Sisters of Shadow

This was quirky, full of the whimsy that I would only expect from something that uses Anne of Green Gables as a reference. But, this was also full of raw, dripping magic. Characters that are complex, something that I would expect to come from V E Schwab. I ingested this story, let it settle in my mind, and now I cannot get it out of my head. I need more, MORE, from Livesey. Great work here.

I received an ARC from NetGalley, for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Our initial two main characters are Alice and Lily. Lily lives with her uncle Alf, the apothecary. Alice lives alone on a mountain.  The people of the village shun Alice and suspect her of witchcraft, and blame her for all that goes wrong.

Despite this, the two girls are the young, to the other's yang. Lily is a ray of sunshine, bringing light to Alice,  and Alice us the shadow to Lily's brilliance. The two have a fast and strong friendship. They call themselves the Sisters Of Shadow.

On a visit to Alice, Lily find the door open, but no trace of Alice, save a letter from a Hecate Winter.  Lily rushes back to her uncle, letter in hand. Having never left her village on her own before, Lily is full of trepidation as she sets off to rescue her dearest friend Alice.

From this point in the novel, we see things as they transpire for both Lily and Alice.

We see Lily overcoming her fears, and setting off alone to try and rescue het dearest friend. We see Alice chained up and alone by the people who stole her from her home.

This was a gripping read, full of love, friendship, working together to overcome fears and if the battle of good vs evil. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read and should definitely be added to your TBR.

Thankyou you to NetGalley and One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

To all my fellow witches, this is a wonderfully whimsical and magical read!

Alice and Lily have this amazing friendship (reminds me a bit of Agatha and Sophie (opposites attract) but a lot more wholesome and beautiful). It has smart and strong female characters at its core. This gives of strong ‘Anne of Green Gables’ vibes but more fantastical and mystical.

It is filled with a whole lot of heart, journey of self-discovery, classic good vs evil trope but witches style, and definitely what others have been describing it as cottagecore fantasy (calmly sips tea while trying to reign in the ecstatic feels). A very sweet story that represents LGBTQI+

A great debut of a novel, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am so excited that this series will be continuing. I am one keen bean!

This is an excellent book for people who are setting or character driven. Actual action scenes can be scant for those who are action driven.
I really enjoyed the characters and their development in this book. Did I skip over a lot of the setting and descriptions? Yes, sometimes. But I believe this book has elements that will appeal to everyone and it was fun to read.

I really thought this book was a fun read. The world building and character relationships were believable. I loved the little bits that reminded me of Peter Pan (maybe not on purpose) and the magic in the world gets me excited to see what will happen in book two.

Absolutely loved this book, and literally just devoured it.

It’s the first in the series, and it leaves you on a cliffhanger that you would not believe!

The author has a writing style that enabled me to step straight into the book and feel like I was there, I was able to visualise so easily the settings, etc.

Really really enjoyed this, I can’t wait to see what happens in book 2!

My thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review