Black Girls Lit!
Unfiltered, unbothered, and always lit! Whether it’s literature, libations, or life--Black Girls Lit is your new favorite vibe with page-turners and poured spirits.
Black Girls Lit!
The Seventh Pour: The Children of Anarchy and Anguish by Tomi Adeyemi
We’ve come to the end—but this one didn’t go quietly.
In the final episode of our Legacy of Orïsha series, we dive into Children of Anguish and Anarchy by Tomi Adeyemi—and it’s a whirlwind from beginning to end. From explosive pacing to emotional swings, Book 3 pushed us all in different directions. Some of us closed the book... let’s just say, with more feelings than fulfillment. And yes, a little heat came through the mic as we tried to process what really landed—and what left us asking, was that how it had to end?
This conversation goes beyond plot twists and character arcs. We reflect on the series as a whole—what this trilogy offered, what it stirred in us, and what conversations it sparked about Black identity, memory, leadership, and the cost of being chosen. We also revisit what we may have missed the first time: the nuances, the quiet symbolism, and the spaces where the story mirrors real-world truths we’re still unpacking.
As always, we’re sipping something rich, bold, and complex—because how else do you toast a saga that gave us magic, grief, revolution, and resurrection?
Come for the book. Stay for the conversation.
✨
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Hey bookish baddies, welcome to Black Girls Lit.
SPEAKER_05:We're fine women, fine literature, and fine libations collide.
SPEAKER_01:Step into the lit life. Black Girls Lit starts now.
SPEAKER_02:Black women are so complex.
SPEAKER_01:Welcome back, y'all. This is Black Girls Lit. I am Nicole. Excited to be with my crew again.
SPEAKER_02:I'm Natasha. I'm Lex. And I'm Star with our special guest, Miss Stephanie. Hey!
SPEAKER_05:Wow, wow, wow, wow. Stephanie. Phew, pew, pew. We love Steph. We love Stephanie. Right, okay. So, like we said, this is the third in the very special episodes, right? All of August. We're giving you episodes every other week. The first, the 15th, and the 29th. So if you have not tuned in before, definitely go back and listen to the first and the 15th because we definitely take a good look at the first and second books. Today we are deep diving into the third book and do a little wrap-up of the entire series. You definitely want to hear what we have to say about this one.
SPEAKER_04:For sure. For sure.
SPEAKER_05:All right, thanks. We'll be getting on our BGL cocktails.
SPEAKER_04:Okay, so as always, we have a cocktail that's featured on the episode. The BGL cocktail of the week is called The Shadow Bound. As we get into this third episode, our drink, our spirit of choice is still rum, which I'm happy about because I love rum! As I told y'all. Okay, so in the shadow bound cocktail, we have the Kraken Black Spiced Rum, Sour Soft Nectar, and then we have molasses, Kahlua, as well as clove syrup, and bitters. So that is our shadow bound, ladies. Cheers. Let's try it and get into this episode. And it definitely tastes like espresso martini a little bit.
SPEAKER_02:I was just gonna say it's espresso martini. I love it. But that though is so definitely good.
SPEAKER_04:Oh yeah. There's a little um dark chocolate and nutmeg. So yeah, ladies, taste your dark chocolate with the it's dusted with nutmeg to bring out the spices in that spiced rum. So it should, that is our only pairing for this drink. Oh, wait, we do have a pairing, but this also is a garnish for the drink, so it should go well with the cocktail. Stephanie says it goes, so hey, she concurs. Oh no, that's no. Yeah. This is our best one, I think. I like this.
SPEAKER_03:Let's introduce this book, Steph. Yes. Tomi Adayame. She is the New York's number one best time author seller. I said it all wrong this time. You see when it comes to the third time? New York. So we're gonna try it again. It's the number one New York Times bestseller author, Tomi Adayame, with book number three, Children of Anguish and Anarchy. This is the third in the legacy of Orisha. Let's get into it.
SPEAKER_05:How do we feel? Okay, we've we've done the first two. He had a we we started out with all cheers all around for the book one. Now, and then book two was a little a little less flattering. Rule book three, what is your overall feel? Okay, I'm I'll go ahead and start. And you know, very out of character for me. I'll be honest, I'm I'm coming in with a babysit, y'all. And y'all know I so rarely. Y'all know I'm the children. That is rare. No, rare. This is the first. Yeah. Oh no, did you get the no, you get the other one in between. And I don't know if it's if it's because book one, like, because again, I read them like really like back to back to back. And so I had this certain level of expectation. By the time I got to book three, I was like, whoa, what? Who are these new people? That part. Were them other people? And it was just a lot of questions. And not that it wasn't still, if it was written like as its own book, I might be judging it differently. But because my expectation was set at a certain place from reading the first one and then rolling into the second one, and when you read them, like you almost you have to read the next ones because there's like clip hangers. And so by the time I got to the end, I was like, if I get the head tilt, it's gonna give me a babysit. So that, yeah, we're gonna talk about it. But yeah, I'm coming in babysit, which is normally not typical Tasha Raven. Not at all. Nicole, where you at? Where you at with it?
