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blewballoon's review
As a positive, I like that this isn't a love story. I appreciate reading stories that focus on other types of relationships. That being said, I don't like either of the main characters, but especially the older sister. I can't sympathize with someone who manipulates and lies to her family. Not a fan of the animal death either. I can see where this is going and I don't care about these characters enough to read it. I'm not sure if the book will have the overall message that you should put in your own work and not rely on fairy bargains for everything, but that's definitely what I wish I could tell the characters at this point in the story. I'm frustrated and not having a good time, so it's time to move on.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Classism, and Sexism
feyofbones's review
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
his book was pretty good all in all! Fairly slow start but about half way through I really started to enjoy my time with this book. I love the themes of magical realism and old familial tradition mixed with the expansion of the world around them.
Spoiler:
Also, damn, I would have been so weak for the huntress with the horns. That first deal would have been it for me 😂
Spoiler:
Also, damn, I would have been so weak for the huntress with the horns. That first deal would have been it for me 😂
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Classism, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Animal death
Minor: Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Death of parent
aysha_blake's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Classism, Kidnapping, and Sexism
uncreativeoops's review
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Forced institutionalization
displacedcactus's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I really enjoyed the whole lore the author created around fairy bargaining, which really felt like it drew on traditional faerie lore and folk magic. I like seeing stories that lean more on the lore of my Irish and Welsh ancestors and less on the idea of faeries as the current sexy scary supernatural boyfriend material.
Unfortunately, this book was so. incredibly. slow. paced. Very little happens for the first 200 pages of what was a just-under-350 page book on my ereader. Then when the big incident finally happens, the lead up to the resolution feels super repetitive until suddenly, boom, it's solved.
I feel like if a good 75 or even 100 pages of this book had been trimmed away, it would have been great. But I didn't feel like the slow portions did enough to develop the characters or lay foundation for the later events of the story to justify how long and slow they were.
Unfortunately, this book was so. incredibly. slow. paced. Very little happens for the first 200 pages of what was a just-under-350 page book on my ereader. Then when the big incident finally happens, the lead up to the resolution feels super repetitive until suddenly, boom, it's solved.
I feel like if a good 75 or even 100 pages of this book had been trimmed away, it would have been great. But I didn't feel like the slow portions did enough to develop the characters or lay foundation for the later events of the story to justify how long and slow they were.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Blood, Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content
lastblossom's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
Sisterhood sits at the core of this story about fae bargains and the danger of relying too much on magic.
Thoughts
I typically don't enjoy slow-paced novels, but there's something about the creeping dread of this book that kept me invested even as the story slowly unfurled. Seemingly innocent events lead into each other, ramping up the tension until the final piece drops into place about halfway through, and by then I was screaming. Unlike lots of books that take place primarily in the fae lands, the bulk of the story takes place on the human side with very human stories and concerns. While the story revolved around making bargains with fae, the heart of it was a carefully wrought tale of sisters trying to find their way in the world. The balance between love and resentment was a very realistic family portrayal, and my heart ached for them both. The portions about keeping the farm and orchard going also appealed very much to my love of all things that grow in the ground. For anyone looking for a book about fair folk that doesn't revolve entirely around romance, this is a very strong entry in the genre.
Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for an advance copy. All thoughts in here are my own.
Sisterhood sits at the core of this story about fae bargains and the danger of relying too much on magic.
Thoughts
I typically don't enjoy slow-paced novels, but there's something about the creeping dread of this book that kept me invested even as the story slowly unfurled. Seemingly innocent events lead into each other, ramping up the tension until the final piece drops into place about halfway through, and by then I was screaming. Unlike lots of books that take place primarily in the fae lands, the bulk of the story takes place on the human side with very human stories and concerns. While the story revolved around making bargains with fae, the heart of it was a carefully wrought tale of sisters trying to find their way in the world. The balance between love and resentment was a very realistic family portrayal, and my heart ached for them both. The portions about keeping the farm and orchard going also appealed very much to my love of all things that grow in the ground. For anyone looking for a book about fair folk that doesn't revolve entirely around romance, this is a very strong entry in the genre.
Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for an advance copy. All thoughts in here are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Animal death, Bullying, and Sexism
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