Pub date: Mar 2018
A really good high fantasy featuring 5 very different sisters, whose father, the king, has fallen ill. Their own motivations and desires come into focus as Bluebell, the heir, races to find a cure. It was a great set up for the rest of the coming series with magic, religion, and sacrifice coming into play. I can't wait for the second, since this book was somewhat depressing with the strife and selfishness, and I'm hoping that in the second we'll see the sister's characters made stronger. I realize that I'd read Ms. Wilkins before; I also recommend her book Giants of the Frost, a contemporary/Norse mythology fantasy,

I feel like I gave this an honest shot, but none of this was connecting for me. I didn't find myself invested in anything happening 20% in, and I need a lot more from YA-adjacent fantasy these days than this. Nothing terribly new or revolutionary here, so I'm bailing.

This was not the book I thought it would be. I say that only to say it was much (MUCH) better than expected! All of the sisters have their own ways, their own powers, so to speak, and they are entirely realistic in that some aspects of them I adored, and some I loathed, but they all got under my skin. Bluebell, the obvious, was my favorite. She is fierce, she is devoted, she is single-mindedly loyal to her kingdom. But all of them have a true passion.

The secondary characters are not shadows, either. They breathe, they live. Heath, Gudrun, Wylm and Rowan - while they aren't quite solid, they're real enough that you remember them.

The plot was great - twisty and turny and it all came together in the right ways at the right points, in ways I didn't always foresee.

I'll look forward to her next books!

Five sisters are brought back together after their father, the king, is stricken by a mysterious illness and they must try to save him. Bluebell is a military leader and is next in line for the throne. Rose was married to the king of a neighboring kingdom to bring peace, but she herself is anything but at peace with her situation. The younger twins Ivy and Willow were brought up far from their older sisters by an uncle. Ivy wants only to be admired by men and Willow who lives for her devotion to her religion. Finally, Ash who is to be a healer/nun of sorts, but has discovered a gift that might endanger her family.

The quest has moments of greatness, but others I just plodded through. The voices of each of the sisters are well done, but it was a bit too much for me to be constantly jumping from one to the next. Ivy especially felt a bit unrealistic in her behavior and actions. Overall, an interesting read, but I doubt I will stick around for the second book.

Couldn't get into this one, so I didn't finish it. It just wasn't for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.