SPEAKER_04:Dun dun dun. Love. Y'all can see Nicole's face right now. Love the author.
SPEAKER_01:Have never, I myself have never written a book, nor have I been an English major, nor did I study cultures like you did as an author. Once again, I am not I'll send it. I'll say it for you. I'm gonna send it back. She's gonna send it back. Once again, I have not gone through the journey. Very proud of you having a movie man made and all that kind of stuff. It just if it started going downhill. And I think once again, I did read the books back to back to back, and it just kept on being more and more of the same. I didn't understand where we were trying to go. I didn't understand what we were trying to accomplish now with the third book.
SPEAKER_04:Honestly, I'm with Nicole. I'm on Sender Back. Like I talked about in the second book, this book was extremely hard for me to get through. And it was the shortest book of the entire series, which is saying something, but I mean, I think like the first book, it just really felt like a war manuscript, like a book full of war plans. Just narrated by Cynthia Revo, which we love you, Cynthia. Wicked was great. You did amazing reading this book, but it was not good. I also didn't appreciate the inconsistency in readers when you're listening to the audiobook. They had a different narrator reading the first two books and then going into Anguish and Anarchy, they had Cynthia Revo narrate that one, which was fine, but it was just a little inconsistent for me and reading it back to back as Tasha and Nicole talked about. But yeah, it was just it was just tough. I think I didn't like the second one, I didn't really absorb anything. I felt like I was just going through the motions of reading it, and then felt like I had to finish it for the sake of this podcast, and then it just ended. I feel like it just ended. There was really no closure. There it just stopped. But there's it's no shade to the author because again, she did great on the first book. I just truly think too much time passed between the first to the second to the third. Because the third book just got released a couple months ago. So that's where I'm at. Star.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, before I give you guys my rating, do you guys remember that episode of the Cosby show where Rudy wrote the story of the land that got conquered by the kings and all that? Yeah. And then at the end of the story, she was like, the princess came and said, Stop, stop it, or something like that. And it was over. It was just over. Yeah. That just came in mind. Period, we're here. We're here. Because that's exactly what happened. It was just over. It just ended. Okay, sorry. I you know, you already know. If they're sending it back, I'm sending it back. Let's let's keep it a buck. Like, um, I am the toughest critic at the table in the room, so it is what it is.
SPEAKER_03:So we're gonna go with the trend. One star all the round. With her, the adage of characters and not having backstory. All we knew was Orisha for so long, and then now you're incorporating others. It was just very overwhelming to where, if you want to make it a 10-part book, make it a 10-bart 10-part book where you're gonna have different islands with their different traits to give up different backgrounds, but everything was just so condensed to where it was just not enough information, and I agree with the ending, it just ended abruptly to where I don't need a happily ever after, but what happened? Did we have the unity that we were asking for in the questions from book two? Did we have them come together? Was the Civil War was it just us coming into unity for this battle that we were going against the skulls, or is this a long-lasting truce that we have amongst our islands? So it was too much in such a small book with too many additional characters without enough background information where I just can't give it a cheers at this point, and I just have to send it back.
SPEAKER_00:And that's okay.
SPEAKER_04:That's okay.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. So let's go into discussion. So with our pairing of Shadow Bound, which we just tried with the chocolate.
SPEAKER_05:Okay, okay. Nope.
SPEAKER_03:The question goes into is the enemy of my enemy my friend? Was this a path to the peaceful existence for the Maji and Nobles or short-term alliance?
SPEAKER_04:I mean, before we answer, but what is the Nicole? You made this. Okay, so the Puff Puff goes with the shadow bound. So let's pass these around and let's discuss the question, Steph.
SPEAKER_05:I can't wait to hear what star because the way Star took a deep sigh when Steph finished reading that what I was Go get into it, Star.
SPEAKER_02:Are you ready? No, no, no. Like, I want you guys to sign. I was just gonna speak, you know. Uh uh. The answer is the enemy of my enemy my friend.
SPEAKER_05:Because that's what it was. Like the magic reverse. Are we talking about the skull and the new guy? The new guy. The magi and like the noble people, they came together to go against the skulls. If you have the same enemy, are y'all friends? Yes.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, I see what you're saying.
SPEAKER_05:Because those two were fighting, because the magi, like, and like the nobles were they were fighting in the Tetons, like the Magi and like the Tetons and other people, they were fighting each other, but then when the Skulls came into the picture, they was like, Hey, we gotta get together because the Skulls come after all of us. And then also the name's like, and matter of fact, we need to go being these other people who the skulls are also trying to go after, too.
SPEAKER_01:No.
SPEAKER_05:So my the enemy, my enemy enemies are not my friend. No, we're not gonna come together. Okay, y'all are friends, um, y'all can allies for the three. Because that's a proverb. I mean, that's an old proverb that you hear all the time. So you like, no, it's not true. We can coexist. Like, you know, remember when Negroes joined with me?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so people for a civil to fight. I've always heard that, like the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Absolutely not. I'm glad she said that. Thank you. No, I like even hearing it and saying it, like I always have to overprocess it because I don't understand. No, really, that is absolutely not a thing.
