Witch Queen Rising by Savannah Stephens

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[00:00:40] Back to another episode of The Reading Black Girls Podcast.

[00:01:15] The girlies just woke up, so bear with us. Okay. Not only that, it is gray outside and you know how I feel about that. Oh, that's unfortunate. It's actually bright and sunny over here. Yeah, I just took a little peek. It's lovely outside today. That is sick. And twisted, but okay. Sorry. Sending you some sunshine. It's okay. I hope it changes throughout the day. Oh.

[00:01:46] We're a jazz hands. It's great. No, this is through sunshine. No, these are jazz hands. Right. That's your sunshine. You can never say anything stage play related around Aziza and be wrong. I tell ya. Right. She's a stickler for the rules that way. Oh my God. Aziza, you're wrong. Clocky like that? First of all. And here go Kayla instigating. The instigator. That's one. Instigating basis. Two. Two. Two.

[00:02:16] I don't think that has anything to do with stage. I think we all know jazz hands. Yeah, but I didn't have the other word. So you should have just let me rock. Like. No. It was wrong. And see. That's the problem. And I'm very rarely right about things. So. Oh, so you took pleasure in that. I wouldn't. Oh. No, actually. I wasn't taking pleasure. But I just had to inform. I do love to inform others. I just couldn't wait to. This morning. Oh. It worked.

[00:02:45] The sun's out. Wow. You're welcome. The power of manifestation. And not the jazz hands. Did we just do something witchy? Oh. Speaking of witch. The power of intent. Amazing. Yes. So. That was cool. We're back. You know, we're here to yap about books. We don't read another book, y'all. This one. I don't know about y'all, but this was. I saw this back in 2025. And I was like, hmm. Witches.

[00:03:15] New Orleans. Queen. Black. Mm-hmm. Got me. Honestly said. I'm in. Enough said. Enough said right there. Yeah. Because let's not play like we all didn't go through our vampire diaries slash originals phase. And are still in it. Like, I feel like that's one of those things that's fluid and is never going away. Oh, never. Yeah. Never. It shouldn't. It's like we constantly even think about those shows. I don't know. I do at least. Mm-hmm.

[00:03:44] I was just thinking of originals yesterday. Oh, Klaus. I need to get back to watching the ritmos. And then we've got the vampire Lestat about to come out. Oh, my God. Let's go to his show in New York. Dad. So exciting. Did you see he was performing in New York? No. I just saw the movie from the New York. He's going to do like a one. He's like going to do a one night show. Sam Reid is going to do like a one night show as Lestat.

[00:04:12] Like performing the music from like the season or like Queen of the Damned. I don't know. I know those tickets are dumb high. Right. Gotta be. You think? I do. In this economy? What if they're reasonable and it's just like first come, first serve. No results. I don't think anything is reasonable in this economy. Because like even when I said concert tickets like. Sometimes stuff goes on sale. I saw some bagels on sale the other day. When they get desperate enough. When they get desperate enough.

[00:04:42] They will be. I'm not convinced. But let's be hopeful. That's fair. All we can do is cross our fingers. I think he's cross. And have a little faith. Mm-hmm. And a little magic. And some intent. A little. Correct. All of the above. So the book in question, which we still haven't said, is Which Queen Rising? By Savannah Stephens. This is her debut. Can we give it up for her? Crazy debut.

[00:05:11] It's been a while since I feel like we've had such a strong fantasy like debut. Because that was easy. We was in that world quick. Yeah. I think like another recent one I read was. What's it called? The dragon one. The black dragon one. And Ember. Ember. You know what I'm talking about. Ember and Ashes? No. That's something else. No. Different series. Good series.

[00:05:41] Ember and the Flame. Something else. It's somewhere behind me. But yeah. Please. One moment. What? Oh. No. Not Blood and Fury. Not Blood and Fury. It was a different one. It was two sisters. So let them burn. Yes. Yeah. So let them burn. But. Who's that by? That thing out like two, three years ago. It came out in 2024. That's the. That's like the first. Two years ago. Two years ago. Debut fantasy that I can think of now. It's like oh this is really strong. Like. Oh yeah.

[00:06:11] I think I would do it. Okay. Okay. Hold on. Hold on. If we're going to talk strong debut fantasies. We cannot. You know what? Kaley Mugger. Birth of a dynasty out. Yeah. True. Yes. Yes. That was great. And that was what? Last year? That came out right? It's not. That wasn't necessarily a debut. Her debut. Right. That wasn't her like first ever published novel. But it was her first fantasy debut. Right. Fantasy debut. Yes. And that's why I didn't count it. Because I'm like. You're just straight off the dome. This is the first book you're publishing.

