Although this one got off to a slower start, I am glad that I continued with the novel! I felt at some points I was getting a bit lost with the story but I think that is on me. I loved the themes in this one.

Black Water Sister is a book I have been wanting to read for ages but I kept putting it off. Sometimes books from your favorite author can seem extremely daunting. Especially when it is about a haunting.

We meet Jess when she first hears a voice in her head. She doesn't realize then that her grandma, who she has never met, has started haunting her. Not until the move to Malaysia is complete and Jess is in a complete new world, being taken over by her grandma who has ulterior motives for sticking around.

The absolute feels that we get from Jess is what makes me adore this book. Moving to Malaysia, hiding being queer and then being haunted by the grandma you never met, it is a lot. And then when your grandma ghost wants you to go and save a shrine for the ghost that was attached to her, well, your world gets put upside down.

If that sounds like a whirlwind, it is. For Jess. But for us as readers the pace is a tad bit slower. We get plenty of time to regroup alongside of Jess. To understand who Jess is and how her family works. Why her mother always kept her away from her grandmother and uncle.

I also quite appreciated Jess' family. Her uncle who is a bit of a mess, her mom who loves her but has quite the backpack, her aunt who is more observant than you would think.

All in all I think Black Water Sister is once again a great read from Zen Cho.

English is not my native language so, please, excuse any errors that may have escaped my proofreading.

I received this as an advance reader copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions my own.

If you fancy a very original urban fantasy look no further and read this one. If you read the synopsis and like any of the tags, just trust me, and give it a read, it will be way better than what you would ever expect.

I would describe this as urban fantasy enters the millennial generation. Wait for it, a young woman comes back to Malaysia, her native country, after having been living for more than twenty in the States. Unable to find a job, or make her family proud, or even be able to know what she wants to do for real; she is suddenly immersed in this culture that is, at the same time, alien and very familiar to her. Besides, she now can see the ghost of her grandmother, she discovers that legends and gods are more than just that and that she is now part of that world either she likes it or not.

The theme of contemporary diaspora immigrant that comes back to their native country and face an enormous backlash due to their lack of general knowledge due to being raised in another country is absolutely fantastic. It’s not only realistic, but treated in a very relatable way. And Jess is such a warm, hard working, relatable character that makes it impossible not to be invested in her life. Well, in both her old life and now this new supernatural one. I absolutely think Jess, and her charisma is one of the strong points of the book.

The other being, without a doubt, the amazing mixture of legends and folklore of Malaysia and how the author brings them to a super level of realism by introducing them in the contemporary context. To a point where even I have problems separating that thin line between myth and reality. And I absolutely loved it. It just complements the story so well, adding so much dimension to it and the characters that I was over the moon.

Cho’s style is absolutely superb creating a fast paced but complex novel that will grab you from the beginning and will not let you go. We will travel with Jess from the very common set up of the States to an unusual but dazzling new country and get a hands on immersion in their culture and legends in expert strokes. I did not know how much I needed a different female urban fantasy lead until I finished this one.

This is a fantastic adult fantasy, brilliantly written and rich in Malaysian culture. I really liked Jess as a character and sympathised a lot with her plight of trying to figure out gods, spirits, and how to tell her parents she's queer. The plot was so well conceptualised, with drama, fight scenes, and a mystery to boot. The dialogue was so funny and entertaining (especially the conversations between Jess and her grandmother) that I just had a great time reading this.

The atmosphere of this book, above everything else, sold me. Only a few chapters in and I was sold. So much drama, family secrets and danger! All while we have the melodrama of Jess' personal life falling apart.

The stakes start high and never decelerate. It is a constant life or death battle and it was executed so beautifully, with so many layers.

But it wasn't all fun, however, the hard moments were handled with such care. I NEED to pick up more by Zen Cho after this.

What a amazing book! I feel in love with this one. The story is spectacular, all the characters are super vivid. I recommend with my heart.

Black Water Sister tells the story of Jess who has moved country due to various life events and starts to heara voice which sounds like her dead grandmother trying to communitcate with her.

This was one of my most anticipated reads which ended up being one of the most dissapointing. The main character herself was very dull and writing felt quite basic with the best parts of the book for me being the dialogue and family dynamics between the secondary characters along with the setting for the story..

