Zuhra and Inara are sisters with a most unusual upbringing. They live in the otherwise abandoned Citadel of the Paladins with their mother and a caretaker. The Paladins are a mysterious and magical race of humanoids from another world, and Zuhra and Inara's father is one. Was one? They don't know— he disappeared the night Inara was born, and a magical hedge has kept them inside ever since. Zuhra spends her days preparing a trousseau for her unlikely wedding under her mother's direction and taking care of Inara, who's rarely coherent but instead consumed by the magical powers she inherited from their father. One day, an apprentice scholar appears and prompts a chain of events into motion that will change everything.

The heart of this book are the relationships between these women. Zuhra cares deeply about Inara, and we see this not just by how often we're told, but Zuhra's goals and actions, often contrary to her own well-being. Their mother, traumatized by her husband's disappearance, treats Zuhra like clay to be molded who will never make the mistakes she made. Zuhra both loves and deeply resents her mother. Their caretaker Sami has a haunting history that motivates her to continue looking after the strange family.

The heart of these relationships really drives the story, and I thought the flow of the story suffered when these characters were pulled apart to enter a rather generic fantasy world. The first part of the book really builds up those relationships— in effect, the relationships are the world-building— so the transition to a new setting with different motivators and new relationships didn't quite gel for me. As one minor example, we're told Zuhra enters into intense physical training (we see very little of it "on-screen"). I think this would have been a perfect opportunity to contrast how the book opened, with the interminable embroidery she was forced to do under her mother's watchful eye.

That said, this is still head and shoulders over most YA fantasy with a romantic subplot thanks to that complex web between the female characters.

The prose was lovely, but there was something missing. I didn’t connect to any of the characters and the pacing was off. It needed an edit or two to get it to that next level. Better pacing, more care with the characters, tightening the plot. I will definitely read more from Sara B Larson. I just wish this had been better.

I found this quite hard to get into. Within the first chapter alone I felt like I was given so much information and little explanation and I felt a bit overwhelmed and I was struggling to process everything. This is probably a personal preference, I generally just prefer a bit more of an overview in the first chapter so that I know a little bit about the history. I felt like this gave me a lot of information but nothing else to go with it, so it all kind of went over my head. I do like the plot though, and the cover is stunning. It just didn’t do anything for me, I think my first impression put me off

DNF. I really couldn’t get into this and the style of writing and plot were just not for me. There wasn’t a single character I felt I could relate to and every character having an insta-love was just the final straw for me.

I really enjoyed reading this book and now I want to go back and read her earlier works. I'm looking forward to reading more books by Sara Larson in the future.

I went into this story with a blank slate and found it to be wonderful! This was my first read from Sara even though I own all her books since she is one of my local authors, but now I can't wait to consume all her other worlds. The characters were engaging and full of real emotions I could connect to and her world building was epic and unique, leaving me wanting more. The ending was a huge cliffhanger and now I will try to patiently wait for the next book in the series so I can see what happens next. I highly recommend this for anyone who likes high fantasy, twisty plots and the bond of sisters.

Sisters of Shadow and Light is the first installment in author Sara B. Larson's duology. Sisters Zuhra and Inara Montieth grew up in a place called Citadel of the Paladin. The Citadel is all that remains of their father's kind, the Paladins. Beings with great magical powers from another world that came to Vamala to save it from monsters that escaped the Paladin world through a portal. When Inara was born, their father (Aldric) disappeared and hasn't been seen since. At the same time, an enormous sentient hedge grew over night not allowing either sister to leave the property.

As the oldest, Zuhra has always wondered what was out there past the hedges that has kept them virtual prisoners. The only one who has been able to leave, has been their trusty do everything, Mahsami (Sami), who made a difficult choice to stay with the family instead of fleeing. Zuhra is the only one who seems eager to ensure that Inara is happy and not treated as a monster because of her parentage. When a stranger named Halver Roskery is allowed thru the hedge, his arrival sets off a chain of events that pushes both young women to uncover the secrets of the past and embark on a journey that hopes to heal even the deepest of wounds.

