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A review by sedeara
Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
2.0
Really interesting premise, really lackluster execution.
I mean, the idea of an ancient prophecy that pits twin sisters against one another generation after generation, in which they can decide either to work in concert or in opposition, is SUCH a rich vein for exploration. Unfortunately, this book barely gave lip service to the emotional ties of sisterhood, barely exploring what the girls' relationships had been like before they discovered the prophecy and glossing over the complicated feelings such a development would have awakened. Instead, it felt more like the sisters were roommates who had known each other forever but never been all that close, so the finding themselves on opposite sides of a prophecy was really NBD.
Then there was the friendship that our protagonist Lia developed with two other girls connected to the prophecy. Here is another place where the book could have plumbed some real emotional depths. Female friendship is a powerful thing. And it came a little closer to the mark, but the friends were a little too generic. Although, neither of them were as generic as Lia herself.
The love interest was a total non-starter. If you can't share the biggest concern of your heart with your beloved, that is one useless relationship. There's really no point in continuing down that path. The relationship lacked authenticity, chemistry, and romantic tension.
And the prose. OMG, the prose. That was the hardest part of this for me to swallow. It was so weak and vague, and it literally felt like the author was forcing every word onto the page to move this tepid story forward. The best writing is writing that you don't notice is there, and I noticed this writing so much that sometimes I couldn't even follow the plot for being distracted. Was there an editor involved anywhere?
A few interesting twists grabbed my attention for a few fleeting moments, but the fact that they happened to such a boring protagonist made it impossible to sustain. I wish the book hadn't ended just as it felt like it MIGHT be getting interesting, because there's no way I'm suffering through more of this to find out what's gonna happen next.
I mean, the idea of an ancient prophecy that pits twin sisters against one another generation after generation, in which they can decide either to work in concert or in opposition, is SUCH a rich vein for exploration. Unfortunately, this book barely gave lip service to the emotional ties of sisterhood, barely exploring what the girls' relationships had been like before they discovered the prophecy and glossing over the complicated feelings such a development would have awakened. Instead, it felt more like the sisters were roommates who had known each other forever but never been all that close, so the finding themselves on opposite sides of a prophecy was really NBD.
Then there was the friendship that our protagonist Lia developed with two other girls connected to the prophecy. Here is another place where the book could have plumbed some real emotional depths. Female friendship is a powerful thing. And it came a little closer to the mark, but the friends were a little too generic. Although, neither of them were as generic as Lia herself.
The love interest was a total non-starter. If you can't share the biggest concern of your heart with your beloved, that is one useless relationship. There's really no point in continuing down that path. The relationship lacked authenticity, chemistry, and romantic tension.
And the prose. OMG, the prose. That was the hardest part of this for me to swallow. It was so weak and vague, and it literally felt like the author was forcing every word onto the page to move this tepid story forward. The best writing is writing that you don't notice is there, and I noticed this writing so much that sometimes I couldn't even follow the plot for being distracted. Was there an editor involved anywhere?
A few interesting twists grabbed my attention for a few fleeting moments, but the fact that they happened to such a boring protagonist made it impossible to sustain. I wish the book hadn't ended just as it felt like it MIGHT be getting interesting, because there's no way I'm suffering through more of this to find out what's gonna happen next.