[00:06:41] Bam. Yeah. This said a lot. Low key. Yeah. I like that it was like. In present tense too. Like I like that it was like in today's world. Like I don't know. That was too. We haven't gotten that since like the original. Since Vampire Diaries. Since like True Blood. But. Okay. Real. Yeah. And I will say I do also. I loved the fact that it was more than just like witches. Like we had. Yeah. Yes. Please. We had.

[00:07:11] The she. Like. The she. Who are basically fey. Right. They're gay but scarier. Scarier. Yes. Like I was thinking a gremlin. Like a gremlin type ghoul. I like when fey are scarier. Have you guys ever heard of like. Yeah. It makes more sense. The seely court fey. Or like. Yes. Yes. Like you know there's like in fey they usually have two factions. Like a. Like light and a dark fey. Yeah. Yeah. Like they reminded me of like the dark fey.

[00:07:40] The she or the dark fey. Right. Like. Seely. That was in Nia Davenport's fantasy right. Didn't they have like. Seely court. Am I. Something like that. They definitely had some fey in there. Like different types. But maybe I don't remember. I feel like I've read a lot of. I feel like it was a. Yeah. That's true. It's normally like there's like this faction. And then. They like split off. Because you know the rulers ain't gonna get along. Right. And then the people follow. And then now. And they're so loyal. Yeah. Feuding forever.

[00:08:11] And fey are always described. They're always described as like. Something completely other. Like. Otherworldly. Really. Yeah. And. I can't put my finger on it. But. There's just something. Something's off. Something about them. That's off. Like you look like. Like I see my people. I hear my people. I don't see my people. Something is weird about you. Right now. Because they're too. Sometimes I feel like they are just too perfect. Like that's what it is. I almost feel like they're so beautiful. That it's like. It hurts. Yeah. I mean.

[00:08:41] Didn't she point out with like the food. When she was there to meet up with her. And she was like. Oh if you eat their food. You'll never want human regular food again. Because it's that. Great. And it'll cause madness. And you know what. That's real. That's so real. That's not no fey black. Exactly. They season their food. Seasoned. Real good. That good. It's scary. Okay. Real quick. Black people are fey. Obviously. We're not gonna. We already told you. Black. Which is.

[00:09:11] Which queen. Right. That's all you gotta know. Yeah. Yeah. You don't need anything else. Or. If you want more. New Orleans. Boom. Yeah. But I'll just say this real quick. Because this is like. I guess like the running. Marketing. Thing. A reclusive witch. Who fled the burden of her bloodline. Rises to be the greatest among. Them. In this lush. And haunting fantasy debut. I think that's enough. You don't need to know anything else. Just pick up the book. Period. Pick it up. Pick it up. Pick it up. I think that's literally what we all did. Lush and haunting. That's hot.

[00:09:43] Emphasis on lush. But. I also feel like. You know how when you first start a fantasy. You kind of are like. Wait. Wait. What the hell is going on? What's happening? Right. Like. You know how. You just have to get used to this system of magic. I just feel like. It didn't take me as long as. No. Like. I feel like she just kind of. I don't know how she did it. She just kind of eased you in there. And then all of a sudden. You was like. Oh yeah. That's so and so. And that's. Right. His grandmother. That's Jim. Yeah.

[00:10:13] You're like. I know them people. Like. They were sisters. Yes. So skillful. And they were sisters. Right. But I. I think it made sense. And it was kind of easy. Because of course. Like. Fiend knows this world. But she's been gone. So she had to get reintroduced. So we were getting. Introduced with her. As she's rising up into this new role. As the prime. So that. I'm like. Yeah. That was a great. Like premise. To start off with. Because it was like. Nish said. It wasn't hard to like. Get into the fantasy aspect. Because you know. Sometimes you're like. Hold on. Hold on.

[00:10:42] Let me go to the first chapter. Let me see what the characters are. Let me look at the map. And sometimes you have to go back. Like. You're like. Wait. What are we talking about? Yeah. It wasn't like that at all. Now. I did have moments. I had to go back. But that was because. I like. Kind of. So I was listening to it. Shout out. Penguin Random House. Audio. For giving us that. Advanced. Yes. Audio book. Very nice. That was fantastic. The audio book was so good. But it was like. If I zoned out. And I zoned back in. Yeah.

[00:11:12] I was missing stuff. I was like. Why is there two themes? Oh my gosh. Hello. I was like. Is her name Josephine? Serafine? Who is good? Which theme are we talking about? Who is who? Who is who? Maxine? Who is that? Yeah. So don't. You do have to stay. Lock in. You do have to stay locked in. I actually called Nish. Because I told her last night. I clocked out for a second. A split second. And something happened that changed the entire trajectory of the plot.

