Personally I didn’t enjoy the book. The description intrigued me and the start captured my attention. I was intrigued as the story progressed to see what weird happen with our characters. But after the first quarter of the book it became a job for me to read which I hate. I want to enjoy a book not feel like I’m being forced to finish. I know many who would enjoy this and will recommend to those I know which is the reason for stars.

Unfortunately I tried MANY times to read this ARC and I just can't connect with the story! The plot moves way too slow for me!

I have read multiple books by mark lawrence and he continues to surprise me with each installment of his books. every time I thought I knew where grey sister was going, he proved me otherwise, he developed an incredible world and political/magic system that I will continue to reread as the years go by. Even quickly became one of my favorite fantasy authors, with the Red Sister series being one of my ultimate favorite series of all time. Should be shelved alongside classic fantasy books like Wheel of Time, because Mark Lawrence will be a name known in the fantasy world for many years to come. Grey Sister was definitely my favorite of the series.

Mark Lawrence never disappoints-- his characters, his storylines, his writing, his phenomenal world building--all are masterpieces with a wicked sense of humor. I do have to say that this latest series of his is my favorite. Nona is a nun you do not mess with. The girl has flaw blades and is absolutely deadly in a fight. Abbess Glass is a leader who plays her cards close to her habit and is in it for the long game. Ara is a fabulous friend. I can't say too much without spoiling for other readers, but if you have any chance to read Mark Lawrence, start here.

Highly recommended.

Compelling!

I hung in every word, I was caged with the children sold by their parents, ran the path with Nona, sweated with Abbess Glass as the inquisitors took her for trial, and waited with baited breath as actions and plans came into being, at a cost and with little hope of survival.
Nona as the scapegoat, is pursued by assassins and is the target of a vengeful wealthy family.
Lawrence maintains the intensity and the raw untrammeled moments of terror brilliantly.

A NetGalley ARC

NOTE: This review is more for the whole amazing series

Well Amazon won't allow me to post this but HOLY SHIT! I spent 2 years waiting for this book and it started getting stressful about 150 pages from the end and never let up or gave you any clue as to what might happen until the end, then the author gives you a chapter and an epilogue to get your mind back intact.

The REALLY great book/series are the ones that almost leave you in tears because you have been so deeply immersed in this world (I read the whole trilogy as a marathon) and you realize that there is no more and I doubt he will revisit this story since he never has but I am going to miss these characters and watching their future play out.

I consider his "The Broken Empire" one of the actual masterpieces I ever read but this comes damn close. 5 Stars and wish I could read about these people forever.

I thought this 2nd book in the Book of the Ancestor series was great and even better than the first one. An excellent read that i will definitely be recommending to my customers.

This book....I'm not sure where to start with how I felt about it...

My issues with Abbess Glass from the first book were not continued in this one. You finally get to see her throughout the entire book and see her thought process and how she was trying to tip the balance. She kind of had rose-colored glasses when it came to just how evil some of her proteges were however. And seriously, she was NEVER in a battle of any sort?!? How is she the Abbess of a Convent of killers if she never did it herself? Her super-power is to see how things are moving and try to tip them into where she wants it to go, but somehow things all fell apart on her.

I do like how most of the characters are shades of grey (look at me connecting the title to the characters!). None are purely innocent and good, almost none are completely evil. There are a few who have more REVENGE rather than brains. Apparently, in the next book, the evil ones are COMPLETELY ok with destroying the ENTIRE world, just to get vengeance on ONE person. Like really dude? Ok, whatevs. Though honestly, the person they are seeking vengeance on would have left them completely alone and worse things would not have happened to them if they just realized the slippery slope they were on and left the MC alone. Though where's the story if they had brains and chose peace and acceptance?

Ok, so maybe we have more black hearts than grey ones, but there is one who rides the fence. I think she's more in it so no matter who wins, she will be safe, but who can say?

This book ended on an interesting note, so I am really curious to see how it all ties up at the end of the next one. Huge bonus, the almost completely female cast of characters, all of whom are strong women in different ways.

My negatives for this book would be the time-jump between the first one and this one. It was a HUGE leap of time and we don't see much of what was happening then, even in flashbacks/characters discussing it.

Also a big negative is how the Abbess, despite being so smart, was out-thought by the bad guys. Despite being so powerful, I'm not really seeing that power or intelligence.

