Thank you to NetGalley, and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for the e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I think that this was a strong debut novel. It has so many things that I am drawn to when I read a book: witches, apothecaries, sisterly-bonds, coming of age quests, and of course a dash of romance. The setting of the book really drew me in, I was hooked from the first pages where we see Alice in her woodland cottage and she discovers a mysterious letter.

I liked both Alice and Lily, and I enjoyed that they were opposites, and best friends all the same. I especially liked how Lily was able to see Alice in a way that others couldn’t. I also enjoyed other characters in the book. Particularly Grace, and her budding romance with Alice was refreshing and a highlight of the book for me.

I did find myself wanting a bit more from the world-building – it was intriguing, but I found myself feeling like I was just skimming the surface when I wanted to be immersed deeper into the world. However, I am sure the world-building will be expanded on in the next book. Also, sometimes the pacing of the book felt a bit off. However, that could have just been me.

I enjoyed this book and accompanying Alice and Lily on their journeys. I look forward to seeing where the story will go in the next book. Thank you again to NetGalley, and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for the e-ARC copy of this book.

I was provided an ARC of this book from the publisher but I'm not really sure that I should have accepted. This book reads really young and I couldn't get into it. Perhaps it appeals to the younger readers, but I enjoy a much more robust fantasy building and this wasn't it. Nothing against the book/story itself, but I personally should've passed.

Overall, I enjoyed my reading experience of this story. I liked Alice and Lily. However, this read a bit young. The world building was a bit surface level, but that will probably be fleshed out more in the sequel.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter, Katherine Livesey, and Netgalley for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

Wow, what a fun story!!! I was unsure what to expect when I first started as it was slow to build (in a good way!) and then once the author started diving into the characters more it picked up for me!

Sisters of Shadow has so many different topics and issues in it, such as betrayal, lesbian relationship, death, and secrets. And it all works so well and if any of it were missing the story just wouldn’t be the same!!!!

Alice is a character that I’m not too sure of at first, but she grew on me when I realized she wasn’t too sure of herself! There is definitely a lot of growth of her character in this story and it is fun to watch her see her true self and take chances! Lily is the caregiver of the two women, and she shines in that role. She cannot seem to help but look after anyone around her and always wants to think the best of people.

The fantasy aspect is minimal in this story, but this first book I feel really set the reader up for future stories. The characters were the main focus and the reader definitely has a good idea of who they are and what they are made of by the end of the story! I am really curious to see where the author takes this series!!!!

The bond between Alice and Lily is wonderfully written as were both characters. They had great character development throughout the book and it was interesting to see how they managed without each other. The other characters were also very well written and all around made the story more vibrant. The setting was well done and while we haven't learned much about the magic system yet it is intriguing and I am excited to learn more about it in the rest of the series. All around this is a cool story and I am excited to see more from this world.

𝑨 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆.

𝐸𝑁/𝐹𝑅

| WARNING: This digital A.R.C was kindly sent to me by the publisher via NetGalley after I requested it in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own |

This review is probably going to be one of my shortest ones since I started writing them for a simple and good reason, the things I reproach to this book is entirely my fault.
It’s a critic, without being a real one, that seems to be said a lot about Sisters of Shadow by Katherine Livesey: The targeted audience isn’t identifiable.
To read this book was a true trial for my willpower, as I was appealed by the synopsis about two young women, best friends, fighting to be reunited despite destiny’s plan.

While Alice ends up being kidnapped by a sect, Lily goes to her pursuit, braving fate and dangers to rescue her. By putting forward a nice cover and the promise of witchcraft, I was charmed, and I asked to receive the A.R.C, which the publisher kindly granted me.
Except that where It sticks is that I constantly imagined the two young girls as being really young, just teenage girls in my mind and due to the writing style I think.
Which, considering certain events, and some implied, made me wince more than once.
So from the height of my 23 years, lover of dark and violent readings, I found the story a little soft.
Certainly, Lily’s quest is full of good intentions, and Alice’s journey is in itself trying (TW: Torture) but in the end, I found myself reading the lines diagonally.
And it’s completely my fault.
If you are younger than me, I’ll say around the age of 14, and you are looking for a captivating but simple English reading, Sister of Shadow fully justifies that you may be interested in it. But since I’m not, here we are.
A correct but not exceptional worldbuilding, with however a good lesbian representation that I applause especially in a coming-of-age story.

