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Drew Collins #1
The Secret World of Maggie Grey
A vampire, a witch, and a siren get accepted into a magical HBCU. The rest I am not allowed to say but just know there is a talking cat named Quan, a few murders that went cold, and a world that is just below our feet.
448 pages, Paperback
First published August 4, 2024
4541 people are currently reading
7461 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,206 reviews
October 26, 2024
I loved the idea of a magical HBCU and following the main character Maggie’s as she learns more about her background. That didn’t happen. Instead, we’re introduced to way too many characters, too many descriptions, and no real plot. The strongest chapters were the ones focused on Namir and Maggie but they weren’t given the attention deserved to develop their characters properly . I started skimming because not a lot was said that mattered to the story. It ends with a cliffhanger but honestly don’t think I’ll read the second book. Even if it’s not for me I’m glad others really enjoy it and would still recommend it to someone looking for a unique spooky season read.
August 23, 2024
There are two authors whose minds 🧠I would give anything to roam free inside and that’s Octavia Grant and Desiree Granger! The level of creativity and originality is un-fkn-matched!!! Like no one is coming close with the storylines!
Desireeeeee!!!! Ma’am how do you come up with these ideas?!?!!!!
Like she said I’m going to give y’all Harry Potter but 🗣️MAKE IT BLACK! And I’m going to set it in blickity black Atlanta while taking y’all on the rides of your lives!! 🗣️Mission accomplished sis!!
An HBCU?! Yes please! A mythical HBCU?! Yes please! A magical HBCU?! Yes please!! This was the HBCU experience magical dreams are made of and if you’ve ever wanted to indulge in the college experience, Desiree has rolled out the red carpet! We have 4 houses that represent the elements and we have witches 🧙and nymphs🪽🧜🏾♀️and sirens 🐺and vampires🧛♀️ oh my!
There were a lot of moving parts to book one of this series and it primarily centers around Maggie, Asha and Souxie. We later throw Isis and Hilary into the mix and we have a bad b!tch crew that ain’t nobody seeing on their worst day! After getting their 📮 invites to the school they show up with zero expectations and get way more than they bargained for!
I know the title is “The Secret World of Maggie Grey” but Miss Asha Avery was the star of this show for me! I absolutely LOVED her character!!! LOVED!! She might’ve dealt with a minor identity crisis and bouts of insecurity but her confidence was a force to be reckoned with! I can’t wait for her to tap into her true powers and splash on these 🥷’s!
🔮It was the speech in class for me!
🪔It was the party for me! Sis said send me the link to the group chat next time since yall wanna kiki 😂😂 #AReadWasRead
📿It was the 🚪’s for me
🐾It was Quan for me 🐈⬛🖤 Loved him real bad!
That’s really how you gone do us with that cliffhanger Desiree?! Then you gone finish the book with notes of “speculation” as if you’re not the one writing the story! 😒 yes I’m heavily side eyeing you!! One of these days ima learn to wait for a completed series because wtf?! So now we wait……… ⏰
Desireeeeee!!!! Ma’am how do you come up with these ideas?!?!!!!
Like she said I’m going to give y’all Harry Potter but 🗣️MAKE IT BLACK! And I’m going to set it in blickity black Atlanta while taking y’all on the rides of your lives!! 🗣️Mission accomplished sis!!
An HBCU?! Yes please! A mythical HBCU?! Yes please! A magical HBCU?! Yes please!! This was the HBCU experience magical dreams are made of and if you’ve ever wanted to indulge in the college experience, Desiree has rolled out the red carpet! We have 4 houses that represent the elements and we have witches 🧙and nymphs🪽🧜🏾♀️and sirens 🐺and vampires🧛♀️ oh my!
There were a lot of moving parts to book one of this series and it primarily centers around Maggie, Asha and Souxie. We later throw Isis and Hilary into the mix and we have a bad b!tch crew that ain’t nobody seeing on their worst day! After getting their 📮 invites to the school they show up with zero expectations and get way more than they bargained for!
I know the title is “The Secret World of Maggie Grey” but Miss Asha Avery was the star of this show for me! I absolutely LOVED her character!!! LOVED!! She might’ve dealt with a minor identity crisis and bouts of insecurity but her confidence was a force to be reckoned with! I can’t wait for her to tap into her true powers and splash on these 🥷’s!
🔮It was the speech in class for me!
🪔It was the party for me! Sis said send me the link to the group chat next time since yall wanna kiki 😂😂 #AReadWasRead
📿It was the 🚪’s for me
🐾It was Quan for me 🐈⬛🖤 Loved him real bad!
That’s really how you gone do us with that cliffhanger Desiree?! Then you gone finish the book with notes of “speculation” as if you’re not the one writing the story! 😒 yes I’m heavily side eyeing you!! One of these days ima learn to wait for a completed series because wtf?! So now we wait……… ⏰
October 22, 2024
This was several POV’s (don’t care for more than two in a novel), a little excessive in descriptions for my liking (why do we need to know what every single person is wearing etc.), and it had me skimming over the half story just because I was finding myself bored with the info dump overload. I understand that these are college students but the way they spoke kind of took away from the story to me. Not all black people speak the same….maybe I’m getting old and I’m not the target audience for this novel 🤷🏽♀️. Has potential though.
November 20, 2024
If I could rate this book at 0 stars I would. From being introduced to 1000 characters with 0 character development to the most interesting thing in the whole entire book happening in the last two pages this book was a waste of my time. Also… I am all for creativity but when your book is a mashup of Harry Potter and twilight without a plot I’m completely uninterested. Won’t be reading the second one.
