Cover Image: The Sisters of Reckoning

The Sisters of Reckoning

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

A strong sequel, The Sisters of Reckoning almost feels like it could be a standalone. You get thrown into the fast paced story which handles harsh topics like revolution and oppression with maturity and grace.

Was this review helpful?

Whew what a ride this journey was crazy. How the book tackled how trauma can impact your experiences with sexuality made me want to read some nonfiction books about it. And the way that im still entertained by the sifi-western atmosphere.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Was this review helpful?

First... why this cover? The first in the series has such a stunning cover and this just feels like concept art, not a final design.
I really liked getting back to these characters. These girls need to be protected at all costs! But this book felt like such a different style.

Was this review helpful?

A sequel that completely lives up to it's predecessor!! Gritty and often violent, the story is full of vengeance and action as we follow Aster and the other girls as they plan for revolution. Great character developments, sapphic romance, and expansive world building make this a fantastic end to a stellar duology!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for review

Was this review helpful?

I was so excited for this book I loved the good luck girls, I foolishly requested this knowing it was an E-ARC and I wasn't picking up e-books or physical books for that matter and I tried and tried and tried to read this with my eyeballs and it just kept getting put down so I got the audio book and I'm so happy to finally finish this! This one hits you with more of this world and our favorite girls get back together to fight against the laws. I really enjoyed this and I think it complements the first book well. I however didn't care for the resolution of the problem. and the epilogue warms my heart. I cannot wait to read what this author does next.

Was this review helpful?

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get into this book because so much time had passed between reading The Good Luck Girls and this one. But as it turns out I had absolutely no issues getting back into this story, specifically Aster's side of the story. In this book, Aster has stayed behind a rebellious group of women that helps save women from the welcome houses. When a new danger arises, the group from the previous book and some new additions (hello Raven!) must get together to stop the system that has oppressed them. This duology is fantastic and completely underrated. The LGBTQ+ rep is amazing. I hope more people read this. I highly recommend it!

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed The Good Luck Girls, particularly Davis’ world-building, as it never felt like she was overpowering the reader with information, just drip-feeding it as and when it was needed for the plot. She massively expands on this here, weaving yet another fiercely feminist and dark story of revolution, revolt and reclaiming your own power. This duology is one that challenges you and makes you invest your heart into these nuanced, complex characters.

Was this review helpful?

I. Loved. This. Book. So. Damn. Much. Let me start with saying I absolutely loved The Good Luck Girls. It was a can’t-put-it-down, stay-up-reading-past-my-bedtime kind of book. The Sisters of Reckoning was even better! I’m writing this review way past my bedtime because Charlotte Nicole Davis has done this to me once again and I have zero regrets. What a phenomenal ending to a powerful and unforgettable duology.

All of our favorite Luck Girls (and Zee) are back, along with some new friends. Revolution is in the air, and they will fight as long and as hard as it takes to bring down the landowners and win the freedom for all of the oppressed in Arketta. “Glory to the Reckoning.”

This duology is so damn relevant in the worst and best ways. It’s going to stick with me for a very long time and everyone should read it. If I could give this book more stars, I would but I guess 5 will have to do.

Was this review helpful?

This was an amazing sequel to the first book. I couldn't have asked for a better conclusion to this groups story! I loved the new characters that were added and while I felt stressed out at times with situations that happened, I was kept at the edge of my seat and did not want to put my amazon fire down!

Was this review helpful?

3.5! I did like it, but I thought the pacing was off--the last ten percent went by in an absolute blur. And I agree with other reviewers, I don't really know anything about the other characters at all. But there's some great representation in here, along with different types of relationships, and I did enjoy reading it!

Was this review helpful?

This one seemed slower than its predecessor for some reason. It could be that it was indeed less punchy or it could also be my current inability to fully immerse myself in a narrative due to many reasons including having moved an entire house within the past 10 days.

Overall, I was happy with the story but also a tad disappointed with some of the content. Definitely worth a read if you loved Goodluck Girls but also I feel it had a little bit of second story syndrome.

Was this review helpful?

This had a very slow start for me, but ultimately I thought it was a good book and a satisfying conclusion to this duology.

The first half of the book we get to see what Aster has been up to since the last book. And we see she's chomping at the bit to enact some "real" change. So this becomes a story where we follow the girls and their allies basically trying to overturn the government. When the story took this turn I'll admit I wasn't a fan. This definitely isn't an original plotline and I really liked how the first book had a much smaller scope that was just focused on their group. It also didn't feel as organic to me how they end up starting this "reckoning". Around 55%-60% through the book is when we got to see all the plans of this group of rebels come to fruition and that part had more of the action and character interactions I really enjoyed about the first book, which brought me back into the story and I ended up really enjoying it through the end.

I really enjoyed following Aster and seeing how she dealt with things. I really liked how the story showed her trauma and appreciated how it represented her anxiety and panic attacks. But I would've really liked to get to see more of the other girls too.

