Left Unread Books | No One's Gonna Take Her Soul Away

No One's Gonna Take Her Soul Away

Amanda B. Weaver

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Sapphira Gail is dead.

What’s worse, she’s in Pandemonia, cast down to the worst part of this hellscape by a terrifying, mercurial goddess who determines the fate of every being. Sapphira knows she doesn't belong in Pandemonia. So she plans to escape, confront the goddess, and return across the veil, back to the land of the living, to find the person responsible for her death.

But the journey is treacherous — Sapphira must travel the Path of the Damned, following it through every part of Pandemonia to make it to the goddess's seat of power. Along the way, she meets an irritable yet caring vampire whose touch soothes Sapphira’s broken heart, a charismatic werewolf nursing a betrayal similar to Sapphira’s, and a melancholic demon determined to get her freedom by any means necessary.

Though she recruits them as allies on her quest for retribution, this is Pandemonia after all — can any of them truly be trusted? And will Sapphira escape or will she remain tortured for all eternity?

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Posts about this title from Left Unread Books

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Sep 17 2024

FALENCIA JEAN-FRANCOIS\ \ Falencia is a hatian woman who speaks freely about her intersecting identities and fights to bring the world stories that not only represent her, but teach the world something. Her debut book, Devil of the Deep, follows a mermaid who is forced to flee her home in order to escape an underwater cult and ends up partnering with a notoroius pirate and an unwilling navy captain to protect an ancienty artifact from nefarious forces who want to use it to end the world.\ \ This book is filled with intersecting marginalized identities and big conversations about things like Blackness, trans identity, queerness, what it means to be "othered" and even the need to deconstruct colonial religion. This book was masterfully written and, in my opinion, is one of the greatest pieces of literature to be written in modern times.\ \ NATALIA HERNANDEZ\ \ Natalia is a rising (already risen, let's be honest) star in the indie space. Her debut, The Namebearer, came out late 2022, and she has already become one of the most well-known and celebrated authors in many bookish spaces. The Namebearer follows a young girl who was taken from her home and stripped of her name and identity so that she could be raised by the royal family with one specific purpose: so that when the Queen eventually gives birth to the next monarch, she can go to the flowers of prophesy and receive his name. However, when the Prince is born, she goes to the flowers and is told that he will not be king. In fact, if she wants to save the kingdom, she must rebel against the royal family and go find The Promised Prince so that he can take his throne and usher the realm into peace.\ \ In the Namebearer, we primarily follow this nameless girl as she hides among a group of warrior women and trains for this important mission. And throughout the rest of the series ( Follower of Flowers, Daughter of Danray & unnamed final installment), we follow her as she fights for her own identity in the midst of sacrificing everything to save a kingdom that considers her a traitor. This story speaks to every little girl and every brown person who has been raised to believe that they only exist in the context of a people who want to both rule them and erase them.\ \ She is also the author of Asiri and the Amaru, which follows a woman who has the rare gift of being able to talk to animals. She has spent her entire life being exploited by her father to build his own reputation. But when she runs away, she decides that she isn't going to tell anyone about her gift. She wants to live a normal life. But when a mythical Amaru gets hurt and a very attractive vet needs her help to save it... well... you know where the story goes from there. This story is a beautiful peak into Peruvian mythology with a cozy, warm setting.\ \ Natalia writes unapologetically Latine storys filled with beautiful imagery, fantastical magic and beautifully orchestrated plots. Couldn't recommend her work more!!!\ \ AMANDA WEAVER\ \ Amanda is one of the best writers I know. Her first book I came across was In the House of Transcendence, which follows a Black woman who can see and interact with ghosts. As a child, her father exploited her gifts and denied her community with people who could help her understand and grow in her gifts. She lived her life in isolation and seperated from her community. But when she stumbles accross another witch and is invited to be a part of a real community, she jumps at the opportunity. Even when it comes with its own set of challenges and difficulties. Including a murder that only she can solve. Working closely with one of the communities elders, our main character must investigate the death of the elder's lover, while building community with her new found-family and working at a local burlesque club. Yes, you read that right. This book is about a burlesque dancing necromancer. Need I say more?\ \ I also read her most recent novel, No One's Gonna Take Her Soul Away, which follows a Black woman who is brutally murdered and unjustly sent to the seventh level of Pandemonium (hell). But she knows she doesn't deserve to be there, so with the help of a vampire and a werewolf, she must battle her way through seven levels of hell so that she can confront the god who banished her there and find justice for herself. This book has strong conversations about the plight of Black women who are forced to fight for, and to save, themselves. It is an incredible story filled with gore, big conversations, and a dash of spice.\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

Sapphic September!

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Aug 21 2024

BLACK indie author day!

Today is BLACK indie author day and I want you to spend today fighting for Black authors! Here are some ways you can do just that! (1) go buy at least one of the books I am linking to this post (2) promote a Black author on your social media or recommend a Black author to a fiend and (3) invite a friend to subscribe to this Bindery so they can join the fight for authors in the margins! The work we are doing MATTERS and it can’t happen without a thriving community. So help me build it! Love you all!

