The Goddess Twins

Arden and Aurora, the delightful goddess twins, are stunning to read about. Just as beautiful as this gorgeous cover portrays them as.
They may start small and in a small place but when things get going, the story will sweep the reader off their feet and into new and unexplored realities. There are surprises that come the twins way that change everything about their lives. They learn new things not only about their family, but about themselves as well.
This was such an awesome read that I could not put it down. I highly recommend this lovely tale to anyone who may feel the desire to be utterly enchanted!
Thanks for reading my review and happy reading!!!

Twins Aurora and Arden have no idea what their real heritage is since the only family they have ever had was their mother and godfather. However, when their mom goes missing in London, they begin a hazardous journey that uncovers not only long-lost family, but a villain they do not see coming. Their rescue mission becomes deadly as jealousy and mistrust causes one twin to do something she will always regret.

Love how the mythology origin is from Jamaica, so it doesn't follow the typical Greek/Roman stories, and that it is a strong, women empowering narrative about finding your center and trusting yourself.

This book made me feel like I was on a mission with my own sister and cousins, and it was AMAZING. Reminiscent of Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis series, Yodassa remembers that although imitation is the greatest form of flattery, expansion is the greatest form of thanks. The author creates a world where the Black women of a particular family are born with superpowers, but are forced to fight an evil that grew from within their own ranks. Delightfully deviod of magic, these wonderful ladies rely on the powers that they naturally have and stand by each other through everything. We spend the entire book in the minds of Arden and Aurora and there could be no better perspectives to have. Not a long read, my only regret is that we must wait for the sequel that is surely coming.

I so loved this book. I fell into it really easily, it was a real page turner. Fast paced throughout there wasn't a time where you thought it was dragging at all. 5 stars. Highly recommended.

The Goddess Twins by Yodassa Williams

There are Goddesses living among humans. They are the women and girls blessed by the Gods. But, since we live in a patriarchy, there are men who have dedicated their lives to stealing the power of women for their own evil games.

When their mother, Selene, goes missing, her twin daughters, Aurora and Arden, take off to London to find her. There, they run into their family who they know nothing about. The twins learn about the family secrets and will have to use this new information to save their mother and themselves.

This novel is definitely a girl power book in the best way. It shows Jamaican women being kick-ass and powerful. Yodassa Williams bravely highlights the dangers of misogyny from Black men. Considering this got writers like Alice Walker in trouble with some of the Black community, I think it is brave for Black women to write about this issue. Williams does an outstanding job of talking about sexism and racism without being preachy. It is a natural part of the world that the Twins live in and they must depend on each other and the other women in their family to counter it.

Some scenes especially one with “ghost girls” and water healing reminded me of Toni Morrison’s Beloved, especially in the way Williams writes about the abuse of young girls. Also, like Morrison, Williams adds African spirituality and healing to the story.

I loved this book. It is one of the best books I have read in a long time. One reason I loved it was that it caused me to laugh out loud and turn to my partner to tell him the joke which he laughed out loud to:

“Just this morning she looked at my outfit and asked if I was on my way to desegregate a school.”

Humor is hard to achieve in fiction, so thumbs up just for that. I also love the characters. Everyone was well developed and complex. The Twins are at odds at the beginning of this book. The book switches back and forth between their points of views. Even though they type cast themselves as Good (Arden) and Bad (Aurora) Twins, I empathized with both twins because of Williams’ excellent character writing.

The plot kept me turning the pages. The pacing was great. There are some loose ends. I also wanted more of Aurora being badass in this book. The story was slightly more focused on Arden. With that said, it is obviously meant to be a series. I hope that Aurora can come into her own in the next book.

The only issue I had with the ARC was that the Kindle formatting had many errors such as incorrect spacing. But it didn’t take away of the novel and it is not the author’s fault.

Again, I loved this book and can’t wait to read the rest of the series. I giving this book at 4.5 out 5. A half of point off for Kindle formatting. But other than that, it was a perfect book for me.

I recommend this book for Black teens and adults. I recommend this for all YA, New Adult, ad Fantasy readers regardless of race. Also, people who like books that uses spiritual lore as this one uses a Yoruba stories. People who love mermaids as much as I do will enjoy this novel! I recommend this book for Black teens and adults. I recommend this for all YA, New Adult, ad Fantasy readers regardless of race. Also, people who like books that uses spiritual lore as this one uses a Yoruba stories. People who love mermaids as much as I do will enjoy this novel!

I really enjoyed this story. It was an interesting fantasy about twins who learn they have special powers, and they meet a family they never knew about. It is based on Jamaican legends, so it was a really fresh story for me, and the twins had a great dynamic throughout the story. I think that a lot of teens would really enjoy this story, the girls had a great voice, and it was exciting.

The Goddess Twins is a YA novel about 17 year old twins, Arden and Aurora. The 2 girls are on the cusp of their 18th birthday and live in Ohio with their mom, who is a famous opera singer. They had traveled the world non-stop for their mother's career until a year ago, when they finally settled down so the girls could have a normal high school experience.

A few days before their 18th birthday, their mom tells them that she has to go to London to fill in for the lead in an opera. Aurora is mad with her mother because she had promised she was done with traveling the world for opera. Arden is more accepting, though still sad. This reflects the girl's personalities. Aurora is the more rebellious and sociable twin, whereas Arden is more bookish and compassionate.

At a house party thrown by Aurora, the girls discover that they each have a power. Arden can read minds and Aurora has telekinesis. Soon the girls learn their mom never arrived at the opera house in London and has gone missing. The girls hop a flight to London where they discover family they never knew and learn of their own status as goddesses.

