Daughters of Nri: The Book Taking TikTok by Storm (The Return of the Earth Mother series 1)

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Omg so so beautiful. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Weruche Opia and I loved it so much. Her pronunciation of the words and the names were so good, and the Nigerian accent she did was also very amazing. She performed the story in a way that really carried the listener I long. The writing was immaculate, the world building was really gradual and well paced, the magic system was also really gentle and easy to understand. I loved the plot and the set of characters we had were so vibrant and headstrong, I was obsessed. The dual narrative/perspectives really worked well here and we got enough time with each character to fall in love with them both as individuals. Someone tell Naala I would actually die for her please, she is such an angel. I devoured the first half of this book literally in one sitting, I didn’t wanna put it down, I was so intrigued and invested in the story from the get go. Considering it had quite small font well as being fantasy, my intimidation was completely irrational - it was really easy to read and get through in next to no time. At Onwe Press, we value three things above all: unforgettable stories, author ownership and highlighting diverse voices. We’re small but we’re mighty and we have a team dedicated to ensuring that writers, especially underestimated and underrepresented writers, get paid their due for their world-changing words.

I definitely think the sequel will work a lot better because now the stage is set, and the last few scenes were really ramping up to some good action. Hopefully Amayo's writing can mature a bit too. Although I wasn't absolutely thrilled with this book, it's absolutely worth a read, and I have every intention of continuing with this series. This book was enjoyable, but it felt very debut-ish to me. There were a lot of times I just felt the writing didn't quite flow, and it was hard for me to become immersed in the story. The ending was pretty good though, and I think the sequel will be much better.About a century before these two were torn asunder, the long-lived Eze of Nri encountered an oracle, who predicted the coming of the Earth Mother’s twins. She foresaw that they would be born in the kingdom he ruled and would bring about his end, just as he once brought about the end of the Earth Mother and the old gods who once roamed the land. After that, the Eze decreed that all twins born in Nri be put to death.

It is quite a slow paced story where we follow Naala and Sinai on a day to day basis. Going through hardships and finding out slowly about their powers.They are both fierce and you see them grow. The friendship bonds in this book grow in unlikely places and I love how they are portrayed. Some genuine some through traumatic occurrences. There is some romance in the book that is not the center point and feels natural. I appreciate that a lot!I really enjoyed reading Daughters of Nri! The cover art is stunning! It is based in the Kingdom of Nri which is now Nigeria. So in a way it is a historical fiction I think? The story involves a lot of political and religious elements along with some fantasy. The nature and people are described colorful, I loved Amayo's writing it made everything spring to life. The story follows Naala and Sinai, twins seperated at birth. They grow up thinking they are human. But in truth they are Goddesses and the ones left to defeat Eze Ochichiri, the ruler of Kingdom of Nri who is mighty and caused the Gods to leave. He does everything to keep his position safe, lives don't matter. My other issue is that the book kind of dragged. It took a long time to get to the point of why the twins are special, and by the time their actual twin action happened, it was a rushed conclusion that's only a little satisfying. Added to that is the fact that the Eze's villainy is pretty passive for most of the book. We get reports on what people do on his behalf, we're told how "scary" he is, but we're not actually shown him doing all of these horrible things. He's just some powerful asshole who fits the role of the necessary antagonist in a sort of remote way. Ugh I feel like this is one of those times where I’m speechless about a book. Like it just astounded and entertained me completely. I don’t even know how to describe it. I loved this story, I think it was beautifully done, and if you’re a fan of strong female-led fantasy rich in culture and history, this one's for you. It’s a dream. I enjoyed reading about both sisters, but I found Sinai’s chapters particularly compelling because of her relationships with Meekulu, the wise palace chef, and Ina (to my surprise). Meekulu is kind but also tells it like it is, and I rather liked the development of the “mentor giving the mentee a task” subplot since it went in an unexpected but welcome direction. That’s also what I loved so much about Ina’s progression: at first, this seems like the usual tale of a cruel girl hating a sweet girl because of a man, but it doesn’t follow the typical trajectory when Sinai makes a choice that changes everything. Ina actually ended up being my favorite character after the two main protagonists.

