LaDarrion Williams

This was a thrill! Everything wasn't perfect (side characters, female characters, Black Twitterisms, etc), but there was no dull moment. Kept my interest from beginning to end.

First, you will find every Southern Black American reference known to man here. It certainly made me smile and brought back memories. But it’s jam-packed and could’ve been intertwined more subtly.

Yes, hunny chile. I’m going where the money resides. Don’t start none, won’t be none. Real recognize real. Cause Malik got that dawg in him. Because I know that’s right, sis. When Malik gets his magic down he goin in. He finna buss heads. And that girl from school? Got his nose wide open. Boy don’t even know what to do with himself. Betta sit his behind down somewhere. Ya heard?

Bruh. That's how much you get inundated in the earlier chapters.

Okay, okay enough.

Listen, the Black slang and AAVE are authentic, but it’s HEAVY-handed. One of the downsides of literature is that dialects and accents flow more smoothly through audio and visual mediums. Midway through Act ll it gets better. I didn't find it jarring by Act III as it was better integrated.

But I thoroughly enjoyed Malik’s narrative voice and struggles. The mystery behind his momma and the dark magic business. The story kept my interest from beginning to end. Some serious plot twists will leave your head spinning.

The HBCU and the magical fraternities/sororities and real-life parallelisms were well done. The mixture of magic and (Christian) scripture will be extremely uncomfortable depending on how you grew up or if you were raised in church. There is child sacrifice(s), secret societies, and blood covenants as well; some dark stuff! The side characters were a bit weaker but not annoying.

But I was immediately interested when the author said this was a story tackling generational trauma. Some sources said it was "no Black trauma", and that is simply not true. It's there and present even if some of it is magical; it wasn't draining though to me. And it wasn't a pump fake like the Magical Society of Magical Negroes [full disdain here].

Lastly, the reader better have a real Louisiana accent if there's an audiobook. I start grinning and kicking my feet when I hear a NO person say “baybeh” or “say love.”

in no world (real or fictional) would the older mentor character ever tell the female main character to get some "dick." This is the type of mess old men tell young men for real "get some coochie." Sir? That just felt off.

I would read more from this world.… (meer)