I didn't appreciate the Love quadrangle that appeared to be happening for part of the story? One of the corners felt like a complete nonissue so I don't know why it was included at all. The other 2 corners ended up feeling like how I feel about most love triangles, one person very obviously has a stronger pull (in my opinion) so it was hard to even care for the other "relationship". Every time there were romantic moments between the less strong pairing I was like "why". I do appreciate how it was eventually explained to be how the main character was feeling and exploring their sexuality, but I would've appreciated it more if their draw to the other character was more believable.

The ending might feel a little "neat" but after all Aster and these girls go through I thought they deserved a little happiness.

Overall I really enjoyed this, and would recommend the duology as a whole.

Was this review helpful?

This was a wonderful follow up to the first title. I do miss that original cover design though. This was a wonderful story. I loved how it picked up and we got to see what has been going on with these characters that I fell so in love with. This was even better than book one.

Was this review helpful?

An incredible end to one of my all time favorite duologies. This story is full of blood and dust, but also sings a song of love, hope, and courage. An absolute triumph.

Was this review helpful?

I was nervous at first for this book—sequels always seem to be pretty hit or miss—but The Sisters of Reckoning ended up being one of the good ones! I loved The Good Luck girls and was really looking forward to the continuation of the story and the opportunity to hang out with these characters again,

I seriously loved Aster's continued growth in this book. Seeing her struggle to do what she knows is right versus what she actually wants was really great. Plus, I'm so so happy to see her with a love interest. That was so incredibly well done and I loved every second leading up to the end.

I said this about The Good Luck Girls, too, but this is such an important story. It really hones in on some systemic issues, and while they are painted in a dystopia-fantasy light, they ring true to the world we live in. Ugh, I cannot say enough about this story and what it means.

Also, if you're looking for a revenge book, this is it. Too often, it seems like characters/people have to take the moral high ground. They're not allowed to get angry. They're not allowed to fight back. They're not allowed to make the people who hurt them pay. That's not the case with this book. While the other people of Arketta might expect Aster and her friends to sit quietly by while terrible things are done to them and people like them, that's not what they decide to do. They take a stand beautifully.

Also, also, there is some pretty great representation in this book, with both diverse and queer characters. Plenty of sapphic badasses to go around.

I will forever sing this duology's praises, but I will also say that this ended up being a four, maybe 4.5, star read for me. I just didn't love this sequel *quite* as much as the first book and it dragged just a touch in the middle.

Was this review helpful?

CW: past sexual abuse, transphobia, torture, trafficking, racism, sexism, violence

The Sisters of Reckoning is the sequel to Nicole Davis' The Good Luck Girls.

It started nearly a year after the first book ended where Aster remained in Arketta and became Lady Ghost where she other Good Luck Girls escape their welcome houses until Jerrod McClennon decided to open a new welcome house in addition to lowering the age of girls to 13 for their Lucky Night.

Aster realizes that it's not enough to save one girl after a time, she must tear down the system and build a new one. Now, she must call on her old friends and work with new allies to succeed.

The author has expanded the world-building and plot well. It's fast paced and well-written. It's apparent that the author really improved on her writing style here. And the ending is really satisfying. Thoughtful social commentaries are woven throughout the whole story.

Aster's characterization is well done, her PTSD was handled well. And seeing her grow into her new role as a leader is heartwarming.

I only have some issues: first, there are a lot of scenes that felt repetitive. Second, the pacing in the middle became a bit choppy.

Overall, The Sisters of Reckoning is an excellent sequel to Good Luck Girls. It has diverse and queer characters, action, and it tackles important issues such as slavery, sexism, prejudice.

Thanks to Tor Teens and Netgalley for the DRC. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

Was this review helpful?

4.5 STARS

One year after The Good Luck Girls ended, the girls from Green Creek are still fighting.

Though Aster, Clementine, Tansy, Mallow, and Violet may have escaped the welcome house, they're not free yet. In Arketta, there are still so many girls forced into welcome houses, and still so many more dustbloods toiling away under the control of wealthy, cruel fairblood masters. With the girls treading their own paths, Aster most notably with the Lady Ghosts, they're doing what they can to turn the system around and secure the freedom of girls who are just like them.

But when Arketta's most influential men tighten their merciless grip on the world, Aster decides it's time to stop dancing around the system, toying with it from the inside, and time to start burning it all down.

Ready or not, the Sisters of Reckoning are here, and the fire will only burn brighter.




"Either they pay with their pockets, or they pay with their lives."

The Sisters of Reckoning is, at heart, a story about revolution. It's about what happens when the system refuses to hear the demands of the people it's hurt, and the consequences that follow. It's about people recognizing a common enemy instead of finding small comforts in tearing one another down instead. There's no point, after all, in attacking your neighbor when you're both suffering because of someone else. You have to start at the source, and you have to hit where it hurts, or else you'll never see real results.