The violence and the super-human ability to take damage and not go into shock and die from it of the MCs is really quite astounding. If a regular person lost that much blood, they would be out for the count. Yes, they are described as hurting and they do have the Path they can use, but still, it's a bit much to believe.

For these issues, 3.5 stars, rounded down because I am very disappointed in Abbess Glass's ability to move things in a more positive way. Though I will be reading the next and last one with much interest to see how things wrap up. It's looking like an epic battle and while the MCs are strong, there is no guarantee that they will win. So that makes it interesting. If you enjoy fantasy and strong female protagonists, this book series is definitely for you!

My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group-Ace for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Though I liked the book, I made the decision at the time I finished not to review it on my site. Maybe in the future I will include it in a book list post or another article.

Will not be posted online as I was not a fan of this book for mostly... personal reasons. It's quite dense for my tastes, and I found the lack of ramping up in the plot to be quite frustrating.

After being enthralled by the opening book, Red Sister, that introduced a complex magical fantasy world and a hard-bitten scrappy heroine who grows up and starts to come of age, the book ended on a very ominous note so I was chomping at the bit to continue on with the second installment in the story with the enchanting Heather O'Neill continuing the narration work.


Grey Sister picks up a few years after the first book, but it is very much closely attached to the previous book and can't be read standalone. There are some reminders about the world, the background, and catching up with the characters, but also an assumption that the reader is already familiar with the situation.

And what is the situation for those not in the know? It's rather dire. The author sets his story on a distant planet where their sun is dying. Ice has almost encompassed the entire planet and continues encroaching on a narrow corridor of land and water where the moon's reflected light is concentrated through a mirror satellite that uses the remaining light to keep it just warm enough for about one more generation to survive. There are a few ethnic groups and four forms of magic-born people among them all. People are doing their best to survive. The rich and powerful are maneuvering to be in possession of magical stones that when brought together can be used to control the mirror to direct the moon's beam of light and heat at specific places. People are looking for deliverance through religion or any source they can get which also includes the ancient legends about the Ancestors and the Missing who came before them.

This book jumped right out and kept up a pounding pace whether its intrigue or action plotting. There are a few moments of self-reflection, but Nona is more a doer than a thinker and she has a lot of anger in her after the loss of her best friend, betrayal from one she thought a friend, the theft of the monasteries magic stone, and hate for those responsible. The first half of the book is centered around the convent, but then it shifts to Nona and some of the others out in the world in a hard-scrabble desperate adventure. The fight scenes were intense and probably not for the squeamish, especially some of the capture scenes.

Abbess Glass gets almost half the narration with Nona and plays a game of live chess with the movers and shakers seeking to control things for their own gain. She's an older woman and I loved the way she has little magic of her own, but an ability to read possibilities and putting events in motion. The reader is not privy to her plottings so gets some good surprises and twists when things look darkest.

The whole book was one engaging and exciting story whether it was Nona and her friends working to track down the 'ship heart' magic stone to bring back to the abbey, get the best of the mean girls' group, or evade the dangers waiting outside from her powerful enemies. Nona is a powerful magic wielder, but what I think really shines forth as magical is her ability to form deep loyal friendships and bring unlikely opposites together in her group at the abbey. People underestimate her or put her down all the time, but she finds a way.

Speaking of her group, I enjoyed seeing many of the others getting their moments particularly there in the end. I loved seeing the others and their individual skills and personalities doing their part. The group of underdogs are pitted against the might of a powerful royal, several aristocrats, and ambitious types in the church seem to hold all the cards, and it becomes dark and desperate. I am so revved to see what comes next now that Nona and the others have flouted such powerful people and after what Zole, the Chosen One did there at the end.

The narration work was in capable hands with Heather O'Neill voicing all the players in this saga-style story that encompasses so many people, accents, situations, and emotions. She captured the intense excitement and gritty, bitter, and desperate moments without overacting. She is the voice of scrappy, intrepid Nona for me.

All in all, this is a fabulous fantasy adventure series that stays strong and intense through book two, developing characters and plot further. It left me anxious for book three and what comes next. There is so much going on, but its plotted out with precision. Fantasy lovers who don't mind things getting rough and gritty should definitely give these a try.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I absolutely loved Red Sister. I recommended it all the time when I worked at Barnes and Noble last year. Grey Sister was no different - the world just gets more complex, the characters more interesting and developed, and the situation concerning magic and the kingdom more dire in this sequel.