[00:11:41] I had to rewind a few chapters because I was like. I missed it. Yeah. Same here. But I'm glad we chose this. I know we were like. So. This was Aziz's pick. Correct? Z this was like. Yes. This was a group decision. But Z was like. Yeah. It's a dot period. But there's also another witch. New Orleans book that we also need to get into. It's a historical though. The Porter Queen. And I'm. Yeah. I'm excited for that too. But I'm like. This is. That was a fun little.

[00:12:11] I read it. Can I tell you something crazy? It was good. Yeah. I started it. Almost the same time as I started Witch Queen Rising. And obviously I had to pause. But I'm right back up in there right now. And I'm like. 75%. And. Well. I guess that's good. Because I'm like. Can you imagine like. Trying to go back. But it's kind of. It's two different things. It's about a different person. Yeah. The Porter Queen is with Marie Laveau. And like. She didn't even pop up in this book. Which. I. I mean. Maybe she will.

[00:12:41] In the series. Right. Right. Maybe they. They might have to call on some people. To pull up. Because boy. Do they have a problem. That deal with. Needed some help. And I'm sorry. I love a good villain. And. Oh. Yeah. A really. Really. Good villain. Like. I was truly. Scared of him. There was a couple. Good. Villains. There's a couple good villains. He was pissing me off. He was pissing me off. So I'm just like. She just got here like. And now you doing all this.

[00:13:10] Whoop whoop whoop. Like. Can a girl get into the role. Can she be. The prime. Just for. 10 seconds. Without you. Demanding something. An evil. Evil man. That's the other thing. The book started off. With her being. Deep. In some mess. And it ended. With her having to still deal with some mess. Yeah. She inherited the entire time. She did. It was.

[00:13:40] Valid. Valid. Valid. But. Also quick side note. This is not Savannah Stevens first book. This is her first. Fantasy. Debut. That's enough. This is her fantasy debut. What's her. Blood and Magic duology. She. Okay. Go off. The girls are going to have to tap in. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Sorry sis. We thought. I bet. Why wasn't it on Goodreads? They need to update her Goodreads. I don't know. Because I didn't see anything else when I looked up her profile. Oh you read that.

[00:14:09] I'm looking right here. All right. You read that. I have to believe they wouldn't print a lie. Right. So. Well look. Now I got to. You know now I got to do some investigating. I got to. Or is this a part of the Blood and Magic duology. This Witch Queen Rising. That's why it's in like a bold. Oh and do you think. Like this is a duology. Oh. No. No. No. Why is it in two. It looked different. I don't know but I'm about to find out. It does but I'm like. Please hold. Hmm.

[00:14:38] Well no my men have to do a little research. No because literally. This is a part of the duology. This is her first book. Right. So this is the beginning. This will be a duology. Yes. Do you see where it says it said. Blood and Magic duology. And underneath it it says Witch Queen Rising. Right. That means it's the first book. There we go. There we go. Yeah. Yeah. Kayla had to co-sign for you to believe me. Because that's. Aziz and me. First of all. She said the same exact piece. I'm like. We don't.

[00:15:07] I keep saying this is a debut. I heard Alex the first time. I mean like. I heard Alex the first time. And I was like. Oh. Okay. This is fantasy. And then Kayla came in. And Kayla splained it for some reason. That's why I didn't say anything else. Okay. Well. Because you pointing out what I showed you. Well. But you misread it. And it's okay. We're moving on. We were correct. This is her debut. Lock it. Our girl. For this debut.

[00:15:37] What a beautiful debut. But all of that to say. This was fantastic. Now. I do. I also did like the whole. Prodigal. Like daughter. Returning. Oh my God. In a former town outcast. Can we call her. The angle daughter though. No. Right. Because she wasn't chosen. It was. No. She wasn't chosen. She wasn't. She wasn't. She wasn't. Black. She wasn't. Can I be honest. I'm sorry. But the whole tick witch thing. That. Was crazy.

[00:16:07] That was sick. That was crazy one. But I'm like. That is so creative. Tick witch. Because she was a parasite. I said that. That was magic. You're. You don't like. Just change weather. Or heal plants. Or heal people. No. You take other people's magic. And that is real talk. She says I can siphon. Yeah. That's like a powerful. Everybody should be scared. Everybody should be scared. But TBH. When you guys peeped the blight. And you've peeped her powers. Didn't y'all think it was. I was like. Clearly this is why she was chosen. Like.

[00:16:37] She can suck up this blight. I'm like. She can't eat. Problem solved. She can't eat the blight. Then when she was talking to her mom and everybody. They was like. Oh no. No. No. No. No. We don't even think you can be prime right now. I'm like. But none of y'all could have fixed this. Only she can fix this. The ancestors pulling her in. And immediately being like. Let's vote. Excuse me. Live or you die. I'm at my mom's funeral. We didn't even really mess with each other like that.

