A fantastic and gripping tale of sisterly love, romance, magic and loss wound together with traditional fantasy tropes we all know and love. A fresh take on the genre with hints of Laini Taylor!

It kills me. I can almost always power through and finish a book.... I have tried and tried but this book has really failed to capture me and while I have returned to it many times, I just cannot seem to finish it. ARC supplied by NetGalley.

Sisters of Shadow and Light is the first book in a new young adult fantasy series of the same name by author Sara B. Larson. I loved Defy by Sara B. Larson, so I was really excited to read another series by her. Sisters of Shadow and Light will appeal to fantasy lovers young and old. It is reminiscent of classic fairy tales, and the story still manages to feel fresh and unique. I really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait for the next book in the Sisters of Shadow and Light series.

In Sisters of Shadow and Light we meet our main character Zuhra and her sister Inara. This book felt magical right from the very first chapter, which depicted Inara’s birth. I felt Zuhra’s love for her sister from the very beginning, and I loved that. Sisters of Shadow and Light is a story of adventure, magic, friendship and the bonds of sisterhood. Sara B. Larson does a fantastic job of making the story feel sweepingly epic and magical. I love Sara’s story telling abilities. She always makes books that draw me in and capture 100% of my attention. Sisters of Shadow and Light was no different. I was transported to a world where two sisters were hidden away from the world. They were kept separate by a hedge surrounding their house. I loved that even though Zuhra was accepted, she always kept her place next to her sister Inara, who was no where near as accepted as her “normal” sister Zuhra. They soon set off on a journey that reveals plenty of twists, turns and surprises that kept me flipping the pages as fast as I could. When I got to the end of this book, I was so sad that I didn’t have the next book. I would have jumped right into the sequel immediately after I finished this one.

The romance in Sisters of Shadow and Light was completely unexpected and delightfully swoony. I expected the journey and story to be focused solely on the two sisters, and while their bond was a huge part of the story, the author did manage to weave in a great romance, which is always a welcome treat for me. If you are a fan of Epic fantasies, then Sisters of Shadow and Light is a must read for you. I loved the writing, I loved the world and I really loved the two sisters. This book was great, and I cannot wait for the next installment in this series!

I have loved everything i read from this author and this tale is no different your darn in from the very start and don’t want the story to end. The author does a beautiful job of describing each place you encounter, her characters are flawed and seem like real people you would encounter in the everyday world.

The magic system in this series is unique, the world is place that was once the home of Paladins who rode on gryphons and had magic abilities. As far as the world knows they have but disappeared from the world. But as we find out that is not true and one still lives though she is trapped inside herself haunted by these powers she does not understand. Her family does everything to try and keep her safe and try to draw her out the darkness she is trapped in. They themselves are trapped in the citadel, the previous home of the Paladins, by a hedge that is a live and unwilling to allow anyone to pass through it.

This a story about relationships most deeply the ones between family members, sisters, parents, and those we allow to become a part of our families. This story will make you forget their anything beyond the story that is unfolding in this book. Be sure to check out Sisters of Shadow and Light November 2019.

