Witch Queen Rising by Savannah Stephens

In this episode of The Reading Black Girls, the girls review Witch Queen Rising by Savannah Stephens, a lush New Orleans-set fantasy about Seraphine, a powerful witch who returns to her community and rises into leadership while facing family trauma, political conflict, and dangerous supernatural threats from vampires, shapeshifters, and other witches. They praise the book’s easy-to-follow world-building, vivid sensory details, and Seraphine’s unique siphoning magic, which lets her absorb blight, heal others, detect lies, and redistribute power to protect her people, while also unpacking the story’s intense villains, especially Julian and Maxine, whose manipulation and cruelty add emotional weight to Seraphine’s journey.