Inara was born with the glowing eyes of a Paladin, the entities who built their home and who were once the celebrated heroes of the realm; public opinion is not as kind now. Inara has everyone afraid of her because she goes into a sort of fugue state for entire days that prevents her from communicating with anyone. Inara's fugue state is being called roar because she has an overwhelming power that prevents her from interacting with the world. She also has an interesting ability to make plants grow which of course comes in handy when you can't leave.

Inara's existence as half-Paladin appeals to Halver, who is a Library of Mercarum apprentice, on a level that doesn't seem to include Zuhra. This is the point in the book where the story splits between Zuhra and Inara who becomes lucid and is able to have her own adventures as well as being interested in Halver. While Inara is dealing with issues with Halver, and his Master Barloc as well as the villagers who hate Paladins, Zuhra is pushed thru a gateway and ends up in Visperium.

Zuhra could never imagine the adventure that she will have after meeting her father and his people live and uncovering the reason for his 15 year disappearance. It's especially entertaining once you get the squadron of Paladins and their Gryphons and the fact that Zuhra finds a connection with a Paladin named Raidyn. I had a hard time not screaming at the mother figure. She's broken by the disappearance of her husband and protects her daughters through deprivation and cruelty. She really doesn't much care for Inara for much of the story which is just a sad state of affairs. The ending, of course, ends on a whopper of a cliffhanger. Thankfully, this is apparently only a duology! Yay!

Can I get a tv series of this book, please? Combining various popular elements such as strong bonds of sisterhood, magic, mystery, and one of my favorite character names (Inara), "Sisters of Shadow and Light" immerses you in a dark world with two brilliant points of light: the sisters. I love the strong theme of family that runs through this book. It's missing in so many YA books. The girls discover they are stronger together and embracing the unknown - what a powerful message for teens!


Side note: please make plushies of the Gryphons. I would buy!

So much of the hype for this book on bookstagram and GoodReads seemed to be because people knew the author. I'd never heard of Sara B Larson or her book Defy yet, but I can say now I will be looking into reading her other books!
Elements within the book are almost fairytale-like - a magical hedge, an abandoned fortress, people disappearing, a lost parent.
The characters are real and relatable, and I loved the sisterly bond and how it was there even when romantic plotlines came along.
Altogether, a great read and .looking forward to the sequel!

Okay, so here's the skinny. One of the things that kills a book for me is...AN AGONIZINGLY SLOW START. Ughhhhh. We did not get to "the point" of Sisters of Shadow & Light, plot-wise, until almost 50% through the book. That immediately makes me want to give a book a VERY low rating. I was also pretty confused for much of the book. Despite the first half of the book feeling like it stalled, I didn't get enough information about the Paladins. Maybe most everyone just KNOWS about Paladin lore--except me, so I was confused at the lack explaining.
Now, at the 60% mark I was enjoying things, I was interested in what was going on, but, add a few ritualistic blood suckings (random, very random, and creepy, I know), a cliffhanger ending (I didn't know this was a series, and I felt like matters could have wrapped themselves up in a single book if Larson hadn't, in my opinion, stalled for the first half of the book) & I just didn't feel like I got what I was hoping for in Sisters of Shadow & Light.

Add to that, the abusive mother. Yikes. What a turd. And I get it, she was going through some tough stuff, but that didn't make her behaviour okay. There wasn't enough said regarding how absurd & abusive she was--instead I feel like we got a lot of guilt coming from the daughters any time they got angry over her cruelty, and how they just needed to love her a little more and be more forbearing. YEEEUCCKKKK. How I hate it when authors sweep stuff like this under the carpet.

Sisters of Shadow & Light had many good moments that I wanted built upon, but a handful of good moments & a few enjoyable chapters does not (at least for me) a good book make. I don't think I'll be reading the next book--I really dislike it when an author stalls in their writing, though I will admit I have a low tolerance for slower-paced books, so it's somewhat a relative thing that I found the first half of the book so difficult.

*I was given a free ebook copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

SISTERS OF SHADOW AND LIGHT is a book that takes readers back to ancient history and a fantasy world found through a gate. The characters are likable and easy to relate to, with complex relationships between family, friends, and love interests. Then there's the story, which is full of tension, loss, pain, love, determination, and magic. A book to easily get lost in from the beginning to the very last page. Highly recommended to fantasy readers!