Sisters of Shadow and LIght by Sara B. Larson
Available now

I love a good portal fantasy. Give me a magical book, doorway, or ancient set of rocks that transports you to another world, far away, full of fantastical creatures and civilizations. In Sisters of Shadow and Light we are transported to a world very similar to ours but struggling to recover from an attack of creatures from the land of the Paladin, a people from another world who came through to earth through magical portals. From it’s first epic line, “The night my sister was born, the stars died and were reborn in her eyes,” we are transported to an abandoned citadel where magical thorns keep out the world and keep in Zuhra and her family.
Sisters of Shadow and Light has everything in a great fantasy-a missing parent, a large and rambling home, doors that must remain locked, a sibling with mysterious behaviors, and a large magical bush keeping out the rest of the world. Set in a large and abandoned citadel once inhabited by the Paladin, Zuhra and her sister Inara live with their mother Cinnia and loyal servant Sami. The family’s life was forever changed on the night Inara was born. Adelric, Paladin and father to Zuhra and Inara, went missing, never to return. Feeling lost and abandoned, Cinnia refuses to speak of Adelric and his people and raises the girls to have little knowledge of their family and the outside world. Inara, seemingly always in a dream land with a magical green thumb, spends her days secluded in her gardens.
When a young man stumbles through the magical thorns and claims to be studying the Paladin people, the shock of a visitor upsets the already uneasy household. With a greatly outdated wardrobe and lack of social experiences, Zuhra is both fascinated by and embarrassed to be around Halvor. Emboldened from his presence, she enters the mysterious library at the citadel to provide Halvor with texts on the Paladin. Even after facing strict punishments from Cinnia for their tresspasses, Zuhra and Halvor end up in the library again, and when Inara joins them and tries to climb the mysterious staircase set in the center of the room, a portal to the Paladin homeworld is opened, sending Zuhra through and leaving Inara behind.
Now in her father’s homeworld, Zuhra must return home, help save her family from the rakasa, large, dangerous creatures from the Paladin, and help reunite her family and save her sister.
Whew! There is so much going on this book! Family secrets, magic, murderous creatures, portals, oh my! Sisters of Shadow and Light is fast paced, compelling, and has unique and complex world building. I hope in future books the author lets us explore both the homeworld of the Paladin and the abandoned citadel where Zuhra and her family lived. I’m sure it’s full of more secrets to uncover.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title, all opinions are my own.

I liked how the main character is always thinking about her sister and that she really cared about her. I didn’t like how their mother didn’t show her love towards both of her daughters. It was clear that she showed favoritism even though that she feared her younger daughter. It was mentioned that she was a Palatine like their father and had powers.

A story of sisters is bound to be a story of duality, and Sisters of Shadow and Light is no different. Written by Sarah B. Larson, this is a story of magic, tragedy, and the struggles of family. Zuhra and Inara are sisters trapped with their mother in a magical "jail" -- okay, citadel -- after their father's mysterious disappearance. Inara is unfortunately unable to properly communicate with her family because of her innate magical abilities, and it's interesting how Zuhra and Inara deal with this difficulty considering Zuhra's only power is protecting her sister and dealing with their despondent mother.

The story takes off when a person shows up at the citadel, apparently finding a way through the magical enchantment that holds them captive. As the story progresses, the sisters face danger and love, and prove they'll do anything for each other. It seems there is much more yet to come in the next book, and I look forward to seeing these sisters grow and to find out more about the shadow, and the light, in their world.

This book started out promising. I liked the premise and initially liked the main character. She cares deeply for her sister, and their secluded life was intriguing. I love a good sister relationship!

However, as soon as male characters come into the story, all sense is thrown out the window and our main character falls in love with the first guy who arrives (who rejects her) and then the second guy she meets. She still cares about her sister, but her main thoughts are whiny/pining/vapid. Ugh. I really didn't like her after that.

I would have enjoyed the story more if we'd been able to see more from her sister's viewpoint (she's a more interesting character); but for the first half of the book she is incapacitated most of the time.

I think if I hadn't already read so many fantasy books, I might have enjoyed this one, but as it is, I won't be continuing the series. Hopefully it finds its way to people who are all in for insta love.

Sisters of Shadow and Light deserves all the love! I loved the writing and the world it was set in! It had the trifecta if a great plot, relatable characters, and beautiful writing!

—☽.｡* Quick recap!
☆ Short synopsis: Two sisters lived trapped inside a castle, but everything's changed the day a stranger manage to enter the palace.
☆ Read this book if you're: Fan of strong sisterhood plot meets a quest to resolve the family's secrets.
☆ You might want to consider it because: The story contains a continuous and strong parental abuse.

Sisters of Shadow and Light is an outstanding first of the series with a unique magic system, rich worldbuilding, intense storyline, and dynamic characters. While the strong sisterhood bond was marvelously written, the first few chapters were a bit slower for my preference and it almost feels dragged.

