Book Review: Sisters of Sword & Song by Rebecca Ross
The Details
Media Type: Audio Book
Title: Sisters of Sword & Song
Author: Rebecca Ross
Narrator(s): Caitlin Kelly, Katherine Littrell
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages/Length: 13 hours 3 minutes
Release Date: June 23, 2020
Source: Borrowed
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From the author of The Queen’s Rising comes a thrilling YA stand-alone fantasy about the unbreakable bond between sisters. Perfect for fans of Ember in the Ashes, Sky in the Deep, and Court of Fives.
After eight long years, Evadne will finally be reunited with her older sister, Halcyon, who has been proudly serving in the queen’s army. But when Halcyon appears earlier than expected, Eva knows something has gone terribly wrong. Halcyon is on the run, hunted by her commander and charged with murder.
Though Halcyon’s life is spared during her trial, the punishment is heavy. And when Eva volunteers to serve part of Halcyon’s sentence, she’s determined to find out exactly what happened. But as Eva begins her sentence, she quickly learns that there are fates much worse than death.
The Narrator
Caitlin Kelly and Katherine Littrell each bring their respective sisters to life, pouring personality into these strong characters. Each bit of happiness, pain, and sorrow came through the narration beautifully. This is an excellent choice as an audio book!
The Review
My choice to read Sisters of Sword & Song was 100% motivated by cover love. I was scrolling through the available books at the library, eager to try another young adult fantasy book out, and stumbled upon this gem. If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know that strong female characters are one of my absolute favorite things in stories. I had high hopes that Halcyon and Evadne would fit that bill. Plus, this book promised me at least a bit of magic led by the gods! So I was pretty excited about it.
Things started out strong, with Halcyon and Evadne nestling perfectly inside that strong personality mold I was hoping for. I loved their relationship so much. It’s always nice to see sisters who truly love one another. Sisters who support on another unflinchingly, even when it means losing something of their own. I also really appreciated the fact that this wasn’t your typical “super magical girl” story. Halcyon is strong, yes, but through her own hard work and dedication. Evadne has her own strength, based in her wit and her willingness to help others. They do eventually get to experience some magic, which I won’t spoil, but really these two are just extraordinary women all on their own.
What I will say though, is that the god owned magic part of this story fell extremely short for me. In fact, most of the world building here is very two dimensional. The concept of sung magic is introduced, and glossed over. The idea of relics that possess their own magic, passed down from the gods, is also introduced and then glossed over. I really wanted so much more explanation and depth to this part of the world. The lack of it made the story feel flat and, no matter how hard they tried, it made the characters feel flat as well. I didn’t feel like that at the beginning, but the further the book progressed the more I could tell that I wouldn’t be getting the background I was hoping for.
My other big issue was that there was never really any tension in this book. All of the pieces that should cause tension were there. Family in-fighting, secret plans, murders and trials were all placed in front of our characters. However, everything just cleaned up so nicely and quickly. It all felt very anti-climactic. I could have let it go, to be honest, except that the ultimate showdown that I was waiting for was treated in that same, vague manner. Even though I loved the little nods here and there to character growth, or the sweet romance attempting to grow, it was drowned out by the lack of the depth.
I do think that this is would be a great entry level read for anyone who is looking to dive into Fantasy as a genre. The nice part about the way this is written is that it doesn’t require a lot of rereading, or complicated character charts to understand. So I’ll happily give it three stars. Try this out if you’re looking for something light, that has great family relationships.
