I’ve read a few books here and there about the city I call home. The capital of the smallest state. They talk about the east side, the colleges, downtown, the art, the nightlife, our beaches. The part that is never mentioned is the Providence I know.

Broad Street & Elmwood Ave, bodegas on every corner, all the botanicas, chimi trucks, the neighborhoods my friends and family come from. I shout out books that make me feel seen but to see where I live really represented made my heart smile.

i love this book and will reread again and again. there was so much that i havent mentioned here and still need to highlight my copy. LOVE LOVE LOVE

I am in awe of this book. I don’t tend to read a lot of magical realism, but this was above and beyond my expectations. This story was haunting and emotional. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been having a week, but this book has been powerful to me.

Told through multiple points of view, you get to know each character and how this tragic event affects them. Neilson brings the magic to life through the three best friends and beautiful writing. Each young lady has a distinctive voice and a distinct journey they must travel. While the book covers grief, it also covers important and hard-hitting topics, such as sexuality and drug addiction.

This is such a moving story that you can’t help but love and feel like you’re right there with each character. In addition, the plot is intriguing and beautifully told. The pacing was great, and the story’s intensity increased as the story progressed. This story is brilliantly told; you wouldn’t believe this is the author’s debut novel.

I should have trusted my instincts on this one.

I almost didn't get it and based on the reviews and how high it was rated, I decided to give it a shot. This isn't going to be a full review as I decided to DNF at 10%. I think this book is going to be great for people at that age who are dealing with trauma or the loss of a friend. It definitely doesn't get easier the older you get and at that age, nothing makes sense. But I just don't think this book is a fit for me.

Thank you for the opportunity and I'm so glad it is clicking with so many people. I just am not connecting with these characters and I'd rather stop now.

Deep in Providence revolves around friendship. The ride or die, blood pact to keep us knitted together, variety. And what I enjoyed about this debut is that Neilson balances this connection between them with the space for their individual stories to shine. Each of these teens, Miliani, Inez and Natalie, have to reconcile with the past. Their own navigation of loss, grief, anger, and resentment. Of both living and departed ghosts. Natalie who is trying to be there for her brother and manage the inconsistences of her mother struggling with her own addiction. Inez whose religious family doesn't seem to leave any room for her own interpretations or feelings. And Miliani who wants to bring back Jas to reconcile her own guilt. Their stories are moving. How they ask us whether we can save ourselves if we're too busy saving others. When it's time to finally release control and know that we can't force someone to change.

There are so many aspects of this book that I really appreciate. The story follows a group of three friends who are being haunted by their fourth best friend who recently died. They all struggle dealing with the grief and each of them have their own reason for taking part in trying to resurrect Jasmine. Miliani, Inez, and Natalie are no stranger to practicing magic, but bringing someone back to life is more demanding than they imagined. Throughout the journey, buried secrets come to life and their bond is tested.

I love the representation and themes this book touches on. Multicultural characters, religion, queer rep, addiction, teen pregnancy, abortion/rights, alternative medicine. I’m a sucker for uncommon character portrayals. I personally have never read a book with characters who use healing crystals. Also, Inez’s character stands out to me. I too come from a religious background where it’s looked down upon to get involved with magic. Her struggle between desire vs religion is written so well.

The characters are distinct and well developed. Because this story is told in the POV of three characters, I think this aspect is bittersweet. While the depth of their individual struggles add so many layers to the plot, I think it resulted in too much going on to the point where it felt at times like the main plot point was lost.

How would I describe this book? A witchy Pretty Little Liars. An interesting read for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt BYR for this eARC!

I am only 20%-ish into this book, and its a 50/50 shot if I will be able to finish this before release but I absolutly love this book so far and want to help convince everyone to read this book, so these are just my current thoughts and I will edit and update this when I am finished BUT that being said;

This book is absolutely amazing so far. The character building is fantastic, you get the perspective of 3 mc's and the detail you get into their personal history/motivations is the perfect amount to add to the plot, and the way it is used to add to/move the plot along is beautiful. When something happens you are given just enough information prior to know how each girl is going to react because Riss builds them individually so well and the inner monologues of the girls give you a great view of the big picture from the individual perspective which also adds to bringing these girls to life. (hehe) The writing style is so beautifully descriptive, I genuinely can't wait to finish this book but it is so good, with finer points I want to annotate so.... I want to take my time to finish it, my full review of the entire book is still to come!

DRC provided by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Deep in Providence by Riss M. Neilson is an excellent debut. Moving, emotional, raw, brilliant.

A haunting debut fantasy set in a modern world that will definitely engage. I was drawn to this title because I have been on the lookout for more grounded, non-high/court fantasy or fantasy that is set in more modern times. This book delivered on making its magic system and worldbuilding weave in with a modern context while also still having characters that felt dimensional and not just along for the plot. this novel will appeal to both contemporary and fantasy readers.

Not really feeling this one. It has a great concept and I like the *idea* of it. But as someone who didn’t gel with the “nuanced realism of Erika L, Sanchez,” I found the parts most reminiscent of that style put me off.

I really wanted to love this, but sadly, I had a hard time getting into it and don't think it's quite for me. As a Filipino-American reader, I was super excited about the Fil-Am rep and the Filipino magic & beliefs woven throughout, but the beginning just got off to a slow start and it didn't grab me enough to make me want to keep reading.

There's still a lot to love about this book, and I'm still very curious to see where it'll go. I'll be picking up the audio version once that is available, and I'm hopeful that it'll work better for me in that format.

