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asma_aj's review against another edition
5.0
As twins, Lia and Alice have a shared bond. But as they grew up- and apart, their bond has changed. Lia finds out that they are part of a prophecy passed on from the beginning of time, one that could bring about the end of the world. As she struggles to understand her part in it, she finds herself in a battle of will against Alice. As their loyalties are tested, nothing between the sisters remain the same.
At first I was a little skeptical about reading this book. When I started, I hoped I wouldn't regret buying, and I didn't. I loved it. The gothic style, and the depth of Lia's voice is amazing. Zink's world about the Souls is also very creative, and clear. The characters are wonderful. The imagery and descriptions are fantastic. The only thing I had qualms with at first is the easy acceptance of the prophecy on Lia's part, but that didn't become an issue later. But as I said before, Lia's voice was amazing. At some point, I felt that I was syncronized with her feelings- when she was in choking sadness, I was too.
The pacing was well done too. No info dump, but a good amount of information was given, while Lia and her friends go about finding the rest of the answers. This is an excellent read, and I can't wait for the next book.
At first I was a little skeptical about reading this book. When I started, I hoped I wouldn't regret buying, and I didn't. I loved it. The gothic style, and the depth of Lia's voice is amazing. Zink's world about the Souls is also very creative, and clear. The characters are wonderful. The imagery and descriptions are fantastic. The only thing I had qualms with at first is the easy acceptance of the prophecy on Lia's part, but that didn't become an issue later. But as I said before, Lia's voice was amazing. At some point, I felt that I was syncronized with her feelings- when she was in choking sadness, I was too.
The pacing was well done too. No info dump, but a good amount of information was given, while Lia and her friends go about finding the rest of the answers. This is an excellent read, and I can't wait for the next book.
books_with_yessica's review against another edition
4.0
Lia and alice are twin sisters.but one is good the other evil but only time will tell. ones the guardien the other the gate. their decision will either keep the peace on earth or let the god of evil, satan, loose in the world. their prophecy have seperated generations of sisters against each other. After the death of their father and mother, they will learn the real truth of why they died.lia knows that her sister and her are on oppisite sides of the prophecy so the Keys will be dangerous in Alices hand so she has to find the Keys, and she has to do before her sister. Alice and lia dont know who to trust, all they know that they cant trust each other.
alittlelou's review against another edition
5.0
I read this as a young teenager or maybe tween, but I remember absolutely loving it. I remember staying up late into the next morning just to read this. There is a scene I remember that scared me, but I don't like this was written for kids 11-13 so that could've been why. I knew this was a series then, but never got around to reading the next couple books. I'm excited to pick the others up now that I'm older and see if they carry the same magic as they did then.
jscarpa14's review against another edition
3.0
***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***
The story within the Prophecy of the Sisters shows a lot of promise. The idea is awesome to be sure. It's the I guess you'd say writing style itself where the problems in this story lie.
The first few chapters are hard to get into at all, what mostly keeps you turning the pages in the first 40 pages or so is the fact that you spent money on the novel and it does have some teases of an interesting story. It does put questions in your mind and despite the awkwardness of the telling, you do in fact want to know more.
The story takes place in New York in the year 1890 and begins at the funeral of Lia's and Alice's father. I follow with the way the girl thinks and speaks it's probably fairly close to how a real person would think and speak in that era. HOWEVER, Zink's readers aren't from that era, so I think the first mistake she makes in the telling of this story was to write it in the first person. With it being written in the first person the reader never gets a break from that slow, reserved pace or wording that of course seems alien and awkward to them. If she'd told this story in a third person she would still have the ability to share Lia's thoughts and feeling with us, however the description in between could have been more modern and pacing therefore could have been a little faster which is something the book really needed. Not to mention the reader might have gotten an idea of Alice more as a character than just her monster sister. For a story of this magnitude, mystery and danger, the pacing needed to be a whole lot faster. The third major mistake I think she makes with this story beyond POV and Pacing is verb tense. While she does occasionally use the past tense verbs most readers are used to seeing most of the time her verbs are in the present tense. I'm not saying it's wrong to use present tense verbs, I'm saying that because most of what we read is written in the past tense when you start reading a story in the present tense it seems awkward and it does make it a little difficult to read. The more awkward is it to read a story, the harder it becomes to relate to the characters and find the wonderful plot within. This is why you'd don't see teenagers picking up Shakespeare outside of an English class to read for fun. No one would ever deny that his story lines are excellent, if they weren't they wouldn't be able to keep remaking movie after blockbuster movie loosely based on the plots of his plays. The reason everyone but an English major avoid reading Shakespeare for pleasure is weeding your way through all the unfamiliar old English makes it harder to find the plot with and relate to the characters.
