Her Name is Knight: 5 Stars

"Her Name is Knight" is Yasmin Angoe's debut novel and book one in a two-book series. Angoe sets the bar high for her second novel as we read the thrilling tale of Nena Knight. Below is a brief summary of the novel as well as my personal thoughts and recommendation.

Summary

"Her Name is Knight" uses a dual timeline to tell the "before" of Nena's life; Aninyeh, the Ghanian princess, and the after; Nena/Echo the highly trained assassin.

Nena was brutally stolen from her beloved village at the age of 12 and sold as a slave of human trafficking by her Father's betrayer. Beaten, betrayed, and her innocence stolen, Nena is sent to France to live with her most recent captor. Under her captor's sadistic and abusive treatment, Nena does everything in her power to survive.

When the time comes, Nena draws on her fury and hatred for everything that has been ripped from her and makes her escape to Paris where she meets the Knights, a kind and wealthy family who takes Nena in after she saves Mrs. Knight from a gruesome attack.

After living with her new family for quite some time, Nena is introduced to the family's powerful business syndicate referred to as the "Tribe." It is here where Nena begins her transition from Aninyeh to Nena/Echo. More than anything, Nena wants to feel safe and reclaim the power that has been taken from her.

After years of training Nena has become a powerful assassin living in Miami and dutifully fulfilling the missions from the Tribe. Her loyalties are tried when she is forced to come face-to-face with her past and at the same time experiences an emotion she had thought impossible, love.

Nena battles with her desire to remain loyal and obedient to the wishes of her family and her tribe while at the same time trusting her instincts and past experiences to guide her actions. Where does one draw the line between reclaiming power and revenge? And how far will Nena go to achieve them?

My thoughts

This book was thrilling, heartbreaking, adventurous, and dangerous. Reading a novel of self-discovery written in such a powerful way was an honor to read. Nena's character, even when in the most desperate of situations was somehow able to remain in control of her emotions and think strategically of her next actions.

There were parts of this book that were very difficult to read. There were points you couldn't help but feel the despair, hurt, and anger, that Nena experienced as she endured abuse after abuse. Nena's character embodies a little bit of everything. We see a young girl rise from the ashes of despair and neglect to reclaim her power. On the dual timeline of the story, we simultaneously see her as a young woman realize that reclaiming her power didn't only mean having the strength and tactics to kill swiftly but also the ability to open up to love and intimacy, something that has been severely tainted for her.

In addition to my earlier adjectives at the beginning of this section, this novel is also disturbing. Angoe spares no detail when describing Nena's abuse by her captors. It is difficult, horrible, and cringeworthy to read. However, while "Her Name is Knight" is a work of fiction, there are countless horrible and true stories that resemble Nena's experience as a victim of human trafficking. Angoe makes a disclaimer at the beginning of her novel that due to the violence and abuse this may be triggering or hard for people to read. While this is true, it is also true that these are things that are currently happening today. Maybe we need to be disturbed in order to take action to put a stop to the monstrous practice that is human trafficking.

Being aware of everything that takes place in this book is important before reading as it could be triggering. After that disclaimer, I'd highly recommend reading this novel. Yasmin Angoe does an exceptional job bringing this novel to life and I am looking forward to her second book, "They Come at Knight."

Thank you for reading my book review of "Her Name is Knight" by Yasmin Angoe. If you want to see more book reviews subscribe to my blog and tips are always appreciated!

Leah Lawrence