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Jul 28 2024

[SOME OF MY FAVORITE HORROR BOOKS\ \

**Bad Cree by Jessica Johns: **I don't even know what to say about this book, other than it terrified me to my core! It follows a young Cree woman years after the death of her sister. She begins to have terrifying dreams about their last weekend together, followed by a string of seamingly supernatural occurances that forces her to flee back home to her mother and aunties, who help her uncover the truth of what really happened to her big sister...and what may just happen to her if she isn't careful.\
**No One's Gonna Take Her Soul Away by Amanda Weaver: **This book follows a Black woman who is murdered and unjustly sent to the seventh level of hell, where she must partner together with a werewolf and a vampire in order to fight her way through all seven levels of hell in order to confront the goddess that condemned her there.\
**The Getaway by Lamar Giles: **This book was...intense. Not haunting in the way that _Bad CreeI was, _but incredible and terrifying in it's own way. This is probably more of a dystopian book than a horror book, but it shook me and I made the list, so I can include it if I want to. bahahaha! The book follows a young man who works in one of the nations only remaining resorts in a post-apocalyptic world, where natural disaster and war has ravaged most of the known world. As an employee, he must serve the American elite who can afford to vacation there. But when he uncovers a conspiracy happening among the guests, his life and everything he's ever known will be in jeopardy.\ \ NOTABLE MENTIONS THAT I HAVEN'T READ YET\ \
**Fledgling by Octavia Butler: **If you know who Octavia Butler is, I'm sure you're as excited as I am to read this! Fledgling is often called the world's best vampire book. On the other hand, it is also often called the most haunting vampire story out there. So...yeah... I definitely wanna read this one!\
**Never Whistle at Night: **This is an indigneous horror anthology that I have been told is PHENOMENAL! I cannot wait to read this! Which is lucky for me, because it is also our bookclub pick for August! So make sure you grab a copy so you can read along with me!\ \ \ \ \ \ ](https://leftunreadbooks.binderybooks.com/item/avfOyYnfOgzWQT3khN5e/)

A few of my favorite horror books!

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Jul 28 2024

[**Amanda Weaver: **Amanda writes a range of Fantasy and Horror. I have read two of her books:\ \