Sinaikuku (called Sinai in the book) is a different kind of character who likes to take her time and think more before rushing headlong into action. She felt a little harder for me to connect to and I did find her plot to be a bit slower and lower stakes at first. Naala and Sinai have different personalities and experiences, but there are clear parallels between them and their paths. Both are considered to be unconventional, but they express this distinctly. Naala disturbs the other villagers by questioning their customs—and is punished for daring to disagree with their chief when she insists the group approaching is a dangerous army rather than tax collectors—and confounds them by rolling around in the dirt in her wedding dress and climbing trees. She’s more naturally inclined to take matters into her own hands than Sinai, who does not want to draw attention to herself. Sinai puzzles others by dreamily wandering the palace lost in her own thoughts, and she can be rather naive about the social workings of the nobility. Though their situations are not similar, the broad strokes share common elements. Both find friends and allies among others with similar goals and values, and both of their stories are about survival. Naala literally learns to survive in the wilderness after escaping the village with her life, and Sinai’s story is about survival as a woman surrounded by powerful men after escaping the fall with her life. Meekulu Kaurandua was a cool character who plays the role of a kind of mentor for Sini. She is a tough older lady character who has more knowledge than she first lets on and I think she came into her own as the book progressed. I liked her odd detours in conversation to prove a point.It took a few chapters for Daughters of Nri to completely draw me in since the beginning alternated the past with introducing Naala and Sinai, but I found it engrossing as the twins’ stories moved forward. It’s not a book to read if you’re looking for plot twists and action but one to read if you’re looking for a book that immerses you in the characters’ lives. I particularly appreciated its focus on community, Reni K Amayo’s adeptness at bringing to life the various bonds between characters, and that the two sisters’ journeys were unique yet mirrored each other in some ways. This was a fantasy book heavily set in a version of Eastern Nigeria (mostly in 944 AD, and some years before then). Our protagonists, twin sisters separated very early in their lives - Naala and Sinai - are two very powerful and loveable heroines. I enjoyed reading about each girl on her journey towards the resurrection of the Earth Mother. One of my favorite things about this book is that the sisters weren't just dumped together and expected to work/figure things out together. We were able to see each sister as an individual, in separate situations and with different people. It was impossible not to root for these girls, and the writing was also very amazing. I think this might even be more of a problem with the editor, because I think if I read this as a manuscript in maybe its fourth draft, I'd think it was great. I genuinely had to just keep telling the editing side of my brain to shut up and let me enjoy the story, but it just felt rough around the edges. What I wouldn't give to go at this book with an editing pen! That isn't to say there weren't plenty of scenes that were great, but then I felt like I was noticing the fact that it was a good scene instead of just experiencing the story.

Esinaala (called Naala in the book) is easy to root for as she's keen to stay true to herself and say things how she sees them. She doesn't shy away from fighting for herself and others and she's always trying to be helpful to others around her. The pacing in this book really varied. While some things moved along fast and some events happened at a fast pace, there were still some points where the story seemed to drag and it seemed like the sisters would never meet. The world building was very good but not also extremely detailed. We were able to understand some parts of their world but there were still some lingering questions. I hope these questions will be answered in book 2. Their recently released first book is young adult historical fantasy located in the titular Kingdom of Nri (a region within present-day Nigeria), mainly set during the year 994 AD, and is the opening installment in The Return of the Earth Mother series—and is a lovely story centered on twin sisters unaware of not only the fact that they are goddesses but also the existence of the other, having been separated shortly after birth for their own protection. To be entirely honest, I think a lot of the issues I had with this book mostly resulted from the fact that I'm currently editing a project of my own, so I've been coming at a lot of my recent reads with a very critical eye. That means that there were just a lot of odd choices I noticed that really took me out of the story and prevented me from being fully taken in. A lot of the dialogue feels a little clunky, and there were some scenes that I wasn't quite sure had to be there. The setting is incredibly engrossing, and since I'm not very familiar with the part of history the world was based on (medieval Nigeria I believe), it was fascinating to learn about. The god system hasn't been heavily developed in this first book, but it's interesting and unique so far- I always love mythology in fantasy. I think the world was by far the best aspect of this book. World-building isn't always the most important element to me personally, but when you do the research and put effort into your world, it shows.

The prose was mostly smooth and sometimes elegant, although there were a few times it was a bit stilted, especially toward the beginning. Some of this could have been easily fixed and may have been in the final version, though. The largest issues I had with this novel were unrelated to the writing style but had to do with the Eze and the ease with which magic overcame obstacles. The Eze is an uninteresting villain: he’s the type who thinks he’s just but has no apparent redeeming qualities. It makes sense that he’d be set in his ways since he’s been alive for a while and it certainly makes it easy to want to see him defeated, but his dialogue and Big Villain Monologue are rather trite. I’m more divided on whether or not magic happened too accidentally and conveniently. After all, Naala and Sinai are goddesses, even if they don’t realize it yet, and magic seems like it would come naturally to deities. But training does prove to be beneficial in helping them control these abilities, and given that, I do feel like inadvertent use of power was relied upon too much to neatly solve problems. The magic of this world is small and I wanted more. Though the characters do discover their magic and potential I felt like for me it was a bit too little explanation and a bit low impact but I think this is probably going to be expanded in book #2.