Review: 'Sisters of Shadow and Light' by Sara B. Larson

Sometimes my inability to read a book straightaway really messes me over because for the past four years I could have been enjoying and reading Sisters of Shadow and Light, but instead I waited until now. I don't know why I'm this way, but at least I still had this delightful fantasy book by Sara B. Larson to enjoy! Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My sincere apologies for the delay in reviewing!

Pub. Date: 11/5/2019
Publisher: Macmillan-Tor/Forge; Tor Teens

The night my sister was born, the stars died and were reborn in her eyes….

Zuhra and Inara have grown up in the Citadel of the Paladins, an abandoned fortress where legendary, magical warriors once lived before disappearing from the world—including their Paladin father the night Inara was born.

On that same night, a massive, magical hedge grew and imprisoned them within the citadel. Inara inherited their father’s Paladin power; her eyes glow blue and she is able to make plants grow at unbelievable rates, but she has been trapped in her own mind because of a “roar” that drowns everything else out—leaving Zuhra virtually alone with their emotionally broken human mother.

For fifteen years they have lived, trapped in the citadel, with little contact from the outside world…until the day a stranger passes through the hedge, and everything changes.

One of my favourite things about Sisters of Shadow and Light was just how strongly the focus did lay on the sisters. Now, it would make sense that it would, with the title. But very often a sibling relationship gets utterly overshadowed by the potential romance or the discovery of powers etc. While all kinds of other things are going on with Zuhra and Inara, their main priority is their bond. If there is a way to save the other, they will choose that way. Even if it seems like the end has come, their love for each other remains. I really enjoyed the way Larson built up their relationship and how she showed the different burdens lying on each. The novel also leaves them at two very different points in their journeys, which means there are going to be some major developments in the second book. My only hope and prayer to Larson is that this relationship does not get broken or strained just for the sake of tension. I have some trust, but I'm nonetheless sending that message into the universe!

Zuhra has lived in the Citadel with her mother, sister Inara, and maid/friend Sami for as long as she can remember. hidden behind a magical hedge that refuses to let them out, her life is incredibly limited. She knows her sister is special though, that she has inherited Paladin power from their father, who mysteriously disappeared on the night of Inara's birth. It seems like life will forever be this way, until the hedge one night allows a young man in. That's only the beginning, as both Inara and Zuhra explore their father's legacy, the power they do or do not have, and get to know the world beyond the hedge. I'm keeping this super-vague because I really enjoyed the way that Sisters of Shadow and Light built up the world slowly but surely. The novel is split into two parts, and from the second part on we also get split narratives which really help enhance the worldbuilding and the excitement.

This was my first time reading anything by Sara B. Larson and I really enjoyed her writing. The approach to Sisters of Shadow and Light is definitely aimed towards a YA/Teen audience, with a lot of questioning of self and emotions, but I also found elements to enjoy as a more mature reader. The worldbuilding was intriguing and the development of the plot was exactly what I'd hoped for. With this book being aimed squarely at teens, it is also no surprise that the romance stays relatively tame, in the sense that it is non-explicit. But I loved the way Larson builds up the tension, the "will they won't they". It is that tension I often enjoy more than a full on explicit romance, although I am known to enjoy that as well. The yearning! It gets me, it really does. The only downside to that is that now I'm desperate to read Warriors of Wing and Fire, the sequel! Another downside, which is a minor gripe of mine, is that the novel is technically not a complete story, in the sense that much of what happens is not resolved and will occur in the sequel. While I understand the appeal behind that, it always frustrates me a little. But not enough to not want to keep reading.

I give this book..

3 Universes!

While it took me unreasonably long to finally sit down and read Sisters of Shadow and Light I very much enjoyed it. With some lovely Fantasy elements, it really is a story about sisterhood and about growing into yourself as a young woman. With a healthy dose of yeeaarrninnggg.