A wonderful book. This was such a joy to read, perfectly balanced between the mundane and the extraordinary as the brilliantly drawn characters navigate between religious belief and real life paranormal threats. Zen Cho does an excellent job - so much so that it’s hard to categorise this book. Is it a fantasy? Spec fic? Literary? All I know is I loved it and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next.

"She can't be a medium," said Mom. "She graduated from Harvard!"

After growing up in the US, Jess moves back with her parents to her home country Malaysia, more specifically to Penang Island. She leaves behind everything and everyone she knows, including her girlfriend Sharanya. It is in Penang that her dead grandmother begins to communicate with her.

This eventually leads Jess into a sinister world of ghosts, gods and goddesses, crime and violence.
Belonging to a genre that I don't normally read-fantasy; I really enjoyed that particular element of this book. I loved Jess' conversations with her dead grandmother and there were several laugh out loud moments when Jess' mother and Aunt hysterically tussle over their respective religions and end up taking Jess to the Monkey God.

However, I have mixed feelings about this book. This book dragged. There were lengthy dialogues; so lengthy that they became boring and were hard to follow. Also, Jess' character lacked personality.
Had Black Water Sister been more concise, there would have been more of an oomph factor.

I loved the idea of this book, but for me it under delivered. I found the set up to be confusing and read the first 20% twice to grasp the characters and their relations. Unfortunately, I just found every character except Jess and her grandmother to be lacking in development and that severely impacted my interest in the book, especially the relationship between Jess and her girlfriend.Sadly I think my lack of attachment to the characters caused me to feel this book was forgettable, which is a shame because I’ve loved other works by this author.

Black Water Sister - a spicy tale of possession, vengeful deities and family secrets - is as warm-hearted as Zen Cho's work always is, with the rippling joy of deep waters under a kind sun. I think it's as much Cho's narration as her narratives that make me happy, simultaneously affectionate and funny and cutting and melancholy, a gently inflected emotional rollercoaster that slices little slivers off your heart only to return them with interest.

Cho's contemporary fantasy addresses as broad a range of themes as her historical fantasies of manners. Protagonist Jess is an immigrant twice-over, always out of place even at home where she hides her sexuality (and relationship) from the unthinking prejudice of her racist, homophobic family. As an outsider, she provides an accessible frame for exploring Malay society and religion with commentary in passing on gentrification, unethical business practices and undocumented labour along with the temptation to impose Western attitudes and the deeply-ingrained understanding of filial duty (in conflict here with Jess's need to keep an increasing number of secrets).

I also enjoyed the sly commentary on gender roles that extends even into the supernatural: men are worshipped for living sanctified lives, becoming kindly spirit guides; women transcend when they die with their rage unspent, becoming terrifying spirits who must be propitiated. Jess - self-effacing, given to compromise and self-denial - discovers rage has power (and I do love a narrative that acknowledges why women might be angry and embraces their right to express it). .

Cho delivers all this with an admirably light touch. On the surface, this is an entertaining ghost story with a ferocious dead grandma and a reluctant young woman drawn into a world of mediums and goddesses that she (initially) neither believes in nor fully understands. It is fast-paced and funny (and Ah Ma is another brilliantly cranky and crafty old woman). I chortled and cheered through the sometimes self-imposed tribulations - paranormal and personal - Jess had to deal with as she tried to navigate her new life in Malaysia; and appreciated the occasional reminder that the world is bigger than Jess’s narrow experiences (and her judgement is not flawless). While the final act felt a little tidy / convenient, Jess's over-arching journey was far too much fun for me to mind.

A great stand-alone that leaves me looking forward to contemporary fantasy from this gifted writer.

Jess is in a challenging situation. After a family illness and its financial impact, she's joined her parents their move from the USA - where she's lived most of her life - to their native Malaysia, to stay with her father's extended family while they get back on their feet and she, hopefully, figures out what she's going to do now that she's graduated and how she's going to continue her relationship with her long term girlfriend when her parents don't yet know she's a lesbian. To top it all off, her dead grandmother has adopted her as a spirit medium, and her ability to take over Jess' body and pilot it without her consent means that she can threaten Jess if she doesn't go along with her scheme to halt a development that threatens the temple of a very particular Goddess.

