back cover for a start, which can perhaps be forgivable, but in this case it was the first red flag.
Apart from the fact that the different narrative voices were both the same voice and the character motivations were ambiguous, with a nearly pointless moment of insta-love that added very little to the story, a bunch of telling, a wotless, flat antagonist (which really should have been the Fates because they were the ones who messed up and bounced), and a general lack of depth, there were major issues with setting and dialogue.
I'm a Londoner. One of Jamaican descent at that. Why am I mentioning this? Well, the MCs spend most of the story in London, UK, after flying from Ohio for the first time. There, they meet their Jamaican and Black-British family.
The patois was all incorrectly spelled and then the character who spoke it dropped it after a few pages (wagwan or whagwan would be understood, wagoan, not so much). It was a mystery why the Jamaican grandad didn't speak it (but probably a mercy). The other issue was that the London dialect/s typically used by Black British Londoners (MLE, or RP, or a mixture of both usually) were not present here. And for the record, there is not one British accent (there are over 40 dialects), and I'm pretty sure that there is no London accent that anyone would accuse of being 'melodious'.
The little information about London didn't seem to be correct either. The 'skinny houses (I'm guessing town houses) in central West London just didn't fit the description of what one would expect. Jamaicans living in central West London with black gnomes in the picket-fenced garden playing reggaeton instead of reggae... This would be uncommon, even for a goddess.
Also, we say curry chicken, not curried chicken.
There was actually no reason for the story to even be set in the UK... It could have stayed in the States without impacting the story at all (besides to make it more accurate and seem less like Black British people and Jamaicans aren't worth being correctly represented).
The ending seemed odd to me as well. It was incels vs goddess and none of the issues were resolved. Even the one that was arguably 'resolved' didn't actually face or deal with the issue at all. It was just conveniently moved out of the way.
There seemed to be room left for a second book but I feel that this one would need to be rewritten, finished, and remarketed first and despite everything I've said, I'd give it a second chance it this work were done.
This was actually a good premise which, with some research and robust editing, could have been a great way to highlight some issues between (Black) men and women.
Unfortunately, I believe this book was published far too early. There was a typo on the back cover for a start, which can perhaps be forgivable, but in this case it was the first red flag.
Apart from the fact that the different narrative voices were both the same voice and the character motivations were ambiguous, with a nearly pointless moment of insta-love that added very little to the story, a bunch of telling, a wotless, flat antagonist (which really should have been the Fates because they were the ones who messed up and bounced), and a general lack of depth, there were major issues with setting and dialogue.
I'm a Londoner. One of Jamaican descent at that. Why am I mentioning this? Well, the MCs spend most of the story in London, UK, after flying from Ohio for the first time. There, they meet their Jamaican and Black-British family.
The patois was all incorrectly spelled and then the character who spoke it dropped it after a few pages (wagwan or whagwan would be understood, wagoan, not so much). It was a mystery why the Jamaican grandad didn't speak it (but probably a mercy). The other issue was that the London dialect/s typically used by Black British Londoners (MLE, or RP, or a mixture of both usually) were not present here. And for the record, there is not one British accent (there are over 40 dialects), and I'm pretty sure that there is no London accent that anyone would accuse of being 'melodious'.
The little information about London didn't seem to be correct either. The 'skinny houses (I'm guessing town houses) in central West London just didn't fit the description of what one would expect. Jamaicans living in central West London with black gnomes in the picket-fenced garden playing reggaeton instead of reggae... This would be uncommon, even for a goddess.
Also, we say curry chicken, not curried chicken.
There was actually no reason for the story to even be set in the UK... It could have stayed in the States without impacting the story at all (besides to make it more accurate and seem less like Black British people and Jamaicans aren't worth being correctly represented).
The ending seemed odd to me as well. It was incels vs goddess and none of the issues were resolved. Even the one that was arguably 'resolved' didn't actually face or deal with the issue at all. It was just conveniently moved out of the way.
There seemed to be room left for a second book but I feel that this one would need to be rewritten, finished, and remarketed first and despite everything I've said, I'd give it a second chance it this work were done.
diaspora_reader's review
2.0
Find me on IG: @the_diaspora_reader
Thanks to Netgally for the free review copy! Book published on 19 May 2020
This book was good in a few ways
- The women in the story were remarkable
- The magical world Williams had built was beautiful. From Jamaican folklore and myths, to the transition from the 1700s to the 1920s to modern day. All of their powers were remarkable
- The fact that the 2 leads were twins was so cool
- the diverse black women were beautiful inside and out (except for cousin Lilo I didn't like her at all)
Because of these reasons, I enjoyed it.