November 2, 2024
I was surprised to see that this book was wrote by a woman since this paragraph was written:
“All while Dr. Holmes was preying on my grandma, who was in fact underage but she consented, and considered it an honor until they finally hooked up and well…he raped her,” I said simply as I heard a few gasps. “A few times actually.” I shrugged casually, thinking how my grandma never liked to talk about it but it was the most interesting part of the story if you ask me.”
You’re telling a story about how your grandmother discovered a whole world of mythical creatures and her sexual abuse is the most interesting part to you? Ew. Yall should have some shame.
“All while Dr. Holmes was preying on my grandma, who was in fact underage but she consented, and considered it an honor until they finally hooked up and well…he raped her,” I said simply as I heard a few gasps. “A few times actually.” I shrugged casually, thinking how my grandma never liked to talk about it but it was the most interesting part of the story if you ask me.”
You’re telling a story about how your grandmother discovered a whole world of mythical creatures and her sexual abuse is the most interesting part to you? Ew. Yall should have some shame.
November 2, 2024
3 Stars. This book had promise. It started off good enough that it grasped my attention and made me want to read more. But I quickly found myself skipping passages and rolling my eyes. Nothing really happened until the very last chapter. The climax was highly disappointing. And the editing was non existent. How are you able to be laying down and standing up at the same time? Things like that should have been caught by a good editor. And the language. Not all black people talk like that. For these characters to be pushing 30 it felt like I was listening in to my high school nieces conversation with her friends. The sex scenes read like a bad wattpad story written by a virgin that doesn’t know how the body works. (Slight spoiler: because how are you a virgin and your first time is in a foursome - you and three guys? And you’re perfectly fine to run upstairs for more? Make it make sense).it irritates me that Maggie had no true desire to look deeper into the story her grandmother told her, which is the whole reason she found herself at this school. I haven’t decided if I’m going to read book 2 or not.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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November 18, 2025I ended up DNFing at page 169 when I read, “We also like touching dead bodies and connecting with the dead by sleeping on their graves to become closer to the feeling of being unalive…”m
The weirdness of this quote perfectly sums up the book for me. It was simply an odd book to read. I think I went into it thinking it would be like X Men for paranormal black people, like an HBCU for black people with gifts but all I got was a book full of black stereotypes. The sorority and fraternities in this book glamorized sex and looks and nothing else. The black characters in this book bullied one another. The men called the women bitches and talked so much shit about them and the way they looked that it legit turned me off. They even drug the women so they can rob them! Then there’s the stereotype about women with Locs having unsaved body hair and that they like men who smoke weed, or smoke weed themselves. The most glaring problem I had was that the founder of the college was a known rapist and nobody seemed to really think that was a big deal, when it was a HUGE issue. Add to the fact that this is a paranormal book, and I got to page 169 without seeing ANY paranormal things and yeaaaaaaaaa I was done
The cover was beautiful, and I’d heard so many people stress their love for it, but it just wasn’t the book for me.
The weirdness of this quote perfectly sums up the book for me. It was simply an odd book to read. I think I went into it thinking it would be like X Men for paranormal black people, like an HBCU for black people with gifts but all I got was a book full of black stereotypes. The sorority and fraternities in this book glamorized sex and looks and nothing else. The black characters in this book bullied one another. The men called the women bitches and talked so much shit about them and the way they looked that it legit turned me off. They even drug the women so they can rob them! Then there’s the stereotype about women with Locs having unsaved body hair and that they like men who smoke weed, or smoke weed themselves. The most glaring problem I had was that the founder of the college was a known rapist and nobody seemed to really think that was a big deal, when it was a HUGE issue. Add to the fact that this is a paranormal book, and I got to page 169 without seeing ANY paranormal things and yeaaaaaaaaa I was done
The cover was beautiful, and I’d heard so many people stress their love for it, but it just wasn’t the book for me.
February 19, 2025
I was letting myself sit with this before I wrote this review but I genuinely do not know why this has such good reviews on here… I wanted to love it but I really ended up not liking it at all. As a Black woman who attended an HBCU + a lover of fantasy/all things supernatural, I thought the concept of the book was so cool and I was very excited to read it. imagine my surprise when it wasn’t what i thought it would be.. I feel like they were trying too hard to portray Black culture instead of just letting them literally be Black like the exaggeration of the dialect/slang in the book was making me irate bc no one actually talks like that.. not to mention the plot was all over the place and I feel like no one’s storyline developed all that well… idk it just made me mad bc it’s such a cool concept with a lackluster execution
August 30, 2024
I loved everything about this! the characters, their banter, the magic, culture & creatures of The Underground & Drew Collins University, that PARTY at the end… yea, I need all that! especially Namir, Akeem & SOLOMON! 😩 hilarious, mysterious, fantastical, unapologetically Black & the lil bit of spice was nioceee 🔥it gaveee everything I love! can’t wait til the next story is released, ugh so good!
November 18, 2024
I really did enjoy this story but I’m just as confused as the characters 🤣🤣…. That ending shook me cause what’s really next. Not sure how I feel about everyone but let’s see what Maggie , Asha , Quan , Souxie and Isis can bring next book.
May 31, 2025
I loved this book! 🎃🎇🧨✨️⚰️
August 8, 2024
DCU 🐈⬛
"This is the Underground. We go by a different set of rules here.."
A magical HBCU written by Granger (Desiree)?! Sign me up!