_In The House of Transcendence, _which follows a necromancer who works as a burlesque dancer and helps her new boss solve the murder of her dead lover while cproving herself to the community of witches her boss oversees. This book has strong conversations about identity, found family, Blackness and belonging, and has plenty of Black and queer representation. Low spice, but plenty of romantic themes.\
_No One's Gonna Take Her Soul Away, _a book about a Black woman who is murdered and unjustly sent to the seventh level of Pandemonia (hell). Unwilling to spend eternity suffering, she partners with a werewolf and a vamp, who help her fight her way through all seven levels of Pandemonia so she can confront the pretentious goddess who condemned her in the first place. This story has moderate spice, an enemy to lovers storyline, and PLENTY of violence, gore and hard-to-stomach torture. It also has conversations about found family, redemption, Blackness and the Black woman's worth.\ \ Natalia Hernandez: Natalia is in the middle of a high fantasy series and a series of interconnected cozy fantasy stand-alones. I have read all four of her books, including her most recent, which releases in two months.\ \
Flowers of Prophesy Series is a high fantasy series about a young woman who is on a quest to find the rightful prince of her nation so that she can stop a war that has been raging for centuries and stop the bloodshed. The first book, _The Name Bearer, _introduces us to the Name Bearer, who was taken from her family as a baby and raised in the royal castle with no name or identity of her own. Her only purpose was to wait for the Queen to have a son and to then go to the flowers of prophesy to receive his name. Only, when the Queen finally has a son, she goes to the flowers...and they tell her that the Queen's son will not be the next King. Armed with that knowledge, she must go on a quest to find the Prince that was Promised and to bring him back for his naming ceremony. Which leads the Name Bearer on a decade long quest, where she is raised and trained in combat by a society of reveered warrior women. The following books follow her quest to discover her identity, carve out space for herself, and...well...FIND THE PRINCE. The third book in this series (of four planned books) comes out October 17th! This series is filled with magic, self-discovery, fighting, bloodshed, political intrigue, and a very slow burn romance.\
_Asiri and the Amaru _is the first in a five-book interconnected series of stand-alone romantasy stories. This one follows Asiri, a young Peruvian woman who has the rare ability to speak with animals. After a lifetime of her father exploiting her abilities to amplify his prestige in their community, she runs away from home and resettles in a beautiful seaside village, where she is determined not to tell anyone about her gift...until she runs into a Veterinarian who needs her help to nurse a mythical Amaru back to health. This one has a bit of spice, but only one scene.\ \ Falencia Jean Francois writes high fantasy better than almost anyone I know! I have read her debut, which was one of the best books I've ever written!!\ \
_Devil of the Deep _is a high fantasy following a pirate, a mermaid and an officer as their stories converge at the end of the world. When our main character realizes she is a part of an underwater cult, she must swim to the surface world to escape their clutches, only to find her path crossing with a notorious pirate who is at war with a navy that is secretly working toward the same aim as the cult she has just escaped from. This story has massive conversations about identity, found family, colonization and resisting colonial religion. It has plenty of Black, queer, trans and neurodivergent representation. And it is by far, one of the best books I have EVER read in my life. Couldn't recommend this story more highly! Very mild spice.\ \ Deston Munden writes high fantasy with the intention of representing Black people and challenging the racist notions that often exist in fantasy circles. I have read several of Deston's books and I loved them so much that I am currently working with him to republish them and hopefully push them to a wider market!\ \
_Dusk Mountain Blues _is a sci-fi story about a Black family that are the descendants of humans who were experiemented on by the government before developing powers and escaping to a mostly abandoned planet, where they now battle against the invading forces of the intergallactic government that captured them to begin with. This is a story that speaks to making space for Black people in every space, drawing inspiration from a lot of stories that often speak primarily to white audiences. Our main characters are deniably country, poor, uneducated and rough around the edges. But also...they are undeniably BLACK. We watch them navigate hard relationships, family fueds, tension with the native inhabitants of the planet they were forced onto, and incredible displays of power, love and solidarity against oppression. This is the first of a series. I honestly don't remember if there was any spice, but I don't believe there was.\
Tavern is also the first book in a series. It follows an Orc who owns a tavern and leads a group of mercenaries. When he helps heal the wrong people, he ends up on the wrong side of a group of assassins, who are determined to make him pay. This story sees him fight for his freedom, and fight to protect his home and city from an insurmountable threat. This book fights to combat many of the racist tropes that are often written into Orc characters in fantasy stories. And despite having no humans, this book reads as undeniably BLACK.\ \ Michael Tinsley put out his debut last year, which I read and LOVED.\ \
_May a Divine Awaken _is about a young Black boy who has been ostracized from his community because of a skin condition (vitiligo). His world takes the divisions that exist in our world to the extreme. So far that their eight nations are not only split by ethnic identity, but also by gender. Men and women are seperated as dramatically as possible, as are the rich from the poor and the powerful from the powerless. Our main character has always thought himself to be weak, not having supernatural power of his own, but when his town is attacked by assassins, and he ends up on a journey in search of help, he finds out that the power he SHOULD have has been locked away and if he wants to save the world from an attempted coup from two of their world's highest leaders, he will have to awaken his power and fight for everyone's lives. This book was one of my favorite reads of 2023, and I recently received a package from the author with a copy of the second edition, which has been released with an all new (and incredible) cover!](https://leftunreadbooks.binderybooks.com/item/QUSvW8OLyzenCMlxHfFl/)

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • May 1 2024

I will be picking a book at noon today, and I want to know what you guys think! Here are the book's I'm looking at!\ \ No One's Gonna Take Her Soul Away by Amanda Weaver: This book follows a Black woman who is unjustly sent to the seventh level of hell and must fight her way through all seven levels in order to confront the goddess who condemned her and the man who took her life. This book tackless things like misogynoir, being your own hero, domestic violence, etc.\ _**Chain-Gang All-Stars: **_Imagine the prison industrial complex without any effort to conceil it's true nature. Prisoners have been pitted against one another in a gladiator-type competition where one can hypothetically earn their freedom by winning a certain number of death matches. This book is a dystopian commentary on America as a prison state and will challenge everything you ever understood about abolition and the need to tear down the systems that kill us all.\ _**Blood at the Root: **_This book won't be released until May 7th, but it is such an incredible book. It follows a young Black boy who has been accepted to a magical HBCU after spending his life thinking he was responsible for his mother's death. But upon finding out she may be alive, he must throw himself into a new world and find the person responsible for her disapearance. This book is about Black boys, in all of our complexity.

Vote for May's Bookclub Pick!

Which book would you rather read this month?

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Apr 29 2024

[Amanda Weaver's new book launches TOMORROW, and to celebrate, she is hanging out with us this afternoon at 2pm CST on Zoom! So come vibe with us and get to know Amanda!\ \

- *\ \ Join Zoom Meeting\ \ https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81784151536?pwd=vbWW6Dri1u9BGCjWnPPUwlgz48Lm1o.1\\ \ Meeting ID: 817 8415 1536\ \ Passcode: 336586](https://leftunreadbooks.binderybooks.com/item/HneaSOu2fhbA12jorsYG/)

Zoom call with Amanda Weaver TODAY

Amanda Weaver's new book launches TOMORROW, and to celebrate, she is hanging out with us this afternoon at 2pm CST on Zoom! So come vibe with us and get to know Amanda!

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Apr 17 2024

Woman Crush Wednesday: Amanda Weaver

Let's talk about another Black female author who deserves the world!

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Posts about this book from across Bindery

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Vote for May's Bookclub Pick!

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