I did an amateur blogger thing where I read this a while ago and forgot to write the review afterwards so I may be a little scatterbrained in this review. But the best part is, is there are parts that I remember even from so long ago because I enjoyed it so much.

The social system and learning systems in this world are so interesting. In Grey Sister, you really get to see Nona struggling with conforming and with being teased by her envious peers. Mark Lawrence does something great with this series in that he has all the storylines of a great, classic fantasy while playing will all those tropes just a little along the way. The Chosen One is super chill and nonchalant. People who do horrible things tend to get their way. Instead of the bully getting her due justice, it is Nona that must run and figure out how to survive in response. She gets beat up and put down and truly struggles along the way and doesn't really follow the hero's journey as one would think.

The secondary characters really come to forefront in this sequel. There are many different focuses throughout the book and we follow various people all around the kingdom as all of the parts begin to get moving. If I remember correctly, I did get confused at times about what was really happening and where I was and who was doing what. I always found my way back, though. As a fan of Nona, I did wish that we were with her a little more often, and I have to say her journey and destination were not what I was expecting.

I told my coworkers that Red Sister reminded me of an adult version of the Alanna series by Tamora Pierce. While I think that this sequel definitively diverts from that comparison, I do think that fans of those classic fantasties, with really developed worlds with complicated politics and a large cast of diverse characters, will enjoy this series and this book in particular as we move forward to the last installment.

Red Sister was one of the first high fantasy books I've read in awhile. And I was so excited to read Grey Sister. I think Nona is probably one of my favorite protagonists ever. She struggles and is relatable and it will always be my favorite thing about this book. This is just a fantastic series about girls growing up in horrible circumstances and I love it a lot. The switch in POVs in Grey Sister was a fantastic addition that I enjoyed. Always a big fan of reading other POVs.

Love this series! If you are afraid of Mark Lawrence (due to the graphic violence of Prince of Thorns, which I didn't mind at all, but I saw others complaining of it) don't be. Whilst there is still violence, it's not quite as graphic as the Broken Empire series. I love this one, and Prince of Fools.

Dear readers,
If you have not read Red Sister, do NOT read this review.



Continue at your own peril if you have not read Red Sister.



There. Now I don't feel bad about giving anything away. :-)


For some reason, Johnny Cash comes to me as I'm trying to write this review. Bear with me. First, because of his line "I walk the line." I think of it every time someone discusses or actually "Walks the path." Second, "Ring of Fire" reminds me so much of Nona. She gets to the Path through rage. See, a burning ring of fire? Instead of romantic love making her do crazy things, it's friendship love. In Grey Sister, we see just how deeply Nona cherishes friendship. And it's crazy-deep. For a girl who came out of nowhere with no friends and plenty of enemies, Nona has grown into a fiercely loyal hellion that I want at my side and my back at all times. And as Ara matures and Zole becomes less humanoid and more human, I want them as well.

How Mark Lawrence can show the depth of friendship that these girls and women experience and exhibit is beyond me. But God, do I love reading it.

I was really excited to get my hands on Grey Sister, and when I finally had an opportunity to sit down and read it, I had mixed results. Again. I love this story when Nona is not at the Convent of Sweet Mercy. Thankfully, a spiteful novice sends Nona packing about 40% of the way through. Then Nona has to rely on her courage, wits, and abilities to keep herself alive in an exceedingly dangerous world. With the ice ever creeping into the Corridor, the tensions between the people of Abeth are at a fever pitch. Competition over land is fierce and deadly. Nona and the Sisters of Mercy are caught up in a plot to shake up the power base in the Empire, and any wrong move can mean their death.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers, because part of the fun was being manipulated by both Glass and Sherzal. Like the reader, Nona is a helpless pawn in the game being played between the two women, and she is buffeted along a treacherous path that she can’t avoid.

After being accused of crimes punishable by death, Nona must flee the convent, the only home she’s ever truly known. Helplessly, she finds herself going back to where everything began: the village of her birth. As she tries to piece together the puzzle that brought her to Sweet Mercy, she finds herself captured by mortal enemies. Her plight looks dire, and I wondered how she would get out of the mess she was in. Nona’s thirst for vengeance is a double-edged sword. It gets her so much trouble. She’s still a teenager, and she’s managed to earn the animosity of a secretive assassin clan, a powerful noble family, and the inquisitors. People skills will never be her strong suit.

