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A review by christinecc
Sistersong by Lucy Holland
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A good fantasy retelling of the "Twa Sisters" ballad.
'Sistersong" is about three sisters in ancient Britain, right around the time when Christianity was beginning to take hold in the sisters' home. Over the course of the story, one sister comes into his own as a man and earns his family's respect and recognition, another sister is caught up in what promises to be an unfortunate love affair, and the youngest sister is the baby of the family, never given enough attention and somewhat angry at being sidelined.
The book has a serviceable plot and good twists, despite being predictable. The prose was good and sometimes really interesting, but I think what failed me a little bit was the characters and their voices. The sisters don't have drastically different voices in each of their point-of-view chapters, to the point where if I were dropped in the middle of a chapter I couldn't confidently say if it was a Riva chapter or a Sinne chapter, short of finding a plot reason to identify the speaker.
I also found the character relationships a little shallow, which is unfortunate considering the plot lives and dies on its main three characters and their closeness as siblings. We don't see them start in a great place, so when the story's conflict began to pull them apart I didn't have any relationship to mourn or worry about--there wasn't a particularly tight-knit bond to begin with.
Overall, I wish the story had found a better balance between the sisters' relationship and their individual adventures & growth. I don't mind if I see a plot twist coming, as long as I care about the characters and how they're going to make it to the end.
Recommended if you like fantasy set in the British Dark Ages (in the style of Elizabeth Wein's "The Winter Prince") with LGBT representation and compelling adventures.
Thank you to Redhook Books and Netgalley for giving me a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
'Sistersong" is about three sisters in ancient Britain, right around the time when Christianity was beginning to take hold in the sisters' home. Over the course of the story, one sister comes into his own as a man and earns his family's respect and recognition, another sister is caught up in what promises to be an unfortunate love affair, and the youngest sister is the baby of the family, never given enough attention and somewhat angry at being sidelined.
The book has a serviceable plot and good twists, despite being predictable. The prose was good and sometimes really interesting, but I think what failed me a little bit was the characters and their voices. The sisters don't have drastically different voices in each of their point-of-view chapters, to the point where if I were dropped in the middle of a chapter I couldn't confidently say if it was a Riva chapter or a Sinne chapter, short of finding a plot reason to identify the speaker.
I also found the character relationships a little shallow, which is unfortunate considering the plot lives and dies on its main three characters and their closeness as siblings. We don't see them start in a great place, so when the story's conflict began to pull them apart I didn't have any relationship to mourn or worry about--there wasn't a particularly tight-knit bond to begin with.
Overall, I wish the story had found a better balance between the sisters' relationship and their individual adventures & growth. I don't mind if I see a plot twist coming, as long as I care about the characters and how they're going to make it to the end.
Recommended if you like fantasy set in the British Dark Ages (in the style of Elizabeth Wein's "The Winter Prince") with LGBT representation and compelling adventures.
Thank you to Redhook Books and Netgalley for giving me a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.