3.5 stars

tw: death of family members; anxiety/panic attacks; hallucinations; self harm; possession

This was an intriguing start to a fantasy duology featuring a world and magic inspired by West African folklore. The world is lush and interesting, with a lot to build on. Creatures, celebrations, dieties, spirits, different kinds of magic.. this has it all!

I enjoyed both of our main characters seperately, but less so when their paths crossed. Karina is an angry, stubborn character without feeling cold, and I enjoyed that about her. She does have migraines, but it could be argued that there's a magical cure element to her illness. Malik is a quiet, kind boy who struggles with panic attacks and hallucinations. Again, not sure I loved how this was handled. As someone with panic disorder and also a mental health professional, the message of him fighting his anxiety which was pretty central to parts of the story rubbed me the wrong was as fighting your anxiety is actually the opposite of how to make it "better." So seeing story threads about fighting anxiety wasn't great. Also there was some insta-love elements to these two characters and their connection once they do meet that wasn't necessary. I did not feel any spark with them.

The story was also a tad too long for me. It lost my attention at places, and I do think it could have been tightened up with some edits. But overall, I enjoyed this and plan to continue with the series.

Video review to come!