Sisters of Sword and Shadow

Book Title: Sisters of Sword and Shadow

Author: Laura Bates

Date Started: December 31st 2023

Date Completed: January 4th 2024

Genres: Historical, Adventure, Fantasy

Quality Rating: Five Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Five Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

I was caught off guard by how much I fell head over heels for this book. It's an epic tale of adventure and belonging, going places you don't expect but are perfectly conceived, almost sidelining as a spin-off to Arthurian legend. While it's seemingly targeted at a younger audience, it's still massively enjoyable for older readers.

While the main narrative focuses on Cass and her journey to becoming a knight, the side plots are the real bursts of colour in this tapestry. Whether it's her relationship with secondary characters, coming to terms with her past, the relationships of the sisterhood's leaders, the politics of land ownership and more, it paints this whole story with so much more detail. But it never, even in moments of drama or angst, do they overwhelm the main story being told or the backbone of the heroine. Cass remains Cass the whole way through and everything else just makes it more vibrant.

Some may argue that the themes explored aren't suitable for a younger audience, but I think the tough things are done in such a responsible way. Obviously, misogyny was going to be core to this story, but Bates also touches on things like sexual violence, classism and mental health sensitively and without being graphic. She also focuses on the emotional experiences surrounding them, and how to move on with a support system.

I actually hadn't realised the author was Laura Bates of the Everyday Sexism project until I got to the acknowledgements at the end. While I'm not overly familiar with that book, it went a long way to explaining how this book had managed to be so exciting and fun, but accessible, political and brave. With so much detail, fun exploration and representation, it was awesome. To put it simply, I would've been obsessed with it as a child, and it was a pretty great ride as an adult too.