SPEAKER_04:No, well, and I think that was like one of the many issues I have with this book. There was so much emphasis put on the civil unrest between the magi and the Tetans. And now, since this third party was introduced, I just feel like in this book, it almost seemed like all of that just went away. Yep. And they were focused on defeating this third party. But I'm like, you spent two books talking about how there was such civil disrest, and now we all are on ships and in chains, taken by these captors that we don't even know about. And it's like, I just feel like she jumped from one story to another story. I almost feel like this should have been a completely different series than the other, honestly, then the first one. The first book could have had a series or just been by itself, and the last two could have been a ser like a series continuation. Yeah. Because it was, it just took a a turn that I wasn't prepared for. I felt like I was in the middle passage, I was in the boat, I was in the box. Like, what?
SPEAKER_03:It was maybe just I couldn't even finish the book. Like I was just jumped. It was like the last 20% of the book. I'm like, okay, finish it stuff. But I had so much so much anxiety because it's like never-ending drama, never-ending war. Like, when does this end? The blood moon. And now you have a new person that's trying to take over everybody, and a new civilization at that. It was just too much. So, where it was like, I told my husband, I was like, I can't finish the book. I said, I'm getting anxiety. It's like, it's like I'm afraid about what's gonna happen because it's like they take two steps forward and 20 steps back. And it was like, when is this gonna end? And it ended.
SPEAKER_02:It ended.
SPEAKER_03:It ended. Not ideally. I have more unanswered questions in regards to it, where it's like, what's the the epilogue? What epilogue is that?
SPEAKER_04:It didn't do anything, it didn't tie up.
SPEAKER_03:It was a last thing it was another chapter, it wasn't an epilogue. So I just feel like you couldn't even wrap it up in a little boat because you extended it to a whole nother level of characters and an island and reasonings behind why the skulls wanted what they wanted. Nugaya, like you've never known Nugaya, like what is all of this going on? And it's just like we're just gonna, here we are, it's all done. Literally. And it's like, what? Like, no, too many questions. I have too many questions. And then, like you said, with them battling within the first two books between the two the nobles and the Maji, we're battling, we're battling, we're battling. And then in the third book, three-fourths of the book is Nugaya and the skulls.
SPEAKER_01:They were battling each other with a third party that was causing all the drama. And I was like, Oh, well, that's well, and that's interesting.
SPEAKER_05:So I would say for me, okay, but okay, two things. One, okay, the the coffee and the donut parrying, this is working for me. That's very good. I like it too. I don't know what this the Kahlua, this dark chocolate, like this, and so that the parry is working for me. So with the spice bro, whatever this, the BJ, the cocktail week with this, with this little donut situation about that's working for me. Yeah. It's a puff, puff. A puff puff. Where I did not have, where I had issues was, okay, so is the enemy of my enemy, like, is that my friend? I do understand where my co-hosts are like, no, that's not a thing. But the truth of the matter is, putting parallels, you know, like to real world situations in America, we have our issues. But as soon as somebody pops into America, like they bring like war to our doorsteps again, we're all Americans. No, I you can't, you can't do that here. Don't worry about what we got going on amongst each other, but now y'all bring something here. No, no, now we're all Americans, and now we're like, no, we're not here for that.
SPEAKER_02:So I think that goes like with the second part of the question, what you guys are kind of talking about. Like, was it a path to peaceful existence or a short-term alliance? And I think collectively it's the short-term alliance. Like, that's what you're speaking to, right? Like, okay, it's well, the real life parallel is like when there is a common enemy, then we're going to ally. Like, I need you to be my ally because they're the problem now. But as soon as they're a limited, as soon as we take care of the problem, it's back. You know what I'm saying? It's not gonna change, we yeah, we're still not friends, exactly.
SPEAKER_03:So I think it's air girl and the book ending the way it ended. We don't know what had transpired to see if this could have happened.
SPEAKER_02:And so I so I I do hear you guys, and we'll probably get into it a little bit more. But the thing that I keep thinking about with this author, and I'm always gonna go back to the first book, this conversation that we're having, her ending it like she did, ending it, but not really ending it. Was it intentional? Yeah, it probably was because we're reviewing it like from our perspective and our expectation, right? Like we expected, we expected an end. We expected a pretty bowl on the end that says, here, it's over, the end, right? Anyone lunch happily ever after? Yeah, or not. Or not, but we didn't get that. But if you go back to her intention, right? Was it her intention to leave it because, again, the real life parallel? Like it was always from the beginning, it was I wrote this because I was seeing this, and this is what was going on in the world. So I feel like I feel like what's her intention. Always I can see.
SPEAKER_01:What the world? Where did this come from? Why are you doing this? Which could be relevant to the emotions that you actually are like, where is this coming from? Why is this going on like this? This doesn't make sense.
SPEAKER_03:We were well then wrap Aricia up and then go into the skulls that you knew.
