Holly Black - The Lost Sisters.

Holly Black – The Lost Sisters.

Rating – 4 out of 5 Stars.

Hey Everyone! It feels like forever since I posted a review. 2021 is proving to be a very hectic year so far. Not that I’m complaining, all for positive reasons. I have a lot of new stuff coming out soon so keep your eyes peeled for news from me in the next few weeks.

My review today is for The Lost Sisters novella by Holly Black. I started reading books by Holly Black about a month ago, and I haven’t stopped since. I absolutely love the worlds she creates, and her stories about the fae. This story is a companion novella to The Folk of the Air series. It gave a little more insight into Taryn and why she acted the way she does throughout the series. Honestly she isn’t a character I liked at all, but after reading this I felt some sympathy for her and understood her a little more. I love the way this book is written and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. This review may be shorter than usual as it is only a small tale, but I mean every word. Enjoy.

Synopsis:

Sometimes the difference between a love story and a horror story is where the ending comes. . .

While Jude fought for power in the Court of Elfhame against the cruel Prince Cardan, her sister Taryn began to fall in love with the trickster, Locke.

Half-apology and half-explanation, it turns out that Taryn has some secrets of her own to reveal.

The Lost Sisters is a companion e-novella to the New York Times bestselling novel The Cruel Prince by master writer Holly Black.

A Little About The Author:

Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over thirty fantasy novels for kids and teens. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newberry Honor. Her books have been translated into 32 languages worldwide and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son.

A Little About The Story:

This story was an explanation. From Taryn to Jude about why she did everything she did. She acknowledges that she did wrong and she tries to either justify it or simply just enlighten us on her reasons. To me it reads as a justification, but other reviews have said she is taking responsibility for her actions. She explains everything, starting off with a bit about her parents, and then going on to her dalliance with Locke and how that started. It was an insight to a seemingly complex individual.

The main character in this was Taryn. This was her turn to talk, and up to everyone else to listen. In The Cruel Prince she didn’t do much talking, she was more of a background character, so it was eye opening to read how she saw everything that unfolded.

As I previously said, Taryn talks us to her version of the story. Of the events that lead to her and Locke, of the reasons she hurt her sister. It came across like the whole story was to make us readers dislike Taryn a little less – and it succeeded.

I couldn’t relate to anything in this book, as I couldn’t in the rest of The Folk of the Air. But as I have said many times, that doesn’t take away anything for me. If anything it makes me love the stories more. I like learning about new worlds that authors create and reading about situations that are completely novel to me that I could never have heard about if it weren’t for the book. So I couldn’t relate to Taryn, but I did enjoy reading her side of things.

I did like this story. I love learning more about ‘behind the scenes’ things. Events that you know happen in the main portion of the story, but don’t necessarily know the details of. For example, how Taryn and Locke began to see each other. I have to admit I was really curious, so reading about it from her point of view was fulfilling. I liked the way it was written, as a letter. I love letters and diaries so this was perfect for me. Reading The Cruel Prince, you see yourself doing everything Jude is doing, or at least I did. So when Jude felt betrayed and hurt by her sister, you felt it too. It was almost as if this letter was to you. I don’t know if this was Black’s intention but I really liked it.

My favourite part of the book was the beginning. Where Taryn compares their journey and their mothers journey to a fairy tale that she knew. It was poetic. I loved it. The way Black introduced this book was beautifully written.

If I could change anything in this book. It probably would be to make it a full length book on everything Taryn did. I feel like I understand her more after reading it, but I also feel like we have barely scratched the surface of such a complex individual.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has read The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King and The Queen of Nothing. It answers so many questions I had left over after reading the series. I would also recommend it to fantasy lovers. People who read books from the likes of Cassandra Clare or have read other pieces of work from Holly Black.

And there we have it. My full review and recommendation for The Lost Sisters by Holly Black. I honestly love everything I have read by Holly Black so far and I’m so excited to read more of her work. If you have read this book I would love to hear your thoughts on it. If you haven’t yet read this I hope this post encourages you to pick up the book.

Stay Curious! J x