The Sisters of Reckoning
Charlotte Nicole Davis
Hot Key Books, August 2021
Paperback, £7.99
ISBN 9781471409318
The Sisters of Reckoning is the adventurous sequel to the action packed The Good Luck Girls. This fast-paced fantasy novel had me gripped from the very first lines. The stakes were continuously high on each mission Aster and her crew went on to rid their cruel world of “welcome houses.”
Charlotte Nicole Davis never gave this wholesome group of young women (and man) an easy win. She created a diverse group who acknowledge themselves as “women” and not just young women, which I adored. I truly came to love these characters. Watching them make bold decisions and attempt to take down a whole entire monopoly was
inspiring. At the average age of eighteen, they had to go through gruelling hardships in return for their rewards.
There’s admirable beauty in the world-building of this book. Alongside the humorous tones, there’s an underlying deathly darkness all the same. Raveners, people who serve to protect the antagonists, are described as “omens of death, servants of death, so loyal their bodies don’t even decay.” The tie-in with death was a very interesting element
for me that I enjoyed. The world itself is a cross between the present and medieval times in terms of coin, transport and labour.
The background love triangle was something I really indulged in. Although it doesn’t stifle the plot, it is a cute touch that kept me wanting to devour this book. I personally feel I missed out on not having read The Good Luck Girls and would highly recommend you do before The Sisters of Reckoning.
Emma Muldoon-Ryan
In her introduction, Crossan states that “poetry belongs to us all”, and the book is particularly aimed at readers who would not otherwise think poetry was for them. Crossan has provided light commentary before most poems: suggested interpretations, author bios, even personal anecdotes. These make the reading experience feel less isolated, gently guided without anything getting over-explained. I did, however, find the occasional footnotes (actually, more so the stars indicating them within the poems) a bit distracting.
The book also contains several new illustrations by Tom Percival, reference guides to characters and other bonus content. The book seems to have a dark story of its own, and features the work of four Archivists, all of whom mysteriously disappear over the course of the book. The Skulduggery Pleasant Grimoire was published on the 27th of May 2021.
The story was captivating. It made me feel as if I was there with these characters, experiencing their ups and downs, especially when Hollis had lost her husband and parents. Hollis stayed strong during the tough times which was something I admired about her. I was curious to know what would happen next to her and the book left me on a cliffhanger.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s sequel to Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe brings you on a rollercoaster of emotions. Alire Sáenz writes in such a poetic way, every single page I read feels like a poem. When we get to read Ari’s letters to Dante, I feel so involved with the story and what is going on in Aristotle’s head. Learning about how difficult the lives were of the LGBTQ+ community in the 1980s was heartbreakingly sad.