| WARNING : Cet A.R.C digital m’a été envoyé par l'éditeur via NetGalley suite à ma demande sur le site en échange d’une honnête revue. Toutes les opinions exprimées sont miennes. |

Cette revue va probablement être une de mes revues les plus courtes depuis que j’ai commencé à en faire pour une simple et bonne raison, les choses que je reproche à ce livre sont entièrement de ma faute.
C’est une critique, sans en être une, qui semble beaucoup revenir lorsqu’il est question de Sisters of Shadow par Katherine Livesey, l’audience ciblée n’est pas clairement identifiable.

Lire ce livre a été une vraie épreuve d’endurance pour ma part, je m’étais laissée séduire par le résumé un peu sombre de deux jeunes filles, meilleures amies, luttant pour se retrouver malgré les coups du destin. Alors qu’Alice se retrouve kidnappée par une secte, Lily se lance à sa poursuite, bravant le destin et les dangers pour la secourir.
En mettant en avant une jolie couverture et la promesse de sorcellerie, ni une ni deux j’ai demandé à en lire l’A.R.C, ce que l’éditeur m’a gentiment accordé.

Sauf que là où ça coince est que j’ai constamment imaginé les deux jeunes filles comme étant réellement jeunes, tout juste des adolescentes d’après moi et suivant le sens que leurs donne l’autrice à travers sa plume. Ce qui au vu de certains évènements, et certains sous-entendus, m’a fait grimacer plus d’une fois.
Alors vous pensez bien que du haut de mes 23 ans, amatrice de lectures sombres et violentes, j’ai trouvé l’histoire un peu molle.
Certes la quête de Lily est pleine de bonnes intentions, et le parcours d’Alice est lui-même éprouvant (TW : Torture) mais au final je me suis retrouvée à parcourir les lignes en diagonale.
Et ceci est entièrement ma faute.
Si vous êtes plus jeunes que moi, je dirai vers 14 ans, et que vous cherchez une lecture VO envoutante mais simple au niveau de l’écriture, Sister of Shadow justifie entièrement que vous vous y intéressiez.
Mais comme ce n’est pas mon cas, nous en sommes là.
Un worldbuilding correct mais pas exceptionnel, avec cependant une bonne représentation lesbienne que je salue surtout dans un récit de coming of age.

What a great book! I was not sure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. There are so many things to love about this story. The characters are very well-written. Two strong female leads. The secondary characters are equally as good and really make the story so much more than just a story about witches and magic. The setting is fantastic, I could really picture what was happening. The plot was very unique and held my interest all the way through. Lastly, the cover is a real eye-catcher. The whole book is fabulous.

This novel centers around the bond of sisterhood between Alice Blackwell and Lily Knight, with Alice and Lily as two sides of the same coin, one dark and one light. Alice disappears one day after receiving a letter from a sinister cult called the Sisters of Shadow, using Alice's fascination with magic as bait. Lily chases after her to save her best friend, with only a fairytale and a boy named Jem.

I felt like the beginning was fairly stilted, causing me to be unable to immerse myself in the story. The character descriptions did not bring the characters to life for me, and seemed to me to be too two-dimensional. When Lily went on her journey, and Alice went through her trials, I felt like the writing improved and I was able to fall into the story. The relationships added a lot of interactions that helped make Alice and Lily more believable as heroines. I did feel like the ending did not wrap up the story well, to the point that I didnt even feel the impact of the story's climax. I know there is supposed to be a sequel, but I think that books in a series should still have good endings to entice you to continue on. While I really like this story, I do feel like I would have enjoyed it with more fleshing out of characters and the world.