—☽.｡* Full review!
The story follows Zuhra and Inara, two sisters who lived in an abandoned castle along with their mother and their housemaid, Sami. But it wasn’t just any castle, rather it was an old Paladin’s palace. Paladin was a magical warrior and they used to live among the human and protect them from vicious monsters, Rakasa, until the king demanded all of the Paladin to be executed in accusation of trying to take over the kingdom and rule the human. Zuhra and Inara’s father was happened to be one of them, and he disappeared on the night of Inara’s birth, leaving his family behind protected by sentient hedges that separated them from the villagers. Inara inherited his power as a Paladin, yet sadly, she had no control over it. For fifteen years, Zuhra lived under the same roof with an emotionally broken mother while protected her little sister from her unstable state. Until one day, a young scholar managed to cross the hedge and their life was about to change forever.

I’ve been really into sisterhood stories lately, and after I read the first sentence of the synopsis (which I quoted above), I knew that I need to read this one immediately. Sisters of Shadow and Light was completely blown me away. I adore its unique magic system and how rich worldbuilding was, along with the intense storyline and dynamic characters.

Although Larson didn’t immediately introduce us to how the magic works in this universe and instead, delivered the information bits by bits, I was just fully hooked, still. Now thinking about it, I actually appreciated how Larson executed this. Rather than dumping two pages full of information about the history of Paladin, how the magic works, what happened between Paladin and human, she ‘d show us all about it through the eyes and experiences of the characters rather than tell us narratively, which makes the progress of exploring this universe became more intriguing.

Starting with how Zuhra and Inara lived in an abandoned yet mystical Citadel, I immediately absorbed into the story. There will always be something magical about an old castle (ahem, Hogwarts?! Any Potterhead in the house?) that will eternally amaze me. The fairy tale vibes yet also spooky feelings around it was a nice sensation that pulls me more and more within the deep of this fantasy. As the story went further, the magic system keeps amazed me. But one thing that left me all smiley was the chemistry between Paladin and their magical pet, the Gryphon. I will always support the concept of how the animal/creature choosing you and no one can tell me otherwise!

Now, of course, I can’t wrap up this review without mentioning the sisterhood bond between Zuhra and Inara. Larson really sets the bar high by delivering such a strong siblings relationship. You can truly feel their emotions through the paper and how deep their love for each other. Their willingness to risk everything, even themselves, to protect and save each other, truly touched me in the best way possible. And although Larson successfully delivered such a dynamic between Zuhra and Inara, she was not forgetting the arcs of other characters. The heartbreaking truth about Zuhra and Inara’s parents, the bitter backstory of Sami, and even the backstories of other side characters such as Halvor, Raidyn, the grandparents, was done wonderfully.

Yet, you might be wondering, why’d I end up with a four-star rating after such praises? And the answer is, sadly, it was a struggle for me to engage in this universe of Zuhra and Inara at first. Although it was beautifully written and all, the first 20% of this book left me dragging. I had no idea about what was happening and completely lost, just like how Zuhra feels about her lack of knowledge about her heritage. Regardless, I’m glad that I decided to keep reading because I ended up enjoying everything that Larson delivered, especially the strong sisterhood bond between Zuhra and Inara which became the highlight of this mesmerizing fantasy tale.

Thank you Tor Teen and The FFBC for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I highlighted this book as one I was looking forward to reading this month. I had requested it based on the fact that it seemed to be a YA fantasy that centered around a relationship between sisters, a pretty basic plot that I typically enjoy. Unfortunately, while it does deliver on the elements that drew me to it originally, there wasn’t enough else to keep me invested, and a few too many YA tropes that induced eyerolls.

Zuhra and Inara have grown up in the wreckage of what was once a great power in the world. Locked in a fortress and surrounded by a sentient hedge that keeps out all others, the two sisters have grown up isolated from the world with only their fragile mother as a connection to not only their origins but also the world outside the walls. Inara is isolated even further by a power that manifests itself in ways that produce great effects but also cut her off from the world outside her own mind. But the world has continued to move outside their small home, and one day it breaks in, bringing new faces and new challenges.