If you've read anything by this author then you know she likes to put creative spins on the stories she writes. Drew Collins University is literally Underground...beneath Atlanta (this was another cool detail because "The Underground" used to be the spot in ATL). Above ground, you have the regular Black folks but underground is where the magical Black folks are- vampires, witches, wolves, sirens..and Quan (I love him😭).
What started out as Maggie retelling a (secret) story from her grandmother turns into a magical journey of self discovery at Drew Collins University for Maggie and her sidekicks.
Granger has created another world for us to be obsessed with and if you’ve read her past work, the cameos will be a treat!
This book does end on a cliffhanger but there are some notes from the author at the end that has me trying to figure out WHODUNNIT?!
"This is the Underground. We go by a different set of rules here.."
A magical HBCU written by Granger (Desiree)?! Sign me up!
If you've read anything by this author then you know she likes to put creative spins on the stories she writes. Drew Collins University is literally Underground...beneath Atlanta (this was another cool detail because "The Underground" used to be the spot in ATL). Above ground, you have the regular Black folks but underground is where the magical Black folks are- vampires, witches, wolves, sirens..and Quan (I love him😭).
What started out as Maggie retelling a (secret) story from her grandmother turns into a magical journey of self discovery at Drew Collins University for Maggie and her sidekicks.
Granger has created another world for us to be obsessed with and if you’ve read her past work, the cameos will be a treat!
This book does end on a cliffhanger but there are some notes from the author at the end that has me trying to figure out WHODUNNIT?!
April 13, 2025
Absolutely floored
This book was amazing completely unexpected but such a treat throughout the entire book I was constantly trying to see what would happen next this author is a genius with her ability to create such a good book/series I have no doubt that things are going to go way beyond what I assume or guess within the next 2 books purchased the second as soon as it came out way before now which is something I don't do but this author is one of my top favorites and feel blessed by her work..
This book was amazing completely unexpected but such a treat throughout the entire book I was constantly trying to see what would happen next this author is a genius with her ability to create such a good book/series I have no doubt that things are going to go way beyond what I assume or guess within the next 2 books purchased the second as soon as it came out way before now which is something I don't do but this author is one of my top favorites and feel blessed by her work..
November 30, 2024
If I could, this would be more of a 3.5 stars. Granger, you need an editor. Not just for the grammer and stuff but to help with story work and nailing character development. This isn't a full story, not really. I started it because I wanted to read an urban fantasy murder mystery, but nothing happened for the majority of the book...nothing I really came for at least.
To other readers, I don't want to spoil it, so I'll just say if you want a murder mystery that is self contained enough to provide a satisfying ending but keep you coming back this isn't it. Wait until it's finished. Because I did complete it, and that is saying something. I will DNF a book in a heartbeat.
To other readers, I don't want to spoil it, so I'll just say if you want a murder mystery that is self contained enough to provide a satisfying ending but keep you coming back this isn't it. Wait until it's finished. Because I did complete it, and that is saying something. I will DNF a book in a heartbeat.
January 20, 2025
Oh, dear. I promise yall I really wanted to love this book. I was so excited to read it but it never came together for me.
The positives:
There are parts that are good and characters I enjoyed. Quan the cat and Souxie were my faves. I found myself agreeing with Quan a lot 😂🤷🏿♂️. I laughed several times times.
The aesthetics of HBCU life came through real great in some points (and not in others, see below).
The concept for the book is dope and there’s so much potential in the world the author imagined. Like I saw like dozens of books in this world, honestly.
Some really great moments like the door were lost on me because I didn’t get the references from the author’s previous books, but when I read the explanation at the end that was dope.
I did have a “what’s gonna happen ?” focus throughout. That’s a good thing for me as a reader, but only if it pays off. (See below).
Negatives:
For a magical/paranormal/supernatural novel, there was hardly anything happening. I was like where is the spell casting and such. When magic and paranornal did come up — like the four girls under the tree - it just disappeared.
The story never went anywhere. Now, I would not say I was bored but I kept thinking I knew what this was about and it never was about any of those plot lines. And every time I thought it was on a trajectory of like here’s the thing and I felt like I had the cast of characters we got like 4 more characters, not exaggerating. Perhaps that is because this is going to be a series and the author has known that all along, but even in a series there has to be a place I am introduced to and a conclusion even as you set up more story.
Relatedly this book was too slow and repetitive. I was like let’s get on with it. 200 pages in and I felt like the book was just starting for like the third time 😩.
Based on the description I personally expected much more for working with HBCUs as the setting than what we got. It did successfuly capture many of the aesthetics of HBCU but things with just the structure, politics, nostalgia of HBCUs — even a fantasy version of that - didn’t really ever come through enough for me.
The characters were interesting but really chaotically underdeveloped among the main folx. And then there were these secondary folks that got so much book time and they gave nothing to the story.
The worst of it for me was there was just a lot of cavalier attitude about rape and sexual assault, homophobia and other issues expressed through the characters in ways that were just out there and off putting.
Overall, I wasn’t bored. And I see why others may have enjoyed it. But as for me and my bookshelf, I don’t feel inspired to read the next books in this series. I would consider reading something else by this author that is really focused like a straight up mystery, or straight up horror, but the genre shifting big fantasy world build that is also doing mystery, and horror, and romance, didn’t hit for me in this one.
The positives:
There are parts that are good and characters I enjoyed. Quan the cat and Souxie were my faves. I found myself agreeing with Quan a lot 😂🤷🏿♂️. I laughed several times times.