That having been said, as with Shakespeare, Zink's story is excellent. Were it not for the wording decisions slowing down the pacing this would be a book you'd never want to put down. Within Lia you see her begin as the quiet, calm one who never does anything wrong but sneak off to meet the man she might one day marry and exchange a few stolen kisses. And the thing with that is since her father approved of the match and wasn't as cloistered and rigid as others in his time she still wasn't doing all that much wrong. And as she unravels the prophecy and finds her place within it you see her become stronger, bolder and more prepared to do what needs to be done to save the world from the Apocalypse. She seems a little one dimensional at first but the further you get into the story the more she fleshes out and the more you want to root for her.
Unfortunately in the first person it's very difficult to flesh out other characters beyond the narrator of the story because you can only see the characters through one person's eyes. While her other characters do achieve a little depth by the end of the story, for the most part Zink wasn't able to achieve really depth and believability to any character beyond Lia. You'd see glimpse here and there to some outer character depth, which makes me believe that Zink had in her mind fully fleshed out characters, but with the point of view, old fashioned wording etc, she just wasn't able to bring that to the page. Some of her characters I think could have been cut all together, for example Lia's betrothed James, he wasn't in the story enough for there to be a point in his character other than the idea of creating more angst in her life because she didn't want to tell him about the prophecy, about what she was, and about the choice and destiny on her shoulders. In some ways she wondered if he'd reject her, in others she didn't feel it was right to involve him. Unless James comes into some more play in later stories I really don't see the point in his character at all.
Despite my criticisms of Zink's book if you are the type of reader who can get past slow pacing and uncomfortable language the story is worth reading and I would recommend it. I do intend to read the rest of Michelle Zink's series. With such a wonderful idea from her and a wonderful story I can't help but expect the her writing skills will only get better with each story and I look forward to reading more of her work.
The story within the Prophecy of the Sisters shows a lot of promise. The idea is awesome to be sure. It's the I guess you'd say writing style itself where the problems in this story lie.
The first few chapters are hard to get into at all, what mostly keeps you turning the pages in the first 40 pages or so is the fact that you spent money on the novel and it does have some teases of an interesting story. It does put questions in your mind and despite the awkwardness of the telling, you do in fact want to know more.
The story takes place in New York in the year 1890 and begins at the funeral of Lia's and Alice's father. I follow with the way the girl thinks and speaks it's probably fairly close to how a real person would think and speak in that era. HOWEVER, Zink's readers aren't from that era, so I think the first mistake she makes in the telling of this story was to write it in the first person. With it being written in the first person the reader never gets a break from that slow, reserved pace or wording that of course seems alien and awkward to them. If she'd told this story in a third person she would still have the ability to share Lia's thoughts and feeling with us, however the description in between could have been more modern and pacing therefore could have been a little faster which is something the book really needed. Not to mention the reader might have gotten an idea of Alice more as a character than just her monster sister. For a story of this magnitude, mystery and danger, the pacing needed to be a whole lot faster. The third major mistake I think she makes with this story beyond POV and Pacing is verb tense. While she does occasionally use the past tense verbs most readers are used to seeing most of the time her verbs are in the present tense. I'm not saying it's wrong to use present tense verbs, I'm saying that because most of what we read is written in the past tense when you start reading a story in the present tense it seems awkward and it does make it a little difficult to read. The more awkward is it to read a story, the harder it becomes to relate to the characters and find the wonderful plot within. This is why you'd don't see teenagers picking up Shakespeare outside of an English class to read for fun. No one would ever deny that his story lines are excellent, if they weren't they wouldn't be able to keep remaking movie after blockbuster movie loosely based on the plots of his plays. The reason everyone but an English major avoid reading Shakespeare for pleasure is weeding your way through all the unfamiliar old English makes it harder to find the plot with and relate to the characters.
That having been said, as with Shakespeare, Zink's story is excellent. Were it not for the wording decisions slowing down the pacing this would be a book you'd never want to put down. Within Lia you see her begin as the quiet, calm one who never does anything wrong but sneak off to meet the man she might one day marry and exchange a few stolen kisses. And the thing with that is since her father approved of the match and wasn't as cloistered and rigid as others in his time she still wasn't doing all that much wrong. And as she unravels the prophecy and finds her place within it you see her become stronger, bolder and more prepared to do what needs to be done to save the world from the Apocalypse. She seems a little one dimensional at first but the further you get into the story the more she fleshes out and the more you want to root for her.