I've read several series where there are gates to other fantasy worlds. Not all of them handle this trope well, but Larson does an excellent job in making it believable and work in this story. The ancient world and the fantasy world both felt realistic and believable, although I would have liked them fleshed out a little more. I still have a few lingering questions. I did love the way magic worked in this world and how it is wielded. I'm looking forward to discovering more as the characters figure things out in the future.

I liled the characters from the beginning! They each had their own weaknesses, faults, and strengths and there were moments when I wanted them to move forward more, but these more difficult parts also felt realistic. Some things that usually might've bothered me didn't here because of the background of these characters (like if you go your whole life never being around boys, would you know how to react to them; or never knowing your father, other family or others like you, how would you react to those new experiences; and how do you know who to trust when magical bonds are thrown into the mix and you've been naively sequestered your whole life?). There were so many different relationships and they were each complex, which just added to the emotional pull of the story. There was a touch of romance, but it felt like a beginning, something that will grow more as the series progresses, and not the main focus of the story. Foremost, this was a story of the bond of sisters, the friction of two worlds colliding, of growing into your own, and fighting for family and love.

In the end, was it what I wished for? I literally could not put this one down! It held my interest from beginning to end. If you like stories that are a balance between character and plot driven, and enjoy new love, complex relationships, and fantasy then this is definitely one I'd recommend.

Content: Some innuendo and violence, but clean.
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley through the Fantastic Flying Book Club, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.

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.- Goodreads

This is the first book I have read by Sara B. Larson. I didn't really have much expectations for this read but that doesn't mean that I wasn't interested or invested.

You know I can't turn down a book that talks about magical people and family drama.

Any way, I was bored with this read which was unfortunate. The build was slow and even when things were happening they were slow. It was so painstakingly slow that I had to put the book down and then come back to it. 

It was extremely hard to get into this book because it was just dragged along. The romance was shaky and the overall relationships between everyone was very sided eye. What I mean by that is some relationships worked due to dependency, desperation and toxic(ness). When things start coming together, the fact that some of this is completely forgotten bothers me. But overall, I wasn't exactly thrilled with this book. 

2 Pickles

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my review in any way and the thoughts expressed are my own.

Due to the fires that have been savaging Australia (some of which has been near my region or that of my family) and a flare in my personal health and increased study schedule, I haven’t been able to read at all for nearly over a month! Nevertheless, I had been enjoying reading this book when I had been able to.
Sisters, Inara and Zuhra, along with their mother and family friend/ servant Sami have been trapped in their castle home for over fifteen years. Inara seems almost autistic; unable to communicate, unaware of the world around her, focused solely on one thing (her garden) and depends on her sister to an incredible level. Having been the main caregiver for Inara for most of her life, Zuhra and Inara have an amazing bond. But when disaster happens, the two must find a way to survive without each other.

Not only was this an intriguing magic system, but I loved how it was paired with the hardship of having a special needs family member/ being trapped within your own mind. It was absolutely incredible how the author made Inara autistic because of her magic and that it was trapping her within a ‘roar’. I can’t say how much I absolutely loved this! I am on the spectrum (absolutely nowhere near as bad as Inara) and have sensitive hearing, so can relate to a noise drowning out the world. Plus, the author was excellent at showing the high level of dependence on the caregiver and how this can affect both sides. Definitely the best fantasy I’ve read that’s had an autistic character (the only one I can remember reading, actually).

Now with two young men in their lives, the sisters are experiencing their first loves. Inara and Halvor had an easy tender affection and were constantly gravitating towards each other. On the other hand, Zuhra and Raidyn spend almost the entire time trying to deny their feelings. And at the other extreme, the mother and father’s relationship was soured by a misunderstanding left for over a decade that turned to resentment and hate. The author did a great job of showing the different types of relationships which made each feel unique.
This book was full of great twists, even early on, and they continued to build until the climax. Though it may not seem it at first, it had plenty of action, especially during the final chapters. I was intrigued by the god-like creatures, Paladins, and the monstrous rakasa, and I loved how these lead up to the final surprises.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book; the magic system, the characters, the world, etc. I can’t get over how awesome it was to see an autistic heroine in a fantasy – a fantasy! The mix of disability, especially a largely mental one, caused by magic was a great idea for the genre and really made this novel stand out. As the title suggests, the emotional weight and core of the story were the two sisters and both characters were strong enough to lead this book (and hopefully future series). I give it 5/5 and am excited to see more of Inara and Zuhra.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I love books that have a lot of description of the world around them. I love two sisters for their bond is undeniable and that is something that just drives the story for me being a twin. It group me and took me along for their journey to make all the discoveries. I want to go on and on about this book but I don't want to ruin it for anyone. It is a good read for me. It had me all up in my feelings.