The aesthetics of HBCU life came through real great in some points (and not in others, see below).
The concept for the book is dope and there’s so much potential in the world the author imagined. Like I saw like dozens of books in this world, honestly.
Some really great moments like the door were lost on me because I didn’t get the references from the author’s previous books, but when I read the explanation at the end that was dope.
I did have a “what’s gonna happen ?” focus throughout. That’s a good thing for me as a reader, but only if it pays off. (See below).
Negatives:
For a magical/paranormal/supernatural novel, there was hardly anything happening. I was like where is the spell casting and such. When magic and paranornal did come up — like the four girls under the tree - it just disappeared.
The story never went anywhere. Now, I would not say I was bored but I kept thinking I knew what this was about and it never was about any of those plot lines. And every time I thought it was on a trajectory of like here’s the thing and I felt like I had the cast of characters we got like 4 more characters, not exaggerating. Perhaps that is because this is going to be a series and the author has known that all along, but even in a series there has to be a place I am introduced to and a conclusion even as you set up more story.
Relatedly this book was too slow and repetitive. I was like let’s get on with it. 200 pages in and I felt like the book was just starting for like the third time 😩.
Based on the description I personally expected much more for working with HBCUs as the setting than what we got. It did successfuly capture many of the aesthetics of HBCU but things with just the structure, politics, nostalgia of HBCUs — even a fantasy version of that - didn’t really ever come through enough for me.
The characters were interesting but really chaotically underdeveloped among the main folx. And then there were these secondary folks that got so much book time and they gave nothing to the story.
The worst of it for me was there was just a lot of cavalier attitude about rape and sexual assault, homophobia and other issues expressed through the characters in ways that were just out there and off putting.
Overall, I wasn’t bored. And I see why others may have enjoyed it. But as for me and my bookshelf, I don’t feel inspired to read the next books in this series. I would consider reading something else by this author that is really focused like a straight up mystery, or straight up horror, but the genre shifting big fantasy world build that is also doing mystery, and horror, and romance, didn’t hit for me in this one.
February 23, 2025
Black Magic at DCU
My eyes are bugged out just like the cover 😳 I mean that is an accurate depiction of how I feel.
Desiree, Ms. Granger you have the gift of giving us a story we don't even know we want. I love that you expand my mind when it comes to story telling.
This is a story about a Black Magical town called The Underground. The mcs have been invited to attend the illustrious Drew Collins University (DCU). This school is for Vampires, Sirens, Witches, Nymphs, and Werewolves....the supernaturals of you will. It was cool learning about the different origins of these supernaturals. We are mainly following the story of four girls Maggie, Asha, Souxie, and Isis and the people/beings that they are interacting with, befriending, and avoiding.
Each of the girls have an intriguing story, but both Maggie and Asha seem to be ignorant to who they really are. They say ignorance is bliss, but it seems like it may be dangerous as well. I enjoyed the small moments where they learned more and more about their culture.
I also liked the sneak peaks of previous characters and stories. It was just enough and didn't overwhelm the story at all.
This story is a slow burn and really felt like she was setting the stage or laying the foundation if you will, of both the characters and the story. So, stay down it may feel like it has some boring moments but every moment is intentional. And the ending 😳😳 Running to the next book to see who did it??
My eyes are bugged out just like the cover 😳 I mean that is an accurate depiction of how I feel.
Desiree, Ms. Granger you have the gift of giving us a story we don't even know we want. I love that you expand my mind when it comes to story telling.
This is a story about a Black Magical town called The Underground. The mcs have been invited to attend the illustrious Drew Collins University (DCU). This school is for Vampires, Sirens, Witches, Nymphs, and Werewolves....the supernaturals of you will. It was cool learning about the different origins of these supernaturals. We are mainly following the story of four girls Maggie, Asha, Souxie, and Isis and the people/beings that they are interacting with, befriending, and avoiding.
Each of the girls have an intriguing story, but both Maggie and Asha seem to be ignorant to who they really are. They say ignorance is bliss, but it seems like it may be dangerous as well. I enjoyed the small moments where they learned more and more about their culture.
I also liked the sneak peaks of previous characters and stories. It was just enough and didn't overwhelm the story at all.
This story is a slow burn and really felt like she was setting the stage or laying the foundation if you will, of both the characters and the story. So, stay down it may feel like it has some boring moments but every moment is intentional. And the ending 😳😳 Running to the next book to see who did it??
January 8, 2025
Ok let's get to it.
I am GRACIOUSLY giving this book two stars instead of one. Only because it had SO MUCH POTENTIAL. So much so that it makes me sad. This book feels like a rough draft. An unedited, underdeveloped, rough draft. I cannot believe this hit the shelves in the state that it's in. The overwhelming amount of five star reviews is BONKERS. Did we all read the same book???
I wanna talk about these povs. WHY THE FUCK ARE THERE SO MANY???!! There are so many character switches that I forgot who the main character was. Her voice gets lost throughout this entire story and it's infuriating. Our protagonist finds out that she's a vampire, part of a royal family and we get NO DEVELOPMENT ON THAT. I thought this book was gonna be about her finding herself, finding her power, and all of that just comes to a dead end. All of the characters in this book have so many opportunities to discover the power and their history, their BLACK HISTORY as powerful beings and we get NOTHING. The girls in this book spend so much time rejecting who they are that it made me not give a fuck either. Which again, sad.