While this book wasn’t for me, I do, as always, want to start with the things I did appreciate. I requested this book based on my love for sister stories, and luckily for me, that was the aspect of the story that was the strongest throughout. There was a clear, consistent bond between the two from start to finish, without any delving into melodrama or cattiness. We start out the story with only Zuhra’s POV, so there was a lot of time spent setting up how she view the relationship between herself and her sister, who is very cutoff from those around her. This was all well and good. But this aspect of the story was greatly strengthened when, about a third of the way in, we’re given Inara’s perspective as well. Having both POVs really fleshed out the nuances of their relationship, and while I did struggle with much of the rest of the book, I did still enjoy this portion of the story throughout.

Alas, much of the rest of it wasn’t as much of a hit. For me, part of the problem was how similar this read felt to “Strange the Dreamer.” The set up of siblings, some with magical abilities, growing up isolated from the world in the husk of a place that used to belong to god-like beings, one of whom was the father of said siblings? It’s pretty identical. And “Strange the Dreamer” was a superb book, so it’s rare that a direct comparison like this is going to go well for another book. Had I read this one without that one in mind, perhaps some things would have been better received. But that’s also the world of books: readers will always approach stories in the context of what they’ve read before. This can be a good or bad thing; unfortunately, here it was a bad thing. While the elements were similar, they were noticably weaker than Laini Taylor’s similar set-up.

While I liked the sister relationship between our two main characters, I still never really connected to either of them as wholly realized characters on their own. Zuhra, in particularly, was hard to identify with, especially in the beginning when we are left with only her perspective. Both sisters fell into the unfortunate trap of immediately going googly-eyed over the first boys they see, which felt not only silly, but also undermined some of the strengths we had been told they possess, having grown up needing to be so self-reliant.

The world and plot suffered from a writing style that erred more towards telling rather than showing. The middle of the book especially dragged, which I find is often a problem with this style of writing. When you have a new world to introduced, it’s easier for a “tell vs show” style to go unnoticed amid all of the new things being thrown at the reader. And the end typically has enough action when building to the climax of the story to also get away with it. But the middle is where it always shows up, and it was just as true here as in other books with a similar writing issue.

There were some good ideas in this book, and I did enjoy the sister relationship. I was able to predict a few of the twists, but one or two did actually catch me by surprise. However, all of that was not enough to pull the book through. The characters fell into a few too many YA “boy crazy” tropes, the world and plot were a bit on the limp side, and the style of writing was particularly captivating. Not to say that this book should be written off anyone’s list full-stop. But I do think there are betters versions of it out there.

Rating 6: An OK read, but one that felt flat and dim in comparison to its contemporaries.

I thought that this was a solid YA fantasy. I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars because I had a little trouble making it through the first 30-40% of the book. That section of the story had good world building and set-up for the rest of the book, but for whatever reason I couldn't get into it. However, I did rather enjoy most of the book. I loved the fairy tale fantasy aspect of this story and I found all of the main characters likable. In my opinion, the bond of the sisters was the most important relationship in the story. I liked that there were solid romantic interests in the story, but that the family relationships were at the heart of the novel. Overall, a solid YA fantasy that met my expectations. I wouldn't mind reading the next book.

A big thank you to NetGalley for an e-Arc of this book.