[00:17:07] Right. And now. I'm on trial. And mom. Thank you. You're the first one. To vote for me to die. She was like. I'm sorry. She said. That was cold. No. Kill her. That was cold. Why do you hate your daughter so much? So much. What is your f***ing problem? Well. She didn't want her. She didn't want her. She did want her. I know. But just like. She figured it out really early. What's her problem? Yeah. She saw it in real time. In like a flashback. Like. Oh. Yeah. Her. Having kids. Just to please her husband.

[00:17:36] Only for her husband to die. And leave her with the kids. Typical. Typical man. Typical man. You can't have kids. Typical man. To raise them by yourself. No. That's what that. That's what that just cosigned that for me. You got to make sure you. Lock me in. You got to make sure you want to have these babies for real. Right. And for you. Because you could very well end up being a single mother. Hello. God forbid. That's true. But thank God the grandma was there.

[00:18:06] Thank God the grandma was the baby. Like. Thank God she gave. The grandma was the baby. She gave me some form of love. Like. She had someone. Even though like. How the. You know. How things ended when she left town and everything. Like. That wasn't great. But. I mean. It got tricky. It got. A little dicey. Sometimes you gotta leave home. Right. You just gotta go. She said. I gotta go see the world. But I'll be back.

[00:18:34] You've got to be out of there. You really do. And. And. Tell no one. Because she told someone the first time. And. Messed everything up. Yeah. I'm sorry. But. I learned. So traumatic. Seeing sister. Being like. So. She. I'm glad. It took so long to convince her. I'm glad that we came to it at the end. When she was just like. I'm so sorry. Because if I would have been more aware. I would have had to ask a lot of difficult questions. I'm like. Yeah. You would have. You should have. Big sister.

[00:19:04] Big sister. Big sister. Ought to be ashamed of yourself. Really. Ought to be ashamed of yourself. Yeah. Making her return so difficult. Yeah. Being disrespectful. People was really playing in Seraphine's face. Like. They were really trying her. But. But. I love that she was like. Gangster about it too. She said. All right. Y'all don't think I can be the prime. That's fine. I'm gonna show you something. And. And then. Literally.

[00:19:34] Killing that man. Needed to be done. Witches having a witch's evil. Yeah. I screamed. And I said. Oh. That was tea. It was good. Daryl's magic away. Because he. Was over here. Trying to. You know. Manipulate. Stage a call. Avatar. Period. I took your bending away. I took an hour away. Take it away. Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. Minus the. The murder part. Don't play with her. Like. Don't play with her. Right. Don't play with her. Yeah. No. People were like. Oh.

[00:20:03] You shouldn't do that. Okay. But I did. Alex and Josie was like. You shouldn't do that. She's like. But I have to. Right. Let's be honest. You're turning everyone against me. Right now. As we speak. I gotta cut that. I'm not even talking about Daryl. You're talking about that. The man. I'm talking about Daryl. Because they were. No. No. No. The man before Daryl. The one who was married to the woman. And then he killed his baby. Dad. Why are you trying to be so lenient? We haven't had an execution in 300 years. Let's bring it back. Let's bring it back. Sometimes you have.

[00:20:33] I was about to say something. Say it. Like I just feel like. Some of that. You cannot rehabilitate. You literally killed your children. Right. Because your wife. Because. Wanted to leave you. Didn't want you. It's like that Tyler Perry movie. Yes. Very much like that Tyler Perry movie. Savannah. Is that where you. Girl. No. And I do feel like honestly. I'm not gonna even hold you. After that part happened. I had to take a moment. Because. That.

[00:21:01] Was way too close to reality. And him describing. Our daughter was asking for you. I was like oh my gosh. Like he was really and truly. Yeah. Not. Remorseful. And the fact that people were like. No. Don't kill him. The optics. Hello. He has shown. That he's callous. He's evil. And he'll do it again. He already tried to kill me. When he had the first chance. He already said.

[00:21:30] If you had been there. I would have got you too. Like what? Who cares about optics. Like he's literally a danger. To our society. Remember that? He tried to kill Fiend. He did. They were like. He didn't stop. She said. I'm like. Girl. Yeah. That's what I said. Like he already tried to kill Seraphine. Tried to drown her. Tried to drown her. And then. Then she was like. You know what? Wait. I'm a siphon. Hold on. Hold on. Let me. It was her having to remember sometimes. Right. Hold on. Grab his arm. She's like. Wait. Uno. Reverse. Because.