SPEAKER_05:I have trying to take the reader through an emotional experience. What star is saying is no, because there is no wrapping up any part of real life, it's always continuous because you thought this, no, no, that wasn't even your real, you around here doing all this, that wasn't even your real battle. Your real battle is over here. Oh, and guess what? That's not your real battle. Your real battle's over there and never stopped. I was upset about the book, but when you just said that, so I was like, oh, that could have been intentional.
SPEAKER_03:And I wonder, and just but then don't make it a trilogy. Then don't don't label it as a trilogy.
SPEAKER_06:If you're not finna prove it, pretty bull warning.
SPEAKER_05:You really need it's not a trilogy. I'm trying, I'm trying, y'all. Pretty bow warning. If you're not finna wrap it up, do not sell it to Stephanie.
SPEAKER_03:That's it. I I don't, like I said, it's uh it's not necessarily about the happily ever after. It was just the above the abrupt ending, it left it to where it's a continuation. And you presented it to me as a trilogy. So I'm trying to receive it as you're gonna wrap it up. Now, if you have other characters to lead off to another series or to another trilogy, a standalone, a two book part, whatever the case may be, I'll support that. But you didn't present it that way. You said it was about Arisha. Then by the third book, we have New Gaia, we have the skulls, we don't win. Like whatever the island is called, like, you know, and then we're learning about new Gaia. With the mother, you know, the mother roots and all the vines and how all they can do. That should have been another story where it continued, where if you're giving a background on May and Jariah, the king, and all of that, make that. If you're gonna do something about the skulls, do that. And then it comes all together. Arisha, Gaia.
SPEAKER_05:It doesn't matter if he has a happy ending, but you need some sort of an ending. It's a book, okay? You need closure.
SPEAKER_02:So we're gonna go into our second pairing. So we have a shop, and we're still with the crack and spice rum.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Okay, so. So the big thing about crack and spice rum is that it, of course, has the spices, the nutmeg, the cinnamon, those undertones in it. So the next thing that we have here, shuku shoo.
SPEAKER_02:And we're doing this with the, we're doing this with the shop. So we're so that means we gotta sift the shop.
SPEAKER_05:I enjoyed that. That spiced rum. It was good. I liked it. Because was not here for it. She was not. She's making my faces, y'all. I'm not seeing her liquor that she did not even feel. But especially rum being her drink.
SPEAKER_04:Mm-mm. I was okay with it. It was good. Y'all, I think I got about 50 chest tears. No, it's strong. She didn't know the the it's burning. I feel like I have heartburn. For real? Y'all don't feel that. I feel like a good to me. I'm over here like, oh. Y'all are crazy heads. I can't do it.
SPEAKER_05:Oh, yeah. You liked it in the coffee. You understand why it's covered up?
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I understand. Hell yeah. She stole it. It was good to me. Nine to four proof. Because I like, and that's why. Nicole, what is it? Say it. Nine to the four proof. 94. That's six from a hundred. These are good. If you like coconut, it's very coconut forward. But I love coconut. I'm not a huge fan of coconut, but this is good. It'll cut that bite. It'll cut the bite because it was very burning before compared to this uh dark chocolate.
SPEAKER_05:Okay. In this book, let's let's go ahead and talk about the fact that all of a sudden, this is the first book that Zane had his own voice.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:So Zane had an expenditive role in this book, and he had his own experiences, especially with the lemonas. How do we feel about Zane in this book? Can I start? Please do.
SPEAKER_04:Go ahead. I honestly did not like it. Only, no, listen, hear me out, hear me out, hear me out. Everybody gave it. Everyone. Listen, listeners. Everyone is clutching their pearls right now. But the only reason why I wasn't a fan is because I think Tomy in the first book, she set the precedent that Zellie and Zane were very complex characters. They had a lot of things happen in their life. There was just a lot with their like dad, with their relationship, with their mom being taken, all of these things. And so I feel like if we were gonna give Zane a voice, we should have given him a voice from the beginning of that series. Okay. Only because his character was He was a main character. He was from the beginning. And so to give him a voice at the end of the book, and for the book to not be as deep as the first book almost did him a disservice as a character because Tommy set him up as such like a supporting actor. A supporting figure. He was Zellie's brother. They talked about his struggles a little bit from Zellie's lens. And so it was almost like, dang, like he's such a deep character. And to just introduce him at this last point of the book, and he really didn't have that much development. It was really just talking about him like fighting with this axe and giving his rib and like trying to figure out how to work this magic through this object.
SPEAKER_03:Like it's like he deserved more, and that's why I could pick it back with that because everybody had their power. They have a T-Tance with Amari and Anand, the Maji with Zeli, but then Zayn was nothing.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And so it's like she was trying to give him something. Yeah. So the blood axe turned into the new Gaia giving them the internal, like you're using your organ to fight. And so I think it was him trying to find his meaning behind everything because everybody else had meaning. And it was like, what is my fight besides protecting his sister?
SPEAKER_04:And when at the beginning he had meaning. In the book, I feel like she set him up to be like one of the main characters. But she did. Yeah. Because he was like a good looking. What is it? He was yeah, he was a good-looking man. He was a protector. He was muscled.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:I imagine it was. So she's settling up that way.
