TW: Racism, description of a lynching that happened in the past, violence and murders, many scenes with descriptions of bloodIt’s probably more of 3.5 but to be honest, I’m still unsure. This historical fantasy noir with supernatural elements is so far away from my comfort zone or anything that I ever read, that even I’m surprised to see it on my tbr. But I was very intrigued when I first saw the cover because it’s super pretty and I guess I just wanted to try something different. But now I don’...

Me, a third of the way through this book: This really isn't grabbing me.Me, at the end of this book: Sobbing my heart out.Look: I have a compulsion to never abandon a book unfinished, and I realize more often than not that this compulsion results in me spending hours of my life slogging through things to no purpose. But every once in a while . . . every once in a while, the need to see things through the end pays off. And that's why I keep doing it.

Trouble the Saints troubled this reader. Even after reading other reviews, I did not find in this book anything close to what I was expecting. I was hoping for righteous women of color kicking ass and taking names. Or an alternate history of World War II, where soldiers wield magic along with rifles. Or a story of forbidden love, where our young lovers must overcome their obstacles and themselves to be together. I did not find any of these things in Trouble the Saints. What I did find was magnif...

I absolutely loved the entire vibe of this book. Captivating and vividly written, this novel revolves around the themes of racism and forbidden love. Trouble the saints has definitely lived up to the hype and deserves to be one of the most anticipated reads of the year.

Cool worldbuilding and hand magic, and a really interesting and edgy anti-WW2 draft stance. I got a little bored with the emotional self-interest of all the characters and how the world was a little bit too absorbed with the super interesting horny magic assassin. The racial politics are solid and thoughtful. Sometimes I wondered if the language was a little too contemporary or old-timey, but that's me not really knowing how people spoke in New York in the 40s.

Oh how bad I wanted to love this book! I just couldn't connect with it. I was looking forward to reading about Phyllis, this bad-ass character who is a black assassin in Harlem that specializes in throwing knives but my interest kept slipping. The timeline, flashbacks and visions had me a bit confused so I couldn't follow the story easily. It also includes two other perspectives which didn't interest me. I think I pictured the story differently from how it turned out and that may be the reason i...

When we return to the wheel of life, you and I, we will find one another again and again... until the colonized and the enslaved and the abused will rise up with the holy strength of the gods behind them and, together, we will make it right. I feel really conflicted about Trouble the Saints. But I also think it's important to say off the bat: While it wasn't the book for me, I would absolutely still recommend this for its unique exploration into legacies of trauma in BIPOC communities, and to

Written in three parts from three different POVs, Trouble the Saints is both a commentary on racism and societal rank; as well as a fantasy story that questions the ideas of fate, religion, and free will. Comparing it to The Night Circus really rubs me the wrong way as Night Circus is one of my favourite books ever. While Trouble the Saints was okay, it was no five star read. Flow & CohesivenessThe flow just isn't smooth, I believe I would have liked this better if Alaya Dawn Johnson flipped bet...

A brutally effective and affecting character study in a noir setting, where the issues faced by minorities and immigrants today are focused through the lens of a fantastical alternate bygone era. The metaphor of people of color possessing special abilities being exploited by those in power works incredibly well to underscore the issues of racism and power in our society.Setting this in New York City just before America enters WWII allows us some distance from the horrors visited upon the main ch...

The world-building in this story is truly fantastic, and easily my favorite aspect of the story. Johnson has also developed the three POV's quite well, and the ill-fated love story is emotionally appealing. The racial issues that were spotlighted were thought-provoking, and made me pause to reflect several times.However, there were a couple of things I couldn't connect with. There were a few plot choices that I think could have been rearranged that would have made the earlier sections of the boo...

An assassin fighting her fate in an alternate history novel, I WANT

One of the most beautifully written books I've read, with richly rendered characters and settings. I knew the story would be imaginative. But I don't think I was ready for just how emotional and heartfelt it would be. Take your time with this. Definitely worth it.

This book was such a pleasant surprise— I’d never heard of it and just happened to stumble upon it. I’d pitch this book as the themes of The Vanishing Half with the magic and multidimensional characters of Six of Crows.Am I still a little confused about the magic system? Yes, definitely, but it didn’t impede the reading experience.The themes tackled in this book: about white passing, trauma, and love were handled so well. It didn’t feel like moralizing for the sake of it. The characters were inc...

3.5 starsEdit (7/21/20): Happy publishing day! Welcome to assassins and morally grey characters galore! Trouble the Saints is a story set in New York just as WWII begins to dawn on America. Phyllis, a notorious assassin, wants nothing more than to escape her killing life, but her past isn’t that set on letting her go just yet. Coupled with magic and a bit of supernatural, Trouble the Saints bases itself off a very intriguing premise. The story is split into three parts, each focusing on a diff...

This book was challenging. Not because of the three PoV characters. Rather, I had some difficulty telling at times when in the characters' histories a particular event was occurring. However, I did like this book, and really liked characters Phyllis and Dev, the mob boss' assassin bartender, respectively. The two are constantly skirting danger, using their abilities, their "hands", that allow Phyllis to be a scarily good assassin, and Dev, to sense if someone is targeting him with violence. The

Assassin falls in love???? Don't need to hear any more thankssssAlso this is by the author of THE SUMMER PRINCE, which is amazing!

I wanted to love Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson so much more than what I did. There are so many elements that practically call my name, especially noir, assassins, and magic. By the time I got to the end of the audiobook though I think I preferred the concept more than the final product. My main issues are that it's much too slow too slow even for me to call a decent slow burn noir, the magic system is not clear enough, and right from the beginning I felt out of the loop as if I were m...

Wow! When I interviewed her I knew she had a fascinating mind and I had no idea how fascinating. This was a very multi-layered book. The combination between fantasy, destiny, and the segregation was beautiful. I love the use of “the saints” hands and what that meant for different characters in the book. Each character had an unique talent or purpose. I felt that none of characters were playing supporting roles. They all were show stoppers. 

Assassins? Old Harlem? Noir feel? Sounds like the ingredients to a great story. Instead what I got was a dense and endless tale. I knew this book wasn't for me when I was only 15% in after having read it on and off for a few hours. I did not expect the book to be this disappointing. Pea wasn't even an interesting assassin. She's already given up killing at the start of this book and refuses to kill a woman who is clearly trying to and almost does take her out. Dev was a love sick puppy over Pea....

A dreamlike fantasy/alternate WWII history about people with magic hands, and the ways they’re forced to use their gifts to benefit the rich, crooked, and powerful. Harlem girl Phyllis’s hands are gifted with deadly speed and accuracy, and she’s been pressed into service as an assassin for a mob boss. She’s ambivalent about her career but soothes her conscience by telling herself she only kills bad people--her boss always gives her the background on her proposed victims and the choice is hers. W...