Unfortunately in the first person it's very difficult to flesh out other characters beyond the narrator of the story because you can only see the characters through one person's eyes. While her other characters do achieve a little depth by the end of the story, for the most part Zink wasn't able to achieve really depth and believability to any character beyond Lia. You'd see glimpse here and there to some outer character depth, which makes me believe that Zink had in her mind fully fleshed out characters, but with the point of view, old fashioned wording etc, she just wasn't able to bring that to the page. Some of her characters I think could have been cut all together, for example Lia's betrothed James, he wasn't in the story enough for there to be a point in his character other than the idea of creating more angst in her life because she didn't want to tell him about the prophecy, about what she was, and about the choice and destiny on her shoulders. In some ways she wondered if he'd reject her, in others she didn't feel it was right to involve him. Unless James comes into some more play in later stories I really don't see the point in his character at all.
Despite my criticisms of Zink's book if you are the type of reader who can get past slow pacing and uncomfortable language the story is worth reading and I would recommend it. I do intend to read the rest of Michelle Zink's series. With such a wonderful idea from her and a wonderful story I can't help but expect the her writing skills will only get better with each story and I look forward to reading more of her work.
catiebug's review against another edition
5.0
I've been trying to read some of the books I've had sitting on my shelf for awhile. I picked up this series from Book Outlet about 2 or 3 years ago (back when it was Book Closeouts). I was kind of hesitant about reading it because historical fiction is very hit or miss with me.
After the first chapter, I was hooked. The writing is beautiful and I think the story moves at a good pace and isn't too slow. The plot is so interesting and I love seeing the mystery unravel. I can't wait to see what happens next and find out all the answers!
After the first chapter, I was hooked. The writing is beautiful and I think the story moves at a good pace and isn't too slow. The plot is so interesting and I love seeing the mystery unravel. I can't wait to see what happens next and find out all the answers!
jacquelinec's review against another edition
4.0
Dark, somber, mysterious, intriguing. That's pretty much all a girl can say about this amazing tale without giving too much away.
This first installment in the trilogy is all about the buildup. As the novel progresses and the mystery behind the ancient prophecy unravels, there is a steady climb in the feelings of danger and anticipation. Just when you you think things are at their most tragic or curious, something else happens to throw you for a loop. By the end, the intrigue has only deepened and nothing is resolved. Instead, one can't help but feel anxious for the continuation.
Zink has created a great cast of characters and has managed to make them all very relevant and involved in the overall plot. Perhaps my favorite thing that she does in the novel involves Alice...
...To continue reading this review, head over to my blog, The Eclectic Book Lover.
This first installment in the trilogy is all about the buildup. As the novel progresses and the mystery behind the ancient prophecy unravels, there is a steady climb in the feelings of danger and anticipation. Just when you you think things are at their most tragic or curious, something else happens to throw you for a loop. By the end, the intrigue has only deepened and nothing is resolved. Instead, one can't help but feel anxious for the continuation.
Zink has created a great cast of characters and has managed to make them all very relevant and involved in the overall plot. Perhaps my favorite thing that she does in the novel involves Alice...
...To continue reading this review, head over to my blog, The Eclectic Book Lover.
innae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
A solid start to a trilogy. I purchased this to give out to the truck or treaters and then decided to read it, just finished it tonight. It starts out pretty slow, but picks up as we learn more about the prophecy. I have added the next two books to my wishlist.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, and Child death
kiasatina's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
marieeandree's review against another edition
4.0
Very good book. It was very interesting to read a book like this because there are so very few that deal with topics like this. Having us so close to Lia means we learn to hate Alice. I would have appreciated more of a back story on Alice and just the girls in general. Why have they always been so cold towards each other? It was, however, a very interesting book with Lia as a main character and Alice, her aunt, her brother, her friends and even her dead parents as secondary characters. The book makes you feel chills and makes you slightly uncomfortable at times if you are scared of ghosts and creepy things in the night. I am afraid of such things but did not find it to be too bad! All in all, a very intriguing book and I can't wait to read Guardian of the Gate and Circle of Fire!
littlemisslibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
The story was so captivating that I didn't want to ever put the book down. I felt like I was part of the story and the characters are developed so well that I thought of them as real people.