SPEAKER_03:And so it's like But now she's but she's trying to give him more than what everybody else was able to get. Because the royals got power from touching the scroll or being a part of the scroll where he got nothing. It was just He was there.
SPEAKER_05:He didn't have the like the natural, the natural, like Magi magic. He didn't gain magic when Anon and Amari did. And so then all of a sudden he just always has just been Zale's brother. And so then all of a sudden now it's like, okay. But then when they were on that boat, when he was like, okay, hey, you know, okay, I gotta find a new way. I have to find a way to protect my sister. Like that was his own, his whole purpose in life was protecting his sister. He wasn't able to protect his mom. His mom got taken away. They both sat there and watched their dad get killed. And it was like, hey, I have got to protect my sister. And he found his own right and found his own power. And it may not necessarily have been a magic situation, but found who he was outside of that in order to become the man he was supposed to be. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_06:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:But also, can we talk about how, like, I feel like Amari and his relationship was not realistic at all. Because can we talk about that for just a second? Like the fisherman and the princess. Yes. No, but well, yes. Compared to the first book and to the third. Like, they were like this. They were in love. And I know Amari did her wrongs and stuff like that. But I feel like it wasn't even addressed for real. Like, I think at the beginning of the book, he kind of addressed, like, oh, I can never, I can never be with Amari because of what she did.
SPEAKER_03:That was by the second book, though. The first book he was all in, and he was probably But I just feel like that's not realistic.
SPEAKER_04:Like it just was not a thing.
SPEAKER_03:I feel like it was the first crush. She's never been at the castle. Okay. She's never been called. So he was special. So he was special because he made her blush. And it was like, oh my God, the attention. But the connection came when she met May.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. I forgot about that. You're right. She likes, but I just feel like it just got May.
SPEAKER_03:I didn't think she had May. I think it was just a connection because she had a connection with Zane, Amari did, but it was her first time exploring outside of the castle. She's never met a boy. She's never done anything. And this is her first experience. And then he's protecting her. He's protecting her from Seely. He's not like, so it's just like different things like that. Where for her, she's like, Oh my God, who is this guy? I like him so much. And then she portrayed him. And then through that portrayal, now you're viewed in a different light. And then you give that information, you share that information with someone else, and they could see still the goodness within you. And then she's just like, she sees you in a different light, and there's a different connection. And she was hanging out with May for like two months, a month and a half. And so they're together all the time. So you went from Zane all the time to May all the time. So do you want May? Do you? Do you? There was a kiss, but then the book abruptly ended. So we'll never go.
SPEAKER_04:Honestly, yeah. Steph popped her sh just now. She popped her just now. Because you're correct. You're correct. Yeah. Yeah, I can't even say nothing to that. Okay, Batty. I just feel like still though, Zane deserved more than just book three. Right. He should have been a voice from the beginning. Correct. And I think that's the point I'm trying to make. Because the author build him up to be.
SPEAKER_03:Correct. Especially with them being, it was the three of them. When Mama Agba saw them in the vision, it was the three of them going through their journey, but it was only the voices of Zealie and Anand at the time, I think in book one. No, no, Amari was in there. Amari was there. So it's just like, so you incorporated them, but Anand wasn't in the vision, but Zayn was. But you incorporated Anand in the book as far as having a voice and a character.
SPEAKER_04:So He was just a character development for Zalie. And Amari. And Amari's character to be a bigger character.
SPEAKER_03:So why did why put him in book three than why put him in book three?
SPEAKER_04:That was about where you got to the end of Zalie. I feel like. I mean, Zayle. I keep talking about it. Zay. Zae. Zae. I'm sorry. We're trying our best. Very sorry. I think you got to the end of her, like, okay, we need something. Something else new. Yeah. I guess, like y'all were saying, those unfamiliar people. We were like, okay, these are too many new people. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:We don't even know. If you want to do a book three, it would be, as we said in the question, was this a path to peaceful existence for the Maji and the nobles?
SPEAKER_04:I almost feel like book three should have been like a jump, like five years briefly. Sure. Thank you. Like I would take. Okay, it's whatever year.
SPEAKER_03:I could take that. But it's five years into the bringing a whole island and two and the red moon and whole. It's like too much. It was too much. And him, I think, did he learn his lesson with the laminus? I think he did because they he had so much sorrow and death, and he just wanted to be powerful for a moment. And I think him using the red skull, the axe, the red axe with using his blood, I think he used it because it was like I can eliminate so many so quickly, and I've lost so much, and I just want to be powerful at this point.
SPEAKER_04:But then to be demonized for that, though. Was they all looking at him crazy? Because he was crazy because he was his sister. He was definitely but like they didn't definitely didn't give him any empathy or like during the I mean, but like because they didn't know. They didn't know. But it's like but that's why I feel like he should have had a voice earlier. Because that was a deep part of the book. It's like, oh sh, like you knew Zayn was a warrior. You knew he would, but like you said, he was literally about to kill his sister. Kill his sister because he was just so overtaken by this blood magic and sh. And it's like, I feel like we needed, he deserved more of a background. And just to introduce him in this last book that was well, can't remember that's our mocktail that everybody loves so good. The mocktail. This one, too, in our series. Cheers everybody. It is the herbal citrus sparkler. All right, now the sparkler.