Also, the characters in this book are in their mid twenties to early thirties. Why the fuck do they talk like that. The slang in this book is so cringe it makes my skin crawl. The language in this book sounds like it was written by someone's old ass auntie who gets all of her slang from Tik tok. Absolutely terrible. It's so over the top and distracts from the actual story.
Speaking of, WHAT THE FUCK IS THE ACTUAL PLOT??? I feel like there's so much description and little to no action. The most exciting part happens at the end and "exciting" is a stretch.
The fucking cliffhanger??? It just seems unfinished. Like the author was tired of writing so she just stopped writing and hit send. Please.
I CANNOT and WILL NOT read another 500 page book of this nonsense. I want someone to take this concept at its core and rewrite it because, holy shit!!!
I am GRACIOUSLY giving this book two stars instead of one. Only because it had SO MUCH POTENTIAL. So much so that it makes me sad. This book feels like a rough draft. An unedited, underdeveloped, rough draft. I cannot believe this hit the shelves in the state that it's in. The overwhelming amount of five star reviews is BONKERS. Did we all read the same book???
I wanna talk about these povs. WHY THE FUCK ARE THERE SO MANY???!! There are so many character switches that I forgot who the main character was. Her voice gets lost throughout this entire story and it's infuriating. Our protagonist finds out that she's a vampire, part of a royal family and we get NO DEVELOPMENT ON THAT. I thought this book was gonna be about her finding herself, finding her power, and all of that just comes to a dead end. All of the characters in this book have so many opportunities to discover the power and their history, their BLACK HISTORY as powerful beings and we get NOTHING. The girls in this book spend so much time rejecting who they are that it made me not give a fuck either. Which again, sad.
Also, the characters in this book are in their mid twenties to early thirties. Why the fuck do they talk like that. The slang in this book is so cringe it makes my skin crawl. The language in this book sounds like it was written by someone's old ass auntie who gets all of her slang from Tik tok. Absolutely terrible. It's so over the top and distracts from the actual story.
Speaking of, WHAT THE FUCK IS THE ACTUAL PLOT??? I feel like there's so much description and little to no action. The most exciting part happens at the end and "exciting" is a stretch.
The fucking cliffhanger??? It just seems unfinished. Like the author was tired of writing so she just stopped writing and hit send. Please.
I CANNOT and WILL NOT read another 500 page book of this nonsense. I want someone to take this concept at its core and rewrite it because, holy shit!!!
January 22, 2025
I wanted to like this book so badly. This story had so much potential which makes it all the more disappointing. There is a lot of sexual assault and sexual assault culture in the book and almost every man is either a rapist or seems like a stone throw away from being one.
There is no plot development. I didn't even know this was a murder mystery until the last few pages of the book. There is also no real character development... so that's....fun.
The book is written like editors do not exist. There are so many typos and descriptions that don't make sense; a lot of words for words sake and a lot of repetitive phrasing and contradictory scenes.
Lastly, the writer seems to be trying too hard to remind us that the characters are black and too much of the writing feels like an exaggeration of black stereotypes.
I probably won't be reading book 2.
There is no plot development. I didn't even know this was a murder mystery until the last few pages of the book. There is also no real character development... so that's....fun.
The book is written like editors do not exist. There are so many typos and descriptions that don't make sense; a lot of words for words sake and a lot of repetitive phrasing and contradictory scenes.
Lastly, the writer seems to be trying too hard to remind us that the characters are black and too much of the writing feels like an exaggeration of black stereotypes.
I probably won't be reading book 2.
November 23, 2024
THIS NEEDS TO BE ON THE BIG SCREEN 🤌🏾‼️
OBSESSED doesn’t even BEGIN to explain how I feel in this moment. 😩😩 It pushed all my boundaries… but I liked it 😏‼️ a magical HBCU that has all the magical creatures and beasts under the sun. 😍😍
The Different POVs blended great for me, it helped build the mystery of the characters since we never got full stories of any given person… just glimpse through someone else’s POV.
AND THAT CLIFFHANGER 😩😩 I knew something was gonna happen… but DAAAMNNN !! And not to our girl 😩😩😩 !!
I WILL BE reading the next book! AND EVERY OTHER BOOK after that.
I have more to say… but I need time to get my thoughts together 😂😂😂 I’ll be Back soon with an update 🙌🏾
OBSESSED doesn’t even BEGIN to explain how I feel in this moment. 😩😩 It pushed all my boundaries… but I liked it 😏‼️ a magical HBCU that has all the magical creatures and beasts under the sun. 😍😍
The Different POVs blended great for me, it helped build the mystery of the characters since we never got full stories of any given person… just glimpse through someone else’s POV.
AND THAT CLIFFHANGER 😩😩 I knew something was gonna happen… but DAAAMNNN !! And not to our girl 😩😩😩 !!
I WILL BE reading the next book! AND EVERY OTHER BOOK after that.
I have more to say… but I need time to get my thoughts together 😂😂😂 I’ll be Back soon with an update 🙌🏾
August 26, 2024
Description overload
This plot to this story was amazing. The climax was a disappointment because it took so long to get to it, I wasn’t even shocked. I mean something had to happen to make us want to get the next part at some point in the story. I appreciate the length of the first book, but when you realize the amount of describing what every single character is wearing in every single introduction of a new character even if it was just a side character that never really enters the story. It became exhausting, I definitely started to skip, for me it was just too much, so I skipped when I realized I was about to get another description of what someone was wearing.