[00:22:00] This doesn't have to be my end. It just. I. I was actually really shocked at Alex and Josephine's. Yeah. Choices in the beginning. But. I'm so glad she didn't listen. But she. Yeah. She. Those were solid decisions that. Obviously she had to think about it. And I'm sure they stuck with her. Because. I don't know if she didn't want to kill him. But I'm like. Oh yeah. I said those are two strong first choices for. Right. Your first circle is prime. Yeah. Right. But you gotta do what you gotta do. She had to show.

[00:22:29] Obviously everyone knows she's powerful. But it's like. You have to show your leadership. You have to show like. Why people should follow you. Why they shouldn't doubt you. You've got this. A lot of moral. And morally gray decisions to make. To try to preserve your people. Right. So. And then with the whole Julian thing. The whole Julian thing was crazy. Because I feel like that was like. Immediately after then. Like after she gets the circle. Then she went to have meet with him. And Julian presented what he really wanted from her. He said listen. Me and my people.

[00:22:58] We want to be outside. Okay. Right. Anytime you want. They just want to be outside. Drinking blood margaritas on a patio. Like us. Well we don't drink blood margaritas. But you know. Margarita on a patio. They want to be my girl. It's New Orleans. It's crawfish. We want to be outside too. Right. I'm such like. Original. And. Yes. Because they loved going outside. With those day areas. And they loved going to a witch. To make. To make them. Yes. So they could walk. Yes. Because Seraphine was like. Actually.

[00:23:28] No. I don't think that's. The best idea for all of y'all. To walk around. At the same time. And then he was like. Okay. But. What if I make you. Right. She's like. Are you threatening me? After I said no. And he said. He's like. And he said. Yeah. Actually. Yeah. And then she once again. Had to remember. I'm a prime. I'm a siphon. And I'm the prime. And she had to really embarrass him. Clock in. I will say though. She be.

[00:23:58] She was so quick. When she like. Was like. All right. Bit. Like as soon as that happened. Immediately action. Immediately. Yeah. She's like. She's really committed. Drained. Drained you arms are black. Like you are literally like. About to die. Yeah. She was like. Hey everybody. So I did a thing. Yeah. We're about to go to war. But listen. Hear me out though. Hear me out. It was either. We go to war. Or we help them become day walkers. Which sounds worse. Which one did you want? And they were like. Oh. Actually. Yeah. We don't want them to come. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. She's like. Yeah.

[00:24:27] I was thinking. Let's get in the fields. Right. But then for Julian to turn around. And immediately murder. Like 13 people. Yeah. That was kind of crazy. I said. Oh. Day after day. Like. It was. I said. Bodies were piling. When someone doesn't care. Bodies. Bodies. Right. It was. Every day. Every time she opened that door. Yeah. Every time something landed on her doorstep. It was a part of somebody. Or it was a person. What? But wait. But wait. Because her trying to warn her people. And then Daryl walking out. And taking some of them with.

[00:24:57] Him. That made me so gross. And then more people dying. So irritated. But I'll just say this. Right. One thing that she said was. I think you forget. That this truce. Is mutually beneficial. And I feel like. When we're reading a lot of like books. Especially where there's vampires. And shifters. And da da da. Witches don't seem. Like the strongest. Or a top dog. True. Here it was good to see. A different perspective. Like no witches. You need to be scared of the witches. Mm-hmm. They gonna get you. Right.

[00:25:27] Especially when they come together. That was I think. I loved. I loved that. I love that she like sent out that little. That little signal to all of them. She said. Y'all need to pull up. Y'all need to come. Come to the house. Yep. And I mean. Every single one of you. And this is the rules. Okay. You should take it. She literally said. Come on. Telepathy. It'll let them know. They're needed. They've got to pull up. They've got to come. I said yeah. She said. Wing, wing, wing. Hello. Yes. And then like. She's like. There's danger. Like the secret.

[00:25:58] What were they like. Tunnels. Not tunnels. No. That was at Julian's place. Yeah. They had like those portals still. Where they could go from like house to house. Like house to house. That was cool. That was cool. That was cool. You don't got to lie down a lot. Then the fact that those people all. Like some of them were still not listening. I'm like. Are y'all crazy? Is you cool? It was just a lot of. And you said at least go in pairs. Yeah. And they were still like. No.

[00:26:27] I'll go by myself. Like no one time and time again. Would really heed her warnings. And it's like she was constantly having to prove herself. And clean up the mess. That is something. That could really get down on a person. You know. So yeah. I don't like a. Being a black woman. She was dealing with so much. Being kept up with it. Like she was really. I guess she was really raised that way. Like literally being the outcast. Being like the town joke. Like her mom didn't take her seriously.