SPEAKER_01:And a little lemon graphed. Cheers.
SPEAKER_03:Cheers, cheers.
SPEAKER_01:Can I put it a little honey, ginger? I'm trying to tell you all the good stuff for your body that it has. Oh, yeah. Can you listen to that part? Oh, my bad. Supposed to pair with this spiced mango change.
SPEAKER_04:With a little line. Let's pass the mangoes around. Wait a minute, everyone grab a slide. I love a mango. I love a mango. I feel like black people just love mangoes naturally. I don't know what that is about, but I've never met a black person that doesn't love mango. Yeah, see? You see that there? They all smacking and sh. They love it. That changes a drink up yes.
SPEAKER_05:Y'all thought we like watermelon. Not the watermelon. How about that?
SPEAKER_03:Stephanie, this is when I want you to actually go all the way in. Oh, at the ending of the book? What? What is your opinion?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, so you have told us throughout this entire episode how you had an opinion.
SPEAKER_04:Well, this is where I want you to just let it loose. No. Let it out, sis. Let it out to.
SPEAKER_01:If you were the author at this point, what would you have done differently at the end of the book with particular characters to actually, I guess, involve the story or maybe the new Gaia and the skull should have never been involved.
SPEAKER_03:I think she should have had a conclusion with Orisha, with whatever they were going to do if they're going to become united and be able to coexist within each other. I feel like there was some healing that needed to happen. Sometimes healing needs to be done very quickly when you're thrown into a situation, which I feel like she did that in this book with them having to fight against the skulls. But it's just not enough healing. Of course, this is like if you want it to be wrapped up in a bow, but I just didn't like it. I just didn't like the incorporation of the additional characters, the abruptness, the epilogue. The epilogue was spoiler alert. Of Zelie and Zayn hugging each other and Amari finding out that she lost her brother, and that was it. It was like Ananda's dead, and it was like, huh, and credits are rolling. So it was just like, so for me, I just didn't like that. I don't want it to be like so-and-so got married, so-and-so had babies, we had, you know, the kingdom came together. I'm not asking for that, but what happened to Orisha? Did we come together to a degree? What happened to the queen? Anand is gone. Who's over Orisha now? It's just so many questions that I feel like they those can be answered. I don't want to tell her how she wrote the book. She wrote the book. I don't want to take that away. Everybody saw something within the book, and I don't want to take away from that. It's just a lot more questions. I really don't agree with the incorporation of the new characters. If there was meaning behind it, I'm still trying to understand that meaning because I literally finished the book Thursday. Like I said, I was at 80% since Tuesday. But hold on. Because it was like, what's gonna happen? What's gonna happen? Like they're going to war, and I was like, they're gonna get them. Like, please don't die. Y'all have had so many negative outcomes versus positive outcomes. Like, I wanted to see the good happen and then for it to end the way that it ended. It was just like she killed him. He called her a demon. Never once throughout all of the books, nothing maggot came out 20 times, but demon comes out. I was like, what? And it was like, right, and it was it was, yeah. Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_04:And I think also, too, as a fantasy lover, I read fantasy 90% of the time. The point of fantasy is to escape. And yes, I guess everything doesn't have to be rainbows and butterflies. Yeah, I get it. We we drove off into the sunset and we loved each other and we had a million babies. Yeah, I understand that, but the point of reading a book is to escape and to be in a world that you weren't in before. And I feel like we deserved a tight ending. Like, that's the point of reading. I'm okay, like heavy on the years. Like, I don't want, I'm not about to pull up Google right now, but Tomy wrote Children of Blood and Bone. I was in grad school. Honestly, I feel like it was before it came out. It was 2018. I was in undergrad. Okay. And I'm reading fantasy. I'm a fantasy girly. I'm reading to escape my life. Not that my life is terrible, but sometimes you just need a break. And I feel like we deserved a better ending than just, oh yeah. We built up this evil guy. I can't even pronounce his name right now, but this the leader of the skulls, we built him up. He was trying to take all of our magic. Oh my god. Spoiler alert. And then he just dies, and then we Baldier. We hug. Yeah, that's his name. We hug and it's over. Yep, that's girl. You made us wait like seven years. What do you mean it's over? Like, I feel like very quickly.
SPEAKER_03:That's the point of fantasy. And then what happened to, and I keep going back to what happened to the other guy. What's his name? Rowan? Rowan disappeared.
