Son of the Morning by Akwaeke Emezi

“Galilee Kincaid was a monster”

This was actually a lot of fun and I hope there are more books in this series because I feel like I need a lot more adventures from Galilee, Leviathan and Lucifer!

A lot of what happened in this did come across kind of insta, especially between Galilee and Leviathan, but given that the plan for Galilee and Lucifer was put in place decades, if not centuries, before the story begins, it taking 24 hours for everything to happen probably isn’t that insta! 😀

I love when urban fantasy flips the narrative between heaven and hell, mostly because I feel like this idea holds some merit. Galilee calling Archangel Michael a cop literally made me laugh out loud! I’m of the opinion that whoever did the PR for the idea of heaven, also did the PR for America being ‘the greatest place on earth.’

It would be remiss of me not to mention the spiciness of this, I wasn’t actually expecting it and it was a great surprise. I didn’t love what transpired between Lucifer and Leviathan in the past, it was dealt with but I also feel like it kind of wasn’t?! Dealing with the healing of Leviathan and Lucifer trust, seeing Galilee, Leviathan and Lucifer properly together, and giving us some more of the Kincaid women (Celestial in particular) is why I would like some more from this world. There is a lot of potential.

I just want to say right now that I am kind of obsessed with Celestial and her gifts. She was the most intriguing character, and I feel like she needs a Prince of Hell for her very own.

“He’s good for you only because he’s not human,” she whispered. “You can get big and it won’t scare him, Gali, so get big. We’ll love you anyways”

Super fun, but not perfect, I do think that with UF it takes a couple of books to get into a groove though, so another reason there should be more than one book! I vote getting Celestial’s story next!!

Synopsis:

Tenderhearted Galilee was raised by the Kincaids, a formidable clan of Black women sequestered deep in the weeping willows and dark rushing creeks of their land. Galilee has always known that she’s different—that there is an old and unknowable secret around her very existence. It has been a hollow ache inside her since her childhood, something she assumes she will always have to live with.

Until she meets Lucifer Helel. He’s fronting as the head of security for her wealthy friend Oriaku’s family, protecting a mysterious, ancient artifact, but from the moment she lays eyes on him, Gali knows he’s not human. From her first incendiary touch, Lucifer knows something even Gali herself doesn’t—that she isn’t human either. 

Enter: Leviathan. As Lucifer’s most trusted prince of Hell, Levi is ruthless and determined to eliminate the intolerable danger that is Galilee before she brings death and disaster to those he loves. While unseen battles rage between Hell, Heaven, and earth, Lucifer and Galilee’s attraction threatens to bring all the structures of their existence crashing down around them.

Soon, loyalties will be shattered and reformed as Kincaid secrets clash with the princes of Hell, driving even the most powerful to their knees. Galilee Kincaid must decide if she will step into herself and embrace the consequences of power in this astonishing, seductive, and wildly original fantasy.