Well me and this book had a time. I started out wanting to DNF it and I am so glad that I didn't. By 80 pages I was hooked and I couldn't put it down!! This book is told by one POV then splits to both sisters which was a wonderful way to tell the tale. I loved knowing what was going on in both worlds and I wouldn't change it for the world. It was like at the end of each split chapter something would happen or be revealed and I just could not stop reading.

I would love to have another title about the other world where the Paladins come from etc. I think that would be an epic tale to read about. This one gave me the feelings of Tower of Dawn by Maas and I loved every page. (that is after those 80). The sisters were glorious and their bond was one I won't soon forget. It reminded me when twins feel each other's pain.

The worlds that the author created I loved and I still hope that we get to learn more about the other world though the door. I need a movie of this one my goodness I loved it.

Overall, this one might have a slow start but by 100 pages if you aren't hooked then man I don't know what to tell you. Fans of Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo will fall for this one hard.

Go Into This One Knowing: Family, Cliffhanger (light)

I believe the description of this book is what drew me to requesting it here on NetGalley. Fantasy is typically a genre I enjoy and the focus on sisters sounded intriguing. But I ended up not caring much for the book.
Zuhra is the older of two sisters who have been trapped for fifteen years in a citadel once claimed by the powerful (exiled) mages-the Paladin. The sisters, their faithful servant, and their mother have been in the tower since the younger of the girls, Inara, was born and a poisonous hedge grew so tall that no one could enter or leave. Zuhra cares for her sister, who is trapped in her body while a 'roar' blocks out most of her environment as well as follows her mother's guidelines for becoming a proper young lady. When a young scholar of the Paladins and their history makes it through the hedge, the small world of the citadel is irrevocably changed.
I'll be honest-I started this book and it drug so much in the first quarter, I ended up reading three other books that I found more interesting before returning to it. Luckily, after that first quarter, the events picked up and things happened besides Zuhra moping about the pointlessness of learning rules and etiquette and being frustrated with her mother. Still-even with all the action that happens in the second part of the book, I was left feeling very passe about the book. It's obviously set up to be the first in at least a duology, if not a trilogy, but I don't know if I'll seek out the sequel when it's published.
Pros-
Sisterly relationship-Zuhra's love of her sister was evident in her protectiveness and care. She knew how to calm her and how to predict what was needed-much in the way I hear of siblings of children with disabilities.
Cinnia's grief-The girls' father is a Paladin (Adelric) who disappeared the night that Inara was born. More information is given about what happened during the second half of the book, but during the first half, Cinnia (the mother) is portrayed as a bit heartless. It took getting through to the second part to understand that she had been grieving for fifteen years-and had no one but her girls and Sami (the servant/maid/nanny) to carry her through. Though I didn't like her-I feel that the portrayal of her reaction to losing her husband like she did was very realistic.

Cons-
Character development-In the second half we get Inara's point of view in alternating chapters with Zuhra, which helps know what is going on in different locations. But beyond both girls finding a gentleman they like, I don't feel that we get to know them much better than we knew them in the first half. The characters just didn't pull me in like I need in a book.
Pacing-as I said above-the first quarter or so of the book was slow. There was a bit of world building, but it took a little long to introduce Halvor and for the plot to really start moving.

To be completely honest with you (and that’s the only way to be when writing a book review), I requested this book for review from Netgalley because I mistook the author for someone else: someone whose books I had previously enjoyed and whose other books were on my to-read list.

I was so wrong. I’ve never read a Sara B Larson book before this one.