This was a fun, quick read. The story takes us from the US to Jamaica, and London. It is told from alternating perspectives of Arden and Aurora. I more closely aligned with Arden since I am definitely more bookish than rebellious. It reads like it could be the start of a series so I will keep my eyes peeled to see if the author plans a follow-up.

In some ways it reminded me of the Percy Jackson series and the related Rick Riordan Presents books in that we have young adults who learn that they have a connection to the gods and have special powers. I recommend this to fans of those books as well as fans of Afro-futurism, and fantasy, particularly by a WOC.

Yodassa Williams first offering, “The Goddess Twins”, was an interesting read. Good vs bad, World domination, Family dynamics are a few leads in the storyline.
Teenage twin daughters of an international opera singer, Arden and Aurora, have a lot to learn about themselves, their mother, and the world they live in. And they have to learn it fast as they find out their mother is missing, that they have superpowers, a family they did not know they had, and to top it off they and the females of their newly discovered family are goddesses.
Arden and Aurora may be identical twins but they are so opposite of each other in every manner. Where at one time they were close, now they cannot seem to be together without fighting. Will they be able to overcome their differences in time to save their mother?
The storyline unfolds very quickly. Different kinds of love, courage and understanding will bring about an ending that could promise other stories for the characters involved by this clever author.

What I liked

1. Intense focus on family
- the story follows two sisters with magical powers but the real conflict rests with how family ties have been challenged over time by both magical and mundane problems.

2. The characters have real flaws that lead to real consequences.

- Their mother is flighty and has a tendency to try to hide her problems from her daughters

- one of the twins has anger and abandonment issues while the other is loving to a fault unwilling to push her sister to do what is best for everyone.

- the family at large is manipulative and tends to let their power go to their head.

3. Even with real flaws the hero’s are very easy to relate to and hope they’ll win.

4. The motivations of the main villain for this book make sense and while they were triggered by magical things said motivations are rooted in real world issues.

5. Wrap up and falling action is done well while leaving room and a decent teaser for a potential sequel down the road.


What I didn’t Like


1. We don’t get to see much of the main character’s sisterly bond as they are at odds and stepping all over each others emotions from pretty much page one.

2. First person perspective when we have alternating points of view. ( this is massively a personal thing and many may enjoy getting to experience the distinct voices of the two sisters)

3. Some elements of the ending felt like a very easy answer for a very messy question.


Who Would I Recommend This Book For?


This book is a good fit for those looking for a family focused coming of age story with a magical twist.

This was definitely a pick from outside of my reading comfort zone. It’s a YA novel about twins who find out that they are goddesses (a fact that their mother hid from them for their entire lives) and must save their mother in an epic journey! I loved that the story was centered around women of color and shed a light on Jamaican culture. It reminded me of Twitches (which I loved)! The book was very short so I found that some of the plot was underdeveloped - I didn’t really understand why the grandfather wanted to take over the world and why the timing was so important.

I receive a digital ARC (advance reader copy) of this book for NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book because the cover art is beautiful, depicting two young black women, and i was intrigued by the fantasy premise. The book is about twin sisters (Arden and Aurora's), quest to rescue their kidnapped mother while also learning of the family and abilities they didn't know they had. As I read the book, I found myself relating most with Arden, the reliable and loving twin, and less with Aurora, the angry, selfish, and reckless twin.

The story was entertaining. I read it in a matter of days. However, the climax and ending felt rushed a bit, and a couple of characters, like the mother, were left undeveloped, and the cousins seemed too good to be true (I kept finding myself waiting for an I gotcha moment). However, the author did a great job developing the romance between Arden and Devin, and I can't wait to read more about it in the sequel. Also, the epilogue was phenomenally written and gave a sense of where the next book could be headed.

All in all its a good book that covers major themes of sexism and racism in a lighthearted way with black girl magic from cover to cover.

This story about family just to good. Story line was on point. But at times I didn't like how family was towards Aurora. I mean she was rude I know but hear me out, she got the best character developed. Also arden should have been developed more in the story.
But overall I liked reading the story.
Thank you netgalley and author for the E-Arc. But all of above our my opinions.

I loved the creativity of this book. And, I could totally picture this book as a movie (starring Chloe and Halle of course!). Williams delivers a fun, whimsical tale that also weaves in family drama. Because the twins do not know the full story of their heritage they sometimes judge their mother too harshly. And, isn't this how childhood works? As children, we are not always aware of the sacrifices that our parents make on our behalf. The twins definitely grow up in this novel. This is a strong debut from her and I am looking forward to reading more of her work.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced story of family, self-discovery, and empowerment based on Jamaican legends. It was an enjoyable ride following twins Arden and Aurora o their journey of discovering their special gifts and all that comes with that. This is a story for young adults that I would recommend for anyone!

This story really threw me for a loop. I don't read a lot of YA Sci-Fi, but this was a fun and completely enthralling story from the very first page. Yodassa WIlliams's 'The Goddess Twins" explores Jamaican mythology as the teen twins search for their missing mother and encounter danger where they least expect it. Exploring social issues like misogyny and race, Williams manages to keep her readers completely engaged even while taking on big topics. I thought this book was quick, smart, and brilliantly written. I can't wait to read more!

This book has my mind racing as I think of all of the possibilities of the future books. Families are supposed to love and cherish each other but what if some of the family members despise the other because of their gifts? This book explores family dynamics, loss, jealousy, and strength. There are many life lessons for kids and adults alike. I look forward to the next book.