This story really had potential, but I think that it could have helped to have some trigger/content warnings about sexual assault and other violent acts.

Colourful and exciting!

Suri is a descendant of a family of the Blessed, who are supernaturally gifted. She ends up returning to her Grandmother’s home in New Orleans after it is stipulated in her will and she has suffered through some personal tragedies involving her loved ones. But there she faces a dark and powerful demon and can only achieve what she must by working with Layla, who happens to be a demon herself.

Such a brilliant story about the supernatural that really gave a full picture of Suri’s life up until the point she found herself in New Orleans, then delivered on embarking on a thrilling adventure into the supernatural. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Suri, and could tell how special she was from the moment we were introduced. When she then met Layla the chemistry they shared was undeniable. There was so much not only for Suri still to learn about her abilities and her powers, but for her to learn about Layla and them being involved with one another beyond the situation with the demon she needed to defeat.

Layla, for a demon was engaging and actually very laid back and well-tempered. I admired her respect for Suri and what their involvement with one another could result in if they didn’t approach the situation with care. She really showed how important Suri and her mission was to her, but also for keeping her safe, which was Layla’s main focus. I understood how with all the chemistry and connection they shared it was easy to get distracted, but when they did their being together was just off the charts. I adored them together and just hoped nothing would get in the way of them finding a way to do that and achieve to keep safe.

The air of mystery surrounding the way Layla and Suri were drawn to one another really gave the story that extra level of push and pull that had me eager to find out if happiness could be in their future.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this story. In the first two chapters, I did feel like it was kind of info dumping, and felt like a prologue without being titled a prologue. However, once I got through those chapters and I was introduced to the characters in their adulthood, that’s when I was really starting to get into the story.

I really liked the magic system in this one. It pulls on Christianity, root magic, hoodoo, voodoo, the Orishas and all of it blends together fairly well to be interconnected within the family.

For the characters I thought they were fine. I think one of them was a little too much of a chosen one character, and that was just kind of boring since she had gifts of so many things. I did like some of the scenes between the two love interests, particularly when they first notice each other, when they finally talk to each other and a dancing scene. There were also some steamy scenes. I read the first which was decent and the second I skimmed, not because it wasn’t good but I was just at the point where I was bored with the story.

My biggest complaint with this story is that it struggles with pacing. Flashbacks were used but not well. I felt like they were random and just providing extra information we didn’t necessarily need in the narrative. Even without the flashbacks, I felt like sometimes we kept getting unnecessary information in the exposition. All of this, paired with the fact that they are pretty much just waiting for the villain to come to them, made this book feel so slow even though it’s less than 400 pages. Like I said, I wasn’t sure what to expect with this story but it was fine.

I love books written by Anne Shade. Great characters and amazing plot. However, this story just didn't resonate well with me.

Thank You Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley.

I really wanted to like this Novel, but had to drag myself through it. The characters and the plot is good, but the storytelling was just not something I enjoyed at all. I wish there was some warning about the SA scene on the very first chapter. I did enjoy the chemistry between the main characters, but this supernatural sapphic romance fell flat for me.

WOW
I wish there had been some trigger warnings (SA, SV, slavery). It was as if i had gotten punched in the gut. I was able to pull it together and finish the book.
In spite of the lack of trigger warnings, I loved Suri's and Layla's journey, after they were brought together by fate. I like the way the author added the supernatural with Suri and Layla's being free.

Thank you for the ARC copy

This book had so many things in it that excited me. I loved the idea of a queer, black love romance steeped in the Yoruba people's religion. I was chomping at the bit!

Unfortunately, the pacing of this book was its downfall. For how much happens it felt lacking in action. Many of the scenes felt like extended exposition. "I'm telling you about your new role in your family's legacy" "I'm learning about my true power" "Here's the story of my last relationship" Even to moments of action felt lacking in action. The intimate scenes were short. The quests felt truncated.

I loved all the things I expected to enjoy. Looking into the Orisha and learning as the story unfolded who we were meeting was spectacular. Many of these gods were new to me, and I loved how Suri related to each one differently. Her family's role in the magic system was unique. The strong women she comes from gave her circumstances gravitas.

Layla has a difficult start in this book. I appreciate the changes the author made between the ARCs and the release. I'm a champion for content warnings in all romance, not just dark romance. Her campion heritage was handled well, and I thought her relationship with her parents was a heartwarming juxtaposition Suri's.

