Thank you to netgalley and Cranthorpe Millner Publishers for allowing me to read Madame Voodoo by A. W. Jackson. This was a fast and easy read. I did enjoy it overall.

The writing style was just not my cup of tea sadly. The book had potential, but the beginning felt wayy to rushed for my taste

Ah I’m so sad but I just could not get into this!

I will start off by saying the plot itself was good, the lore interesting and really pulled me in.

However, the writing style really stopped me from enjoying this as much as I wanted. It felt like something I would have found on wattpad, a little clunky.

However, I would read more of what this author puts out in future.

Sorry, it's very rare I DNF a book, but I just couldn't get into this style of writing at all.

The idea of the story sounds great, and the characters interesting, but I struggled to feel a part of this.

Many thanks for the opportunity to read this, sorry to let you down.

New York would bring with it a whole new world of possibilities and trouble.' Soon to begin her freshman year, Nkechi, a young voodoo witch, is unsure what to expect.

A really fun and well-written urban fantasy. Great!

I knew I wanted to read the book as soon a I saw the cover and read the book title. They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but let’s be honest: that’s what covers are for these days!

The first encounter with Nkechi happens when you pick the book up for the very first time. A book that has a cover featuring someone from a minority group is already telling me it needs to be read. It just calls me.
And Madame Voodoo? Please! I’m all in for it!

I loved Nkechi story from the beginning to the end. Female character, reclaiming her power and becoming the badass woman she was meant to be. Let me tell you, it’s hard to fangirl this much without giving out spoilers left, right and centre!

Madame Voodoo ported me to the New York Nckechi and her friends adventured in. It was amazing to see how their powers and their different lives intertwine to bring to life a story of witches, of power, of secrets and of unexpected plot twists.

My sincere congratulations to A. W. Jackson for this amazing debut novel! I can’t wait to read what comes next!

3.5*

This was a lot of fun! A brilliant start to spooky season.

Nkechi, our main character, is extremely likeable and we connect with her pretty much immediately. She provides us also with both poc AND vitiligo rep which, come to think of it, I've never read anything with vitiligo rep before!

The story is based on different types of witches and Nkechi is a Voodoo witch who recently lost her mother and is finding her own place in the world when she runs into some strange, magic based crimes.

I loved that we got a sprinkle of mystery and crime as well as the witchy fantasy. I did figure out a lot of things in this story but the twist in the end I didn't actually expect! The pacing was great too with things happening all the time so the story moved quickly.

The writing itself leans more into "teen" writing but can be catered to audiences from late teens upwards. I personally do think that sometimes, the story could've delved more into the magical aspect as I felt like it was only lightly spoken of, and the way the covers operated would've been interesting to learn about too in greater detail.

This story includes lgbtq+ rep as well which is always nice to see - I can really see this story as being one that allows teens to feel more comfortable in their skin.

Looking forward to seeing what's more in store for Nkechi and friends!

This is an enjoyable short fantasy read with an interesting different angle about the magic users in the story, some being Voodoo practitioners along with other magic type users. Suitable for YA and older readers. Thank you to Cranthorpe Millner Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.