I really wanted to like it, but it sadly was not my cup of tea.
i ended up disliking the characters and found them boring and meh.

Sisters of the Perilous Hearts by Sandra L. Vasher

I only read halfway through the novel or so. From what I gathered, we have Vivian who is being crowned Queen. Of course, she gets attacked by an arrow that is carrying “The Immortals Virus.” So Vivian was able to survive the virus to become immortal but doesn’t have enough magic and her life is in danger now. It seems the mother is suspected to be behind the attack. So Vivian, her brother Nate and Bast are on the run. The world-building and plot were a little bit confusing for me which is why didn’t finish reading.

I am grateful for the chance to check out the book though. Thank you.

This was a fantastic book that was unique and dark.

The world-building was extremely well done and it comes in bits and pieces instead of an info dump, that I personally like. While in the beginning it can be confusing, by the end it started making sense.

Character development was written well and the magic was straightforward.

Pacing was spot on and I really enjoyed the story line!

The way the miscommunication was written, was done so well. Intrigue, banter, and I can't wait for the next book!

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

I received a free e-ARC from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF

Sisters of the Perilous Heart was an interesting mix of sci-fi and fantasy, but unfortunately wasn't my cup of tea.
We follow two main points of view: Queen Vivian, and an orphan named Carina.

The plot was kind of lost because the worldbuilding was quite dense and confusing. There was a lot happening - mortals, and immortals. Jeans. Medieval villages. Magic. Genetic engineering. Robots. There was also a lot of focus on the minutiae of the main characters' every day lives. The characters also felt flat and cliched. Not my cup of tea.

I appreciated the blend of sci-fi and fantasy in Sisters of the Perilous Heart. The virus plot may feel weird to read about after a year of COVID-19.

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

This book is good, but I felt the plot was missing a lot. I hope the other books in this series are better.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

Sisters of the Perilous Heart by Sandra Vasher is a sci-fi/fantasy book. We follow two points of view: one is Carina and her sister who have to flee all they know. The second one is of Queen Vivian and her two brothers. First, the world was quite difficult to understand. I almost gave up during the first few chapters but the action-packed scenes kept me reading. I had some issues with this book, mostly with the characters. I thought some decisions did not reflect with them, mostly for the princes. I would have liked a point of view by one of the side characters, Miguela, Carina's little sister, which was the most interesting in my opinion. Also, the romance was unnecessary and didn't need to happen but oh well, it did! Will definitely consider reading the next book. Thank you NetGalley and the author for the free ebook copy.

“How do you stay so joyful when you’re so irritated with the world in so many ways?”

Queen Vivian is queen for almost five weeks. Carina is an orphan who knows nothing.

Told in the perspectives of a dying queen and an orphan, Sisters of the Perilous Heart gives you a mix of sci-fi and fantasy sprinkled with the things we do for our family to survive.

This was such a good read although the end made me feel at loss and empty, in a good way. I have never read anything sci-fi-fantasy like this. It’s predictable but at the same time it’s not. It makes you question every piece of information given to you. It makes you crave more. Instead of focusing on a newly crowned queen balancing her life of queenly duties, and orphan sisters trying to find out their past, the story instead focuses on their journey to seek their goals: a cure and safety. Neither of which they get in the end.

What bothered me though are the voices of Bast and Nate. They are fifteen and sixteen, respectively, but their voices doesn’t match their ages. Especially Bast, who seemed far mature than a fifteen year old. One might argue that this could be due to how they were brought up as Princes but I don’t think so. Bast sounds like in his 20s, Nate around 18 or so.

Besides that, I really have no problem with the book. The lore in this world is complicated but can be followed. It’s vibrant and in depth. I love how we also get chapters about the documents and laws the characters have and tlak about. Since this seems to be a series, I’d love to read more especially on the politics. Who assassinated Vivian? Who are the traitors? What’s in store for the Garcia sisters? Who will reign South Kepler? There are so many questions left unanswered and I’ll be looking forward to the next book!

Hi, I lost the eARC of this book so I won't be able to review this book. I hope you understand. I really wanted to read it but unfortunately my phone got formatted and I lost the copy.

I was excited when I heard about this one, and loved the cover! The story was new and fresh and so much fun!

2.5 stars

I gotta say, I'm immensely disappointed with this book. There were so many things the author could have focused on that was more interesting instead of detailing every little thing every character did especially the daily mediocre things that everyone does.

The scientific and political aspects of the book was honestly amazing but they were barely focused on which is a whole miss really. Like they made an immortal virus by fusing parts of HIV and influenza together and going out to space to find other planets with life! Why wasn't this the focus instead? It's so much more interesting. Every earth mission logs were so good but too bad there wasn't much of it.