This book has a lot of what I would call ‘classic YA fantasy’ elements. You’ve got sisters, you’ve got a difficult mother/parent situation, a big wall of thorns, a lot of secrets and mystery surrounding magic - I think we could all name a number of books that feel similar to that. With that in mind, I think if I had read this book when I was feeling a little ‘over’ YA I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much as I did. However, if you’re really feeling a YA read - this is a great example.
I enjoyed Zuhra as a character, I’m not sure she read as eighteen most of the time - I personally felt she read a little younger than that, but I think that could be as a result of her long isolation from the world. That’s not a problem, but those expecting an older YA heroine might be a little disappointed. That being said, I thought Zuhra was a very realistic character, by that I don’t mean that she was believable, I mean she was a realist. One of the things I loved about Zuhra is that she kind of took things as they came. She might get rejected when she flirts with someone but that’s ok there are bigger things happening let’s not dwell. So often my big problem with these kinds of ‘trapped in a castle/tower/spaceship/underground bunker’ stories is that the main character turns into this strange fantasy-obsessed individual just desperate to recreate the great romances they’ve read about. Zuhra didn’t read like that to me, she knows what she wants, and mostly what she wants is to protect her sister. It wasn’t that Zuhra had no characterisation beyond her relationship with Inara, it just felt as though she had clear priorities and expectations of the world.
I did enjoy that Inara got more of a perspective as the story wore on - I can’t explain this too much without getting spoiler-y but it was a great development, my one quibble was that it felt quite fast and I might have liked it if it were a tiny bit more drawn out.
Initially I was concerned about the portrayal of Inara, as she was reading a little like a depiction of someone who was neurotypical and I wasn’t sure if there would be a ‘magical cure’ kind of a moment. Having now finished the book, I don’t think that was the author's intention and after the first few chapters it is made clear what is happening to Inara. I will be interested to hear from the perspective of readers with more knowledge about these things than me. As I say, Inara definitely grew on me as a character but Zuhra had (in my opinion) the better development throughout the story.
I’ve read my fair share of ‘sisterly’ YA fantasy and I think this was one of my favourites. I liked that the sisters weren’t pitted against one another, I liked that they were allowed to have their own roles in their stories, without forcing the other to sacrifice plot, I liked both of their romances - it was still a little bit cheesy (as all sisterly fiction is, in my opinion) but it was also quite nice to read.
A lot of this book could be described as fairly generic, I’m not sure this book is really pushing any boundaries in YA fantasy, but I think that’s what I liked about it. This was, despite some of the more difficult moments, very much a comfort read for me, and would be a great new release to introduce someone to YA fantasy. It’s a good ‘if you liked this you’ll definitely like -’ kind of a book!
My rating: 3.5/4 stars
I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Sisters of Shadow and Light is available now!

I wanted to love this book- I love the name and cover and the blurb sounded really interesting. Unfortunately for me the story fell a bit flat. Thanks to the publisher for an egalley arc.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley, Fantastic Flying Book Club, and Tor Teen for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

Someone tell me how I’m supposed to write a review for this book when I was pretty much speechless throughout the entire process.

And that’s not even a bad thing about the book! I just was so wrapped up in this novel and totally didn’t take any notes, didn’t make any indications about what really stood out to me, or anything. I just completely forgot about it, and that’s how you know I’m into my current read. So, I’m super glad about this.

Okay, maybe I did take a little notes, but not as much as I thought I did with this book.

I was so proud of Zuhra and her perseverance to protect her baby sister Inara. Well, I say “baby sister” because she is three years younger than Zuhra, but they are in their teens technically. So not babies anymore, but from what it seems like, Inara still needs some protecting from the terrors in her mind. It’s hard enough having a mother that seems to hate you from the moment she gave you life. It’s another to not be able to communicate what your wants and needs are in a way that your family can understand.

Zuhra and her sister are supposedly part Paladin, which are a group of people from a different world that have magical powers. They saved the regular humans in Vamala from these terrible monsters that somehow went through the veil or whatever from this world called Visimperum and sent them back. But right now, unbeknownst to Zuhra and Inara, there is a… law that says that any Paladin is to be killed. Kind of overkill since they did save the humans from total destruction, but apparently there may be more to the story.

I talk about how strong and loyal Zuhra was to her sister because honestly, I feel that some people really take that for granted. It’s even mentioned in the story with another character, where they were in a similar situation with a sibling that was “different”, possibly had some sort of mental health disability, and wanted to forget that this sibling even existed. Zuhra never felt that way about Inara, even if she had really bad days.

