Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

[description from Amazon]

An ancient prophecy divides two sisters-

One good...

One evil...

Who will prevail?

Twin sisters Lia and Alice Milthorpe have just become orphans. They have also become enemies. As they discover their roles in a prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other, the girls find themselves entangled in a mystery that involves a tattoo-like mark, their parents' deaths, a boy, a book, and a lifetime of secrets.

Lia and Alice don't know whom they can trust.

They just know they can't trust each other.

Review:

Prophecy of the Sisters is another book that I've seen all over the place lately, but it definitely deserves it, because this book is just plain good.

This is the first book in a series, and it definitely reads like one. There is a lot of exposition and buildup, making it a bit slow, but it's worth it. After most of the introductions are over, the book picks up a whole lot of mystery. Watching Lia learn about the prophecy is not only intriguing and mysterious, but also allows plenty of twists and turns to occur throughout the book. A twist comes with each new piece of information Lia acquires, making this one hard to put down.

Though it may seem like the prophecy makes one sister mostly good and one mostly evil, that is not the case. Both Lia and Alice are incredibly three-dimensional characters- so developed that it's even easy to feel sorry for the evil one, and see why she makes the choices she does. The supporting characters also bring a lot to the book, as they not only have distinct, unique personalities, but also because they bring even more mystery. Lia is constantly learning things about them that lead her to new discoveries about the prophecy, driving the plot forward.

I do wish that James, Lia's love interest, played a bigger role in the book, or was at least present more. It seemed like he would just show up randomly for two minutes and then leave again, only to show up 30 pages later for another two minutes.

Although a bit slow to start, Prophecy of the Sisters is still a fantastic debut! I'm eager to read the next installment in the series.

8.5/10

Happy release day, Michelle! Links: Michelle's website, blog/twitter/the Prophecy of the Sisters series website/my interview with Michelle

Little, Brown/Hardcover/$17.99/Amazon/B&N/Borders/IndieBound