I liked the premise of the story and it had potential to be a really good story but honestly it fell short….

I had a fun read but it felt like it was trying to do too much. This was a 3.25 read for me.
It felt very slow paced for a big part of the beginning and built up for a lot to occur in the last 30%, so in the end it felt really rushed. Confusing kind of feeling. I also felt like it tried to throw in as much information as possible in a short time so that whatever happened next wouldn't be a surprise.
I really liked the stories of the akukoifo, the myths that were included to explain the potential that Essien has was interesting to learn. I really enjoyed the trials she faced in each stage of her recruitment but it seemed that some stages happened too fast to get to a certain point in the story. In the end, I liked Essien's story even with the rushed points, I will definitely be reading the next book since I want to see what happens to her and how she will react.

I hate to rate a book I didn't finish, but sadly there's no other way to say I probably wouldn't rate it any higher if I did. I found this book confusing and struggled to connect with the world building. Are we set in "ancient fantasy" times or the modern age? No idea and I guess I'll never know because despite my best efforts, I only managed to make it through 50 pages before deciding to stop reading. While I'll always support black authors, this particular book just wasn't for me. I'm sure it will find its audience and look great on someone's shelf, but unfortunately, it didn't resonate with me. DNF. Thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read the book.

At it's core, Descendants of Fire and Water is a story about a phoenix rising from it's ashes and women empowerment. Essien is an ordinary girl who gets supernatural powers bestowed up on her by the spirits of that land.They choose her as a vessel in which they would appear in front of ordinary people. She and her father are victims of tremendous injustice which pushes her to enlist in the army, making he the first woman to do so.She is met with disdain over this but turns a blind eye and puts cotton in her ears. There are people who lurk around her and seek to use her powers for evil will she overcome them?

This book was slow to get into and sadly, because it was so slow for so much of the book, I had to push through trying to read this to see if it did.

As much as I wanted to root for the main character, I didn’t really feel anything in relation to her.

It took quite a while before we hit the fantasy element and for me that was a bit of a let down.

I thought the plot sounded interesting, but because it was so slow, I couldn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book disappointed me. The blurb had me thinking this book was going somewhere completely different. This is basically about a young woman joining the military during a time when it was new & becoming the first to do something. I did appreciate Essian & her determination. The book did take a magical element that was missing majority of the book. I felt like a bunch of nothing was happening for so long. I would read the next book in this series to get some answers, but I would not actively seek it out. In no way do I think this is a bad book, it was just not for me.

I did receive an uncorrected E-ARC courtesy of NetGalley for an honest review. All opinions are my own! (:

First fantasy military book. First military book in general but I do love a story with ancestral magic! There is some world building, so prepare yourself for that! Like a lot of fantasy novels that are building an entirely new, non-established world, it may be a little slow but just stick with it. But it does pick up towards the end. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
3.5 stars

*Received this book through netgalley

This book was a little slow to start. I also expected more action and feel like I didn't get much until the end. Mostly, I feel that this was a setup for upcoming books. Overall, I think the author did an okay job with setting up the rest of the series but I am intrigued enough to finish the rest of the series. I'm was in between three or four stars because I did enjoy the book and feel that this series has potential. The downside was that it was slow and I found myself bored through some parts. It wasn't a DND though and I'm sure I'll read part 2.

Thank you to netgalley and Turner Publishing Company, Keylight Books for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my opinion. I really wanted to enjoy this book more than i did but overall it was just okay.

This book, the first in a new series that posits what Africa would be like if it were one great kingdom—plus a little fantasy and magic—is a good start, and I’m excited for what’s to come! The worldbuilding of the story in particular was fabulous, and the intertwining of the world’s militaristic stakes with the magic system was exciting to read. It made me invested in the story’s plot, and I was eager to see where the book would twist next. Plus, I can’t not mention the beautiful inversion of toxic racial dynamics, and commentary that made me feel how powerful it is to reclaim marginalized narratives. Dialogue about how darker skinned people are closer to the lore of the gods and therefore “luckier” and more blessed—I LOVED that. Highlighted it, underlined it, blew it kisses as I read it. More of that please!!!

At the same time, perhaps because this is a first novel, there was a distance from the protagonist, Essien, that made it feel hard to invest in her journey specifically. I’m not sure if it’s the way the text was written, from a limited 3rd person POV that felt very far from her inner thoughts and motivations, or the pacing of the story, but the result was a feeling of periodic slowness to the book that made me want to skip through some sections in the hope of getting back to the faster-paced bits. Overall, I’d say the novel didn't really pick up consistently for me until nearly halfway through the book.

Overall, this world is one I can come back to, for sure, one I can root for with its beautiful underhanded commentary and themes, and particularly if the pacing and character disconnects are attended to a bit more closely in a sequel, this will be a series I come back to. 3 ⭐️s for this gem.

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Essien is a girl who doesn’t follow society’s standards for girls/women. After rescuing her father from a fire in their fields, Essien dreamed about joining the military to protect her family. With the new law of women being allowed to become sojas, Essien finally gets her chance to join the military. It becomes more than Essien bargains for.

This was a slow start and it didn't pick up until around the 40% mark, but the fantasy element wasn't really displayed until around the 70% mark. I understand that with Fantasy series the first book is usually spent creating the atmosphere, introducing and defining characters, but I don't think it was necessary to spend the first half of this book doing so...especially in such a long, drawn out way.