I can’t believe that there’s a sequel for this though! Like, why hurt me like this? I mean sure, I wouldn’t have been happy with this ending, but ugh I need to know what the heck is going to happen next.

Oh, and Cinnia – Zuhra and Inara’s mother? – she pissed me off so freaking much. I could not imagine having that kind of non-relationship that Cinnia and Inara have, and ugh it just broke my heart seeing how she dismissed her youngest daughter. Totally broke me and I was just so upset while I was reading this.

It took me a while to get into the story but i
ended up enjoying the book. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Publisher for the free E-Copy of the book.

I thought this book was maybe going to be a Sleeping Beauty kind of thing (I mean, there’s a giant hedge) but it’s not. So if you thought that too, just know it’s not. Zuhra as a main character was…okay. I really wanted to like her, but I just found her to be a little whiny and overdramatic at times. I also thought she lacked consistency? I hoped this book would be really focused on the sister relationship and while that was semi-present, it felt like both Zuhra and Inara’s romances got in the way of developing that. And (as is often the case in YA unfortunately) there was almost no basis for the TWO romantic threads that we’re given. Literally, almost no context for why the romantic interests are drawn to our leads. *sigh* I guess I’ll just keep waiting for a well-developed YA romance. My main issue with the book, though, was pacing. It took me SO LONG to read this book. Honestly, I felt like the author could have cut out half the words and it still would have been a well-written book. HALF THE WORDS. At around 70%, I just started skimming. In addition to that, hardly anything happens from chapter to chapter and a lot of them alternate perspectives between the sisters which does NOT help–it just makes the story end up feeling really jerky. In the end, I’m a little intrigued by where the story goes next, but I probably won’t continue the series. 2.5/5

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I enjoyed it for about 40%, but it went downhill from there. I enjoyed reading the main character, but the sudden switch to dual POV really threw me and the sudden appearance of the sisters' long lost father seemed very cliche.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good feminist story. There were so many strong and empowered women in this book. The equality of men and women in this story is really something we should strive for.

Again, I didn't really enjoy the romance in this book. The relationship between Zuhra and Halvor just felt very rushed and almost forced when the story itself really did not need a romantic aspect.

The story started off kind of slow, but once it got started, it was very good. The plot was well thought out, except for the addition of the romantic trope. Despite the slow start of the beginning, I felt the rest of the book was well paced. It really worked for the story.

The author has a very unique writing style that just keeps you very involved. Thank you so much to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to review this title.

Sisters of Light and Shadow is such a great read. I was so completely engrossed in the story and how intriguing the world is. The characters and emphasises on family were perfect.

I loved the magic system. What a cool idea to have the Paladins, these people from another world with magical powers. I loved how you have a basic knowledge of the lineage at the beginning of the story but we learn more about them as Zuhra and Inara learn more. Finding about how their power and channeling of magic actually works.

I love the relationships in the story. They are imperfect and complicated. Especially when it comes to Zuhra and Inara’s mother. Even with Sami, who when her history with the family comes to light throws a whole different perspective in. I’m not sure how to feel about their mom even though she is grieving a life lost but it doesn’t excuse her actions she takes towards her daughters. I did love the bond that Zuhra and Inara share, no matter the circumstances, they depend on one another. They accept each other with all their imperfections and they fight for one another, even if it means giving things up. They really have a great bond.

There is a little bit of romance but it really feels like the story stays focused on the bond of the sisters and understanding the world both inside and outside the Citadel. I think this book breaks the surface for the girls to find relationships but also leaves it to be more developed in the next book. Which I did appreciate. You have two people who have not had any contact with men of any kind in fifteen years. Of course what they think should happen and what does happen are two different things.

I loved the writing. I thought it was engaging and fast paced. I loved the story and how unique and intriguing it is. I loved a lot of things but I also do not want to say too much because I liked going into the story pretty much blind. I’m not sure I even read the synopsis besides when I did a while ago to see if I was interested. I like that the soul of this story is the sisters and their bond. I highly recommend it.