I enjoyed this book, but for some reason it didn't hook me as much as I'd hoped. I wanted more of the past than I got in one chunk, so I had a tendency to flip forward until I found the next flashback, and then have to go back and read the stuff in-between. ( )

3.5 stars

This was a solid addition to this series but I felt it dragged a little in certain places. It took too long for them to get where they needed to go. I really like the way the love story between Leesil and Magiere is shaping up. It's not the focus of the novel, but it's easy to see their feelings for each other. The mystery surrounding Magiere's beginnings weren't too surprising, but I'm curious to see how everything is going to play out. ( )

Magierre is trying to find out her past. Turns out she was specifically made to serve some long dead thing that wants to be resurrected with her at its side. Chap, the fey dog, is watching her to take her out if she goes down the dark path. ( )

Now that I finished it, I'm a little torn.

Cons:
The flashback technique, not really working for me. Didn't like how it was handled in the first book, didn't like it here.
The heroine is an annoying whiny ungrateful brat, more often than not, although she's growing on me.
The sage Wynn in this book is even worse! Good grief she's unlikeable. Even if I do continue to read the series, I won't be reading her offshoot.
I just can't help thinking each of these books would be better if 50-100 pages were knocked off. The pacing veers between brilliant and ridiculously slow, like it can't decide, and it makes them feel a little disjointed. I find myself skipping through entire sections and not, as you might think, the descriptive sections, because the world building here is spot on, but rather the multi-page descriptions of rituals being performed by Wynn who I dislike are just... boring. I don't care how she takes her tea, even though it's a plot point later, it could have been easily handled by "Wynn dropped some mint leaves into her tea, as was her habit" (and there's tons more examples like this).

Pros:
Chap!!
Leesil is interesting, and a whole lot more likeable than Magiere, even though he's just as damaged as she is.
Damaged heroes that aren't just magically over it one day - Probably the reason Magiere is growing on me, she's got some really crap baggage and it's broken her, so the more we learn, the more we understand why she is how she is. From that perspective, the character is really working, and the writing is really quite good.
The world-building is really paying off. There is a real sense of an actual world, with different countries, with different cultures, races, and even species, well thought through and planned out.

Overall: I like the series, well enough that I will try to find the rest of it, but they are on my "someday" list, rather than the "oh my goodness I have to find out how this ends RIGHT NOW" list. ( )

Sister of the Dead begins the morning after Thief of Lives ends. This is a series that absolutely must be read in order or it will make no sense. I am so glad that I am reading the books now instead of when they first came out because a waiting a year between books would have ruined the flow of the story for me.

As I get deeper into this series, I am enjoying it even more. The characters are all complex. They all have their own secrets and moral codes. Each has a past that they would rather forget but which calls to them. The choice of whether to continue on their current path or step off into the darkness doesn't simply occur once but instead over and over again in so many small choices that are made. Unknown forces try to shape events to their purpose but must contend with free will at each crossroads.

The action seems to be non-stop even when I thought Magiere and Leesil were going to get a small break to rest or talk things over. Their journey was full of obstacles and the simplest of tasks became difficult. Emotions are constantly running high, leading to short tempers and inner conflict.

Each time I thought I knew where the story was heading the authors threw in another twist. Once it happened I could see how things were leading up to it even while pulling me toward a different idea. This kept the book and the series unpredictable.

This is a great dark fantasy series and I'm looking forward to reading the next book. ( )