SPEAKER_05:He didn't even come up in the third book at all. Such a prominent role here in book one and two. That was a problem. I'm like, where is he at the end of book three? That was a problem for me. And also, if we're talking about, okay, well, you know, like the the ending of it all, like, okay, we've been hanging with you for two books now. And you're gonna as soon be thinking, okay, hey, they're fighting. We understand what's happening over here with like the magi, the Tetongs. Hey, we we're all in it. Who's gonna win? What's gonna happen? And then all of a sudden they blink and they're on a boat with some new skulls. It was like, okay, bro, y'all killing me. And now we got like a whole new different battles. It was a lot for me. Like that whole situation, the fact that Rome wasn't there was a situation. We didn't even know what happened to him. Like, he was a pretty significant role. A huge role. Right in the first two books, for him not to really be all in this in the third book was an issue for me. He told Zanley he loved her.
SPEAKER_04:He got gone. He said, You are where I'd rather you're literally dead. Literally, I was like, huh?
SPEAKER_05:And he's nowhere to be found. Nowhere. That was a whole situation. And then even, I mean, okay, fine. If we want to have like this new battle, we have this new enemy. Okay, that's fine. But it just it felt so like out of nowhere. Just all of a sudden, like we just didn't even get a chance to celebrate or even just be like reconcile what happened between this battle over here before we're in a whole new war. Like the way book two. Ended, but not really ended. Yeah. And we jumped into like a whole situation. I was like, this it was too much.
SPEAKER_03:After reading book three, I should have ended book two.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. Honestly, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Because book three gave me nothing. But then after reading book three, I should have ended with book two.
SPEAKER_04:Honestly, should have ended with book one.
SPEAKER_03:That yeah.
SPEAKER_04:I would have been fine with just ending it with book. I I would have continued still to two a little bit.
SPEAKER_03:I would have continued to book two because of I wanted to know what happened at the very end with the because that wasn't a good end. Correct.
SPEAKER_04:Can I ask one more question before we close? Yeah. When y'all started book three, what skin color were the skulls to you? Did y'all not picture a skin color on the skulls?
SPEAKER_03:That's weird to even ask that question, but I was like Well, no, because I thought about it because I was like, did they ever say, like, because they described other people, so you kind of just and then with that one, no? Mm-mm.
SPEAKER_04:Did you not picture a skin color? I just I mean, if I do do something, or did you assume I would make them ginger? Ginger? I don't know. Ginger skin. Everybody white with red hair. So white, but okay, but no, I really didn't picture a skull. Everybody brown is what to me. To me, honestly, skulls. The skulls represented like the white people coming to take the enslaved.
SPEAKER_03:And he wanted to be God. That's fine.
SPEAKER_04:And he wanted manifest destiny. That's literally where my mind went.
SPEAKER_05:So when you go back to Mark and Alpha, like he calls this about, it's supposed to be about like the um the slave trade, like the African slave trade. Yeah, the middle passage. Yeah. So that's what it was about. But at this point in me reading the series, like everybody was, everybody was assumptionated black. It's black, because we're in Africa, yeah. And that's that's fair. So I didn't even like think about that.
SPEAKER_04:We're gonna overall, yeah, we gotta wrap this bad boy up.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I was very happy with the author. I think she very much engaged me, which would did I feel like I didn't get what I wanted by the two and three? No. But at the same time, do I say I would do it again? I probably would, just because she had me so engaged in book one that it made me want to go to book two, and then book two. I was like, okay, maybe it comes back in book three. Yeah. You know, the beautiful design of her books. Whoever did that.
SPEAKER_04:She's a beautiful thing.
SPEAKER_01:She's well digital thing on the uh whoever designed the book, the book cover, even the scenes of the book, and everything from the binding and what's the other part, guys? The pages.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, the little print, the print on the Kente print on the pages, beautiful. It was very intentional. I think she uh awakened something in me in the first book for sure. Oh in the first series. Yeah. Out of my just you know, inner personal power, I was like, I feel really strong in this book.
SPEAKER_06:Like, this is making me only watch the first watch.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, the first one was Baltimore's fair skin.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, that's the skull, the skull leader?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, fair skin.
SPEAKER_04:I knew it. I knew he was a white man. I knew it.
SPEAKER_03:He's young, far younger than I expected, though. He commands men twice his age. He can't be more than 23. He has high cheekbones and crooked nose. The wild beast. Yep, that's a wild beast.
SPEAKER_04:That's the white man. High cheekbones. That's iris.
SPEAKER_03:His chestnut waves gather in a messy bun, loose strands falling into his shoulders.
SPEAKER_04:Burnett. That's the white man. It's Tarzan. Honestly, who's cheating? That's Tarzan. Hazel eyes. Tarzan. Yup. Yup. I knew it. Felt it. I knew it.
SPEAKER_05:I can know Michael.
SPEAKER_02:So before we close, you know the vibe. We always say space for something to sit with, sip on, or carry into your week. A lit challenge to move you, a talk for thoughts aground you, or a memorable quote from the book that lingers like a good sip. In true BGL fashion, we're gonna give you a trilogy of our own to close out this special month and the empowering legacy of Orisha series. So the first one is an on the spot co-host lit challenge. Okay? Y'all ready? Rapid fire. Yes. Okay. All right. The trilogy gave us lessons on magic, bold choices, and embracing chaos. So here's a chance to do the same. First, pick your magic. We each have our own magic that makes us unstoppable. What's one thing you're claiming this week that makes you feel like you're in power? Like you're in your power. Oh, so if I could choose a magic power, what would it be? Yeah, like what's your what is your own thing? Like it doesn't have to be a magic power, it could be a whatever. Like, what is your power? What is your that you're claiming this week?