Another thing was it felt like it was just a bunch of nothing really going on. I don’t really have a grasp on what is going on with Souxie, Ik what she is supposed to be, but outside of that that’s it. The author kept alluding to her being so much more, but explained what her deal is with all the spacing out, why she didn’t in certain times to certain things. Same thing with Asha, what is so important about her, each chapter once just going on and on and made it seem as if we were gonna get SOMETHING, ANYTHING. Then nothing, if nothing else it left me frustrated as a reader. I stopped reading so many times do to feeling like I’m not getting anywhere with ANY of the characters. All this book and we still don’t even have anything clothes to Maggie’s full history.
I kept reading because it is a good story, I really think the author has something that could be amazing with this one. But at soon as something real interesting happens the book ends. 🤦🏿♀️🤦🏿♀️🤦🏿♀️
I can see why there are so many 4/5 star reviews, I won’t take away from that, but I’m hoping part 2 is way better and we can get somewhere. I welcome the break in between the two though, because this one was a little exhausting. But I love it at the same time, if that makes sense.
(I didn’t proofread this, I apologize ahead of time if some things don’t make sense in this review this is the longest review I think I ever wrote and I’m kind of in a hurry).
This plot to this story was amazing. The climax was a disappointment because it took so long to get to it, I wasn’t even shocked. I mean something had to happen to make us want to get the next part at some point in the story. I appreciate the length of the first book, but when you realize the amount of describing what every single character is wearing in every single introduction of a new character even if it was just a side character that never really enters the story. It became exhausting, I definitely started to skip, for me it was just too much, so I skipped when I realized I was about to get another description of what someone was wearing.
Another thing was it felt like it was just a bunch of nothing really going on. I don’t really have a grasp on what is going on with Souxie, Ik what she is supposed to be, but outside of that that’s it. The author kept alluding to her being so much more, but explained what her deal is with all the spacing out, why she didn’t in certain times to certain things. Same thing with Asha, what is so important about her, each chapter once just going on and on and made it seem as if we were gonna get SOMETHING, ANYTHING. Then nothing, if nothing else it left me frustrated as a reader. I stopped reading so many times do to feeling like I’m not getting anywhere with ANY of the characters. All this book and we still don’t even have anything clothes to Maggie’s full history.
I kept reading because it is a good story, I really think the author has something that could be amazing with this one. But at soon as something real interesting happens the book ends. 🤦🏿♀️🤦🏿♀️🤦🏿♀️
I can see why there are so many 4/5 star reviews, I won’t take away from that, but I’m hoping part 2 is way better and we can get somewhere. I welcome the break in between the two though, because this one was a little exhausting. But I love it at the same time, if that makes sense.
(I didn’t proofread this, I apologize ahead of time if some things don’t make sense in this review this is the longest review I think I ever wrote and I’m kind of in a hurry).
July 17, 2025
The secret world of Maggie Grey by Granger
arc/ book from Libro FM Influencer program
This black fantasy was everything this is an HBCU with werewolves, vampires, sirens and more. You follow Maggie Grey learning about this world and school. The adventures, mysteries, classes,parties, hierarchy was everything I was intrigued and the story telling truly had me feeling like I was going to the school with Maggie. This book was amazing I will say the multiple POVS did have me confused at times but still this was such a thrilling and adventurous fantasy.
rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
arc/ book from Libro FM Influencer program
This black fantasy was everything this is an HBCU with werewolves, vampires, sirens and more. You follow Maggie Grey learning about this world and school. The adventures, mysteries, classes,parties, hierarchy was everything I was intrigued and the story telling truly had me feeling like I was going to the school with Maggie. This book was amazing I will say the multiple POVS did have me confused at times but still this was such a thrilling and adventurous fantasy.
rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
December 16, 2025
What a waste of my time 😭. I tried to trust the process, but wow! And then to read the acknowledgements that just confirm that the author is also lost in the story and doesn’t know for sure who did what?! Like!?? I’m strongly considering 1 ⭐️ but I’ll sleep on it.
December 25, 2024
I loved every minute of it, that cliff hanger was definitely hanging
August 6, 2024
Welcome to a Melanated World of Harry Potter in the Underground of Atlanta
I don't know where to begin. Let me be the first to say don't ever doubt the love your fan base has for you. When I say you have an amazing knack for creating the most chaotic, engaging and mind-blowing stories I've had the pleasure of reading. The journey into the world Maggie and Drew Collins was magnificent. I couldn't wait for those Patreon alerts to see what you happen next. Thank you for your willingness to trust in your writing skills and bring us along for the ride. Each and every release from you captivates us like no other. I cannot wait for the continuation of this story. However, I'm also open to you picking up anywhere from Bria, to Tyra over to Elodie or maybe Pandora. Heck I'll even take Homer's cocky self and other character we've had the pleasure of being introduced to.
Until the next read........
I don't know where to begin. Let me be the first to say don't ever doubt the love your fan base has for you. When I say you have an amazing knack for creating the most chaotic, engaging and mind-blowing stories I've had the pleasure of reading. The journey into the world Maggie and Drew Collins was magnificent. I couldn't wait for those Patreon alerts to see what you happen next. Thank you for your willingness to trust in your writing skills and bring us along for the ride. Each and every release from you captivates us like no other. I cannot wait for the continuation of this story. However, I'm also open to you picking up anywhere from Bria, to Tyra over to Elodie or maybe Pandora. Heck I'll even take Homer's cocky self and other character we've had the pleasure of being introduced to.
Until the next read........
May 11, 2025
INITIAL READ 8/17/24
I rated it 4 ⭐️
REREAD 2/23/25
I low-key feel bad that I didn't give this my full attention the first time around. This story was good, but I had a few problems with it.