More importantly, though, this is about Aster's role as just one person, as just a single spark. Alone, she has no hope of tearing Arketta's institutions down. It's not possible, and she learns that the hard way more than once. From the bottom of my heart, I love that her actions have dire consequences, and yet she never gives up. There's an incredible diligence to her character that makes her an amazing protagonist, and makes her faults all the more believable.

Aster also has this willingness to grow, a tentative sort of hope that stretches out towards other characters. This is what makes the revolution real, what makes the spark turn into a roaring flame. She becomes willing to reach out and ask for help, even when there is no guarantee she'll receive it, and she learns to face her faults as her allies point them out. She is the figurehead of the Sisters of Reckoning not only because she has done extraordinary things, but because she has not done them alone.

Revolution is difficult, it's daunting, but it is always stronger with many at its heart, not just one.




And if you're looking for a side of love with that revolution, The Sisters of Reckoning has your back!

Oh man. Oh man. I was hopeful throughout The Good Luck Girls that the romance would take the direction I liked most. And not only did it do just that, but it did it with an incredible tenderness. The slowburn moments are exquisite, brimming with a soft intimacy that stands in such defiance to the hard, dusty world that seeks to beat our protagonists down, and the moment of realization?

Okay, it's pretty much a textbook gay crisis in a way that warms my heart endlessly. ❤️

So much of it, though, involves Aster learning for herself exactly what she needs in a relationship, exactly where her boundaries are and for whom, and watching her piece that part of herself together was so encouraging. She doesn't have all the answers, and that's so very real! How much of her experience with attraction is who she's always been? How much is tangled up in her history at the Green Creek welcome house? It's impossible to know, to quantify, and ultimately, it doesn't matter. What matters is what she feels now, who she trusts now, and I adored every second of watching her lower the barriers around her heart and let her love interest in at last.

And as a cherry on top, I loved the queer rep throughout. Tansy and Mallow return, sapphic as ever (and Mallow could reasonably be considered two-spirit, as well), while we also meet Raven, a black trans girl with vitiligo and a steadiness of heart I adored. Violet is effectively bisexual, and now that I've finished reading, I can't help but think of Aster as a demiromantic ace lesbian.

The beauty of all that is that no hard and fast labels are typically used. You can't argue that Raven is trans, or that Tansy and Mallow are sapphic, but you have the wiggle room to recognize shared experiences without boxing any of the characters in. Most everyone is a little nebulous in a way that's wholly realistic, and I love it so very, very much.




I can't recommend this duology enough.

The seamless blend of fantasy and Wild West is exquisite, and the character development outrageously nuanced. And when you get to the complexities of revolution, the sacrifice involved, the consequences that unfurl? Really, this book is a roaring work of art, and if you haven't started The Good Luck Girls yet, it's high time you do.

And for those of you who already read the first book, some of you may rejoice! If you dislike lots of traveling and prefer action blended with intrigue, this might even be more your speed. I personally missed some of the travel elements, because I like exploring fantasy worlds, but it was an excellent change of pace all the same.

You can't go wrong with The Sisters of Reckoning. More than that, you can't ignore. It's long past time for that.




CW: slavery, pedophilia, violence (including gun violence), implied transphobia, gore, implied abuse, loss of a loved one, child death, suicide

[This review will go live on Hail & Well Read at 10am EST on 9/2/21.]

Was this review helpful?

The Sisters of Reckoning is a fun, but for me underdeveloped, adventure story.
I find writing a 3-star review, for a book which was fine, but which I neither loved nor hated, really difficult - and that is definitely the case here.
Although the characters became fuller than before, and we gained a bit more backstory, they were still quite two dimensional. The pacing was quite strange, with the ending in particular feeling rushed.
However, I did enjoy learning a little more about the world of The Good Luck Girls, and getting to see other sides of the society (for example, meeting some of the landowners, as awful as they were). I also really liked Aster and Violet's relationship development, though again I feel it could have been explored further.
I would like to read more by Charlotte Nicole Davis, but I think this series just wasn't for me.
Thank you to Macmillan / Tor Teen and Netgalley for the ARC.

Was this review helpful?

As this is a sequel to The Good Luck Girls I’m not going to give much of a synopsis so as to avoid spoilers. The events in this book take place pretty much right after the end of the first book, and this book does not do any kind of recap of the events in the first book. So this is not a series that you can jump in at any point, you really have to have read the first book, and I would suggest reading it pretty recently to keep all the characters straight. Suffice it to say that Aster and the gang are still continuing the good fight against the land masters who hold dustbloods virtually captive. And even though the scope of that fight has broadened, there are still many who are willing to fight for what is right. And something that I appreciate in this book as well as the first one is that all of them are willing to get their hands dirty and fight themselves, even though they certainly aren’t trained for it. They don’t expect others to do something they aren’t willing to do.

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Was this review helpful?