The writing isn't bad and the mythology behind it all is quite interesting. I'm not sure how many books will be in this series, but I'm interested to see where it goes. I'm unsure if I'll make it a priority read.

I love the concept of what would happen if Africa was never colonized and the fantasy elements of the story were great. I did find it taking me a little while to get into the story and the writing feeling clunky at times. With all that said, this is a very good debut and would like to continue with this series

I DNF'd this book very early on. Unfortunately it really wasn't for me as I found the writing to be a little on the clunky side. Combined with how slow the start was, I found getting through the chapters quite tedious for me, as a personal preference. However, I'm quite sure other readers might enjoy this book!

I'm biased towards fantasy military academy novels, so take my review with a grain of salt...

But wow! I loved this debut! It's written so well and had me captivated from the get-go. I loved the alternative history aspect, where nations around the globe were never colonized. The worldbuilding is rich, with alternative names for everyday objects so it feels like a parallel world to ours. It's both different, yet similar in certain ways.

The magic/fantasy aspect took a while to develop, but I'm really excited to see where the author takes it. Magic used in the military gives major Poppy War vibes, so of course, I'm here for it!

Essien is a tough takes-no-prisoners type of character. As the first woman in the Alkebulan military, she faces a ton of adversity, but despite it all, she still remains true to herself. At times though, she does come off as overpowered, but whatever. I love it. I also very much appreciate the lack of a romantic subplot.

As the novel went on, the tone became darker and darker, and that's something I really love about it. The author doesn't hold your hand, but lets you experience Essien's journey head on.

I'm eagerly awaiting the second installment (and also disappointed that the author doesn't seem to have any socials because I'd be tagging them in my review, future videos on "my best reads of the year," etc.)

Thank you to Keylight Books and NetGalley for this arc.

Essien grew up in a village where women were raised to tend to their husbands and bear children. When she finds out that women are finally allowed to join the military she decides to secretly become a Soja. She is one of the first women to enlist. On the night her family finds out a mythical Akukoifo leads her to a fabled lake where she obtains powers, powers of fire in her hands & incredible strength. As she fights to survive the military and tries to harness her newfound powers Essien must decide on her path. How can she serve her country best? Which destiny should she follow?

We are being told a story of an Africa that was never colonized, where transatlantic slavery never happened. This narrative is embellished with culture, myths and legends, musings of the protagonist and details of life, descriptive and rich, so as to welcome us to Alkebulan. Long paragraphs with quite intricate descriptions and sparse dialogue is how this world is being built. The 'marriage' of old and new, of traditional and technology, colors it interesting. You will like how things are named here, for example light beam for flashlight.

The prose has a classical feel to it. There is an understated power and an emotional strength that gradually gets and keeps you invested. This story is a slow burn, intrigue whispering through, and a bluntness in parts that cut like a knife.

We get to know Essien well as we journey through her thoughts and life. She is an old soul with forward ideas for her upbringing and quite focused on what she wants. Her outlook on life is a serious one. It was so interesting to see what she goes through to achieve her goal. How she deals with the injustice of being underestimated just because she is a woman. Things that happen make you want to scream.

The book unfortunately concerns itself disproportionately with the military and the fantastical aspect of Essien's story, leaning more on the first. This is a different tale than expected. The fantastical comes into play in unpredictable ways.

This book is about prejudice and female empowerment. Changing the norm for the better and the fear of change. Also about being brave in what you believe.

This is a feminist fantasy about a trailblazer and an interesting start to a new series

3.5, but I have to round down for how long it took to get going, to get to feeling like it finally settled into its stride. Until almost 70%, it feels like a different story than the last 30%, as well as the blurb. It's much more of a military training story, Then suddenly it switches to the fantasy reveal, a move that I'm not sure works successfully. Though, once it made that move, I was much more engaged and had a better sense of the characters.

While once it gets going, the fantasy side of the worldbuilding quickly finds its stride, the political side kind of stumbles. There seems to be one country that encompasses Africa, with different states to reflect the different nations, though a lot seems to be folded in. We see a little of these in other nations - with the Iroquois Nation, where many other tribes are folded in, given languages, but other nations are separate, like Hangul and Nippon. It gives the impression that it would have worked better as a different world similar to our own, rather than an alternate history (it seems to rely on no imperialist or colonist imperatives from any nation or peoples at all).

That said, I did become really interested in how the powers and mythology would play out given the more we learn and the more entangled in everything Essien becomes, so I would be curious to see how the series progresses.

2 🌟
I do love the concept but as a Nigerian the book threw me off with the world building and reduction of African culture and ethnic groups. An uncolonised Africa ? Good. But lumping several ethnic groups as branches of others is reductive.
Igbo country? Efik and Ibibio inside it...
This book will typically relate to Western audience who are stucked on Wakanda type world.
I am very much disappointed for the author trying to paint an homogeneous Wakanda type Africa and thereby reducing Africans into Specific groups that are flawed and unrealistic

Great story!! I love the African elements that were in the story along with how the main character stood her ground with that was going on with her. Very fast-paced fantasy which I always love.

This book was amazing, the storyline was unique, the magic system while not a new concept had defining elements that made it stand out. The writing was lovely, I could see the world and characters vividly as I read.

My thanks to Didi Anofienem and netgalley for letting me read this.