3.0
adventurous funny mysterious sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

You should read this book for Quan and Quan alone. 

No, but seriously. I didn’t know what to expect from this and naturally become skeptical when I see books labeled as the “Black Harry Potter” or “HBCU Hogwarts” — anything comparing them to Harry Potter. My preference is for books to stand on their own and not get caught in a comparison trap. 

I like the idea is this book. Young women on a quest to understand their identity and magical background. I even like the addition of Quan, a man trapped in a cat’s body. I found myself definitely laughing out loud at his dialogue, but also appreciating the insight to his perceptiveness about things/people around him. I found Asha to be annoying at times, but her background, along with Souxie, is the most interesting of them all.

The relationships between teachers and students are a bit questionable, but having read part of Zodiac Academy, I didn’t balk too much at it. 

Overall, I’m interesting to see how this murder mystery ends and how these characters develop. I mostly want to see Quan turn human and see how that might change group dynamics!