Jordan Ifueko consistently proves to be one of my favorite young adult novelists and I will always recommend her books. This book was the perfect mixture of cozy with fantasy and some elements of romance. The world-building was absolutely exquisite and I was so happy to see disability rep! If you have not yet read the Raybearer duology, it is highly recommended because it makes this book absolutely glimmer with the detailed prose and imagery. Such a good read!

Jordan Ifueko has never failed me, and this work was no different. I was easily impressed by her offering and return to this amazing world that she has created. I loved meeting the characters and joining them on this adventure.

Jordan Ifueko’s The Maid and the Crocodile is a spellbinding tale of courage, magic, and unexpected alliances. Ifueko’s lush storytelling and vivid world-building immerse readers in a whimsical yet profound adventure. With themes of resilience and self-discovery, this enchanting story leaves a lasting impression.

A must-read for fans of magical, character-driven tales.

This book was an EXCELLENT follow up to the Raybearer/Redemptor series!! I was skeptical going in but I loved Sade and the crocodile. It was cool seeing how her story had previously intersected with Tarasai’s, and I so appreciated the focus on class, privilege, and abled-ness. A really nice love story in here too, without it drawing attention away from the main plot. Such a great book!!


🌈Queer rep: FF secondary couple

After enjoying the Raybearer series on audio several years ago, I was excited to get back into this world with a new tale. While it did take a bit to immerse myself into it, I enjoyed the characters, world, and themes that are explored throughout. Jordan Ifueko has crafted another winner with this standalone sequel connected to a larger world.

Disclaimer 1: This book does deal with some darker topics, so discretion is highly advised. There is no explicit sex though.

Disclaimer 2: I've read the Raybearer duology, so I was familiar with the world going in (but had forgotten the smaller details). While I recommend reading those books first, you can get into this one without too much trouble and go back to the other books later. Enough is explained that you can understand the story and world. It also takes place a decade after the initial duology and is a much smaller scale story. It also has a new protagonist, Sade, an orphan girl that fell in the cracks. IF you have read the previous books, you'll enjoy the callbacks.

Now to the story itself. It involves Sade as she finds herself entangled with a cursed human turning into a crocodile beast, and has to break her bond before he transforms fully and eats her.

First, props to the audiobook narrator, Adetinpo Thomas, for her excellent job on bringing an immersive experience, easy on the ears, and a great singing voice. She made the easy flowing prose that much better. Apparently, this was her first narration, and it was awesome! 10/10! I hope to hear her in more books in the future!

The themes were well fleshed out. It explores making long term changes in society in many angles, fate, destiny, and choice, among so much more. It also takes aim at various societal issues both in isolation and as part of a larger tapestry of a society that's still broken despite reform at the top. I do like that we're exploring it through one of the most forgotten voices of the society as opposed to royalty as we explored before.

The world building was rich and expansive, just as the previous books, as we explore more corners of this West African-inspired world. Though this time, we are seeing more of the commoner POV instead of at the top, providing new material for everyone. I also love hearing about the stories of what has happened in the decade since the last book.

Sade herself was a breath of fresh air. She's doing her best of her circumstances (which are very poor) mostly as a curse eater and spirit cleaner. Wile she does use a cane due to a past leg injury, she's accepted it as a part of her. Throughout her life, she's seen herself as small and deserving of punishment as a martyr. While I simplified it for this review, it's rather complex and I enjoyed watching her grow and develop, especially with the crocodile that she's found herself bonded with.

The Crocodile, who is supposed to eat Sade due to their bond, was also interesting with an intriguing backstory, though it did take me a bit to really mesh with his character. Him and Sade have an interesting relationship, and there were some parts in a later chapter that made me laugh.

The rest of the cast was enjoyable, and most were fleshed out. I also enjoyed that there's some animal companions in the story as well!

The only real issue was the pacing. The story itself took me a little bit to get into, but by the start of part three, I had to know what would happen to Sade and if she was going to get eaten or break their bond. By the end, I was sad that it was over, but it wrapped up with optimism, which is good. Side note, I wouldn't say this is romantasy as the romance is more to the side for a good chunk of the story, with the Crocodile being absent for multiple chapters at a time.

I can't wait for more from Ifueko, Raybearer world or otherwise, and highly recommended if you want to immerse yourself in an African based world.

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!