However,
- the love interest was completely unnecessary - I was so confused
- the British characters seemed a little inauthentic using slang that didn't sound very London-based
- Some of the dialogue was quite forced - like when Arden's cousin yelled at the teenage boy on the train for no sensible reason: why was that included?
- The conclusion was a bit flat and I'm not sure the evil was adequately dealt with by any means
Unfortunately this book was a good idea with a terrible execution.
Thanks to Netgally for the free review copy! Book published on 19 May 2020
This book was good in a few ways
- The women in the story were remarkable
- The magical world Williams had built was beautiful. From Jamaican folklore and myths, to the transition from the 1700s to the 1920s to modern day. All of their powers were remarkable
- The fact that the 2 leads were twins was so cool
- the diverse black women were beautiful inside and out (except for cousin Lilo I didn't like her at all)
Because of these reasons, I enjoyed it.
However,
- the love interest was completely unnecessary - I was so confused
- the British characters seemed a little inauthentic using slang that didn't sound very London-based
- Some of the dialogue was quite forced - like when Arden's cousin yelled at the teenage boy on the train for no sensible reason: why was that included?
- The conclusion was a bit flat and I'm not sure the evil was adequately dealt with by any means
Unfortunately this book was a good idea with a terrible execution.
introverteddragonscribbles's review
4.0
The Goddess Twins, in a word, was a trip. The characters were all alive, with so many different points of view on life and so many different personalities. It was also great seeing identical twins who do not get along at all. Aurora and Arden are as different as oil and water. Aurora is fierce, wild, and angry, while Arden is calm, gentle, and level-headed. But when they push past their differences, they can make a great team.
The plot was interesting and drew me in from the beginning. All of the worldbuilding was on point. There wad a rich culture behind everything for the characters and it was interesting reading about the development of how things came to be, and the feud between the men and women of Aurora and Arden’s family.
It was such a different experience reading The Goddess Twins (I mostly read books by white authors, not because of preference but because the premise of the authors’ books interest me.) that I don’t really know what else to say. The magic that each character had was amazing to see and fit perfectly with their personality traits.
Overall, The Goddess Twins was a fun and interesting read. I would recommend it for fans of The Hate U Give and The Sun is Also a Star.
NOTE: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes only. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The plot was interesting and drew me in from the beginning. All of the worldbuilding was on point. There wad a rich culture behind everything for the characters and it was interesting reading about the development of how things came to be, and the feud between the men and women of Aurora and Arden’s family.
It was such a different experience reading The Goddess Twins (I mostly read books by white authors, not because of preference but because the premise of the authors’ books interest me.) that I don’t really know what else to say. The magic that each character had was amazing to see and fit perfectly with their personality traits.
Overall, The Goddess Twins was a fun and interesting read. I would recommend it for fans of The Hate U Give and The Sun is Also a Star.
NOTE: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes only. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
josephine_b13's review
3.0
This is a very well written novel that takes place in today's world. It is a fantasy themed story with many unique aspects in it. Not to mention every main character in this book is a person of color. I thought the author did a wonderful job representing her characters in this book. The storyline wasn't my favorite because I am more of a fan of action packed fantasy books. That being said, it isn't a bad book. It's not particularly my style but I feel like many people will love this book when it hits the shelves. I also loved the contrast between the twins (the main characters). One was a lover and the other a fighter. I think their opposite personalities helped propel the storyline so much. Also the focus on black girl empowerment and female empowerment is very inspiring.
moniipeters's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
thewoollygeek's review
3.0
I really wanted to enjoy this so much than I did, but I have issues with this. I think the main problem was the dual POVs were not distinct enough and the twins, Aurora and Arden were not developed enough as characters that you could distinguish them from one another. I found the story itself light and easy to read, it’s very fast paced, but I thought it needed to slow down a touch , it just went too fast. It’s representation is great, I wanted so much more from this because I want to read so much more than the usual, overall I think it tried a little too hard. I think if you worked on these things it could be so much more and what it deserves to be.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
allmyfriendsareinbooks's review
2.0
Arden and Aurora are twin sisters who have a difficult relationship with their mother and each other. When their mother, Selene, goes missing they learn about relying on each other and what family really means.
This story took turns I didn’t expect. I had to finish this book to see how things worked together and how it was going to end. I did feel that there were some characters we were introduced to and events that happened that were kind of random. However, the story is interesting.
