I *loved* this! It was a quick audio read for me and even if it hadn't been, good luck getting me to hit pause on it. Ifueko's writing is addictive and so compelling and I was sucked in from the first chapter. Small Sade was a wonderful character and I wanted nothing but the best for her.

This book IS AMAZING, and omg I want more. It’s stunning, beautiful, lush, and pretty much damn near perfect in my opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and RB Media for the audiobook copy!

I recently finished the Raybearer series and enjoyed it, especially the worldbuilding and political intrigue. When I saw that there would be a spinoff set in the same world, I was interested in checking it out. In this book, we follow Small Sade, who is looking for a job as a maid but struggling due to her appearance. She then ends up accidentally bound to a god known as Crocodile. To avoid this arrangement, she brands herself as a curse eater enticing people with her ability to change their fate by cleaning their homes. This book at times feels episodic as we spend most of the book following Small Sade as she is cleaning homes. There is a romance brewing between her and the Crocodile that is at times very sweet. I think this book had a lot of things I liked but I felt the story dragged a lot. If we focused more on the development of the romance, I would have felt better about them ending up together. There were cameos of characters from the main series but I felt that their plotline could have been introduced sooner as opposed to the end of the book. Overall, I think this book at times delivered the vibes but it just could have been a bit more cohesive.

I have been waiting on this one for a while and I am so glad I got to read this! Ifueko's written is hauntingly beautiful and her characters have a depth that I do not see often. This book contained themes that surprised me but I thought they were handled beautiful. Like all her novels, the pacing distracts me a bit and I don't always feel super satisfied with the ending. Though the Maid and the Crocodile followed that trend for me, I thought it was a strong story and can see her growing as an author with each novel.

The audiobook for this title was so well done! Very atmospheric and the narrator was perfect for this role. I enjoyed the listening exprience and I know my students will love to have this as an option for an alternative to print reading.

I LOVED this novel. The fusion of magic and mythology made my heart happy. I loved Small Sade, but the gecko really has my heart. As an orphan, Sade needs to get a job to survive. She calls her qualifications out in the form of song. But she happens to give a little too much as an offering and binds herself to the crocodile god. Stereotypes are not always what they seem and some are trying to change their fates. I enjoyed this novel from start to finish.
The narrator is wonderful and I couldn't stop listening. I wanted this story to go on and on. I really hope there is a sequel.

If you teach hero's journey, this would be incredible to teach. It would be great to teach with How to Read Literature Like a Professor too.

The mythology is incredible.

Highly recommend this.

A glorious, beautiful tale of magic and revolution. I have not read the companion series and it did not hurt my enjoyment in any way. The audio version is amazing.

The Maid and the Crocodile is an instant new favorite of mine! It's reminiscent of Howl's Moving Castle while being something entirely its own. I was enchanted by the expansion on the worldbuilding from Raybearer from the beginning and I was so happy to see disability representation so well executed! The messages around community, wealth, and power were also incredibly poignant. I can't wait for Ifueko's next work!

Ifueko writes such wonderful stories. Her characters are endearing and become special to readers as they hold some characteristic that reaches beyond the page. We return to the world of Raybearer, but get a whole different view of the society and its people outside the walls of the palace. These new characters swiftly make their way into our heart and we root for them to succeed.

What a sweet and touching book. Ifueko with this third novel makes it known that she will continue to tell the stories of those who are used and abused by the ones who should appreciate them and how they grow into their own through their intuition and strength.

Small Sade is the embodiment of many young girls whose story has been written wrongly, privileged hands hiding their potential and power. Yet when she decides to stand for herself and push back to fight for her dreams, to use her voice to share her ideas; how satisfying it is to see.

Can we please get more incredible stand alones please?! This was fun, sweet and lush! I read this on audio and it was so immersive I couldn’t put it down. The narrator truly brought the characters and story to life and it was such a great listening experience.

The world we were brought into which was inspired by West Africa was super unique and fun to read about.

The romance? Swoon worthy! I love a MMC that is heads over heels for the FMC and just loves her for who she is and not just her looks. The found family aspect in this book? PERFECTION! It reminded me so much of the characters all coming together from Howl’s Moving Castle. The writing? BEAUTIFUL! The prose and imagery swept me away in the story.

This is definitely going to be one of my top reads of the year!

Set in the world of the Raybearers, Small Sade is a servant, reliant on the whims of her “betters” for work, sustenance, a home. She knows she is different - her skin and disfigured leg both prove that. But she also knows she is special, imbued with magic that changes fates by cleaning houses. She accidentally binds herself a the Crocodile - a cursed being with an unknown history that will unfold as she learns about him… but can she break his curse AND live the life she deserves?

I LOVE the idea of the magic Small Sade has. A “sin eater”, she can take on the transgressions of others as she literally cleans their houses, and alter the rest of their lives. The idea is at once completely wild, but makes so much sense. Ifueko weaves a gorgeous tale here, heartening a bit back to Tarisai and her crew from Raybearer, but giving Snall Sade a tale fully her own. Even the Crocodile, trickster though he is, sees redemption before the end. There are so many good lessons and diverse reps woven in that I can’t possibly mention them all, but suffice it to say it almost reads like a fable, but in a GREAT way.

I should also note that I listened to it, and I HIGHLY recommend it. The narrator is PERFECT and adds so much to the story (and she sings!)

