This was written well enough, but it just wasn't my specific type of book to really feel invested in.

All I can say about this book is that it reads like an afterschool special with magic and none of the delicate topics are handled with respect, but rather come off as preachy Christian content.

4 POVs but I can't tell characters apart - this may be an audiobook problem, but it's definitely a problem. This audiobook really needed multiple narrators.

Miliani, Inez, Natalie and Jasmine are best friends living in Providence, Rhode Island. When Jasmine is suddenly killed by a drunk driver, the remaining girls turn to magic to bring her spirit back.

The story is told in alternating POVs of Natalie, Inez and Milani, which was a great way to learn more about the three girls and their relationships with each other and Jasmine. I enjoyed how each of the girls were not only dealing with the grief of losing their friend, but they also had their own personal struggles as well. I did feel at times that the book began to drag, and parts could have been taken out to keep the plot moving. It does deal with some difficult topics such as drug abuse, addiction and overdose, sexual assault, abortion and a miscarriage, so be aware of that going in!

Trigger warnings: addiction, overdose, miscarriage, mention of abortion, sexual assault, anxiety

Miliani, Inez, Natalie and Jasmine are best friends growing up in Providence, Rhode Island and dabbling in magic. When Jasmine is killed by a drunk driver, her friends are devastated and determined to bring her back. Miliani’s aunt helps them learn the black magic they will need to bring Jasmine back, but the consequences are more than they bargained for.

This book jumps between the perspectives of Miliani, Inez, and Natalie, but the girls did not have their own individual voices, making it hard to tell them apart. This was especially true of the audiobook version. This is the author’s debut novel, and hopefully she can improve that in her subsequent books. I did like the way she handled the serious topics covered in the book. It was an intriguing story concept but unfortunately dragged at times.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy of Deep in Providence in exchange for an honest review.

Deep in Providence is the hauntingly beautiful story of 3 BIPOC teenage girls grieving the loss of their best friend Jasmine after she is in a fatal car accident caused by a drunk driver. At its core Deep in Providence is about friendship, elemental magic, family, culture, grief, and love.

Cindy Kay was such a wonderful choice for the narrator of DIP! Her narration for each of the girls felt distinct. Kay’s voice had an almost whimsical quality that made the magical elements in the novel stand out that much more.

Miliani, Inez, and Natalie are incredibly complex characters. They felt authentic and fully formed. The alternating POVs allows readers to get to know each of them on a deeper level. Each one of them is dealing with their grief along with navigating regular teenage things like school and dating as well as complicated family issues.

Even though we don’t get to “meet” Jas, the reader is still given a sense of who she was and how much she meant to the other girls throughout the novel.

After reading Riss’ personal essay in My Life: Growing Up Asian in America, I can tell she put a lot of herself into this work. Having that background information truly made for an even better reading experience! I enjoyed all of Filipino culture that was woven into this novel through Miliani’s family especially her grandfather and aunt.

Riss has crafted a novel in which many Black and Brown teens/people will feel seen or recognize people or situations from their own lived experiences. As a reader there is almost nothing that compares to that feeling. Deep in Providence is an incredible debut and one of my favorite books I’ve read this year. This a book that will stick with me for a long time. I am excited to read all of Riss’ future projects!

Some content warnings ⚠️:
Parental drug addiction, Abandonment, Overdose, Anxiety and Therapy, Talk of Sexual assault, Immigration, Miscarriage, Mention of abortion

The author handles all of these issues with the utmost care.

I recognize I’m going to be the minority in this, but I’m ok with that. A very large portion of this plot is based around someone with a drug addiction. If you’ve been following me long enough you know why I felt this way. Other than that it wasn’t a bad book, but I advise you to be careful when you read this.

So like I said, books with drug addiction and overdose aren’t something I usually read. In fact, this is a trigger for me. But I promised the author (and was given a manuscript) from the author because I said I would read and review it. So, if you don’t follow me and have never been here before, a little background. My uncle was addicted to drugs for much of my teenage life. (More than that, but that’s when I found out.) During that time, he had my cousin. She was raised in some of the places this book depicted and I always hated that for her. He finally decided that he was threw with that lifestyle. And then just like in this, <SPOILER> he relapsed. He was in and out of my cousin’s life and although we knew it was hard for her, we thought she was handling it ok. Until we found out that the way she was handling it was also with an addiction.</END SPOILER> It’s not something I like to talk about, but even though that was over years ago and both of them have completely recovered and are fine, I know it’s still an uphill battle that they have to fight. And seeing the ending outcome of what happened with that character cut me deep. I was transported back to where I was and how I felt all those years ago and I hated it. I tried skipping chapters with that character, but since it was a major plot point, I couldn’t. I ended up reading it but having to take large breaks in-between.