But the pacing. It made the experience of reading feel slow and plodding. It might be exactly the kind of writing someone else is looking for, but I felt like it took me twice as long to finish as I was easily bored with the pace and distracted by...anything else.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one, it is in need of TWs but despite that, it’s a really good story and one I’m glad I have read. I am a sucker for sapphic paranormal and this had a great balance.

I'll say the first chapter of this was rough without content warning, and it did set the tone for the book> I won't say this is the best thing I have every read but it's also not the worse. I understood some of the parts of this book and why she did what she did in the first chapter.

I did like the magical elements and the whole magical world. It was quite interesting, like so much so. It was like I said a very interesting book.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Good book. This was a well written book, that has a few things that went right and plenty of things that went wrong. I'm not going to write spoilers, but before I didn't like the first chapter, but after getting through that part I was able to enjoy the rest of the book even though the first part was very jarring to me. This was still a really good supernatural story with some very interesting characters and things happening, would I recommend this book to my friends and family? No, but I will look out for what's next from this author.

“Their lives may have begun extremely differently, but they shared a history of manipulation and violence pushing them onto a path neither could have imagined treading.”

The Blessed is a unique and delightful book following two powerful Black women. First we meet Layla, an enslaved child working on a pre-Emancipation Louisiana plantation, living with all of the expected horrors of the time. But after a horrific trauma (this book needs several trigger warnings), Layla discovers she has dark powers and learns that her father is a demon. A couple centuries later, her path crosses with Suri, the latest in a line of blessed women and hoodoo priestesses, who is in a bad place emotionally.

So on the one hand, this book is about the love child of a Black slave woman and an incubus demon helping to protect a hoodoo witch with immense god-given power against her possessed cousin, a corrupt and power-hungry voodoo priestess, and the queen of the demons. But on the other hand, it’s really about the healing power of love, female empowerment, and the powerful beauty of community.

I will admit, at times I found the writing style quite difficult to enjoy and while I enjoyed the characters and plot, it was hard to get into at first. The first few chapters from Suri’s perspective were particularly cumbersome for me, since I didn’t know much about African/hoodoo spiritual tradition. In the beginning, the worldbuilding felt a bit clunky at times, with lots of exposition in big chunks. That being said, I’m glad I continued reading past those parts so I could enjoy the beauty that came out of it.

Truthfully though, for as heavily focussed the first half of the book is on the African/hoodoo details, the majority of this story really focuses on the relationship between Layla and Suri. The spirituality provides a fantastic background for their character development and interpersonal journey of healing, empowerment, and love.

Overall, this book did have a lot of things going for it. It had some moments of real power that beautifully conveyed the long history of trauma and recovery in the Black community. Layla and Suri were great main characters with kind hearts, fierce spirits, and generous souls. The spicy scenes were enjoyable, with interesting supernatural twists to entice any romantasy reader. Although not without its flaws, it is a heartwarming story of empowered Black women choosing lightness over the dark for the betterment of their community and the wider world, all the while finding love, happiness, family, and belonging.

📖: The Blessed-a standalone

✍️ By: Anne Shade-new to me author

📃 Page Count: 312 eBook

🗓️ Publication Date: 12-10-24 | Read 12-5-24

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books, Inc | BSB genre, and Anne Shade for this ARC 💜! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

🌎Setting: NY and LA

Genre: LGBTQIA+ Romance, Fantasy/Sci Fi

Tropes: AA rep, supernatural creatures, fated mates, a quest/duty, found family, good vs evil, Halloween, magic, sapphic romance

☝🏾POV: dual, 3rd person- beginning told in 3 timelines LA 1823, NY 1995, and LA 2023

⚠️TW: slavery, SA, SV, death of loved ones, bullying, murder

💭Summary: Suri and Layla are fated to meet and join forces as priestess and protector to fulfil their destinies. Suri is a "blessed one" like many women in her family-all with supernatural powers. Layla is a half demon with her own powers. Together they battle evil forces set to destroy the world.

🚺Heroine: Suri Daniels- descendant of supernatural gifted women "the blessed." An Orisha priestess and maternity ward nurse.

