Synopsis:
Behind its walls, the Convent of Sweet Mercy has trained young girls to hone their skills for centuries. In Mystic Class, Novice Nona Grey has begun to learn the secrets of the universe. But so often even the deepest truths just make our choices harder. Before she leaves the convent, Nona must choose which order to dedicate herself to—and whether her path will lead to a life of prayer and service or one of the blade and the fist.All that stands between her and these choices are the pride of a thwarted assassin, the designs of a would-be empress wielding the Inquisition like a knife, and the vengeance of the empire's richest lord.
As the world narrows around her, and her enemies attack her through the system she is sworn to, Nona must find her own path despite the competing pulls of friendship, revenge, ambition, and loyalty.
And in all this only one thing is certain: there will be blood.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Grey Sister was one of my most anticipated reads of this year. Did it live up to how much I loved Red Sister? No, but it was still a great read that expanded and complicated the world, and drove the plot forward.
In this novel we go beyond the confines of Sweet Mercy and explore new
places, meet new characters, and discover new facets of the
world-building.
I thought the inclusions of Abess Glass and Sister Kettle's POVs in addition to Nona's POV were a great way to make the world feel bigger and more complex. I liked seeing the world and characters through different sets of eyes, making them feel rounder than if the story was told solely from Nona's POV. Keot, the devil that lives beneath Nona's skin, was an interesting addition too. He challenged Nona's interior life and offered a new perspective on it, even if I, like Nona, wanted to strangle him at times lol. I also loved the extra "powers" he would occasionally afford Nona. I'm such a sucker for characters getting special extras in addition to their own strength.
I wish there had been more of Nona's friends in the novel, namely Ara. I loved how much Zole we got in this novel, and how much her character progressed since Red Sister. Ara, on the other hand, was much too scarce. I think that's what threw me a little bit with this novel: where Red Sister was character-driven, Grey Sister is more plot-driven. The transition was a little too abrupt for my tastes, especially when considering how Ara went from a main character in the first book to a side character in this one.
I felt like Grey Sister didn't really find its feet until the second half of the novel. I struggled significantly with getting into the first half of the novel, which I've never had with a Mark Lawrence book before. What I love about Lawrence's books is that they're always consistent. Unlike other authors who fluctuate between having really amazing novels and others that are just Bad, I know I'm always going to get a good book from Lawrence, no matter what. I felt that consistency rested exclusively with the second half of the novel.
The first half of the novel seemed to suffer from poor editing. I noticed it most in the writing. I found so many sentences that were in desperate need of a comma or a period. Too often I had to stop and reread a sentence, find the place where the comma should've separated two ideas, and only then would I understand what the sentence was trying to say. Or there would be a sentence that was so long and jumbled with so many ideas that I got lost, and splitting the sentence in two could've easily solved this problem. Because I was constantly stopping and rereading sentences in order to understand them, I couldn't become fully engrossed in the first half of the story. I didn't have this problem during the second half of the novel.
So I bet you're thinking to yourself now, "okay...so why did you give the book 4 stars?" The second half of the novel was incredible. I read the final 200 pages in one sitting because I couldn't put the dang book down. I don't want to put any spoilers, but dang guys, it was so good. SO GOOD. I'm desperate for the final book.
Overall, Grey Sister wasn't the novel I expected, but I can forgive my issues with the first half of the novel for how addicting the latter half was.
I thought the inclusions of Abess Glass and Sister Kettle's POVs in addition to Nona's POV were a great way to make the world feel bigger and more complex. I liked seeing the world and characters through different sets of eyes, making them feel rounder than if the story was told solely from Nona's POV. Keot, the devil that lives beneath Nona's skin, was an interesting addition too. He challenged Nona's interior life and offered a new perspective on it, even if I, like Nona, wanted to strangle him at times lol. I also loved the extra "powers" he would occasionally afford Nona. I'm such a sucker for characters getting special extras in addition to their own strength.
I wish there had been more of Nona's friends in the novel, namely Ara. I loved how much Zole we got in this novel, and how much her character progressed since Red Sister. Ara, on the other hand, was much too scarce. I think that's what threw me a little bit with this novel: where Red Sister was character-driven, Grey Sister is more plot-driven. The transition was a little too abrupt for my tastes, especially when considering how Ara went from a main character in the first book to a side character in this one.
I felt like Grey Sister didn't really find its feet until the second half of the novel. I struggled significantly with getting into the first half of the novel, which I've never had with a Mark Lawrence book before. What I love about Lawrence's books is that they're always consistent. Unlike other authors who fluctuate between having really amazing novels and others that are just Bad, I know I'm always going to get a good book from Lawrence, no matter what. I felt that consistency rested exclusively with the second half of the novel.
The first half of the novel seemed to suffer from poor editing. I noticed it most in the writing. I found so many sentences that were in desperate need of a comma or a period. Too often I had to stop and reread a sentence, find the place where the comma should've separated two ideas, and only then would I understand what the sentence was trying to say. Or there would be a sentence that was so long and jumbled with so many ideas that I got lost, and splitting the sentence in two could've easily solved this problem. Because I was constantly stopping and rereading sentences in order to understand them, I couldn't become fully engrossed in the first half of the story. I didn't have this problem during the second half of the novel.
So I bet you're thinking to yourself now, "okay...so why did you give the book 4 stars?" The second half of the novel was incredible. I read the final 200 pages in one sitting because I couldn't put the dang book down. I don't want to put any spoilers, but dang guys, it was so good. SO GOOD. I'm desperate for the final book.
Overall, Grey Sister wasn't the novel I expected, but I can forgive my issues with the first half of the novel for how addicting the latter half was.
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