Sean has already covered much of what makes Black Water Sister excellent, especially when it comes to characterisation. There's a mix of dryness, candour and absurdity to a lot of the characters' dialogue that makes their interactions highly entertaining, even when we can feel Jess cringe (especially at some of the things her mother and Ah Ma come out with). What makes the characterisation even better is the way that Jess' relationships evolve over the course of the book. Ah Ma's initial tactic is to isolate Jess, and as an American-raised twenty-something she takes a long time to process this supernatural presence in her life and even longer worrying about her family's potential reactions. But this is a Malaysian story, not an American one, and once Jess is ready to seek out allies, they need no convincing that the supernatural is real. The way Jess' haunting changes her understanding of her family and brings her into the orbit of new connections transforms Black Water Sister from an uncomfortably claustrophobic story to one that matches spooky, god-battling adventure with a family-driven coming of age story (and oh, how I love a twenty-something coming of age story. You're never too old to come of age, nor can you come of age too many times!). If you've only experienced Zen Cho's regency fantasy, the same wit and warmth will carry you through into this new setting. Highly recommended.

Black Water Sister can basically be summed up as… Closeted American-born girl goes to Malaysia with her parents, gets haunted by her dead gran, and involved with a very violent, very spooky god.

And hey if that sounds like a wild ride, that’s because it is. For a book that prominently features such things as ghosts, spirits, and gods, this felt remarkably “grounded”. With some urban fantasies, the real world kind of takes a step back in order to let the supernatural shine. But here, both are interwoven in such a way that really makes those supernatural moments feel like they matter. Zen Cho lures you in with such relatable scenes as your mother and aunties talking about you as though you aren’t right there, and then hits you with the magic jump-scare when a spooky murder god appears at the window.

I really enjoyed this book, but would say that it has quite a wide tonal range that I’m not sure all readers will get along with. There are some genuinely funny moments, there are some scenes that drip with emotion and vibrate with family tensions, and then there are some really, really dark scenes (content warning for attempted sexual abuse).

I know that every family has its secrets, but this one might take the cake…

I went into this novel completely blind, knowing only that it was an Own Voice/LGBTQ+ novel. I loved the setting and I want to read more books based in Malaysia, the supernatural elements were done so, so well and they didn't detract from the story (or make it feel YA), and the character of the Grandma was SO well done. Such a diva. Loved her.

I am a simple creature. I see an author describe her book as 'A stressed zillennial lesbian fights gods, ghosts, gangsters & grandmas in 21st century Penang.' and I am immediately interested in reading it. And when it turns out that the book can also work really well for my bingo card, then so much the better! I was familiar with Cho's writing from Sorcerer to the Crown but I wasn't prepared for just how engrossing I would find Jess and how easily I would be swept away into modern Penang, where ghosts and gods live alongside technology and Facetime.

Jess is broke, closeted and moving back to Malaysia with her parents. This isn't the future she envisioned for herself and she's not quite sure where she's meant to fit in; on the one hand, she'd much rather be in America, where she can at least (quietly, not publicly) date her girlfriend. But she can't just abandon her parents and although it's possibly not ideal to have to live on her father's family's charity, it's better than completely losing face. So when she starts hearing voices, Jess chalks it up to a stressful move. Except the voice doesn't stop and starts insisting that Jess help her Ah Ma, her grandmother, settle a score with a gang boss. Drawn into a world of gods, Jess finds herself at the mercy of the Black Water Sister, a deity whose ruthlessness and hunger might be enough to completely destroy Jess' life.

I admit that this one starts off a little slowly. Jess' voice isn't necessarily the strongest one and she comes across as lost and unsure (on purpose), which in some ways is actually pretty interesting. She's a stranger in her own homeland, because she left Malaysia as a child and she's now returning a completely different person, but one who has to hide a lot of who she is. That push/pull of wanting to be helpful, to support her parents, while still living life on her own terms just felt so incredibly raw. I really identified with Jess' struggles to come out to her parents, but also with her feelings of alienation and her desire to just do the right thing. Seeing her grow across the narrative, regaining her confidence and standing her ground, was just brilliant. By the end, I couldn't turn the pages quickly enough and I am just so pleased with how Cho rounded off the entire story.

