Scan barcode
A review by abby_gail_noel
Forgotten Sisters by Cynthia Pelayo
5.0
Wow. What a wild ride. What began as me wanting to dip my toes into NetGalley by choosing the first “read now” book that sounded interesting enough turned into one of my favorite reads of 2023. I really had no idea what I was walking into.
The writing was absolutely phenominal, and I include the dialoge in that, which was definitely reminiscent of Shakespeare as one or two other reviewers mentioned, but I didn’t mind in the slightest. I really felt like the dialogue was unique and perfectly tailored to each character, all of whom were incredibly compelling.
The story itself was full of twists and turns that were wholly unexpected. The entire vibe was eerie, but fantastical at the same time. I thought this novel was especially interesting because it explored themes of loss and grief and the importance of history and rememberance. All this while telling stories of love from sisterly to familial to romantic and even obsessive. The embedded history of Chicago and the focus on the house and the river were especially impactful. The focus on fairy tales and the supernatural also put this book over the top for me.
If I had anything to nitpick at, it would be that some things were a little repetitive and that the story maybe got a little convoluted and harder to understand toward the end. That and the fact that this is still clearly a draft, as there were quite a few typos and punctuation errors that stood out. Nothing about the plot needs changing though. I’m quite happy with my decision to read this novel and I can’t wait for its release so other people can experience it too!
(I will be updating and adding a blog post later once I am able to gather my thoughts and write something a little more coherent)
The writing was absolutely phenominal, and I include the dialoge in that, which was definitely reminiscent of Shakespeare as one or two other reviewers mentioned, but I didn’t mind in the slightest. I really felt like the dialogue was unique and perfectly tailored to each character, all of whom were incredibly compelling.
The story itself was full of twists and turns that were wholly unexpected. The entire vibe was eerie, but fantastical at the same time. I thought this novel was especially interesting because it explored themes of loss and grief and the importance of history and rememberance. All this while telling stories of love from sisterly to familial to romantic and even obsessive. The embedded history of Chicago and the focus on the house and the river were especially impactful. The focus on fairy tales and the supernatural also put this book over the top for me.
If I had anything to nitpick at, it would be that some things were a little repetitive and that the story maybe got a little convoluted and harder to understand toward the end. That and the fact that this is still clearly a draft, as there were quite a few typos and punctuation errors that stood out. Nothing about the plot needs changing though. I’m quite happy with my decision to read this novel and I can’t wait for its release so other people can experience it too!
(I will be updating and adding a blog post later once I am able to gather my thoughts and write something a little more coherent)