Sisters of Sorcery

Love this. They are just our queens. I know that the story itself could be strange sometimes or that the characters might not be perfect. But, I really like it as a novel. You could see different types of characters than the ones we already know. Just a good take in the marvel universe. Give it a chance.

As always I want to start by saying that I was given an e-ARC of this to review as part of a @thebooknetwork.co.uk book tour and on Netgalley. My review is honest and left voluntarily. Thank you as well to Aconyte Books and Marsheila Rockwell. Also while I will give a brief overview of the novel I will try to avoid spoilers beyond things that happen in the first few chapters to ensure enjoyment of potential readers.

Sisters of Sorcery is a story about sisterhood for want of a better word and the obstacles that can be overcome, even sometimes between each other, when working together. I am a tad biased to Marvel witches or sorceresses so I was more than a little excited when I saw the title alone. When I read the blurb I was a lot more excited, who doesn’t love Clea, but then when I got a few pages in I was in full fangirl mode. We have some stable sorceresses in here; Agatha Harkness (in spectral form but still powerful), her apprentice Holly LaDonna, Elizabeth Twoyoungmen ( The Talisman) and Margali Szardos. The only thing that could have made this perfect book any better was a cameo of Amora but that may have finished me off completely!

We enter the Dark Dimension with this cast of fantastic magical females to defeat a supernatural tyrant (who just so happens to be Clea’s mother) and save a being of Cosmic power, Ardina, before Umar the Unrelenting uses her prisoner to conquer the whole of the Splinter Realms not just the Dark Dimension.

As we already realised I am a massive fangirl for Marvel witches but even if I wasn’t this novel was top tier. It reads just like a comic but with the added extra of getting a deeper insight into the characters within. What I mean is we have amazing action scenes and adventure, fantastical and dark settings and even cameos along the way. It makes this almost impossible to put this down once you start. Even when it isn’t in your face action with demons and beings of the Splinter Realms the novel still keeps you hooked with learning more about the characters fears and desires, seeing them overcome their distrust or dislike of each other and ultimately seeing them finally form a sisterhood.

Rockwell manages to introduce each sorceress with such ease that even those who may not be familiar with the characters will quickly understand what makes them tick. I particularly loved Holly LaDonna, arguable the lynch pin that ended up tying the women together with her quirky humour and unwitting charm. I would actually love to read more about her and hope we may see her again in the future, bonus points if Elizabeth and Agatha are involved. Of course we have Clea who is, as always, perfect. Margali who’s sarcasm and animosity helped to create more problems for the women to deal with but ultimately helped. Elizabeth who is and was amazing. Again she brings her own brand of sarcasm and magic to the team. The sisterhood that she and Holly developed was also something I really enjoyed and hope is expanded on. On top of these amazing four we have the spectral form of Agatha Harkness, who while being killed by Scarlet Witch, is still there and arguably as powerful as ever. While not a main character on the adventure I adored her inclusion and how she managed to rub everyone up the wrong way. In short Rockwell mastered the characterisation of these powerful females and it made a thoroughly enjoyable read.

The setting of the novel was also amazing. The description of the dimensions visited really did evoke images as if you were there, as I said early like you were reading a comic and seeing the settings on the page. It was wonderful and refreshing to see other realms and the rulers of these. Each creating their own issues and problems the females have to face. Again I like to avoid spoilers but I will say I adored the inclusion of The Dreamqueen and how she affected the team.

Another refreshing aspect was that while dealing with this powerful sorceresses Rockwell manages to show their humanity or rather vulnerability both physical and mental. Our heroines suffer, they get hurt and bleed, they have to face their own fears and overcome these in order to continue on and complete their mission. I found this making me like them even more. Well it’s fun to have a strong and badass characters who seem to always win no matter the odds its always nice to see them struggle and fail. I find this makes them more human, easier to relate to and understand and creates a deeper bond between the protagonists and reader.

All in all I could not recommend this one enough. I knew I would love it but I didn’t know how much. I really hope we see these women back again in the future for more adventures, laughter, tears and struggles. Definitely one of my top ten of 2022. It just ticked all my boxes. A must read for fans of Marvels should it be cap m leading ladies, of mystical fantasy, Marvel fans, good fantasy adventures, and people overcoming differences to take down the big bad. You will not be disappointed.

https://twitter.com/VonCorellon/status/1560681938347704320
CLEA IS GETTING THE COVEN BACK TOGETHER!
Marsheilla Rockwell’s Sisters of Sorcery is magically delicious!
Sisters of Sorcery by
@MarcyRockwell
- a new, 3 act novel from
@AconyteBooks

@Marvel
Untold series exploring 4 of the multiverse’s most powerful wielders of the mystic arts🧵

Thread on Twitter - reposted by author

I'll be honest, I've never been interested in the magic side of Marvel comics.
Other than the occasional Magick storyline via an X-Men title and my extreme dislike for The Scarlett Witch, my knowledge of magical characters and magic-related lore is extremely minimal.

When I started to read "Sisters of Sorcery", the only character that I recognised was Margali due to her relationship with Nightcrawler.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is, I wasn't expecting to be drawn into the story as thoroughlyas I might a story about other Marvel characters.
So the fact that I enjoyed it as much as I did came as a total surprise to me!

I ended up reading it all in one sitting because I was really invested in seeing how things would end. More than that, I found myself genuinely invested in the friendships that were being forged between the main characters.
I don't tend to seek out stories about sisterhood and female solidarity but I have to say it's extremely refreshing to come across it in a Marvel setting. Usually when you have a cast of female leads there always has to be some sort of pettiness or jealousy or one of the other multitude of bad tropes regarding female friendships so it was really wonderful not to have to deal with that tripe in this story.

The characters are well-written and whilst they have their own complex personalities, they're all easy to respect in their own way.
The honest internal monologues and ernest intentions meant I came to know these characters in a really holistic way.

The story itself was interesting but I would caution that there is a lot of assumed knowledge in regards to Marvel world building so for someone totally new to Marvel comics, it might be difficult to follow along at times.

My one main complaint is how frequently Dr Strange was mentioned. I don't care that he is Clea's estranged husband. He didn't need to be mentioned so often, especially considering he isn't in the story at all. I understand that Clea's relationship with him is pivotal to her backstory and also her current uncertainty but it felt really inappropriate to place so much focus on him in a story that highlights the strength, intelligence, and capability of the female leads in a way that has nothing to do with their proximity to male characters. I'm not sure how to articulate my issue with it but it was really grating to read mentions of Strange by the end of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Aconyte Books, and Marsheila Rockwell for giving me a free digital copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.

#Marvel #MarvelEnt #Aconytebooks #review #NetGalley #SistersofSorcery

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About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.

For more information visit marvel.com. © 2022 MARVEL

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

A wonderful read with Marvel characters that I did not know existed but am happy for the introduction. Different origin stories and backgrounds, these sorcerers come together to banish a great evil. An exciting read that will leave you waiting and hoping for a Disney + series.