SPEAKER_03:I'm staying positive. I say when I stay positive, it's better and it brings more positive energy. So when I start with positive energy, I hope to receive it. Um, not necessarily save lives, but might prevent you from taking a life.
SPEAKER_02:That's what I'm saying. Sure. Positive energy will save lives.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, yeah, sure. That might stop you from doing something bad. Love it. Peace. That's gonna be mine.
SPEAKER_00:Peace. Love it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Okay. And I think the mind was gonna be um the handler of time. I'm gonna be able to manage time in a great way. I love that for you.
SPEAKER_02:Um, I'm gonna go with discernment. Like, I'm gonna go with discernment. It's a whole thing. And I'm the more I tap into it, the more clear things become. And I love it. I'm gonna hold on to that. Okay, the second thing is make a bold choice. What's one small decision you can make to show yourself some love and strength this week? Life changing. I've done all of my workouts this week.
SPEAKER_05:I've been skipping some of them, and that's not really serving myself the way I should be. So I'm I am doing all six days that I am assigned this week. Six days. No, no. I got goals.
SPEAKER_01:I think I'm gonna do like a little meditation time or something like that. Kind of self-reflect and all that good stuff. I think that'll help me move it forward.
SPEAKER_02:I'm gonna make good food choices. Good food choices this week. I've been doing the the workouts. I'm definitely not up to six days. That's insane. But I love that for you. And thank you for giving me something, a goal to strive for. But yeah, I'm gonna make healthy food choices this week for myself. Oh, see, you said good and healthy, are they are they the same? Okay, my bad. No, because all all good food ain't healthy. Not healthy food definitely ain't good.
SPEAKER_00:So I think I'm letting go of things I cannot control. Come on. Sorry, Prayer. Yeah. Yeah, I take on way too much. That's really not my business to take on. So I'm I'm letting go.
SPEAKER_03:And I'm gonna do my best not to procrastinate because this week I have a lot going on and it's my anniversary. And you know, as they say, when you're together for so long, sometimes you just procrastinate. So I I'm and he's not worth procrastinating. He really deserves. He really deserves thought and effort because my boo is the best. So stop procrastinating. Like, I need to get on it this week.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, I like it. Okay, and then the third one is ride the chaos. So let's keep it a buck. Life is messy. What's one thing in your life that's a little crazy, but you're going to just own this week instead of stressing about it? My child. I was gonna say the same thing. Amen. Having an adult child is wild.
SPEAKER_03:Uh-huh. A 16-year-old girl is crazier, but I'm a I started with positive, so I'm gonna keep with that trait. So, yeah. Let it okay.
SPEAKER_02:It's something that I'm not going to that one what's one thing in your life that's a little crazy, but you're going to just own it this week instead of stressing about it.
SPEAKER_05:Oh, that dog. I did not want to get the dog. And now the girl has left, and I thought she was gonna take her dog, and she did it. And so now we have the dog, and the dog is on my nerves. But I can't get rid of the dog because she is gonna come back, and you know, again, you gotta be doing what you gotta do for the kids, but I'm gonna embrace him and all his craziness and act like that he's well trained. Um I'm gonna act like that's a thing. I got nothing. You ain't letting go this week.
SPEAKER_04:You ain't go to prison. What? So I'm on my this will be my what?
SPEAKER_00:Going into my second week of school. So yeah. Every time that I'm sitting down to do those readings, I'm like, who asked you to do this? Oh, I I I made the choice to be here. It was me. Guilty. So yeah, just owning my choice, even though sometimes when I'm in those readings, I'm regretting it. Like, oh, this is horrible. But I made the choice, I'm owning it, and we're gonna finish it. So, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Awesome. Okay. So now for the listeners, what's your goal up for the week? Pick your magic, make a bold choice, and own that chaos. Tag us on social media and share with us how you're leveling up. And then the last thing that we're gonna leave you with, so our our third thing is a top for thought. And that is power is not given, it's taken. True power isn't something you wait for, it's something you fight for. It's about challenging oppression, standing firm in your beliefs, reclaiming what's rightfully yours, and never backing down in the face of adversity. The legacy of Orisha trilogy reminds us that power isn't just given, it's something you must seize. It's a journey of rebellion, justice, and a fight to reshape the world around you. Remember the fight for power, and change begins with you. Keep pushing, keep claiming, and never wait for permission to take what's yours. So the words that found you, the poor that held you, and the version of you that showed us to listen. It made you think, fill, or drink, pour it forward, share us on your favorite social media platforms, and make room for someone else at the table. Until then, read boldly. So slowly. Cheers.
SPEAKER_06:Cheers.
unknown:Cheers.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you for listening to the Black Girls Lip Podcast. Tune in for our next port and our next page The Butcher and the Wren by Elena Urkhart. Make sure to like, subscribe, comment, and follow.