The battle scenes are fun and furious, and unquestionably one of my favorite aspects of this series. Glass’s subtle manipulation of everyone around her was also a treat. She may not be a fighter, but she still manages to earn one victory after another over her opponents. I wish Zole hadn’t gone AWOL for part of the story because she is my second favorite character, and if she had been around, the fights would have been even more action-packed. She does reappear right when she’s needed the most, and I have high hopes that she and Nona will wreak some havoc in the next book in the series.

First of all, if you haven't read Red Sister, you should do that now! It's a great book!

I absolutely loved Red Sister and have been waiting since it first came out, about a year ago, to read the sequel! This book took me a little longer to read, but it was still awesome.

Mark Lawrence is a great writer and has created such a unique and interesting world, full of ruthless nobles and killer nuns. What more could you ask for?

I love Nona as much, if not more than I did in the last book! She is a total badass! I also really like Zole in this book.

I like that the author put a refresher at the beginning of the book, in case readers had to wait a while between reading the first and second books, like I did. He said it is so that he "can avoid the awkwardness of having to have characters tell each other things they already know for your benefit." It was definitely nice to have a short refresher since it has been over a year since I read the first book.

This book was just as good as I thought it would be and had just as much action, if not more than the first. It definitely didn't disappoint!

I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Grey Sister is the second installment in author Mark Lawrence's Book of the Ancestor trilogy. For those who have waited a year for this installment to be released, let's summarize what has happened to this point. The series takes place on a planet called Abeth. Abeth orbits a dying red sun. The planet is sheathed in ice and the vast majority of its people live in a 50 mile wide ice-walled Corridor around the equator. An artificial moon, a great orbiting mirror, keeps the Corridor free of ice by focusing the sun's rays into it each night.

It has been thousands of years since the four tribes of man arrived on the planet. The tribes are gerant, hunska, marjal, and quantal. Gerant - Great size and strength. Hunska - Quick speed. Marjal - The ability to tap into lesser magic. Quantal - The ability to walk the Path and work greater magic. It is said that there are four shiphearts that are able to enhance the magical abilities of quantals and marjals. One of those shiphearts was stolen from the Convent of Sweet Mercy in the previous installment.

Nona Grey is the main protagonist of this series, but in this installment, Abbess Glass has her own role and her own storyline that really is important that you don't ignore what happens to her and the Convent of Sweet Mercy where novices are trained in service to the Ancestor. There are four classes of novices; Holy Sister (entirely religious duties), Grey Sister (Sister of Discretion, assassination & stealth), Red Sister (Martial Sister/trained in combat), & Holy Sister (Witch/Mystic Sister/trained to walk the Path).

Nona has been proven to be a triple-blood which is incredibly rare. She has hunska, marjal, and quantal skills. Nona has rapidly risen through the ranks of novices, but there are still a whole lot of challenges that lie ahead of her. Nona has plenty of enemies as well, including Lord Thuran Tacsis and his son Lano after she killed Raymel Tacsis. She's also been betrayed by someone she thought was her friend/sister, and faces even more bullying from fellow novices working with her enemies. Nona has faced some of the most deadly assassins around known as Noi-Guin and they haven't forgotten about her. Nona is also known as the Shield for the apparent Chosen One, Zole who is four-blooded.

In Mystic Class, Nona Grey begins to learn the secrets of the universe. But, so often even the deepest truths just make our choices harder. Before she leaves the Convent of Sweet Mercy, Nona must choose her path. As the world narrows around her, and her enemies attack her through the system she has been sworn to, Nona must find her own path despite the competing pull of friendship, revenge, ambition, and loyalty. Thankfully, Nona has the friendship of Arabella Jotsis, Darla, Jula, Sister Kettle, and even Zole to help her out.

In the previous installment, we learned what name Nona will eventually take once she is done with the Convent. We learned Arabella's name as well. If you loved the first book, Red Sister, you are going to be ecstatic with what Lawrence does in this book. Now that the characters have been introduced, and the worldbuilding has been explained, the author can easily build on that foundation and extend his world even further. There's a bit more levity in this book and there is a steady stream of action, tension, and suspense as well. Lawrence doesn't go easy on her characters, especially Nona. I can't even discuss the ending without having a mouthful of expletives. Oh, did I mention Nona's new friend? Nah, let's not go there. All I will say is that Nona's new friend is sick, and twisted, and dark, and humorous as well! Her friend also gives her some pretty cool new abilities as well.