The Goddess Twins is a debut novel of Yodassa Williams.
This story took turns I didn’t expect. I had to finish this book to see how things worked together and how it was going to end. I did feel that there were some characters we were introduced to and events that happened that were kind of random. However, the story is interesting.
The Goddess Twins is a debut novel of Yodassa Williams.
daneosaur's review
3.0
There were aspects of this book that I just loved: black girl magic, cousins who can turn into animals, twin goddesses in a modern day setting, the love of family, one of the cousins is gay and it’s just a fact (not a plot line) - and that’s just for starters.
But, while I loved the creativity of ideas, I had trouble with the flow of the writing. Things jumped so fast from one thing to the next and details to make the story fuller didn’t always make sense (the mom announced her retirement when she only agreed to a year off from performing / to bolster the Jamaican vibe in Gran Gran’s home she was listening to reggaeton / etc).
And what was up with the dude in the very beginning inviting himself into her bedroom then kissing her because he couldn’t help himself, she goes away to where the story continues, and then he appears at the very end and surprise(!), they’re in love and boyfriend & girlfriend. I just can’t with the presumption and instantaneous love.
This is the author’s debut novel and she does write with a wonderfully creative imagination. I look forward to reading what she writes in the years to come and watching her grow as an author. Maybe it’s magic, but I foresee great things.
But, while I loved the creativity of ideas, I had trouble with the flow of the writing. Things jumped so fast from one thing to the next and details to make the story fuller didn’t always make sense (the mom announced her retirement when she only agreed to a year off from performing / to bolster the Jamaican vibe in Gran Gran’s home she was listening to reggaeton / etc).
And what was up with the dude in the very beginning inviting himself into her bedroom then kissing her because he couldn’t help himself, she goes away to where the story continues, and then he appears at the very end and surprise(!), they’re in love and boyfriend & girlfriend. I just can’t with the presumption and instantaneous love.
This is the author’s debut novel and she does write with a wonderfully creative imagination. I look forward to reading what she writes in the years to come and watching her grow as an author. Maybe it’s magic, but I foresee great things.
raelasoul's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
2.75
at times, i felt like this book was missing a lot. i think it was because it seemed to read like a book pitch. Nevertheless, i loved that premise of the book.. i was just hoping for more. I would definitely be interested in reading more from this author.
mousereads's review
3.0
Thank you for Netgalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review.
This book was a 3.5 read until the very end...and that dropped it half a star. The twins themselves felt very typical "opposites" but you could tell they very much loved each other in this book. I would have preferred equal conflict resolution with both Aurora and Arden, but it wasn't too frustrating regardless. The concept of this book and the history told to you was absolutely beautiful. The Jamaican history woven throughout was really solid to read.
However, this book felt like a lot of talk, and not a lot of action. There was a lot of telling you the story and telling you about their powers, but when it came to the final battle? Not too much action really seemed to feel written.
Overall, the concept and storytelling carried this story quite a bit more than the characters and I think this book would be a really solid fit for early YA readers!
Here is where my beef starts and the spoilers.
WHAT THE FUCK WAS UP WITH THE ROMANCE IN THE BEGINNING AND THE END? AND ZION YEAH OK HE WAS A VICTIM OF BRAINWASHING AND ABUSE BUT SUDDENLY HE'S JUST FINE AND BETTER? NAH. I GOT BEEF WITH BOTH THOSE PLOT POINTS. They just sat weird with me okay, that's all.
This book was a 3.5 read until the very end...and that dropped it half a star. The twins themselves felt very typical "opposites" but you could tell they very much loved each other in this book. I would have preferred equal conflict resolution with both Aurora and Arden, but it wasn't too frustrating regardless. The concept of this book and the history told to you was absolutely beautiful. The Jamaican history woven throughout was really solid to read.
However, this book felt like a lot of talk, and not a lot of action. There was a lot of telling you the story and telling you about their powers, but when it came to the final battle? Not too much action really seemed to feel written.
Overall, the concept and storytelling carried this story quite a bit more than the characters and I think this book would be a really solid fit for early YA readers!
Here is where my beef starts and the spoilers.
Spoiler
WHAT THE FUCK WAS UP WITH THE ROMANCE IN THE BEGINNING AND THE END? AND ZION YEAH OK HE WAS A VICTIM OF BRAINWASHING AND ABUSE BUT SUDDENLY HE'S JUST FINE AND BETTER? NAH. I GOT BEEF WITH BOTH THOSE PLOT POINTS. They just sat weird with me okay, that's all.