The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko
I just said that Asian lore-inspired YA fantasy is very much my thing, and so is West African-lore-inspired fantasy. If you haven’t already read Ifueko’s Raybearer duology and you love fantasy, please do. It’s got demons, and queer characters, and a magic system that I connected with on a spiritual level. The Maid and the Crocodile takes place in the same world as the duology, but you don’t necessarily have to have read the first books. It would be better, though, because they’re so good.
Here, Small Sade is looking for a job in the magical city of Oluwan. She hopes to work as a maid for people who won’t give her trouble for her disability or her appearance. Before she can find them, though, she accidentally becomes bound to the powerful god Crocodile, who she has to impress lest she become the latest pretty girl he devours. Crocodile, pretty himself, realizes the two of them are bound by fate once she reveals she’s a curse eater. Once she gets away from him, she starts a career as a curse eater to the wealthy, but Crocodile still has plans for her, and they may even involve a revolution.