This is an interesting fantasy book that starts with friends Alice and Lily. Alice’s parents disappeared when she was 6 years old and she lived alone in their small cabin in the woods. The townspeople were not nice to her, so Lily took to bringing her supplies. When Alice disappeared one night, Lily was sent to rescue her. Read the book to learn about her travels and the people she meets along the way.

How magic works was not really clear in this setting. Maybe it will be more thoroughly explained it the next book.

I received a free copy of this book to review through NetGalley.

Right from page one this book instantly takes us off on a heartfelt, coming of age journey, I grew to really love the characters over this unexpected, delightful read. There is two love stories in this one, and the author does great on normalising queer relationships, i really didn't know if i wanted to ship any of them as they did seem abit rushed, but as the feelings developed i am now rooting for both couples. Even though the romance seemed rushed the pacing of the book was perfect. And there's a playlist at the back of the book which just goes so well with all the places I imagined. My only problem with this tale is the magical element, where does it come from? How do you know if someone holds magical ability? How does it work? It was a little vague on the specifics, and we don't see much even though the book is built around magic. It has left me with loads of unanswered questions, but it was a fantastic start to a series, and I will maybe get my answers in the next instalment.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

There's a lot of promise in this book - the plot is interesting and the characters are likeable. However, I felt that sometimes the narrative was a bit flat and some of the twists were pretty predictable. I'm hoping that there is some more backstory to Hecate than 'wronged woman turns into bad witch' as well, and that Alice's parents are explored more. I'd read the sequel but I wouldn't rush out to buy it. Any comparison to His Dark Materials probably hurts more than it helps.

2 STARS

It's not all about Alice Blackwell.

Sure, she's facing the truth of her heritage and the cost of magic, and sure, she's been kidnapped. But the real star of the show is Lily Knight, apothecary in training and Alice's best friend. She's dreamed all her life of a comfortable existence in Alder Vale; no magic, no adventures, no fear for miles. When Alice disappears, though, it's Lily who's brave enough to follow her trail and search for the truth.

The journey will take her far from home, and it will teach her what fear truly looks like. But it will also show her just what she's fighting for, and what might lie ahead if only she dares to dream outside the meadows of Alder Vale.


Sisters of Shadow is a prolonged fairy tale.

It has the right tone for it, a sort of whimsical voice. It also has all the classic fairy tale pitfalls as well. Monologuing villains? Predictable secrets of parentage? Supposedly responsible adults refusing to tell children information that could very well save their lives or at least give them an edge in the struggles to come? Oh yes, it has all of these!

As much as I wanted to appreciate those elements of whimsy, they were completely overshadowed by the plainness of the writing. Sisters of Shadow brings very little to the table that hasn't been done before, and it doesn't do it in any particularly spectacular way. Everything is simplistic and predictable to a frustrating degree.

Also consider that the main characters are supposed to be 17 or 18, and that adds another layer of disappointment. If this were a younger YA, with early teen protagonists, or even a middle grade, some of the tone might fit better. But I sometimes felt like these characters were a bunch of airheads with an occasional smart thought in their heads, and not nearly enough facets to be, well, proper characters.


"Sometimes, a little wildness is key."

Possibly scalding takes aside, though, I did have some appreciation for Sisters of Shadow. For one, the casual sapphic representation brought me great joy. In her author's note, Katherine Livesey mentions a little of her own experience in realizing her bisexuality, and how much she wishes she had a book like this when she was younger and still figuring things out. I think that's such a wonderful wish, too, because Alice and her love interest are in this stage of learning what their love looks like, what it means. Alice is especially hesitant, only just realizing that falling in love with another girl is truly an option, and her anxiety over it is all too real. 

What can I say? I have a soft spot for late bloomer sapphics finally understanding themselves a little better.

I also liked a couple of the concepts regarding the witches in this book. There are witches, and then there are Protectors, who have an elemental affinity that allows them to match well with witches of that same affinity. In rare, exceptional cases, a witch and Protector may bond, and their magic becomes exclusive to one another. And in even rarer cases, two witches might bond, leading to untold power. It's a system that intrigues me, and one I don't think I got nearly enough of. Alice may only be at the start of harnessing her magic, but I think that would have been a perfect point to teach her (and by extension, readers) more about what she's getting into.


