~Summary~
Simidele is a Mami Wata, a mermaid whose job it is to collect the souls of the dead from the sea. But one day she finds a boy, and he isn’t dead yet. Faced with a choice she decides to save the boy and as a result incurs the wrath of the Supreme Creator. Now her only option is to journey to his dwelling and beg forgiveness, but the way isn’t easy and danger is lurking behind every corner. It is up to Simidele to save her fellow Mami Wata and the world as she knows it.
~My Thoughts~
I always love a good historical fantasy and this one was no exception! The setting was so rich and I loved the mythology! All of it was new to me and it made the story so much fun and left me needing more. It was hard to distinguish where myth ended and reality started and it is incredible how these stories came out of something as dark as the slave trade. The characters were written in such an expressive way and it felt like they were living and breathing alongside me for the week that I read this book.
Now there were also a couple of things that I didn’t like so much. The first and biggest for me being the ending. There was so much buildup to her summoning the Supreme Creator but then when it finally happened there was nothing, no interaction whatsoever, just half a page where Simidele “senses” him and then that’s it, that plot line is supposedly resolved. I did like the cliff-hanger at the very end so I guess it wasn’t all bad, but the buildup with no resolution definitely dampened the mood for me. The only other thing is that I guessed the plot twist pretty early on. Not a huge thing but I don’t think I’m alone when I say I enjoy being surprised.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable read and a great pick from Book Box Club! I would definitely recommend it for the setting and characters and am looking forward to book two. Happy Reading 🙂
The Art of Reading 