Sistersong
In an ancient land steeped in wild magic, three royal siblings fight to keep their kingdom safe from the warriors who threaten its borders--and their bond--in this lyrical debut of spells and song, sisterhood and betrayal.
"ABSOLUTELY STUNNING." --Hannah Whitten, author of For the Wolf In the kingdom of Dumnonia, there is old magic to be found in the whisper of the wind, the roots of the trees, and the curl of the grass. King Cador knew this once, but now the land has turned from him, calling instead to his three children. Riva can cure others, but can't seem to heal her own deep scars. Keyne battles to be accepted for who he truly is--the king's son. And Sinne dreams of seeing the world, of finding adventure. All three fear a life of confinement within the walls of the hold, their people's last bastion of strength against the invading Saxons. However, change comes on the day ash falls from the sky. It brings with it Myrdhin, meddler and magician. And Tristan, a warrior who is not what he seems. Riva, Keyne and Sinne--three siblings entangled in a web of betrayal, who must fight to forge their own paths. Their story will shape the destiny of Britain. PRAISE FOR SISTERSONG "Weaves a captivating spell of myth and magic around the reader." --Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne "Fans of folkloric fantasy will be spellbound." --Publishers Weekly "Magical, beautiful and heartbreaking." --Greer Macallister, author of Scorpica and The Magician's Lie "A marvelous tale, gracefully told in language as beautiful as the song that inspired it." --Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches "I was utterly captivated." --Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch's HeartBUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
I enjoyed listening to this book. It had an interesting magic system, and I liked the contrast between it and religion. There were three distinct voices in the siblings whose perspectives the story was told. There were a few technical snafus in the audio version, and editing and not narration was to blame.
My Thoughts: I absolutely loved this book! It offers a stunning reimagining of the classic ballad Twa Sisters, exploring themes of betrayal, tragedy, and treachery. The writing is breathtakingly lyrical, and the characters are both fascinating and captivating. From witches and gods to murder ballads and betrayals, this book has it all. I was particularly drawn to the historical fiction blended with magical elements, and the incredible character development throughout the story. Moreover, the book has strong feminist themes woven throughout, making it a truly powerful read. Overall, a beautiful and heart-wrenching tale that I highly recommend.
Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Feminist Rating: ‚ôÄ‚ôÄ‚ôÄ‚ôÄ‚ôÄ
Representation:
Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Feminist Rating: ‚ôÄ‚ôÄ‚ôÄ‚ôÄ‚ôÄ
Representation:
CRANKY'S BOOK CLUB REVIEW:
Save for a couple of us who really didn't enjoy it, Sistersong was a surprise hit for our book club. The majority of us don't go near the fantasy shelves in the library as a rule and wouldn't have picked it for ourselves, and so were pleasantly surprised by how gripping and enjoyable the story was.
Those of us who do enjoy fantasy books remarked on how well the magical sections worked and how believable they were, and the historical events were also really accurate, according to those of us who know about these things. Some of us were inspired to read more about magic and the history of the time. The transsexual character was also found to be interesting and provoked a lot of interesting discussion over whether transsexual and gay people really had as hard a time in this section of history as was presented here. We agreed that this would be really interesting to research further.
Characterisation was found to be a bit weak in parts, with the Queen and Tristan being a bit one dimensional and cliched - one of us remarked that they were waiting for double or triple bluffs from Tristan that never came to pass. The structure of the story with its three narrators was agreed by many to produce a believable relationship between sisters, although some of us found that it took a while for the sisters to come alive as believable characters and for a couple of us, it never happened - one of us remarked that the three sisters felt like the protagonists from Little Women.
A few of us remarked that the book could have benefitted from a good editor in the mid sections, removing a lot of 'tell, don't show' historical detail which was unnecessary.
Most of us agreed that we enjoyed the book, however and we gave it an average rating of 7/10.
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