This one might be good for slightly younger YA readers, or perhaps someone looking for a more simplistic read.

I highly doubt it's going to satisfy anyone looking for an immersive, robust fantasy, especially when it comes to character development. Still, I think it might be a good book for folks who want a break from hefty, complex fantasy, or for younger, newer YA readers who are just starting to get into the age range/genre.

For those of you who are interested in Sisters of Shadow, you don't have long to wait! It officially releases tomorrow, September 30th. And, if you enjoy it more than I did, there's also going to be a sequel, as Alice and Lily's journeys are far from over.


CW: loss of a loved one, violence, gore, animal death, child abuse, child death, torture

Abandoned as a child, Alice grew up in a cabin in the woods, away from the sense of normalcy of the closest town. Feared as a witch by most of the village, Alice took comfort in her own company, seeking out the tendrils of magic that her parents left behind and hoping that maybe, if she were lucky, she might have some magic in her after all. Shortly after Alice’s parents mysteriously disappeared, a little girl called Lily from the village began visiting her. In no time, the girls were thick as thieves, enjoying each other’s company and imagination in the peaceful forest that they called home.

Lily’s world is turned upside down when she discovers her best friend missing with an ominous note left in her place. Shouldering the responsibility she feels for Alice’s safety, Lily embarks on a difficult journey to rescue her friend from certain danger. Having never left the village on her own before, Lily runs into challenges that she never expected to face, with losses and heartbreak along the way. Nevertheless, she cherishes her luck when she narrowly escapes death with the help of a mysterious stranger. Lily quickly becomes lost in the new stranger’s world, finding answers to some of her questions while a hundred more pop up in their place.

Meanwhile, Alice’s troubles are far bigger than she first realized. Not only has she been taken far from her home, but she also finds herself surrounded by a dangerous, cult-like group of witches who know more about her past than they let on. Forced to face her fears and stand up for herself, Alice does things previously unfathomable as she fights for her life. The only solace she has now is a girl. A beautiful, scarred warrior girl who, against all odds, has managed to win Alice’s heart.

Will Lily and her stranger find a way to save their loved ones? Will Alice find the power within to defeat the dangers she faces and save herself? The stakes are high in this whimsical fantasy adventure.


My Thoughts…

When I read ‘Anne of Green Gables meets His Dark Materials’ on the blurb of this book, I immediately had to request a copy. Anne of Green Gables holds a tender place in my heart and I adore the aesthetic, oftentimes rambling narrative that Anne provides. Combined with a fantasy series, this book had the potential to do amazing things and I couldn’t wait to find out where the adventure would take me.

I was delighted to find that I could see the comparison to Anne right from page one. Lily’s strain of thought was quite similar to Anne’s rambling style and she was right at home in nature, recounting her time spent in the forest with a fondness that made me smile. Having never read His Dark Materials, I’m not sure if this comparison is accurate. However, the book was very much a fantasy tale full of haunting folklore and dangerous witches possessing powerful magic. While I enjoyed the imagery at the beginning of the book, things quickly turned dark when the stakes for both main characters were raised. I felt the transition was a bit abrupt, and I was left with a few unanswered questions. For the sake of keeping things spoiler-free, I won’t delve into the details. However, there was one point where I felt there was unnecessary violence towards an innocent character and I didn’t feel like there was any explanation for it. There were also certain themes that I felt were mentioned a little too casually, like torture for no apparent reason, child slavery and abuse. I understand that these things served a purpose in showing how dangerous a particular group of individuals was, but I felt like the main characters seemed quite de-sensitized from it, despite being suddenly thrown into the world.

Additionally, there were points in the plot that I found a bit slow. The characters were talking about spending all this time planning for something, but they never actually inform the reader of what they’re specifically planning. There were also a few comments that I found a little irritating, particularly toward the end of the book. One character mentioned numerous times about how she felt an incredible connection to this group of people and knew their daily habits like the back of her hand. At first, I thought perhaps they had jumped forward in time a bit and I hadn’t noticed. But then they clarified it had been less than a week since they first met. Personally, I found the sudden strong connections with multiple individuals to be a bit far-fetched and it transported me out of the story.