[00:26:57] Like the world never took her seriously. And then coming back into that. I'm sure was a lot. But I mean like she was so hardened by it. And I thought it was for the best. Because every time someone doubted her. She was just like. Okay. That's cool. Like. Yeah. All right. I'm still the prime. Like you can't take it away from me. Like once she got past the ancestors and stuff. Like she had a new. Found like. Yes. A little swat. Gusto. Yeah. She's like the heart still chose me. Period. Like. Because if you were qualified. You would have been chosen.

[00:27:27] I mean. Okay. If they wanted you. You would have been picked. I mean. And then she got. And then we found out later. It was kind of crazy. But that still wasn't even her fault. Her mama started all that. It was her. It was her mama's fault. It was always her fault. I was chalking it up literally. This is. This is. That lady's fault. Really. A lot of this. Maxine. Maxine. Maxine. Maxine. Maxine. You were. A terrible mother. Living. And in death. Yes. Just horrid.

[00:27:58] I mean. She was really. Up there. Like. I think. We made a list of bad mothers. Yeah. She might be up there with. One of the worst moms we've read about. Because. Right. you tried to kill your daughter multiple times because who not to you know for her to die when you had the opportunity said grandma had to save the day and she was like baby i'm so sorry like

[00:28:26] i'm actually i'm so sorry you have maxie would never apologize no she didn't care she's even at the end she still didn't her her only acknowledgement was like you know you you did an all right job she said they they call you a hero and i guess i don't disagree girl that's the best you can do it through are you joking even in death you don't want to give her an inch

[00:28:51] you're the worst maxine you're the worst yeah which was a terrible lady so when i feel like we see books with when the main character has mommy issues it's literally it's usual like literary fiction so kind of seeing how this manifests like in a fan that was an interesting dynamic samannah my god

[00:29:19] girl and then also i don't want us to slide past the setting and how she really used it to her advantage because obviously you know new orleans like people like you know voodoo witchy spook but i it was the food and how she used it with like being able to taste people's fears and emotions i love that

[00:29:44] because i read another book that i i actually can't remember the name of and it's probably for the best but they were in new orleans and they were trying to do something similar and it just fell so flat like everything was mmm that tastes like gumbo that smells like jambalaya it's like okay she was like their their jealousy that tastes like lemon rind i said yeah that was cool

[00:30:11] it was so good and they were all used differently like so there was a difference between the orange the blood orange and the orange rind like yeah i just thought it was no she did that well done she was really cool with that and she was like julian you taste like dark chocolate and a bordeaux i was like that's a good combination that's why she was like this good

[00:30:36] i said oh that's deep that's rich yeah that is deep and rich i taste it too i taste it too then then when she would be like tasting like daryl like hate n***a like daryl that's spicy like a ghost pepper but he don't like me something got in the back of my throat yeah and i did like that she was

[00:31:00] able to detect like when people were lying too like i'm like oh yes yes yes yeah like and people don't want you to be the prime why not because they scared because imagine that your leader literally truly can keep everyone honest can gauge everyone's emotions can gauge the feelings so that you know when able when you're able to do that you can kind of adjust how you lead what's everyone's reaction

[00:31:27] okay maybe i should say this instead and see if that gets you know like that's a little scary i don't want to say deceptive because that's just inherently like the power but that no but that was dope i'm being perceived too much fiend back up okayla would hate that i would hate being perceived she would you know too much she would know what you ate for breakfast you know your favorite dessert she would know all your i was gonna say brisket fun i loved when she was reading people or telling like about

[00:31:54] the people and i did like that she really did know every single one of her subjects yeah even when like you know all those witches were killed by julian she literally she knew every single one of them and she individually like was acknowledging them and i'm like yes that's that's a leader that's a leader and y'all right my sis which i truly don't know why because when you even look at maxine

[00:32:19] as being a prime her power was so manipulative she can literally just control people and people weren't scared of that and people weren't scared of that she might have been you know doing a little influencing oh that's true maybe she was probably helping that out a little manipulative but i was just like i've been trying to hold off from saying that by the way

[00:32:44] listen that is deep that is buried so deep in my little millennial brain i don't even know where that originally came from but just know i'll tell you where go ahead please mr brown it was a tyler perry play yes yes listen she was oh my gosh y'all know what i'm talking about but yeah i wouldn't put past that she was manipulative and at least at least fiend was able to give them

[00:33:10] power back she would cipher from other people and spread it around her flock hello i'll support us another queen we gotta fight this in the black helping people heal when maxine not maxine when um who that one witch um got shot yes she was like oh i feel something and she just randomly sent out healing yeah i was like very powerful a true selflessly and i i love a powerful

