Black Water Sister

In this urban fantasy novel set in Malaysia, we follow a young woman named Jessamyn. She has moved from the US to Malaysia with her parents, and shortly upon arrival, she starts hearing voices. She realizes that she has become a medium for her dead grandmother, who is out looking for vengeance. What follows is a story full of betrayal, plot twists, and the exploration of family ties.

The premise of this book is a good one. It uses different Malaysian beliefs to create it's magic system. However, I found myself bored through a lot of this book. I think much of this was because of the urban fantasy setting. I'm not normally a fan of urban fantasy. I do think that the relationships throughout this book were well thought out, they just didn't hold my attention well. All in all, I think the plot and the characters were very well thought out, and I really liked the exploration of the what women have suffered through throughout the ages. However, I found myself getting bored throughout, whether from the pacing or the urban fantasy setting, I'm not sure.

I would still recommend this book to people that like urban fantasy. I definitely understand the draw of this story, and fans of urban fantasy will love this one!

TW: death, physical abuse, sexual abuse (one incident of near-rape), casual homophobia

Rep: Lesbian Malaysian heroine, sapphic Indian love interest, Malaysian cast, Malaysian-Indian side character