I'll still be recommending this one a lot at my library. It's perfect for fans of The Lost Coast, When We Were Magic, and Bad Witch Burning.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book was so dam delicious! I grabbed every chance I could to just devour it. Deep in Providence gave me everything my little heart hoped for. There's friendship, family, dark magic, love, healing and even some laughs along the way. There was nothing this book was lacking, there is nothing that could have made it any better.

There is a lot going on in this story. Each main character has their own things they're dealing with stitched into the main story. Normally I wouldn't enjoy so much going on but everything is woven together so magnificently. It's incredibly fast paced and the flow is just incredible! I'm still in shocked how a book can have so many different things going on and still have it all coherent and effortless. It's been days since I finished this book and I'm still stunned by how well done it is.

This is Riss M. Neilson's debut novel and I'm calling it now, Riss is an author to watch! Deep In Providence is an incredibly written work of art and I can't wait to see what she releases next. Sign me up!

DEEP IN PROVIDENCE by Riss M. Neilson is a very strong debut. I was especially impressed with how distinctive the three POV characters' voices were on the page. I'll definitely be using this as a mentor text for creative writing students who want to write a from multiple or dual POVs.

Additional standouts of this book: the nuance in each character's relationship with Jasmine; the individual character arcs; the close friendships; the setting. Miliani and her aunt--their history, their present, and their magic--was also a highlight of the book.

I highly recommend DEEP IN PROVIDENCE and look forward to recommending it as a summer read and/or a mentor text to my creative writing students. Thank you for the opportunity to read this in advance.

Deep in Providence healed something in my younger self. It was the magical story of Black and Brown girls that I WISH I would’ve had when I was younger.
I will absolutely be telling my audience to read this book!

This was such a stunning tale!

With a blend of three voices, the author immediately sucks you into this world.

Set in Providence, three best friends are in shambles after one of their best friends dies in a car accident. Miliani can’t accept that Jas is gone, so she makes it her mission to bring her back from dead. With the help of Inez and Natalie, the trio test their magic in so many ways to try and get stronger in order to bring Jas back. But nothing is ever that simple and the girls figure out that there’s more to magic than a tracking spell.

It felt whimsical and had the most interesting atmosphere someone could muster up. The love that you could feel between the the main characters, Miliani, Inez, and Natalie was strong and something to look up to. Friendship is extremely important and I loved that this tackled friendship in every capacity possible.

The idea behind trying to bring back the best friend, Jas, from the dead was a hook, line, and sinker. I was intrigued from the beginning and needed to know what would happen. It was haunting, it was heartbreaking. I felt so many emotions while reading the this. Riss M. Neilson truly created something almost poetic.

Let’s also mention how much I adored each of their different backgrounds. It was thrilling to see someone resembling me on the page, and being familiar with the customs behind certain situations. I would definitely recommend this book if you love reading about strong friendships, very familiar family dynamics, witchcraft and a little sprinkle of romance.

*I received an arc from NetGalley and the author, in exchange for an honest review!*

Hoo boy, this was a feels trip. Waffling between ominous and heartbreaking, the characters driving my crazy one minute and then having me wanting to hug them the next. It deals with SO MUCH, so many heavy topics but never felt weighted down by them or like it was trying to cram too many “issues” into one story, it felt real and faceted and I can only imagine how necessary a book like this is going to be for teens going through the kind of hardships the characters deal with.

I think it was a little long, probably could’ve been a little more concise and used the word “panties” a lot less (which is minor but it came up enough to be a little off putting,) but the chapters were short enough that it never felt like it dragged and considering this is the author’s debut, I definitely feel like I’m watching some incredible talent unfurl, I can only imagine what she’s going to have in store down the road

I posted a longer review to Goodreads cause I posted there when I finished it, but seriously SO GOOD. My only suggestion would be to put content warnings on it since it is super heavy, aside from that, amazing. This is the perfect example of how to do sex in YA books. It's the perfect representation of things that can actually happen to teens. I haven't seen a book this raw and true about teenagers in I don't think ever. Absolutely beautiful, and I loved the ending. Fantastic draw in the beginning, exceptionally engaging all the way through, and tied up beautifully at the end. I could post a million reviews and find new words every time for how much I loved this.

Thanks for writing it!

Love it. This book is not getting nearly the hype it deserves. Honestly can't wait for release because it's one so many people I know would devour.

This book started pretty slow, but I did enjoy it once we got into the meat of the story. The magic system is interesting and I like that it was almost difficult to tell at times what was reality and what wasn't.

What a gorgeous, haunting novel about friendship, magic, and the lengths we go to to believe in the impossible. There are certainly plenty of dark themes in this book, including but not limited to grief, religion, and addiction, but it never felt like too much. It was the perfect blend of tackling important, real-life issues and the fantastical, and I loved all three girls' voices and POVs. I can't say anything other than read this book. It was amazing.

This story was alot deeper than I am used to. For this fact alone I am rating it 4 stars. It's been a while since I picked up a diverse book that handled so many emotional topics, let alone one classified as YA. While the multiple POV fits perfectly for this story I personally struggled at times to get through some parts as they felt a little slow to me. I think this story would have worked out brilliantly if it was a tad shorter. However, I do want to note that the chapter length was wonderful and the time spent with each character felt appropriate. One thing that I am hoping to see in the finished story is a CW/TW page. As there were many topics covered that can be considered very traumatic.