Sisters of Sword and Shadow

3.5 out of 5

Laura Bates

Synopsis

What if the Knights of the Round Table had been women?

This afternoon Cass's older sister will be married. Soon she will be too. Gone will be days of running through fields and feeling the earth between her toes. So when a beautiful leather-clad woman rides up and offers to take her away, Cass doesn't hesitate to join her.

Cass is introduced to the Sisterhood of Silk Knights - a group of women training to fight and working to right the wrongs of men. Cass is drawn into a world of ancient feuds, glorious battles, and deadly intrigue, where soon discovers she holds a power that could change the destiny of her sisterhood.

'An interesting thing happens, when a man is defeated in combat by a woman.'

'He tells nobody.'

Review

Cass is rescued by a mysterious woman who whisks her away to a castle where women live in freedom from men and are trained to be knights. 

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is essentially an Arthur retelling, with female knights; but this story is happening at the same time as actual-Arthur, who doesn't feature in this book, but is mentioned.

Angharad is the leader of the female knights, her home is a safe haven for any woman wanting to escape the abuse of men. She and the other knights train Cass and the squires, so that they might find meaning in life, protect their home and their friends, and earn glory.

The not-so-good.

I found it hard to connect to this story - I felt like there wasn't a clear plot, beyond Cass going and training to be a knight, alongside her new friends.

The story kept dropping interesting bits, and then taking them away again, always going back to the repetitive slog of training and chores, and Cass not actively driving the story at any point.

Sigrid seemed like a really interesting character, and with how the story starts, with her rescuing Cass and taking her on as a squire, I thought she'd feature more than the ghost that drifts in and out of the castle, going on hunts and adventures without Cass, that we don't get to hear about.

Alys is an interesting character, with her wise woman knowledge, with practises akin to witchcraft, and knowing prophecies and reading tea leaves, that we don't get to hear about.

Elaine is a really interesting character - a highly skilled archer, who escaped a certain court, whilst pregnant, and after her first dramatic appearance, we don't get to hear anymore.

You get the drill.

The tournaments are an exciting change of scene, but it doesn't play as strongly as it could. It's stated that Angharad and her knights compete at tournaments for glory, and for money to fund the estate, as there are many mouths to feed when winter comes. The only rule is they have to keep their identities secret, to keep everyone safe.

But, it feels like the experienced knights don't really know what they're doing, or what the bigger picture is.

This carries on for about two-thirds of the book.

I found the last third to be remarkably better. There seemed to be a lot more focus for the characters and the plot, and all the subplots came together nicely.

It was like the story finally found the right momentum, and I can say that I was invested enough that the emotional punches hit as they should.

I liked how the book ended, it felt like it had wrapped up the Mordaunt danger satisfactorily, but left enough open threads for the next part of the series.

I liked how Cass' part was important, but it didn't overwhelm the story, or make it feel like there was a big cliffhanger regarding you-know-what.

I've been circling through what to rate this book, and I've changed my mind many times throughout the story, so I think I'll give it a 3.5 out of 5.

Amazon

Goodreads