1. Weren't the main characters close to 30? Why were they acting so childish?
2. For this to be called "The Secret World of Maggie Grey," it seemed like Souxie was the main character instead of Maggie, and that was confusing to me.
3. The editing.
But overall, I change my rating from 4⭐️ to 4.5⭐️.
I rated it 4 ⭐️
REREAD 2/23/25
I low-key feel bad that I didn't give this my full attention the first time around. This story was good, but I had a few problems with it.
1. Weren't the main characters close to 30? Why were they acting so childish?
2. For this to be called "The Secret World of Maggie Grey," it seemed like Souxie was the main character instead of Maggie, and that was confusing to me.
3. The editing.
But overall, I change my rating from 4⭐️ to 4.5⭐️.
August 25, 2024
Magic the HBCU Way
This is Probably one of the longest reviews I’ve written.
When one of my book besties reached out to me and said “you have to read this, it’s like a black Harry Potter.” Well I absolutely love HP 🧙 and I absolutely love Desiree (Granger). Everything she’s ever written still lives rent free in my head. However I must say that everything I expected in this book, went right out the window. I literally never could have imagined this story.
This book had so many elements, characters, and moving pieces. It definitely has the paranormal aspect, throw in a little HBCU, mean girls (and mean boys), suspense and murder mystery. We have the illustrious school of Drew Collin’s University where there are four schools. The school of Elements, the study of magic based on the four main elements. The school of Intellect, which houses historians and the seekers of knowledge. The school of Spiritual, witches, priestess, the study of voodoo and hoodoo. Lastly, The school of Mythical Magic, which I’m still unsure of. We have Vampires and of course their forever enemy, Wolves. We have Sirens, Nymphs, Witches and host of hybrid creatures. The characters also have varying age ranges, the students being anywhere from preschool to their 40’s. The main characters range from their early 20’s to their early 40’s, definitely a very diverse group.
It’s so much going on in this story that I couldn’t even give you a quarter of it in this review. Basically we a have a small group of misfits that come together by way of invitation to Drew Collin’s University. They bond and form friendships as they begin to learn who and what they are as well as their history and legacy. You know our people can’t do anything without a little comedy 🎭 involved and if you’re looking for a lot of shex and romance, this is not it. As matter of fact I was trying to hook people up and make connections from the very beginning only to realize I had to shift my way of thinking. I do believe that book one is mostly about building the foundation, character development, and establishing relationships. However towards the end we start to see connections. My guess is that more of the relationships as far as couples go will be in book two.
Standouts for me, Jean. The relationship between him and his daughter (Souxie) is very strange but I freaking love this dude! If you ain’t crushing souls and taking names, then what are you really doing? My boy Quan 🐈⬛, Maggie and Namir, Asha and Solomon, as well as Souxie. I can’t really say why without giving away some of the story.
I enjoyed this book tremendously and I wished that I would have waited for book two before starting. I pray that she was simultaneously writing book one and two at the same. Oh, the wait!
This is Probably one of the longest reviews I’ve written.
When one of my book besties reached out to me and said “you have to read this, it’s like a black Harry Potter.” Well I absolutely love HP 🧙 and I absolutely love Desiree (Granger). Everything she’s ever written still lives rent free in my head. However I must say that everything I expected in this book, went right out the window. I literally never could have imagined this story.
This book had so many elements, characters, and moving pieces. It definitely has the paranormal aspect, throw in a little HBCU, mean girls (and mean boys), suspense and murder mystery. We have the illustrious school of Drew Collin’s University where there are four schools. The school of Elements, the study of magic based on the four main elements. The school of Intellect, which houses historians and the seekers of knowledge. The school of Spiritual, witches, priestess, the study of voodoo and hoodoo. Lastly, The school of Mythical Magic, which I’m still unsure of. We have Vampires and of course their forever enemy, Wolves. We have Sirens, Nymphs, Witches and host of hybrid creatures. The characters also have varying age ranges, the students being anywhere from preschool to their 40’s. The main characters range from their early 20’s to their early 40’s, definitely a very diverse group.
It’s so much going on in this story that I couldn’t even give you a quarter of it in this review. Basically we a have a small group of misfits that come together by way of invitation to Drew Collin’s University. They bond and form friendships as they begin to learn who and what they are as well as their history and legacy. You know our people can’t do anything without a little comedy 🎭 involved and if you’re looking for a lot of shex and romance, this is not it. As matter of fact I was trying to hook people up and make connections from the very beginning only to realize I had to shift my way of thinking. I do believe that book one is mostly about building the foundation, character development, and establishing relationships. However towards the end we start to see connections. My guess is that more of the relationships as far as couples go will be in book two.
Standouts for me, Jean. The relationship between him and his daughter (Souxie) is very strange but I freaking love this dude! If you ain’t crushing souls and taking names, then what are you really doing? My boy Quan 🐈⬛, Maggie and Namir, Asha and Solomon, as well as Souxie. I can’t really say why without giving away some of the story.
I enjoyed this book tremendously and I wished that I would have waited for book two before starting. I pray that she was simultaneously writing book one and two at the same. Oh, the wait!
July 2, 2025
So I reread this one and absolutely loved it!! Originally I have it 3 stars! This is definitely a 5 Star read for me. I guess I wasn’t in the right headspace the first time I read it!
January 13, 2025
”So, your grandma had a ghost baby daddy?”