Lastly, I think I would have enjoyed the ending more if it had happened about 10 pages sooner. Just as I thought the plot was wrapping up quite nicely, there were a few things thrown in out of the blue right at the end. It felt like more of an afterthought than a well-placed cliff-hanger and left me feeling frustrated with the lack of a satisfying ending. Nevertheless, I did enjoy this book. I thought it was a really interesting combination of themes and the atmosphere was really well done throughout the entire book. If you enjoy reading witchy books with strong female characters, this is a good one to pick up! I’m curious to see where the series goes next.

This first book in the series sets the scene for the following books. Lily follows her friend Alice after she disappears, with whispers of dark magic coming back to the village.
I used to read a lot of fantasy a few years ago, before my taste changed, so was intrigued by the description of this book. I'm maybe not the target reader, it seems more aimed at YA, but this doesn't define it completely. It is a slow burner, taking its time to build pace as Lily continues her search for Alice. It does build up to a climax, with magic abounding, and certainly sets the expectations for the next book. There is some romance involved, in addition to the magic, with atmospheric scenes as Lily cruises the moors. I ended up looking forward to reading the continuation of the story and to find up where the small group go next.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

An enchanting tale of two girls who are complete opposites but are sisters of heart. They nickname themselves the sisters of shadow not knowing that this title actually belongs to a group of witches. This is a book of strength, friendship and love where you're least expecting it. Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for giving me an opportunity to read this e_ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When I sat down to write this review, I was challenged to come up with why I didn't love this book. So many things I adore are here... adventure to new worlds, secret societies, romance, and adventures to discover your past. I thought and thought and thought... then I realized that's just it. The thought I put into trying to put my thumb on it felt more deep than the narrative itself.

We leap directly into the action here, something that I respond well to almost always. Alice is whisked away before we leave the first few pages, off to discover her own magical abilities, while her friend Lily is left behind to chase. Lily is relentless in her pursuit, feeling called at all times to connect with her friend again and discovering her own talents on the way.

But here's the thing. Neither of these characters, nor their respective love interests, felt at all deep. They were surface level with very little development. It became almost distracting when they came back together in particular, and it became apparent that in all reality, we have no reference for why Lily cares at all that Alice is taken. She upends her life for Alice, but why? We have to just take it at face value that she would pursue her across multiple barriers, miles, and dangers.

Unfortunately, the magic system is also highly undefined. We get glimpses of the best pieces of fantastical writing - fun interactions between characters' powers, magical training, and the discovery of powers that were long desired and change the game for the wielder. But none of it is fully explored beyond a menacing mention and a hint of what is to come in Book 2.

I am underwhelmed, and it makes me sad. I hope others who might enjoy a surface-level story with excellent LGBTQA+ representation might be able to overlook these issues but I just can't.

**my thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review**

When one of a pair of best friends is lured away by a mysterious and dangerous magical sect, her friend sets out on a journey to rescue her.

It's a fairly standard fantasy adventure story. The good things about it: female leads and normalised representation of lesbian relationships. But there were several points where it did not quite hit the mark for me. Firstly, the setting. It's sort of historical in that they all wear old-fashioned clothes and talk of needing chaperones, but then they use modern language and have modern attitudes towards sexuality and gender, and the two don't quite sit together in the created fantasy universe in which the story is set.

I never really felt I understood much about the society, or what was going on outside of the insular community on the lighthouse island. I never felt I knew what the sect wanted, and because of that they never felt like much of a threat. The confrontation at the end felt like a huge anticlimax and while it is set up for more to happen in the sequel, it felt quite unsatisfying as a result.

I'm not sure what age range this book was aimed at - I feel like I would have enjoyed reading it when I was about thirteen when I liked overblown fantasy that was heavy on magic and girls kicking butt, but some of the romantic content felt like it might be aimed at older teenagers, and I don't know if for that age range it might feel too cliched.

