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A review by kjharrowick
The Sisters Mederos by Patrice Sarath
3.0
Why I picked up this book:
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. When I first read the description, it sounded like a fun adventure book. Couple that with Angry Robot as a publisher, I was certain it would have some fantastic adult themes. At least, that was the hope.
This review may contain spoilers.
What I loved:
Terk the gambler and Mrs. Fayres the mistress were the two most interesting characters in this book. Both had a strong presence and I wish the story spent more time on who they were and how they fit into to the story.
Of the two sisters, Yvienne was the far more interesting one. She had a lot of depth to her personality, and overall complexity—an adventurous spirit under a prim and proper lady, and it made her tons of fun to read.
Areas needing a touch of refinement:
Coming from Angry Robot, I expected this to be an adult adventure, but it felt very YA. The girls are 18 & 20, but a significant portion of the story is watching them be submissive to their parents and hearing the family bickering around them. It was a bit too childish for my tastes and really took away from the sisters and their story.
The prologue read as MG and was just a lot of names thrown at the reader, most of which I forgot by the time any story started. I'm not certain it adds the right amount of impact.
The story hid a lot of information from the reader. I don’t mean in the ‘try to figure out the mystery’ sense, more of a lack of enough data. I have no idea how the magic system in this world works apart from a few sparks on Tesara’s fingertips and her doing things to fit the story. There’s also a moment when the sisters decide to work together, but it’s not really clear. More ‘okay, let’s do stuff’, but the motivation was a little lost. And the cave felt like a consistent deus ex-machina. Yvienne stocked it with supplies and it was ready… but that’s it. The reader wasn’t clued into what it looked like inside, what supplies she stocked, etc, and through the narrative the cave became a place to sleep or change clothes, but glossed over that she still had to swim out… yet she always returned home dry.
Overall:
To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about this story. It was a cute read, and the premise is fantastic, but I feel like so much more could have been done here.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. When I first read the description, it sounded like a fun adventure book. Couple that with Angry Robot as a publisher, I was certain it would have some fantastic adult themes. At least, that was the hope.
This review may contain spoilers.
What I loved:
Terk the gambler and Mrs. Fayres the mistress were the two most interesting characters in this book. Both had a strong presence and I wish the story spent more time on who they were and how they fit into to the story.
Of the two sisters, Yvienne was the far more interesting one. She had a lot of depth to her personality, and overall complexity—an adventurous spirit under a prim and proper lady, and it made her tons of fun to read.
Areas needing a touch of refinement:
Coming from Angry Robot, I expected this to be an adult adventure, but it felt very YA. The girls are 18 & 20, but a significant portion of the story is watching them be submissive to their parents and hearing the family bickering around them. It was a bit too childish for my tastes and really took away from the sisters and their story.
The prologue read as MG and was just a lot of names thrown at the reader, most of which I forgot by the time any story started. I'm not certain it adds the right amount of impact.
The story hid a lot of information from the reader. I don’t mean in the ‘try to figure out the mystery’ sense, more of a lack of enough data. I have no idea how the magic system in this world works apart from a few sparks on Tesara’s fingertips and her doing things to fit the story. There’s also a moment when the sisters decide to work together, but it’s not really clear. More ‘okay, let’s do stuff’, but the motivation was a little lost. And the cave felt like a consistent deus ex-machina. Yvienne stocked it with supplies and it was ready… but that’s it. The reader wasn’t clued into what it looked like inside, what supplies she stocked, etc, and through the narrative the cave became a place to sleep or change clothes, but glossed over that she still had to swim out… yet she always returned home dry.
Overall:
To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about this story. It was a cute read, and the premise is fantastic, but I feel like so much more could have been done here.