Desiree has surely become one of my favorite authors this year, so when I saw that she was going to be releasing a new book under a different pen name, I knew I needed to read it immediately when I saw that she was writing about vampire, witch, and a siren attending a magical HBCU.
Maggie Grey - My vampire who doesn't believe she's a vampire! Maggie was just living her life as a normal girl, and then boom .. she gets sent to Drew Collins University all because she told the story of her grandma possibly having a ghost baby daddy. LMAO! Baby was cool living her regular life and now all of the sudden she's trying to figure out if she's connected to one of the most notorious families in The Underground. 🧛🏽♀️
Asha Avery - The siren that hates water and who is not to be fucked with! The first time she told Solomon's stank ass off, I wanted to stand on a chair because he really tried it. Although I loved Maggie, Asha's story and presence throughout the book was something that I always looked more forward to at times because I wanted more information about what happened to her when she was younger. 💧
Souxie Lafayette - The sultry and mysterious witch! Souxie is definitely that girl and I understand why. Given her upbringing (shout out to Jean's crazy ass), I can understand why Souxie moved the way she did. There's other layers to her that we haven't explored yet, and I am so ready for that because I need to know who she's trying to bring back and talk to. Also ... I don't know how I feel about her and Professor Akeem. I don't like it at all!!! 🧙🏽♀️
Some of my favorite people:
Quan, the cat - I LOVED HIM! Quan definitely stole the show with his jokes and man/cat like nature. Mmm, did anyone peep his obsession with a certain someone though?
Hillary - I need to fight Granger immediately, because .. why, sis?
Isis - She’s such a nymph and it shows. 😂
Coach Namir - I couldn't stand his funky ass in the beginning, but he definitely grew on me during those last few chapters. I need to know what happens between him and Maggie next because that last chapter with those two together? BABYYYYY ... 😫😛
A favorite scene:
The séance. I need to know what happened to those girls! 🥹
I can't stand y'all:
I can live without Solomon and Clementine, especially Clementine in book 2.
With that cliffhanger at the end, I am curious to see what happens next at Drew Collins University and The Underground because it seems like we haven't even scratched the surface yet.
Also, I enjoyed seeing some previous characters from Desiree's other books pop into the story. That scene with my husbands from The Brotherhood series? OMG.😳
Desiree has surely become one of my favorite authors this year, so when I saw that she was going to be releasing a new book under a different pen name, I knew I needed to read it immediately when I saw that she was writing about vampire, witch, and a siren attending a magical HBCU.
Maggie Grey - My vampire who doesn't believe she's a vampire! Maggie was just living her life as a normal girl, and then boom .. she gets sent to Drew Collins University all because she told the story of her grandma possibly having a ghost baby daddy. LMAO! Baby was cool living her regular life and now all of the sudden she's trying to figure out if she's connected to one of the most notorious families in The Underground. 🧛🏽♀️
Asha Avery - The siren that hates water and who is not to be fucked with! The first time she told Solomon's stank ass off, I wanted to stand on a chair because he really tried it. Although I loved Maggie, Asha's story and presence throughout the book was something that I always looked more forward to at times because I wanted more information about what happened to her when she was younger. 💧
Souxie Lafayette - The sultry and mysterious witch! Souxie is definitely that girl and I understand why. Given her upbringing (shout out to Jean's crazy ass), I can understand why Souxie moved the way she did. There's other layers to her that we haven't explored yet, and I am so ready for that because I need to know who she's trying to bring back and talk to. Also ... I don't know how I feel about her and Professor Akeem. I don't like it at all!!! 🧙🏽♀️
Some of my favorite people:
Quan, the cat - I LOVED HIM! Quan definitely stole the show with his jokes and man/cat like nature. Mmm, did anyone peep his obsession with a certain someone though?
Hillary - I need to fight Granger immediately, because .. why, sis?
Isis - She’s such a nymph and it shows. 😂
Coach Namir - I couldn't stand his funky ass in the beginning, but he definitely grew on me during those last few chapters. I need to know what happens between him and Maggie next because that last chapter with those two together? BABYYYYY ... 😫😛
A favorite scene:
The séance. I need to know what happened to those girls! 🥹
I can't stand y'all:
I can live without Solomon and Clementine, especially Clementine in book 2.
With that cliffhanger at the end, I am curious to see what happens next at Drew Collins University and The Underground because it seems like we haven't even scratched the surface yet.
Also, I enjoyed seeing some previous characters from Desiree's other books pop into the story. That scene with my husbands from The Brotherhood series? OMG.😳
December 24, 2024
Anyone saying this book is The Black Harry Potter is loud and wrong. The only similarity is the fact that they’re at a school and it’s a secret passage to get there. This book has aspects of magical and mythical elements but really just a weird coming of age story being that everyone is practically in their 30s. It’s an easy read, multiple plot points that can keep the reader engaged but no real end goal. I also felt like majority of the book was dedicated to building background information but no real rising action ending with a cliff hanger that was lack luster.
February 22, 2025
I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into it. Around halfway through, I had to put it down. There were a lot of characters, which made it hard to keep track, and I found myself overwhelmed by the information and feeling like the plot wasn’t progressing in a way that kept me engaged.
I also struggled with the constant negativity between the women, particularly when they kept putting each other down over their appearances. It became tiring, and the themes of misogyny and snobbery were tough to get through. Additionally, I felt like the characters’ behavior didn’t quite match their age, which was hard to overlook.
The concept of the book had a lot of potential, but for me, it didn’t live up to that promise. I won’t be continuing with the series, but I can see how others might connect with it—it just wasn’t for me.
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