Apart from the case of mistaken identity, I was drawn to the use of the word Paladin because I’m an old-school WarCraft player (not World of, we’re talking Tides of Darkness and Reign of Chaos and boy am I looking forward to Reforged coming in 2020!) and Larson’s paladins share quite a few features with the familiar Warcraft ones: an outright obsession with the colour blue, healing powers, riding gryphons (although in WC3 it was dwarves who rode gryphons, but the similarities are there). It was at once comforting and strangely familiar to read this book, when it seemed like an alternative universe fanfic of the WarCraft paladins.

However, this book took forever for me to read. The first half was interesting: all the set up and worldbuilding was engaging, and I really loved seeing the genuine sisterly connection between Zhura and Innara, two girls trapped in a castle with their strict mother, and a servant (because god knows we can’t have teenage girls doing monotonous chores).

Then something interesting happened and a new POV was introduced at about 40% through, and from then on, I really struggled to finish the book. I didn’t find it engaging, and even though there was plenty of conflict, I found the romances all way too obvious and uninteresting and really quite shallow, and the magic of the sisters together was gone as they were now separated. The world building from that point on kind of lagged along with the plot, and I found myself bored and unengaged, putting down my Kindle to look at social media instead.

I didn’t mind the instalove, because Zhura was raised by an obviously psychotic, villainous mother (who starved her own daughter) to prepare for a husband, even though they were trapped behind a magical hedge, cut off from the rest of civilisation. Of course Zhura was going to instantly love whichever man would be the first she set eyes on. It made sense so me, and I wasn’t mad about it. But I didn’t like the second guy she fell for either, because he was the only one in a new group of people who got a detailed description, and from then on it was all about the way he looked with some attempt at magical bonding to explain these feelings, and I really couldn’t tell why either of the characters were interested in the other, or even if they were since they were both in such denial about it.

I was also approaching this book as a stand-alone, and I found that although I really enjoyed the first half, the second half wasn’t engaging enough for me to want to find out what happens next in the sequel.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Title: Sisters of Shadow and Light
Author: Sara B. Larson
Release date: 11.5.2019
Review date: 12.21.2019

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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.

This book surprised me quite a bit. I had never read anything from this author so I didn't know what to expect when I started it and I ended up really enjoying it.
It was a little more of an "old-school" YA fantasy, but in kind of a good way. It was more of a character driven story than plot driven. Inara did annoy me quite a bit and I preferred reading about Zuhra. I liked the world and am excited to read more about it in the next installment.

What a wonderful book highlighting the bond between family. I wasn’t sure what I was in for when I first picked this book to read, but I was so excited to see what happens to the characters by the end. I am already waiting impatiently for the next book in the series.

While a book on the strength of a sisterly bond has been written and shown before, the author takes the idea of a family broken and adds in a twist of Paladin (who seem similar to djinn, but that may be due to my recent reading binges). There is not one main character, but two: Inara and Zuhra. The first half of the book primarily focuses on Zuhra’s viewpoint of the small world she has lived in, trapped behind a living hedge that encloses her, Inara, and their mother from the outside world. As the story progresses, many secrets are brought to light and new twists are added.

I do feel like this book needs a sequel to help explain certain facts and reveal the family’s history a bit more, but I did enjoy the overall experience of reading Sisters of Shadow and Light.

Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Whoa! Yes please! Give me more!!!
My blog buddy and I both had an ARC of this so we read it together like an ARC buddy read and my gosh the whole time we were trying to figure out what was going to happen next. There is a certain character that gave us some bad vibes early on and lo and behold they ended up being pretty darn evil so that was a fun guessing game to play throughout the read.

The bond between the sisters in this book is possibly my favorite part about it. I love that no matter what they are there for each other and they care so much about surviving it all TOGETHER. Its not often in a lot of YA books that you see that unbreakable bond. Whether its over a lover or power, usually siblings in books hate each other and will do anything to be separated, but thats not the case here and how refreshing that was!!! It was also really interesting to me that one sister would have so much power while the other is essentially powerless. The dynamic of this was so well balanced though that you don't lean towards one sister or the other too much.

I loved that the halfway point in the book it switches to multiple POV so we can see whats happening in all aspects of the story. This really added a lot of depth and insight into all the characters and what was happening to their world. It picks up at that point and I could hardly put the book down.

There are a few love interests as well that I was smitten over and I am really interested in finding out where it all goes in the next book in this series. I will definitely be keeping this one on my radar for upcoming reads!!