Ifueko has a forever reader in me!!

Okay, so hear me out. I see how this book could be a 5 star for a lot of people, it just wasn't a 5 star for me.

This is a slow, quiet fantasy about self-worth, discrimmination and the struggle of living in a world that was not shaped for you. And add some Beauty & the Beast vibes in there.

I loved the message in this, the representation and how the different themes were tackled but I'm a fast-paced book girlie, so for the most part I felt like nothing was going on. Also, I wanted more of the romance (very cute) but I understand that the idea was that the romance would not overshadow the rest of the themes in this.

I went the audiobook route for this and it took me a little to get into because of the slow pace but also because the narrator's accent didn't allow me to fully get absorbed into the story (I understand why it was there given the setting but as a non-native english speaker it took me a while to get used to).

This is the kind of book I'd call a 'quiet fantasy'. It's not all battles and quests and world-shattering romances. It's gentle and small scaled but nonetheless impactful.

It's a wonderfully vibrant and emotional story of self worth and inequality and the huge difference 'small' people can make in the world. With a whimsical, almost folktale-esque narration, rich world building, unique magic and a warm and lovable MC, this was a treat of a read and reminded me just how fantastic a writer Ifueko is.

I went into this book ONLY having read Raybearer, not Redemptor. I was missing some context but had quite a lot from the first book to help me understand the world better. It IS a standalone but it's in the same world.

5 stars. The romance fell a bit flat but the book was so good I don’t even care.

Audiobook was amazing, I highly recommend it as the singing adds to this book's charm.

I promise to prioritise Redemptor now :P

Audiobook copy provided by BRmedia/Recorded books via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book was a wonderful addition to the world created by Jordan Ifueko. The characters were beautifully written and the magic is truly compelling. I hope there are future books that explore other parts of this world!

Thank you NetGalley and Recorded Books for this ARC Audio Copy!

I absolutely loved every minute of this book and highly recommend reading on Audio if possible. The story of an orphan as she ages out of an orphanage and has to go out into the world to find work. Instead of finding work she finds the crocodile god and must find a way to save him. I loved the world, characters, and the storytelling in this book and the narrator did such a great job immersing you int the world.

Book Rating 5⭐️ Audiobook Performance 5⭐️

This book is one of my favorite books of all time. I first read it at the begging of July as an e-ARC and I was blow away. Jordan Ifeuko is a master storyteller and an immensely talented writer.

But then, you combine Jordan’s fantastical world with Adetinpo Thomas’s acting and you get one of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to. My love for The Maid and the Crocodile on audio rivals my love for Harry Potter performed by Jim Dale. It is an out of this world performance and one I will be adding to my yearly rotation.

Adetinpo Thomas brings Sade and all the characters of The Maid and the Corcodile to life - often when I listen to an audiobook after first reading via print there are a least a few things that differ from my internal narrator but with this performance there was not a single thing I would change. Plus she sings, like actually sings!

100/10 would recommend.

I was thrilled to find out Jordan Ifueko had written another story set in the world of the Raybearer duology, and even more excited to receive an audio ARC of the book. This is technically a standalone, but does spoil some major events of the duology, and honestly, the Raybearer books are too good to skip. The Maid and the Crocodile gives us a different perspective on this world through the eyes of Small Sade, which I really appreciated. The world-building is excellent, and it was great to get to see how the world has changed after the events of the Raybearer books.

The Maid and the Crocodile is shelved as young adult, and is absolutely appropriate and recommended for teens, but I think adult readers (even those like me who are picky about YA) will also find it enjoyable. Ifueko addresses some difficult topics, and certainly has a strong point of view, so I have to commend her on the skill with which the messages were integrated with the story and the characters, especially Small Sade. Sade is a complex, interesting character with a strong character arc, and she is accompanied by a cast of great secondary characters, including a few reappearing from the Raybearer duology.

The audiobook is read by a new narrator, and I thought she did an excellent job. I especially enjoyed the way she sang whenever there was signing occurring in the book, as not all narrators do this.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an audio ARC - my first, and such a wonderful way to start!

I’ll definitely consider reading Raybearer at some point because Jordan Ifueko’s writing style was absolutely amazing! It truly felt like reading a folktale at times and the atmosphere of the world and the city were truly palpable. However I think this should’ve been maybe 50 pages longer because the author would just hit the pacing marks too soon, and it felt overall a bit rushed and underdeveloped in some aspects, notably the romance. I liked the perspective on activism but that made me not root for their romance when hearing how he perceived her work as a maid. The ending focused too much on what they achieved and not how they did it, and I wished we’d seen more of Crocodile once he had actually changed and learned, to make me root for the romance. Aside from that, I really liked the messaging of the overall story and it’s quite funny because it parallels what I am currently studying in German literature class, with the revolutionary artistic movements of the 19th century. Trump fangirls will tell you this is commie propaganda. 3.75 stars

This was one of the most spellbinding audiobook narrations ever, I loved listening to every second. Immersive, fantastical, and amazing! I love that this story tackles a variety of challenging topics in a way that is really accessible, including disability representation and classism. I loooooved the character of small shade, so endlessly herself and so well developed. Cannot recommend the audiobook enough, it was so well done.

Thank you to RBmedia and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this audiobook production