Some of the other things that I disliked are the convenient and anticlimactic moments as well as over-explanation of insignificant things. There was also the warnings of using said powers but never explaining why one should be careful and then when said consequences happens, they go like "we should have told you"! Are you kidding me? What did you expect???

As for the characters, I really wasn't a fan of many. I loved Vivian and Miguela while I hated Carina and Max a lot compared to Vivian's brothers where I have a love and hate relationship with them. The problem for me was most of the book focuses more on Carina than Vivian and her make out sessions with Max.

Moreover, I have complicated feelings towards the ending because it feels like things were happening too fast that some of the conflicts throughout the whole book didn't matter in that last battle.

Overall, what I was expecting from this book was plot and how Vivian was going to survive with the help of Carina and beating her mother. What I got is them doing daily chores or normal events in their lives with plot content here and there. Moreover, the said meeting happens more than halfway through the book and Carina is being thickheaded and not bothering to listen. Wow. So helpful. And then she gets mad that they didn't bother explaining to her the situation. Wow, she's a good listener.

Anyways, I really have no desire to read the next book since the focus will be on Carina and not Vivian.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.

In Sisters of the Perilous Heart, we follow two sets of characters that eventually intersect. First we have Vivian, newly crowned and now dying Queen of Kepler, and her brothers, Nathanial and Bastian (Nate and Bast). An attempt on Vivian's life - at her coronation, no less - has infected her with the Immortality Virus, and there is no cure. It's possible that her mother was behind the attempt on Vivian's life, so the siblings are trying to stay clear of Mom while they also search for some way to keep Vivian alive. Then we have sisters Carina and Miguela. They've been living at a convent/brewery since their parents were killed by Immortals when they were younger. The day comes, though, when they have to flee the place that has been their haven. Their plans for getting to safety change when Max, a young man of mysterious origin, suggests a destination other than the one they set out for.

Vivian, Nate, and Bast, as Royals, know they have magic. Nate and Bast's magical energy is what's keeping Vivian alive, but they can't keep that up indefinitely. Carina has spent her life avoiding using her magic. As a supposed Mortal, she's grown up hearing that magic is bad, dangerous, that she can't use it or the Immortals will find her. When the Royals realize that someone not part of their family has what appears to be strong magic, they hope to convince her to help Vivian. That doesn't work out so well.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters did act like teenagers, but it's billed as a teen novel, so I'm okay with that. And the book may not be prize-winning literature, but it is a whole lot of fun (and given the world in which we currently live, I prefer to read things that are fun!). The world-building is solid, and the characters are all wonderfully flawed. There is something to like about each of our main characters, and something that made me want to shake each of them, too. There's a little bit of romance, not so much that it's overwhelming, and the action of the story moves along at a good pace. And the ending was a humdinger! I'm ready to read book two, please and thank you.

My only real peeve is the interjection of log entries from characters whose relation to the story and the other characters doesn't become clear until nearly the end of the book. I spent too much energy trying to figure that out, and the book would have done just as well with a log entry in the beginning and the introduction of those characters into the story at the end. But this didn't spoil my overall enjoyment of the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for an advance copy.

An overall excellent fantasy novel. I love family conflict and betrayals. I also enjoy when there is two different storylines that eventually merge together. I normally do not like main female characters, but I found myself liking Vivian. The plot was captivating and all the characters added to the story. I look forward to reading the next book. I would give it 4.5 stars.

While the premise seemed good, I had to DNF at 15%. The characters voices felt distinctly juvenile and it was difficult to tell if I was reading a middle grade or young adult novel.

Where to begin? Sisters of the Perilous Heart was an interesting read. I'm not usually one for sci-fi but as this was listed as a sci-fi/fantasy I figured I'd give it a shot (plus that cover is amazing!)

Let's start out with the characters. Two minutes into being crowned queen, Vivian is shot with an arrow and infected with the Immortality Virus. In order to save her she needs the help of her two younger brothers Bastian and Nathaniel, more commonly referred to as Bast and Nate. I loved the dynamics and interactions of these three siblings. Yes there is the bickering that all siblings go through, but we also get to see the love and devotion these three have and the will to save their sister. Vivian for the most part remains levelheaded and devoted to her brothers throughout the story which made me really like her and connect with her through out the story. Bastian, though he means well, can come off as a bit hotheaded and oblivious to the world around him which made him unlikable at times, but you realize that he's doing it all to not lose his sister. Nathaniel is kinda treated as the lesser of the three, despite being the middle child. We see him grow throughout the story and I loved how even though he knows that Vivian and Bastian are closer then they are with him, he does everything in his power to help save Vivian and keep Bastian in check for his own good.