The third installment, Holy Sister, will release in 2019. I look forward to seeing what Lawrence does next, especially after he shocked the hell out of me with that ending of his. I look forward to learning more about Zole, Abbess Glass, Sister Apple, and of course, Nona.

First off, I want to thank the publisher and Lawrence for an ARC of Grey Sister in exchange for an honest review. This is no way influences my review or the tears I shed during my time in Nona's world.

It isn't often that you come across a sequel that is better than the original. The 2nd book in a series typically lags, or is just filler for the action-packed finale; maybe it just doesn't live up the promise set in Book 1 or the hype/expectation overshadows reality.

Well, let's just say Lawrence doesn't disappoint at all with Grey Sister. In fact, I believe he is still continuing to fine tune his writing to the point where he may get better with each and every release. This should make for a very fine future in the world of fantasy.

Taking place approximately two (2) years after the events of Red Sister, one of my Top 20 Reads of 2017 (just outside my Top 5), we find ourselves back in the Convent of Sweet Mercy. To say not much has changed is a fabrication. Our characters are older, have experienced traumatic events typically reserved for older generations, and are now moving further along in their training which will become more grueling as the ice reaches ever closer. As Nona is set to prepare for her trial, one that will define the order she is to join, an Inquisition arrives on Sweet Mercy's doorstep. Sisters will be questioned, blood will be spilled, and demons will rise to the surface. Nona must make a decision as to which order she will join and, in turn, determine what path she will take.

I don't enjoy going into too much detail with reviews because the whole basis of a review is to tell you WHY I believe it should be your next read, or at least one of your next few. Lawrence has a way of weaving different elements into a story and intertwining them so perfectly that you find yourself immersed in his writing. From character development to world-building, Grey Sister has it all. The magic system employed has all types of layers we once thought peeled back in Red Sister, but are more fully revealed this go-round. We understand more about the power of the great shiphearts, though to wield one can cause great corruption and contamination, and we plunge into the thread-weaving abilities of some sisters which I thought was definite highlight in the story.

Nona was our major focal point in Red Sister, and while she is still our main POV in Grey Sister, we are given a few more sets of eyes with which to see the world from. Abbess Glass feels like Olenna Tyrell from Game of Thrones, what with her stern wisdom and ultimate badassery in Season 7. Then you have Sister Kettle, sweet at heart but deadly with a knife. Though all three (3) characters take different paths to the culmination of Grey Sister, each POV is necessary to the overall storyline in ways unimaginable.

Grey Sister is emotionally fraught and dramatically intense, and is worth every second stuck in its world.  If you want me to tell you the absolute truth, you should read Grey Sister because Mark Lawrence is a genius, one of the best readers today, and top 5 in my all-time list. The prose alone is the reason I read every book he writes, but his characters continue to hold special places in my heart.

Although it is not necessary to read 'Red Sister' in order to enjoy 'Grey Sister', thanks to the author being kind enough to write some catch-up notes, I do implore you to read it. If you are like me, you'll fall in love with Nona and want to spend as much time with her as possible.

5+ Stars for Grey Sister!

The sequel to Red Sister blew me away. I was in a reading slump or dry spell. NOTHING could grab my attention. Then Mark Lawrence came with his explosive beginning to Grey Sister and I was hooked for the next 5 hours. Grey Sister picks up right after the conclusion of Red Sister, with the theft of the shipheart and Clara's betrayal. We get a glimpse of present day where Lano and Clara bearing down on the Convent of Sweet Mercy. Setting the stage and creating tension for the remainder of the novel.

The sequel is told from the perspectives of Nona, Sister Kettle, and Abbess Glass. We follow Nona as she navigates the grey class (the next level of her training) while also dealing with a personal and literal demon. Although her accomplishments in Red Sister were monumental, Nona still faces criticism from her peers for her upbringing. You see a vulnerable side to Nona that you wouldn't expect and are reminded of her young age. This story throws relationships into question, betrayals are unveiled and friends are lost. I had to grit my teeth a few times while fighting tears. Nevertheless, Abbess Glass is my hero in this story. She was such a pillar of strength and resolve.

Book of Ancestor is a coming-of-age story in some way full of action, demons, adventure but more importantly of family and the bonds that tie family together (even those that are not blood). The obstacles the sisters needed to overcome on their quest to return the shipheart were monumental.

I won't say more because I don't want to give away any spoilers but the sequel does not disappoint. I am only sad that I have to wait so long for book three.