[00:33:38] main female main character because let me tell you something the book that we just read well that some of us just read i did not like the female main character because i'm like you for real can't do and i can't do anything with that you're like fight back swing throw a punch get a javelin something she couldn't do shit and that really irritated me

[00:34:01] so i loved that it did i just loved that seraphine was so powerful and she was smart with her powers like okay yeah like she could siphon powers but she would give powers to people she would heal people like even in the fight when she kept getting like yeah yeah and i kept thinking i was like oh it's about to be the end she would find her from somewhere else i said her well you're a

[00:34:27] little deeper she just reached her a little bit crazy and the fact that she was literally able to bring people back yeah she said oh you're all too close to death like well she could absorb anyone i'm like you can do it all sister so i'm like actually when people ask the question what's one super power you could have i'm a siphon i'm a siphon low-key thank you yeah because that's like a witch unlock it was top tier and the fact that she said like oh i had to

[00:34:55] master my powers by 10 because people were scared of me yeah that mastery shows in the level of control that she constantly had absolutely because people be talking about oh yeah i'm a master and then they blow up and make a stupid decision savannah said there's no time for that she mastered it she's smart we're not gonna forget about it correct and it stayed at the forefront correct and you know what was also interesting i was saying this early before we um started recording i thought okay her old

[00:35:23] love is back okay remy hello fine yes we're gonna get a little smut we didn't we didn't psyched psyched that tvs that was so cw to me i'm not gonna hold you like it was just a very cw to me like and i loved it like it it kept me on track you know because not every don't get distracted right we're talking about magic here that's why this is the plot war with the vampires right

[00:35:51] i was too busy we didn't have time let's be honest yeah she fired charles with his smart right fired him so she was already having to cook for herself and get the door she had to drive her barracuda herself her getting the door i'm like you got to hire some help we don't have time and then she had to bake all the pastries for the cookout right and then people started getting kidnapped it

[00:36:14] just we it was a lot of time we don't have time i'm sorry within all of that her trying to defeat julian can we talk about moira moira that's a girl i could get behind that's a person i can get i really banged with her like i really like i really loved her as a concept you know yeah she was

[00:36:39] cool you know who i was kind of she taught fiend so much who yes who i don't know if y'all saw that new movie where hopped where like the people can pretend to be the little creatures if you haven't seen it there's a queen butterfly and she's the queen of the insects i was picturing the queen butterfly but much much much much larger i don't know why if y'all look up hopped and look up the queen butterfly

[00:37:09] on your devices so you can get a picture because she had she had hoppers not hopped hoppers she had these sharp little teeth it was kind of scary because remember you yep kayla just like that because it said in the book at one point moira smiled but her mouth reached back to her ears yeah and you could see her her jaw would unhinge

[00:37:36] yes you see no one's reach she gave me like grim's fairy tales yes yeah just scary but like she was cool like she was she she banged with fiend like she was like i see your power okay but y'all want to see if i can get it to be a little larger let me show you the character art for her yes no come over some more yeah can you come over some more that's kind of fire no the

[00:38:04] other way the other way right yeah yeah you see that that's crazy scary that's terrifying this is why you need cover art not cover art i'm sorry fan art fan art because it's helpful we need we need the visuals but i really love their alliance at the end yes their alliance and

[00:38:30] their mission at the end gave me life like i was like charging in with them and it was just crazy how fiend was able to absorb the blight enough to get through it and it was so it was so hard you could just tell with each page like that was very difficult and the fact that she kept digging deeper in her well to find more power to help more people like the deeper she got in there and she still like handled it with so much grace right even though like julian got away which is realistic

[00:39:00] for now save them all he's we've got to do something in the next book yeah right right she's gonna have plenty of his army to do it was on a mission when they pulled up in them in them tunnels they was taking them out strategically they said all right you hold them and i'm gonna i'm gonna like what right right it was literally like when you get your little rag tag bunch of just like

[00:39:26] maybe 10 of us and we're planning on taking down what a hundred plus it reminded me of kenna and her true martin luther kenna yeah i know that's right yeah i'd be like all right what we about to do is we're gonna go in there let's try them up okay that's the point behind me right and everybody else like okay all right let's go i feel like there's never a year that we go by and we don't

[00:39:54] mention blood trials that's real because that's right if the shoe fits nia davenport is or any she's iconic anything she writes is just phenomenal okay and i'm so glad that we now get to have another icon to add to the list because savannah savannah okay what are some predictions

[00:40:22] well her and julian have to do really do have to have a new face off and now that yeah daryl's ass is gone she could really focus right she don't have to deal with vampires and witches right that was hard that was a hot combo i'm not gonna lie i'm kind of scared daryl may switch sides he may like organize some of the witches that left again oh he'll become a martyr you think yeah but that's

