This book had the recipe for what I would call a really wonderful book: a supernatural, paranormal, fantasy featuring black female characters that whose strengths shine in their vulnerability and friendship/sisterhood. Unfortunately, I am left confused by what exactly was the end goal for this story? I understand that not every work has to have as many layers as an onion. Trust me, I love a simple, easy to digest material sprinkled throughout my reads. However, I still desire for books to at least have some sort of a point.

The Good: -The plot. A vampire, witch, siren, talking cat, and werewolves al cohabitating together in a secret society filled with the like. Sign me up, baby.

-The friendship. I loved how tight-knit these ladies were with each other. They may butt heads, but they had each other's interests at heart.

-The atmosphere. I loved the idea of a secret Underground school and society with it's own customs and rules. It truly felt as if I were placed in that world. I would have loved for Granger to go into even more detail about it.

-The pacing. Nothing felt like it dragged, and despite the majority of the book feeling like a filler, it still glided along at an even pace.

-The humor. I fell out laughing at a few characters. I think that's what kept me coming back. Though, at times, the humor did pull me out from the story.

The Bad: -The plot. I know I categorized the plot as "The Good." But, I'm honestly not sure it was fleshed out. I felt there was a lot of fillers within the 400+ pages that could have been condensed. I am also disappointed that I didn't get the paranormal/supernatural HBCU fantasy that I craved. Those elements were glossed over. I needed more lore.

-The characters. I was frustrated that I learned nothing additional about the main character, and I felt her journey was sidelined in favor of Asha. who was more fleshed out. The book should have been titled The Secret World of Asha. All of the men were trash. Everyone acted 16 years old (these characters are in their late 20s to early 30s). So many were drenched in immaturity.

-The school system. The setting is in magical-focused HBCU. I wanted to learn about the systems and how it was taught. None of this happened. I almost wonder why this was even set in a school in the first place, instead of perhaps a secret neighborhood, or club.

The Ugly: -The grammar and typos. Oof, this one hurt me and was really hard to ignore. Some errors may be "blink and you'll miss it." Others were glaringly obvious. E.g. "you body is on par!" and "There's trash everyone in the street" and "...sticky clear slim." just to name a few. There was also a misspelling of a semi-main character's name.

I have heard that the 2nd book does improve on these issues, so I am encouraged by that. Overall, fantastic plot. I just wish was more focused, fine-tuned, and fleshed out.