I received an arc courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review. So this book intrigued me because it's indie published and written by a Jamaican American writer.
It’s days before your eighteenth birthday, but your mother is missing and suddenly you have supernatural powers. What are you willing to face to discover the truth of who you really are? After years of traveling the world, black identical twins Aurora and Arden think they’ve settled into normalcy in Ohio. But days before their eighteenth birthday, the snarky twins develop powers in telekinesis and telepathy―at the same time that their famous mother, who’s on tour in London, disappears. Searching for answers and determined to rescue her, the sisters unearth truths that threaten to extinguish their bond and demolish their strength as individuals. Can they trust their beguiling, newly discovered British cousins when they barely trust one another? Should they heed the warnings of their immortal grandmother, a Patoi-chatting goddess, who says she’s friendly with The Fates and can see inside a person’s very soul? In order to succeed in their quest, these goddess twins must work together, master their powers, and unveil a horrifying, century-old family mystery. Otherwise, they may not live to see eighteen―or their mother again
I'll be honest it was clunky for me. When the villain Ezekiel spoke about black kings having no power and the goddesses just standing by using their powers for vanity I found myself praying this wasn't going to be another story where it's black hoteps vs black girls. Especially since Ezekiel hates the notion of powerful woman and wants a world where black men rule all.
I know I often discuss not being fully on board with insta-love in YA and this had one of the most shoehorned insta-love relationships I've come across yet. Talk of dreams and visions and fate within moments of meeting each other.
Arden is the quieter book loving twin who feels like a nod to all us bookworms while Aurora is the social butterfly. While Arden is fully ready to rush into action and embrace being a goddess, Aurora is skeptical.
Things got better once the plot really gets in motion and Aurora and Arden head to London to track down their mother. They meet their cousins Lilo and Liberty who inform them of their hidden heritage. They're somewhat comedic relief who talk the way a lot of American think British people talk like. As someone who does pay attention to Black British culture it just felt off. Black people may not be a monolith but the way they talked read white British parody.
I'm used to fantasy stories telling us alot of background info to explain the magic systems but I would've preferred to hear Gran Gran tell her own story rather than hear Aurora recap the story her cousins told her the night before.
And I'm usually not bothered by spelling or grammar errors in an arc but some of the patois was off. I appreciate having Gran Gran speak patois but she talked in a lot of old people phrases all the time. It was very unnatural and forced. That's not how people talk. I've also never seen wah gwaan spelled wagoan. And instead of reggae it said the music playing was reggaeton. There were a few other words that threw me off.
It wasn't really my style and I feel like it needed more rounds of editting. The way it was written really felt dated like a teen story written in the early 2000s. It's a fast paced and easy read and the characters actually sound like teens. Maybe it will work for those who don't read alot but experienced fantasy readers should skip.
There were some good ideas herebut the execution was not good.
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