[00:40:46] not what i've been thinking oh what are you thinking no necromancy no no you know how we didn't get much we we got a little bit of um you know some love some whatever i'm thinking that the only issues that the witches are gonna have at this point is gonna be her possibly having a little love

[00:41:11] interest and them not agreeing with who she's like banging with and then all that's happening there's some dissent happening still she's still having to deal with julian and they're gonna have to face off i can feel that because it's kind of crazy to think that she's gonna be with a succubus you think remy oh oh not even remy you think vincent and remy remy been there done that i think i think

[00:41:36] she's moved on to other things i think he said stay with me sweetness uh-huh that was the sweetest thing stay with me sweetness he's a succubus what are we talking about he's only part succubus but that's enough but that's enough but that's enough but that's a clear distinction and that's this part we know but yeah we we we've read about some even half succubi

[00:42:01] and they're still half succubi crazy all right is that not the proper yeah for sure for sure for sure comment below what's the proper succubus succubi it's like octopus or succubum i thought that was octopuses no okay right right we'll we'll come back we'll figure that we'll circle we'll return to

[00:42:29] that i like succubi is cool i think i agree my predictions for the next book is low-key i'm getting very like new moon energy not new moon eclipse when they had like the full war like that's even worse right like because remember they were like how julian he was like i can make the same amount and more in a night and that's true and that's the part that's worrying me they can just keep making

[00:42:57] more as long as he has access to a human yeah or another creature it's giving oh my god klaus right oh my god oh my god hybrid a hybrid okay okay okay we have not gotten into what the possibilities are this is this is getting a little okay the limit does not exist savannah savannah if you need some help work no you've already you probably haven't figured out

[00:43:24] right like you got it already if you need some data readers maybe tell us if we're a little warm i don't right are we you don't have to tell us what we're warm about are we hot are we just tell us are we on the right track typing hot or are we cold thumbs up or thumbs down just give us a little hint we just we just want to know yeah because how close are we if we're cold we'll come back like we'll re-evaluate and come back we're good for coming back to to yeah yeah yeah just take it back to the drawing board

[00:43:53] reading some things because i'm definitely going to reread this book at some point okay what was everyone's rating that's easy go ahead then a five i had such a good time and it's i feel like it's just been a while since a fantasy just sucked me in like that and kept me there and i wasn't like drifting or

[00:44:21] trying to do a side mission or none of that i had to focus on lock in yeah and i love that and again we love a strong female character and we love witches and i just this just made my heart so happy that's all i got five stars from me alex um i think i'd give this a like 4.5 out of 5 like i definitely think i'll like the second one more

[00:44:49] i mean this was such a good beginning um and you know there's definitely room for other things so that's where i'm gonna leave a little room for okay okay okay z oh i give mine a five i knew from the first page i knew what she was said you're a five star read girl and um i was right i had a fan

[00:45:17] fantastic time loved it i agree with me i i wasn't even doing no side missions i was locked in mm-hmm good that's good kayla i am giving it a 4.5 let me and let me just say this let me just say this i love i love world building i love a big juicy book i feel like and maybe this is an unpopular opinion this could have been at least 600 pages because i wanted to know i wanted to know more there

[00:45:44] were so many more things that i wish like you talked about like her younger years like what she was doing when she was gone like more history of the witches like there's so much potential and the world building it was great and it was easy to follow but i'm like give me the details i want to sit would it be 600 700 eight page book hopefully the second one is longer i hope she is even thicker yeah i think she truly can should be right it should be because this was like 450 yeah

[00:46:14] yeah almost 450 things up and i'm sure she's gonna give us some more problems that she has to deal with yeah right you know i'll even take a novella prequel oh yeah i'll take that for like what she was doing yes history background what she was doing when she was gone yeah yes like there she can talk about so many things yeah because she was on the rock and learn i would love to learn more about the other primes yes let's get it yes can i be honest i was okay i was about to say honestly maxine is she a

[00:46:43] hot mess do i hate her yes but i'm not gonna lie i want to know why she is the way she is the villain origin story yes we need the village and origin especially because her mama was like i didn't raise you like that oh yes he did something happened something happened and it wasn't when that man died that's a good point kayla okay yeah that's fair savannah

[00:47:10] sorry you gotta clock in girl yeah we need that thank you well thank y'all for tuning in this has been another episode of the reading black girls podcast if you enjoyed this if you have read witch queen rising and you agree with our takes let us know let us know your theories as wild as they can be we will probably agree with you at some point

[00:47:38] um and if you did enjoy this please like comment subscribe support the girls until next time love y'all mean it bye