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3.5*

You don't usually have to do homework for a book you read for fun. But after reading about 50 pages of this book, I knew I would have to do just that. I felt in over my head at the mentions of Beatrice and Diana and Catherine. Who were these people? Why did it feel like I needed context for them, when this was the start of the series?

So I put the book aside and, with some easy research, found the other books I should read and started on them. If you're at all confused by the start of this book, you should definitely read [b:The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|51496|The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|Robert Louis Stevenson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1318116526s/51496.jpg|3164921], [b:Rappaccini's Daughter|364985|Rappaccini's Daughter|Nathaniel Hawthorne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390176453s/364985.jpg|1189453], [b:The Island of Doctor Moreau|29981|The Island of Doctor Moreau|H.G. Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388230211s/29981.jpg|68894], and [b:Frankenstein|35031085|Frankenstein|Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1498841231s/35031085.jpg|4836639]. For more context, some other books you should read would be the modern [b:The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein|38255342|The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein|Kiersten White|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1518635930s/38255342.jpg|58014825], and of course, any of the Sherlock Holmes stories.

At this point, you might be thinking this story is crazy, and you'd be right. I haven't read a published book that read more like fanfiction in my life. And yet, it's just crazy enough to work. It's fun, and well-characterized. It's incredibly silly at times, but there's an interesting mystery here and aren't crossovers just so much fun to read or watch?

It's an odd little book, for sure. Somewhere in the realm between outright fanfiction like you find online, and a retelling. It's unique, and an easy read once you get the characters sorted out. And you don't need to read all those classics I listed in order to do so, things get explained in time. However, I feel I got more out of the characters knowing their original backstories and comparing them to how they were changed for this book. If there were women mentioned at all in the original tales, they got the short end of the stick. In this book, they're given a new chance at life in a way.

4.99999/5*

My only complaint is that some parts in the middle dragged and I feel like this book could have either been cut down a wee bit, or split into two books with some added padding. I could see the split being somewhere around finding the Diviner settlement. We could perhaps spend a bit more time somewhere in the beginning with Mama Agba learning about all the different forms magic can take, how the clans work(ed) and go more in depth about each of the gods. As it is, I don't think we learn the names of the clans in the narrative, only in the guide at the beginning, and Oya is the only God whose name I remember. Sure, this being a series means we may get to explore this more later on, but I wish it was already present, so I could start feeling a connection of my own to the Gods and this magic system. I think if this book had been split in two parts, we could have been exploring this already, and it would have expanded the world greatly.

BUT OTHER THAN THAT HOLY SHIT?? This book is amazing and I can't wait to read more, what a cliffhanger, dang. I don't have much to nitpick other than wishing there was a bit more worldbuilding, and a time or two where Tzain went from being complex in his conflicting actions, to feeling inconsistent.

I can't say this book got me emotionally(but the author's note did) but damn if it didn't get me on the edge of my seat.