Our next MC, Carina and her group of side characters was another interesting story line. Carina has magic that she doesn't know how to control and her younger sister Miguela hates when she tries to use it. When they are forced to leave their home they are accompanied by a stranger named Max for their journey. I could never really decide if I like Carina or not. I felt for her having this magic that she doesn't know how to control and constantly being in trouble for using it when she doesn't realize she is. However, Carina is EXTREMELY naive which is shown multiple times in her eagerness to completely trust Max without knowing him, and making poor choices because Max thinks its a good idea. Her actions were constantly frustrating and her interactions when she meet Vivian and her brothers were ridiculous. Miguela, Carina's sister was an unlikable character from the beginning. I could never really connect with her and constantly wondered where her attitude had come from. She is rude, self righteous and a constant bully to Carina. Towards the end of the book we are given some background information that is supposed to make us understand her better, but her 180 degree change in attitude truly comes out of no where and we are just expected to go with it. Max was a character that I always had suspicions with from the get go. He tries to come off so genuine but he seems just as naive as Carina and yet tries to control most of what is going on.

The world building in this story was done well, although one thing I really didn't like (and mostly just left me more and more confused) was the authors need to include mission logs, poems, newspaper posts,excerpts from random books in the story world in between chapters. I have no idea who the people are that are being referred to in the mission logs and poems, and some of the excerpts from the books made no sense as to why they were being used. It wasn't until I finished the book and went back and reread some of them that some pieces started to fall into place. I also was not a fan of the ending. Don't get me wrong, cliff hangers are great when a series is going to be continued, but the way the author ended this one it felt like she was trying to cram a whole bunch of different twists and turns into the last 10 pages and it just didn't make an sense. I'll be interested in reading the next book just to see how these endings play out.

I received a review copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

this was a great start to a series, I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the world that was built.

SISTERS OF THE PERILOUS HEART takes place in the future on a new, earth-like planet. On this planet, people are immortal and possess magical powers. Queen Vivian is attacked at the beginning of the novel and is mortally wounded. She spends the course of the novel searching for a way to remain alive, and the answer may rest with a young magician named Carina. But Carina is on a journey of her own . . . and I don't know that I fully understood what it was she was after. And that was my biggest problem with this book. It felt like nothing happened.

It took 45% of the way through the book for the two main characters to get glimpses of each other, and about 60% of the way through for the main characters to even meet, only to be driven apart—which seemed completely anti-climactic. The plot was all over the place, and honestly rather boring. It really didn't get exciting for me until the last 10% and that was pushing it.

I will give credit where credit is due toward the world building. In effect, this was a science fiction novel as it takes place in the future on a different planet, but the atmosphere was written in a medieval sort of way. The plot really emphasized this medieval feel. On the other hand, because the story felt mostly medieval, anytime something modern or scientific or futuristic was brought up, it was jarring because it bore different elements that I wasn't expecting. So while the world building was different, I don't know that I fully believed it, or found myself able to immerse myself within the world of the story.

Overall I found myself bored with the plot, not invested in the characters, and while some of the plot twists were a nice surprise, I wasn't invested enough to really be excited by it.

I would like to thank Sandra L. Vasher and Mortal Ink Press, LLC for my copy of the ARC, due to this kind gesture I have decided to leave an honest review.
I struggled with the rating for this book as it was an ok quick read but I had a lot of questions so I settled on 3 stars!

The book follows two teenagers who have had to grow up fast; Carina who has been hidden away with her sister with beer-making nun/sister types, and Vivien the new Queen of Kelper. As soon as Vivian is crowned at her coronation she is infected with the immorality virus. With time running out her brothers are determined to find a cure but how do Vivian and Carina's paths intertwine and can Viv be cured of this virus?

The book was slow-paced, which can take a bit to try and get into as its narratives jump around which blows your mind a little because it's two very different paths then you have the people who brought the immortality virus to Kelper. I still don't really get how this virus works as it wasn't really explained, or maybe I just missed it.

I didn't click with any of the characters. I found Carina extremely naive, her younger sister had more sense than her. I did, however, feel myself leaning towards Viv and her brothers. I loved how her the brothers were polar opposites but banded together for their sister. You see them grow and by the second half of the book it picks up and you are hooked! I did, however, feel myself wanting Nate to be ok, he's a little gem.

The world-building was not bad, I could picture what was being put out and I was genuinely interested in getting to know more but I don't understand what the actual plot of the book is? I'm wondering how the second book will play out because where is it going to go? Because what is the actual plot? I get we need to get Viv better but then what?

Anyhoo, it's an okay read and I would like to see where it goes.

Check out my blog https://mandyizzym.tumblr.com/

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book at 38%. It was so hard to get the feel of world building early on. I didn't realize it was going to be a mix of tech and like old world things like horse and carriages. I didn't really like the concept of what the "immortals" were either.

I found both characters very bland and I just didn't really like or care where the story went.