Overall, I didn't dislike it but I would have liked to see more development of the world of the novel, more development of the characters, and a bit more threat to make for a satisfying conclusion to this instalment of the story.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

When I picked up this book, I was so thrilled. The premise was so good, the cover even better, and the opening was really intriguing. However, there was something about it that I just couldn't get into. I struggled so much, and it was unfortunately a bit of a relief when it was finally over.

And I hate to say that about a book, because I know how hard the author must have worked on it, how they have poured their heart and soul into their work, and all the editors and the publishers, that have spend hours on it. And to be clear, there's nothing wrong with this book. It's written well, the plot is interesting and so on. It sort of ticks all the boxes, but still, this wasn't for me at all.

I liked the world and the history and the way the world was described to me as a reader, and the characters too. It did, however, end up being too much text and too little action. There could be litteral pages of just ... nothing. Every little detail was made so important that the important stuff no longer seemed important.

And then there was the voice. It reads like a middle grade story. It doesn't matter how long I read for, I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that the main characters were in their late teens. They sounded like eleven years old. The whole tone of the book was MG, young and childish and a little too juvenile for the age of the cast. The cover, too, do in fact look more MG than YA.

All in all, I'm going to give this book three stars out of five. I wanted to love it, but unfortunately I just didn't get along with it. There not much I can say about it either, more than that I'm sure others will love this book, and I hope it finds a better a home and a more suitable reader than what I was.

Sisters of Shadow is the first novel in a series of the same name. I believe it will be a trilogy if my memory serves me correctly. The story follows two girls, Alice Blackwell and Lily Knight, and the adventure that surrounds them. Alice lives on the outskirts of town in the woods, while Lily lives in town and loves to be out in nature. Lily visits Alice all the time and the two of them are not only best friends, but together they are the sisters of shadow. Alice comes from a long line of witches and believes that she could have similar magic within her. When she receives a mysterious letter, she eventually ends up with a coven of witches. She initially believes that she is finally among those like her, but the leader seems to have sinister intentions. When Lily discovers that Alice has disappeared, she sets out to rescue her. The story is told from both the perspectives of Lily and Alice as they try to find their way back to each other.

Even though the two characters go through two different experiences in the story, their friendship connects them. Along each of their adventures, the two main characters uncover secrets and go through their own journeys of self-discovery. Lily is on a quest where she must overcome her fears as she travels alone whereas Alice must find a way through the betrayal as she thought she was on her way to learn from a coven. There are two potential romances on the horizon for the two characters. Lily stumbles across a boy, Jem, on her journey and the two of them become closer. Alice meets Grace, who connects with Alice and wants to protect her. The two romances are very sweet and I cannot wait to see how each develops.

The pacing is a little slow at first, to me, as it took me a few tries to become fully immersed in the story. Once I was there, I could not wait to see what happened next. As with most series, it is very disappointing to get to the last page and know that you will need to wait for the sequel to see what happens next. For me, the writing was on the younger end of the YA spectrum so I may not be the intended audience and a younger reader could appreciate this story more than I could. The magic and characters are all interesting and I wanted to learn more about them. As this is the first novel in a series, I hope that these are further explored.

Overall, this series has a lot of potential for what to expect in the sequel. While this intro novel is not quite for me, I believe it will get better over time, like a few other series out there. I enjoyed the playlist at the end of the novel and actually listened to some of the songs while reading and the two of them went very well together. This was an enjoyable story about romance, friendship, magic, and mystery. I cannot wait to try the sequel, Sisters of Moonlight!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, for the opportunity to read this enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

I enjoyed Sisters of Shadow, it brought to the table everything I wanted and was promised in the description... except for the Anne of Green Gables reference in the description was super off - I did not get that at all. It actually had me wondering if that book title was used just to draw in more readers.

Overall Sisters of Shadow is a great debut from Katherine Livesey and I am excited to read more of their work in the future. I LOVED the addition of the playlist at the end of the books and wish more books did that!