Now for the rest of it, it wasn’t bad. Not at all. The witchy vibes were so good. I’m not normally a fan of witch books, but this one was a surprise. I liked that they used the elements and I liked the way she explained what they were doing. The reasons and explanations she gave were real enough for me to go back and look to see if these were real things that people practiced. And although some of them might have origins, I don’t think they all are.

The other big part of this book was the emotions. It’s felt throughout the story through each of the character. All of them had so many emotions, the main one being grief. They all lost their friend, but they were also all dealing with other things such as a mom who’s an addict, and an unexpected surprise. This book was full to the brim of heavy issues, so tread safely when reading. It’s deep and haunting, but it’s also good and wonderful.

The characters were just okay to me. I didn’t feel like it was much to them if that makes sense. Thankfully the three of them together made such a great team. I was glad for the multiple POVs. The POVs also gave a welcome break to some of the heaviness of each character. Although it was replaced with more heaviness lol But it was still good

This book might not have been for me, but it wasn’t because it was bad. It was more of “It’s not you it’s me” thing. I know that many people won’t have the same issues as me, so if these things don’t bother you, give them a shot. Because this book has magic and a message. One you don’t want to miss.

Although its publisher labels it “young adult fantasy,” this strong debut novel from a Rhode Island College graduate who lives in Providence is firmly rooted in America's smallest state.

From Kennedy Plaza to Roger Williams Park, to Neutakonconkanut Hill and the corner of Broad and Sackett, and many places near and around them, Neilson’s characters inhabit a hardscrabble Providence of school struggles and drugs, teen sex and deported parents. But also of love, and caring between friends, and hope that even death can’t separate them.

It’s this last that drives the plot, which finds three 17-year-olds mourning their best friend — and wanting to bring her back to life. This brings them deep into Filipino folk magic as they seek to develop enough power to work that spell … and along the way, encounter lots of other crises that need magical solutions, too. But can they really help their friend return to life?

Neilson, who contributed an essay to the recent anthology “My Life: Growing Up Asian in America,” went to Textron Chamber of Commerce Academy before attending RIC, where she was a magna cum laude graduate and won the English Department’s Jean Garrigue Award. So she brings a wealth of different kinds of experience to bear on her realistic, fantastical tale.

Kay does a nice job of distinguishing between the voices of the teenage characters and the story’s older folks — mostly mothers and aunts — while the teens take turns narrating successive chapters. She doesn’t, though, do anything to create separate characters for each of the teens, so it can be hard at times to remember which of them is talking. And though she nails the pronunciation of “Neutakoncanut,” she also says each letter of “R-I-S-D” rather than Rhode Islanders' simple “Riz-dee.”

These are fairly small issues, however, in an otherwise excellent book.

What price are you willing to pay for what you want and need? For what your friends need? For your family's needs?

Deep in Providence explores these questions from the perspectives of friends Miliani, Inez, and Natalie as they grapple with what to do when their friend Jasmine is killed suddenly by a drunk driver. At the funeral, it seems like Jasmine's body is warm, and they begin to think that her spirit is still around. Having dabbled in magic together previously, they start to explore what it would take to keep Jasmine around.

Despite their different households and upbringings, the girls bond together and work spells bit by bit to strengthen their craft.

None of these girls have easy lives. They are plagued by family and financial issues, grief and struggles with religion. This is not a lighthearted coming-of-age novel.

I listened to the audiobook version and appreciated how Cindy Kay managed to differentiate the voices of the sizable cast of characters. This one is heavy, haunting, and heartbreaking, so I found myself needing to break down the 12 hours and 52 minutes audiobook into smaller bites.

If you are looking for something to make you feel and to cause your skin to prickle with goosebumps at the mention of the spirits, sink into the secrets and spells of Deep in Providence.

