Review: The Lost Sisters by Holly Black

Title: The Lost Sisters: A Folk of the Air Novella

Author: Holly Black

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - Copyright 2018

Read: October 22, 2018

Disclaimer: I purchased a copy of this novella via Amazon Kindle. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis from Publisher: 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.

Review: Let me just say this first: I adore Holly Black's writing. She has a penchant for creating engaging characters inhabiting vibrant worlds, and her plots are always complex with unexpected twists. Sadly, much of this was missing from this novella.

The Lost Sisters is told from the point of view of Taryn, the twin sister of Jude who is the protagonist of The Cruel Prince and upcoming The Wicked King. Taryn is largely thrust aside in The Cruel Prince and yet plays a key role in the ultimate plot so I was hoping for some insight into her character and motivations. While we are given a few glimpses into her character and even her motivations in The Cruel Prince, this novella is essentially a recap of some of the key events in TCP with a half-hearted attempt at an apology to Jude from her twin. I'd really hoped for more a more insightful reading of Taryn that would make me like her a little more, but alas, that didn't happen, and I like her even less now.

Holly Black's mastery of words is still there, and it was nice to return to the realm of Elfhame for a time. However, I enjoyed the sneak peek of The Wicked King included at the end of The Lost Sisters better than the actual novella.

Review at a Glance:

Concept: B
Execution: A
Writing Style: A+
Characters: B+
Reader Connection: B
Overall Grade: B+
Would I Buy This Author Again: Yes