Reni K. Amayo Books In Order

Publication Order of The Return of the Earth Mother Books

Reni K. Amayo
Reni K. Amayo was born and grew up in London to two Nigerian immigrant parents. Her mom is a midwife and her dad is a doctor, and they both had dreams about young Reni following in their medical footsteps. But she had other plans.

After she watched “Legally Blonde”, she was sure that she would grow up to be an amazing attorney. These plans got thwarted when her love for mathematics led her to study Aeronautical Engineering instead, attending Imperial College and obtaining an MEng in Aeronautical Engineering. After university, she entered the world of finance, much to the disappointment of her seven year old self, who had wanted to become an astronaut, instead.

Reni grew up reading all genres of books, however she had a certain penchant towards fantasy. “Twilight” was especially impactful for her.

Her active imagination was the cause of many beautiful daydreams, horrible nightmares, and colorful white lies. She has now used her gift to reimagine the Nigerian land untouched by all the scars of colonialism, and instead enriched with its old, deep, and powerful magic.

She has spent many years studying the intricacies of different African and specifically Nigerian, mythology, cultures, and anthropology to unearth a rich history which has been obscured and forgotten all around the world.

She has always been that student that has loved Math but loved English, too. Her rationale while in university was that, she would always be writing or reading something, however what is the likelihood of her staying up late at night and solving some math problem if she stops?

Reni, while craving an outlet from the pressures of her job, did what she always did during stressful periods. She wrote. She wrote poems that are never going to see the light of day, wrote some short stories, and wrote the starts of quite a few novels. She wrote during her lunch, while she was on the train, after work, and wrote on the weekends.

Until one day she wrote a story that she fell in love with. A story she couldn’t wait to actually read. She wrote a story that was set in the ancient Nigerian Kingdom of Nri about these two twin sisters that unbeknownst to them are actually descendants of the lost gods. The concept of Daughters of Nri was born on a packed train in 2014, and in 2019, was ready to share it with the rest of the world.

Reni was unsatisfied with the tokenism she was sensing from the publishing world while trying to find a home for “Daughters of Nri”, and felt like the genre for it was just ‘a Black book’. Noticing how, during the nineties, the push of Black books in the name of “diversity is in right now” came crashing down, she wanted to create a publishing house which would not treat her book, as well as books by other minoritized authors with diverse voices, only like a trend.

So she founded Onwe, an independent publishing house she co-founded off the back of her debut novel, immersing herself fully in the publishing world.

“Daughters of Nri” is the first novel in the “Return of the Earth Mother” series and was released in the year 2019. A gruesome war results in the old gods departing from the earth. The last remnants of their existence lie in two girls. Twins that were separated at birth. Goddesses that grow up believing they are only human. This novel explores their journey of self-discovery while they embark on a path back to each other.

Naala, strong-willed, grows up trying to find adventure in their quiet, tiny village. As the reserved Sinai lives in Nri, whi is the cold and political palace. Even though they are miles apart, each of these girls share an indestructible bond: they share the same face, the same blood, and possess the same unspoken magic, which was thought to have vanished with the lost gods.

The twin girls got separated at birth, a price paid to ensure their survival from Eze Ochichiri, the guy that rules the Kingdom of Nri. Both twins get tested in ways which awaken a formidable, mystical power located deep within themselves. Eventually, their paths are going to lead back to the mighty Eze. However can they defeat the guy that brought the gods themselves to their knees?

Fans of the novel thoroughly enjoyed inhabiting this world and Reni’s writing is nothing short of fantastic and rather beautiful. Her world building is strong here, with enough details to give you an idea of the world, but some lingering questions to be answered later on.

“Descendants of the First” is the second novel in the “Return of the Earth Mother” series and was released in the year 2021. The king has died, and with him, the final thread holding the kingdom together.

Deep cracks have been forming throughout the entire kingdom of Nri with whispers of lethal successors lurking under the shadows. Despite all having the same face, it appears that the deepest crack is forming between Sinai and Naala, the reunited twin goddesses, who must put their differences aside while traveling through a broken Nri.

What the girls don’t know, their use of the mystical Ndu crystal has awakened some mythical beasts and the lost gods, each coming back to Nri one at a time. One thing’s certain: the twins are forced facing enemies at each corner in the kingdom. One of whom lies hidden among all those that they hold dearest.

While continuing turmoil spreads through the whole kingdom, the daughters of Nri have to unmask the real face of their enemy, while they learn that their unique blood marked them with a magic strong enough to restore, a task that only they can possibly complete. However with beasts lurking both far and wide, are they going to be able to do so before the kingdom succumbs to its looming curse?

Fans of the novel like the way this explores the differences of the twins now that the know each other, and how their own powers come together and make them strong.