*Contains multicultural representation and LGBTQ representation

Note: There are spoilers in the content warning.


CW: death of a loved one, death of a close friend, grief, drug addiction, overdose, witchcraft, deportation, parental abandonment, guilt, anxiety, drug dealing, teen pregnancy, abortion, mentions of child abuse and sexual abuse

I received an ALC from Macmillan Audio via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Deep in Providence is an impressive debut! It is an emotional and raw look at grief with a twist of magical realism. I am always drawn to witchy stories and I thought the magical system in this one was inspired and based on Filipino culture. All three POV characters are going through their own struggles while also working together to bring back their friend Jasmine, who has recently passed away. I will say that I wish the audiobook had different narrators for each perspective because I was often confused about whose perspective I was listening to! The writing was beautiful, the friendships were memorial, and the grief was visceral. I hope this book gets the attention that it deserves!

A story that may best appeal to a younger YA audience, this is is a story about discovery of identity and growth. I couldn't finish the novel because of the overwhelmingly Christian judgment and sentimentality that fuels the character journeys.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was an emotional journey for sure! I didn't really connect with it as much as I wanted to- the writing was wonderful, and the characters were each so powerful in their own way, but I couldn't seem to focus on the story and found myself lost on who was speaking and what was happening too often. It deals with a lot of deep issues and I think many people will connect with this story.

Four high school girls, Milli-Inez-Natalie and Jasmine, are into witch craft and casting spells. Jasmine dies, the rest of the girls try to resurrect the dead girl, Natalie becomes obsessed with it. Natalie believes Jasmine is haunting them. I like this book, I'm into reading and watching about witches and witch craft. The girls were interesting and I liked hearing about they're lives. I started this audio when it was late, and I only paused it cause my eyes wouldn't stay open. I liked it way more than I thought I would. This is a great debut novel. I hope her next book is just as good.

I am not an own voices review for this book so please go check those out first.
I have some really mixed feelings about this book. On the hand this book was great when it came to atmosphere and tension. I was on edge the whole time I was reading just waiting for push back. I was tense and unsure how dark this book was going to go with its magic system.
I also really liked the diversity of the characters. They each had such distinct voices that I hardly struggled at all with distinguishing them.
My problem with this book was pacing. I felt like it was going to slow for a good portion of the book. I felt like certain things were to heavily focused on when they didn't really have much to do with the plot. Then it would go though other things to quickly for my liking.
Overall this is a great book and while it is a little longer than it probably needs to be the ending is worth it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this one.

After their friend Jasmine dies, Miliani, Inez, and Natalie make it their goal to try and bring her back in whatever form they can, and begin practicing spells to try and bind her spirit to her twin sister. But opening the realms has a lot of effects that they weren't expecting.

I really enjoyed the plot of this book! The characters really go through a lot trying to get their friend back and it was interesting to listen to. Unfortunately, I think this book was hurt by having 3 different POVs but only one audiobook narrator. The different povs weren't unique enough for me to easily distinguish between them. I feel that the characters needed more distinguishing qualities.

The prose in this book was really pretty. I loved listening to the narrator read it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage , and Blood

Moderate: Pregnancy, Abortion, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, and Car accident

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, and Animal cruelty

Rep: Black-Filipina sapphic MC, Latina MC, Black MC with anxiety, queer Black SC, multiple Black, Latine and Filipine SCS

This slow paced book is about death, friendship, family and magic. It follows three teenagers grieving the loss of their friend. They practice their magic hopping to bring Jasmine back in some form, but slowly realize they might be in over their heads and dealing with dark magic they don’t know enough about.

Each of the girls have a pov and are dealing with various things on top of the death of their friend, such as immigration, sexuality, religion, guilt, unplanned pregnancy and so much more. These girls are going through a lot and we really get to learn a lot of them as well as their backstories.

I liked that the magic system is based in Filipino culture. It didnt come across as magic in fantasy books. It seemed more low- key and pretty realistic. We also saw the consequences of using magic without fully knowing what you’re doing.

There were some twists towards the end that I didn’t expect and was surprised.

I loved the diversity. All of the main characters are BIPOC and one of them is sapphic. Don’t think there were many white people in this book, which was nice to see.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC of this book.