Sunday, 6 December 2009

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Review: Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle ZinkProphecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink (review copy) - 'Without the Keys, something terrible will happen. Something that cannot be undone. And with them, I might bring an end to the riddle of the Prophecy and my strange part in it. If Alice and I are on conflicting sides of the Prophecy, the Keys would be dangerous in her hands. Which means I have to find them. And I have to do it before my sister.' This is the story of sixteen-year-old Lia Milthorpe's quest to discover her role and her twin sister's in a powerful prophecy that has affected twin sisters for generations. But nothing can prepare her for what she discovers - about herself, about her family, and about the danger that goes from haunting her dreams to becoming her reality. From Amazon UK

I don’t really know what I expected with this novel, but this book is so much more than anything I could have expected! It sounded awesome, which is why I wanted to read it, but the blurb just scratches the surface. The excitement that surged through me as I read this novel was so, I can’t even begin to explain.

Some of you may be aware that I am a huge David Eddings. I love his novels for a great many reasons, one being that Pawn of Prophecy was THE book that made me an avid reader, and whenever I read it, I get that same feeling of awe that books can be so enchanting as when I first read it . It may sound odd to be mentioning my love for Eddings in this review, but I do have a reason; Eddings’ Belgariad series was about a quest to fulfil a prophecy, it was intricate, it was magical – just like Prophecy of the Sisters. And just like Pawn of Prophecy, I was filled with the same awe, and the same feeling of how lucky we are that books, stories and authors exist for our enjoyment when I read Prophecy of the Sisters!

This is the kind of fantasy that I absolutely adore! You are left guessing with every page you turn, with every clue there are so many possibilities that could be the answer, and the excitement and wonder at Zink’s incredible story telling abilities just grow and grow.

This story is so complicated. When I read the prophecy, I sat there blinking at it, unable to make any sense of it at all, but as the story unfolds, and the clues arrive, and the jigsaw pieces are slowly fitted together, I challenge anyone to read this book and not be amazed at just how intricate this is! J. K. Rowling should watch her back, she has competition in the complicated and clever stakes!

It’s known by a fair few that I am not really a fan of historical fiction, so once I opened the first pages and saw it was historical, I inwardly groaned. I was sure I wouldn’t like it, and didn’t think it would work; a historical urban fantasy? But it does! The historical aspect makes Prophecy of the Sisters feel more like a high fantasy, which I love!

I love the characters! Lia makes a great main character, and despite the time period, she is very relatable. Strong, yet human and deals with her problems as such. Sonia and Luisa are just brilliant secondary characters, with their easy friendship, but their concern and worry that is very normal; I think sometimes, in some novels, people seem to accept the fantastic far too easily, and cope far too well with the issues, but it’s not the case with Sonia and Luisa, and it makes them more likable and believable.

Alice is probably the most impressive character; she is absolutely despicable, and far too disturbing for words, but utterly brilliant in that she evokes such dislike and abhorrence. As weird as it may sound, I am excited to see just how cruel and evil she can become, to what lengths she’ll go to next to try to get what she wants. To see if she can make me loath her even more.
I can’t tell you just how amazing this book is! I absolutely loved it, and I am itching to read the next in the series, Guardian of the Gate. If you haven’t read this book yet, get yourself to a bookshop now, you NEED this book!

Thank you to Atom for sending me a review copy, and thank you to Michelle Zink for requesting that Atom do so!

Published: 6th August 2009
Publisher: Atom
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on Amazon US
Michelle Zink’s Website

16 comments:

  1. This sounds fantastic! Thanks for the great review. (And it's not often there's a character called Luisa - I'm even more intrigued now!)

    Luisa ;)

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  2. You're welcome! It is such a brilliant book! Haha, I thought of you everytime Luisa made an appearance; she's half English, half Italian too! :)

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  3. I'm glad this got a great review from you! It only makes me want to read it more!

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  4. Oh, it is such a fantastic book! I really loved it! Hope you enjoy it when you read it! :)

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  5. What a beautifully written review! You really piqued my interest in this book.

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  6. Oh, this sounds good! I have it somewhere on my TBR pile, and I have no idea why I haven't read it yet. I'm definitely taking it from under and putting it somewhere near the top for the Holidays season!

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  7. This book is on my wishlist and I have been kind of hesitant on getting it...But now I know I'll give it a try. Thanks for the great post!!!

    BTW...I have an award for you here

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  8. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! MZ is ace :)

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  9. Fantastic review! I was a little disappointed with this so I'm glad you loved it so much.

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  10. Laughing Stars - Oh, thank you! I really appreciate you commenting on how I wrote the review =; it's always nice to know people like the way a review is written, as well as what it has to say :) Thank you! This book is awesome, I really hope you pick it up!

    Kay - Awesome! It's really a fantastic book! I'm sure you'll love it! :D

    Jenn-ay - You're welcome! It's an awesome! You're going to love it! Thanks for the award, I'll check it out now!

    Jenny - It is SUCH a brilliant book! I'm so glad I read it!

    Sophie - Thank you! Oh, that's a shame, I really enjoyed it!

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  11. Sounds great! I've actually had this one on my wish list for a while now...your review just adds to the reasons I already wanted it! Thanks for sharing!

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  12. You're welcome! Ohh, you must get it, it's fantastic!

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  13. She truly did a great job building the Prophecy world, didn't she? I mean it's major world-building and totally unique and everything is at stake here!

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  14. World building! Those are the words I should have used; I tend to forget every now and again the terms which would be best to describe what I mean.
    But I know! It is so fantastic! So clever and intricate and just wow! I loved it!

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  15. Thanks so much for the lovely, thorough review, Jo!
    <3

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  16. You're more than welcome, Michelle! It was so amazing, I really loved it! Thank you for stopping by my blog again! I really appreciate it :)

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