Prophecy of the Sisters
Prophecy of the Sistersby Michelle ZinkDo you know what this book should have? A big ol' WARNING THIS IS NOT A STAND-ALONE NOVEL!! written on the first page. Maybe in neon and if they can swing it, flashing. Because I thought this was a stand-alone novel and well, boy was I shaking my fist in consternation at anything and anyone when I was done reading.I didn't really know what the book was about, I have to be honest. I would see it mentioned on other blogs, people receiving ARCs and people waiting for the release and I sort of skimmed the summary, but even though something about the posts made me think, "Ooooh, this book sounds GOOD!" I didn't pay that much attention and then when I learned that it was coming out in hard cover, well, I just sort of put it on ignore because I didn't want to know it was going to be amazing and something I would love because I wasn't about to dish out the money for a hard cover from an other I have never read before.And then I saw it in the store, all shiny and silver and I looked at the inside cover flap to check out the price and... well, it was only $1.50 more than the urban fantasy book I was buying in trade format! So the next trip to the store, after payday, I picked this book up. And then it took me a week or so to read it (I was finishing Dark Visions by L.J. Smith first!) and the first thing I thought when I opened it?"Oh my gosh! This is so PRETTY!" (I really did exclaim this out loud! And I had to show my husband!)
I am such a sucker for aesthetics.And then I started reading the story and I was instantly hooked! One of the non-hard cover-related things that made me hesitate about the book was the fact that it was set at the end of the 1800s. I am not a fan of period stories and I was concerned about not liking the story or characters. I was completely wrong!Michelle Zink is such an eloquent writer and yet the writing is still simple and not flowery. I loved Lia right away and her mysterious evil twin sister, Alice.The more the mystery of the prophecy surrounding Lia and Alice was revealed the more I clung to the book. It was only as I realized I was running out of pages and that the plot had been getting bigger rather than winding down I started to panic. Nothing was going to wrapped up in a nice little bow. Oh, no! I was running out of pages for that to happen unless Michelle Zink was suddenly going to make a gigantic leap from Author Extraordinaire to Author Who Sucks And Rushes The Ending - I wasn't going to have any closure to this story!And now I have to wait a year for Guardian of the Gate and I am wondering if I should have just left buying this book to next year like I had planned! That way I could snag one of the hard covers before they were returned and bought the new book at the same time. This is why you need a warning - pre-planning!!This was a fantastic book and I am so happy I made the financial plunge and bought it. I will read anything by Michelle Zink from now on! I think she's an auto-buy just from this first novel!Prophecy of the Sisters trilogy