I thought I'd like this one more....

I think the instant disconnect with the sisters in the very beginning of the book didn't make sense to me. Two twins girls who have lost their mother and now lost their father - I couldn't help but imagine them bonding together and not being driven apart.
so from there, the whole book just seemed boring to me. The role each sister would play seems so obvious in the beginning that, even with the silly info in the middle, there just didn't seem like any surprises, suspense or really anything interesting going on... ( )

Gothics! I miss gothics. Or rather I should say, I miss historical gothics (since modern set ones annoy the hell out of me). I knew going into Prophecy of the Sisters that the book was a mystery and a bit of a thriller and supernatural. In a lot of ways it reminded me of the anime Noir (more on that later) or even of the old time Noir movies with Bogart.

We're introduced to the scene by Lia, at the site of their father's grave. She slowly introduces the family and people there, giving small descriptions of the scene itself. The tone is somber, lightly depressed and gloomy. Which, as it happens, matches the house they live in to perfection.

Prophecy of the Sisters is not an action filled book, or a book that is driven the events themselves. Instead its driven by Lia's reaction to the changes in her world, to herself and to her sister and to the family in general. The new tattoo on her wrist, Alice's creepy visits to the 'Dark Room' (their deceased mother's old room), a mysterious book given to her by James (Lia's suitor and friend). The narrative is character centric in other words.

The sister's relationship is what intrigued me the most. Lia freely admits that even as children she and Alice had little in common interest wise and even less in common personality wise. Alice was always the dreamer, the whimsical one who said and did strange things while Lia was the more practical, down to Earth twin. They shared touching moments as children, though less frequently as they grew older and the gap between them widened, but always there was the affection, a certain closeness that nothing could separate out.

And yet they are diametrically opposite in everything. Competitive even, at least on Alice's side. I mentioned I felt this reminded me of the anime Noir, which I doubt many of you know. In the anime there are two characters--Kirika (a young japanese girl with amazing abilities to kill) and Chloe (also a young girl with amazing abilities to kill. On the surface they are very similar--same age, similar fighting styles (though not methods of killing) and there is a sort of bond between them. The differences are however that while Chloe embraces who and what she is, Kirika wants nothing more then to be normal and live a normal life. She has affection for Chloe, but also realizes that Chloe will be the instrument of her death if she doesn't find another way.

This is how I feel Lia feels about Alice. Once things begin to happen, once the prophecy begins to play a stronger influence on their lives, the two of them begin to view the other as an obstacle to what they want. Alice wants the Prophecy and Lia's refusal creates problems for her. Lia wants things to go back to normal, to be a family again, but by the end Alice is the cause of something she can never forgive.

The novel is slow-paced, dwelling on the atmospheric details and ways of life in Victorian America. These points are important though, underscoring the difficulties that both girls face no matter their direction or inclination. There is a lot of pain in this book, but I choose to believe in Lia, that she will find another way hopefully. ( )

I read this probably 5 years ago, I don't really remember a whole lot about it. It was good enough for me to want to read the rest of the series, so I would probably recommend it based on that alone. ( )

Was disappointing. I felt like the book leads you around by the hand. Predictable, and fell flat compared to others of the genre. Wouldn't recommend. ( )

Beautifully written. Takes magic to a totally different realm. Not what I expected, and I'm glad for it. ( )