🚺Heroine: Layla Jeffries-200-year-old former slave, demon halfling/cambion, Suri's protector, has a cat familiar Sebastian

🎭Side cast:

• Pearl Shields-Suri's grandmother(deceased)

• Robert-Suri's uncle

• Aria-Robert's daughter, estranged from her family

• Ruth and Isfet-Layla's parents- her mother is human, and her father is a demon incubus

• Sojourn-a psychologist, starts a cult for dark magic, and becomes Aria's mentor

• Cora Lee-former slave, Layla's companion for 60 years

• Phoebe-Pearl's BFF and guide for Suri in New Orleans. She's also a priestess who practices voodoo and hoodoo

• Phoebe's coven: Leandra (a fairy halfling), Rory (a warlock/hoodoo practitioner), Cassandra (a necromancer), Kenya (a werepanther)

•Bettina-Layla's friend, a werepanther promoted to pack leader

•Lilith-the mother of demons


🤔My Thoughts: I loved Layla and Suri's journey to each other. With help from their families and friends they find true love in each other, and defeat Lilith. I loved the epilogue with a tease of another book, maybe?

Range of emotions: 😬🤔🙄
🌶️: Spice 5/5
😭: Emotion 5/5
❤️: Couple 5/5
⭐️: Rating 4/5

I really wanted to like this novel. That’s why I tried until the very last page to find something truly exciting that would make me feel satisfied with having read it. However, I was disappointed, and it's hard to admit that a book with such good potential was executed so... poorly.

The problem isn't at all the rape scene, which opens the story and marks much of my disappointment. Not so much the scene itself, but how it was handled. I mean... really? An entire narrative is built around toxic behavior, and there’s no meaningful or well-executed dialogue about the issue. No, I’m sorry, but I don’t think the characterization of the characters or the scenes was thought out or conveyed in the most appropriate way. In fact, I’m really wary of books like this because they cast more shadows than light on the topics they aim to address.

2.5⭐️

I think there were quite a few things about this book that were good. The relationship between the two main characters Layla and Suri was sweet and I thought they had good chemistry. Layla's relationship with her father also was one of my favourite parts of the book and in my opinion, he was probably the most entertaining character and I would have liked to see more of him.

I also really liked the idea of this book focusing on African gods and paranormal entities that I hadn't known anything about before. I would have loved for this book to be a way of learning more about them, but I think, unfortunately, for someone like me going in with absolute zero knowledge of things like the Orisha and Hoodoo, there wasn't really enough explanation of what these were or how they worked for me to be super invested in the plot that relied heavily on their lore to move forward.

This book really had a problem with exposition. Huge chunks of information would be thrown at you in a single paragraph and it was impossible to absorb it all or to keep the story flowing because of that. Lots of plot points felt quite clunky and there were definitely some things thrown in just for tension when it didn't make narrative sense. This book also had a huge issue in that nothing much actually happened. Most of it is spent waiting around for a big fight that doesn't take place until the end, speaking to various gods and spirits in a repetitive manner that doesn't really provide any more insight into them or their motivations.

The other thing I can't help but mention is that this book begins with the rape of one of the main characters. There were no content warnings for this and even though I'm willing to give the author the benefit of the doubt and believe no harm was intended, I just think the language used to describe this incident and the way the victim speaks of the rape and her rapist afterwards is not great and should have been considered more carefully. There are also a couple of other incidents of dubious consent and power imbalances throughout this that I just feel could have and should have been presented differently, so if that's something that at all would make you not want to read this book I would definitely not recommend it.

Overall, this wasn't really a book that worked for me as I feel like the writing was a little too clunky and exposition-heavy without really explaining things fully. The main relationship was mainly good, however, and if you are looking for a queer story with a focus on BIPOC characters and African gods then you might have an alright time with this.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with this eARC in return for my honest review.

This book was not for me, the writing is simplistic and abrupt and the sexual assault that happened in the first chapter did not entice me to continue. Content warning should have been included at the start of the book.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.


This was a good read despite the first chapter it’s was not a love affair that create Layla I’m just going leave it at that. Suri and Layla is brought together by fate they both are to defeat the darkness that’s is threatening to tear their world apart but neither plan on falling for each other in the process but will they be able save the world and be able to be free. I like how the author dives into the supernatural world and how it’s works.

There needs to be some type of TW when you open your book with a brutal rape. Not even 3 pages into the book and the MC is being brutally assaulted.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!

I LOVED this book! It was a bit slow in the beginning but then boom I was hooked!! I finished it in one sitting! My first by this author but will not be my last!!

This had a strong premise from the description but I didn’t enjoy the first chapter. I continued reading and thought the supernatural element was good but this book has more adult elements such as rape and sexual violence. Anne Shade writes a good supernatural story.

I was not a fan of how Layla's mom and "dad" were talked about. Layla and her grandma posed it as this love story, but it was plainly rape. And no content warning for the rape at all.