Rebecca Ross’s Sisters of Sword & Song follows Evadne & Halcyon, two sisters, as they deal with the fallout when Halcyon, a soldier in the queen’s army, is accused of murdering her shield-mate, Xander, the son of her commander. Halcyon is sentenced to hard labor and imprisonment, while Evadne volunteers to take the final portion of her sentence, five years of servitude in the commander’s household, determined to uncover what everyone is trying to conceal about Xander’s death while she’s there.

I enjoyed the world-building; there’s very clear Roman and Ancient Greek influence which helps the reader navigate the world pretty quickly, but the mythology and magic system are still unique. It’s definitely a world I’d be interested in exploring again if Ross ever decided to set another story in it.

The plot moves pretty quickly. So quickly, I actually went back and read it a second time a couple weeks later to fully sort my feelings about the story. The premise makes it sound like there’s a mystery for Evadne to uncover; she gets let in on the secret pretty quickly and there’s actually a much bigger scheme at stake. So, don’t worry yourself trying to make predictions or figure things out with this story, just enjoy the ride it takes you on, because it won’t make you wait for answers.

Now, the quick-moving plot is great in terms of keeping the story action-packed, but it also means some of the characters’ accomplishments feel like they just happen (especially in the climactic battle), rather than letting us really feel the build-up and wonder if/how the characters can succeed. The other downside to this is that, while we do get a pretty strong sense of the core characters, the rest of the cast isn’t quite as deeply developed. I would have liked a better sense of the antagonists and what was driving them, other than a desire for more power.

All in all, I give Sisters of Sword & Song 3.5 stars out of 5. I enjoyed this read, and really my one complaint is that I would have preferred more of it!