The narrative concerns itself chiefly with relationships, and it's hard not to warm to Ah Ma almost straight away. The dialogue between her and Jess is absolutely hilarious at times and she has this uncanny ability to needle her granddaughter in just the right way, though sometimes Jess gives it out just as well as she takes it. It's fun watching them try to navigate the world of modern Penang and the intricacies of the spirit realm, where Jess is a complete newcomer and Ah Ma has secrets that she wants to keep hidden. But in between their lines of quirky dialogue is also a lot of social commentary: on immigration and identity, on capitalism and greed, on the ways in which men treat women and how that level of violence can reverberate even through death. This isn't just some feel-good story about a young woman who finds her voice and stands her ground (though there is also some of that); it's a modern fantasy book that examines how our relationship to the occult and the ties with our culture and ancestors are being eroded by the capitalist need to have more, build more, own more. From workers whose lives don't matter to cultural artefacts destroyed by greed, Black Water Sister also asks us to question just how much growth can be sustained long term and whether there are lines that really shouldn't be crossed in the bid to earn more and more money.

There is a real darkness in the narrative (and it does get addressed!). It's bleak at times and it comes pretty close to having sexual assault right on the page, but again Cho doesn't use it just to add shock value: when it happened, my heart was in my throat and I was genuinely afraid for Jess. It's a moment of tension and horror and one that's not played out lightly. The cathartic denouement was enough to leave me feeling like my insides had been scoured, and all of it in a good way! I don't want to give away too much of this, because I really feel like people should enjoy this book almost blindly. I really can't wait to see what comes out of Cho's keyboard next!

What a ride, wow it has a little bit of everything. Ghosts, gods, family secrets and mediums are some of them!It was entertaining mostly, it has great characters and I find it unique!

"If you overhear everything I hear, said Jess, "why would you need me to tell you what Kor Kor’s friends were saying about Ng Chee Hin?”

“Sometimes I don’t pay attention lah. You think your life is so interesting meh?”

This was so different from anything I’ve ever read before, I was captivated from the beginning .Jess was a great and relatable character , I loved her!

I loved this book! I had no idea what I was to expect for this book, but I read two other books by Zen Cho before diving into this one. Not sure how that affected me but this is my fav Zen Cho book ever.

The story was a fun one. Jess is reluctantly moving from the US back to Malaysia with her parents. She is a recent Harvard graduate and trying to find a decent job. Then she discovered she and her mum's side of the family are mediums. And her grandma (Ah Ma) are hunting her. LOL! A lot was going on in this story and I loved it.

The story is filled with twists and turns I sometimes saw coming but mostly not. Nothing felt wrong or off in this story. I loved how the twists and turns made me more into the story and how I learned about Malaysia at the same time.

Jess was a great character that I could relate to. She was straight out of University and unsure what to do with her life. But she was also strong and courageous and willing to fight for what is right.

As expected with a seasoned writer, it was really good. I had no issues with the technical side thought the review copy I had wasn't the best-formatted ebook I've ever seen. But that's details.

The action in this is well-written and never-ending. The pacing between the action scenes did not feel too slow but had a nice balance.

I loved this book and I think Zen Cho is becoming a favourite author of mine.

I had no real expectations going into this book, but I certainly didn't expect it to be as dark and as humorous as it was. Jessamyn Teoh may have graduated from Harvard, but that doesn't stop her from being broke, unemployed and unable to come out to her parents, and she certainly wasn't expecting to have to move back to Malaysia for her fathers job. Torn between familial loyalty and the need to be with her girlfriend, Jess spends her first few days constantly on the edge. Something that isn't helped by the fact she can somehow hear her Ah Ma's voice in her head. She quickly realises that her grandmother has possessed her, she has a score to settle, one that she needs Jess' help for. But the more Jess gets dragged into the mythical world of Malaysia, the more her life is put on the line, because it's not just her Grandmother who wants to use her body, an ancient God has her sights set on Jess, and before long she may find herself in a fight for her own body.

Jess was a fantastic POV to read this book from, having grown up in the US she has little insight into the Malaysian culture and mythology, meaning that we as the reader learn all about it through Jess's experiences. She would never class herself as superstitious, assuming things like Gods were the stuff of tales, but when she starts to hear her Ah Ma's voice she realises there may be more truth to the stories than she realises. She's so unbelievably out of her depth in most of the situations which makes for some hilarious scenes, and also some on the darker side. She is witty, strong headed and far more resilient than she realises, but she lacks faith in herself and those around her.

The relationship between Jess and her Grandmother was hilarious, if not a little haunting in parts. Their interactions were by far my favourite parts of the book, and these scenes also gave us a deep dive into Malaysian culture and history. Her Ah Ma, having previously been a medium, knows a lot more about whats happening to Jess then she initially lets on, using blackmail and her knowledge to ensure Jess follows through with her plans, she may be dead, but she still has a score to settle, one she will use Jess for whether she is willing or not. The whole idea of having someone else take control of your body was a little scary, and I think Cho gives us the right blend of humour and darkness to make sure we understand the true depth of the situation, whilst also giving us a little levity to ensure it doesn't get too dark.

Cho's descriptions and writing style absolutely transported me to Malaysia. I had read little to nothing about Malaysian culture and beliefs before reading this and I adored getting a deep dive not only into their mythology and culture, but their familial dynamics. We see the struggle of Jess parents, wanting a better life for their daughter but having to return to the place they left after her fathers job fell through, and how they felt they had let her down.

There are some pretty graphic and violent scenes in this book including one sexual assault towards the end, which I definitely did not expect. The story started out quite light hearted and then took a turn for the darker, and when you realise the true reason for her grandmothers return and the God's interference you understand the need for it. There are a few well placed twists and turns throughout and Cho certainly kept me guessing as to what characters I could trust.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, it had me cackling with laughter as well a cringing away from the pages, but all in all, it was a story about the bonds of family and how, even after death they can stay with us. It was also a story about revenge and how the need for it can eclipse everything else in your life until you become a husk of the person you previously were. This may be my first book by Cho, but it certainly wont be my last.

Se dice, se comenta, que «Black Water Sister» llegará en algún momento a nuestro idioma de la mano de Planeta, pero aún no hay fechas concretas. Lo que ya os puedo asegurar es que ha sido una de mis lecturas favoritas del año, y es que no dejo de pensar en este libro.

Jess, la protagonista, regresa a Malasia, su país natal, tras más de veinte años viviendo en EE. UU. Allí se encuentra con una serie de costumbres, tradiciones, formas de hablar y de comportarse que no acaba de comprender y que debería conocer, porque, al fin y al cabo, ella es de allí. Lo que sí que entiende es que hace tiempo que dejó de pertenecer por completo un lugar en concreto y que ahora tiene un pie en EE. UU. y otro en Penang. Que, de repente, su abuela se le aparezca como un fantasma, tampoco la ayuda a adaptarse. Porque su abuela es bastante mandona y lo único que quiere es poseer el cuerpo de Jess para hacer algo imprescindible: salvar a su gente.

Pero Jess se resiste, porque hay algo en su abuela que le huele a cuerno quemado. Jess tendrá que lidiar con fantasmas (gruñones), dioses (exigentes), su vida (descontrolada) y sus padres (controladores) antes de poder disfrutar de un poco de paz y tranquilidad. Y, encima, en algún momento tendrá que contar a su familia supertradicional que es lesbiana, sin saber cómo se lo tomarán.

«Black Water Sister» es una aventura moderna llena de acción, humor y desventuras. Si te gusta la autora, te alegrará saber que Duermevela Ediciones planea traer dos obras suyas: la novela corta «La mujer de terracota» y «Sorcerer to the Crown».

Qué encontrarás en «Black Water Sister»:
-Una novela de fantasía alejada de la mirada tradicional
-Fantasmas liándola parda
-Un mensaje anticapitalista
-Eat the rich en Malasia
-Representación sáfica

This novel was fantastic.

Firstly, obsessed with the cover. So colourful. Love it. I'm in.

Secondly, Own Voices read and LGBT+? Excellent, I'm in.

Thirdly (fourthly and fifthly etc.), now we're fully drawn in like...

- fab characters that show great development throughout
- beautiful backdrop of Malaysia, jungle like temples, fancy cafes and all the delicious cuisine to make your eyes and your belly hungry
- a few supernatural elements with the Gods, very intriguing, dangerous, adventurous
- gangsters- slow down... what??? Where has this come from?
- snarky grandma who's totally rebellious and a diva
- fast pace, keeps you guessing till the end

I went in totally blind tbh and I loved it. Well worth a read if you want a totally unique novel that's super diverse and a lot of fun.

Thanks to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan and Zen Cho for an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.