I’m sure you’ve had plenty of people tell you how fantastic Red Sister is; 6,109 five star ratings on Goodreads** speaks volumes in itself. So why is it so good? First and foremost, Mark Lawrence is an incredible story teller. It’s a feast of a novel; a slow burning plot to savour and take your time with, paired with some truly delicious prose. His style and tone wraps around you for an immensely immersive experience. I still feel I’m in that world. I know many consider “Dr Grimdark” to already have a grim and dark hallmark, but for me his hallmark is quickly becoming his evocative, immersive prose. He is the master of “show don’t tell” and can draw you into a scene as effectively than Hessa. Speaking of characters, second on my list of What I Loved Most About This Book is his in-depth character portrayal. His characters are complex and diverse; easily relatable and so human in their intricacies and flaws. I truly felt like I connected with Nona, Area, Hessa. My concern for them was sharp, distinct; their joys and sorrows were important to me, I have to keep telling myself they’re fictional. As I mentioned above, the plot is a slow burner; yet despite this it’s an involved plot, with plenty happening on different layers. It builds in a crescendo to a wonderful satisfying resolution, yet leaving just enough left unanswered to leave you anticipating the next installment. Finally, it features the kind of fascinating and imaginative world building you come to expect of Mark Lawrence. A well balanced magic system that explains enough to keep the magical engineering theorists happy, whilst still retaining an element of mystery (thereby keeping people like me happy!). As always, I try to keep my reviews informative without ruining too many details of the story, but I found the concept behind Lawrence’s world absolutely fascinating. There’s so much scope here to explore! In conclusion, the hype for Red Sister is absolutely deserved. Now I’m orf to read Grey Sister! **when I wrote this (30/05/2018). Out of a total of 12,196 ratings; the five star ratings counting for 50% of overall ratings.

4.5

4.5

4.5

4.5. This book was everything I like in a fantasy. A funny main character who is ill tempered and badass and has a gang of hilarious friends. Plus assassins school with nuns? What a concept! This book was a really enjoyable read and I absolutely fell in love with the characters of Nona and Arabella as well as many more. This book jumps back and forth seemingly between two parts of the main characters life, and sometimes I felt confused at the things which were happening in those scenes. But I have a feeling the more of this series I read, the more I'll understand. I enjoyed the magic system in this book, even if sometimes I did feel I was a bit lost at what was happening and where it all came from, but I feel rereading the book will help answer some of those questions for me. Anyone else ship Nona and Arabella or is it just me? There feels hints towards it and I'm here for it! Plus I cackled with glee at that scene with the poisoner where she admits a crush on the girl. Anyway overall this book was badass, intriguing and captivating and was a very enjoyable fantasy read for me. The ending had me VERY intrigued for what will happen in Grey Sister, I feel very impatient to finally read it. I'm so glad i picked this book up because it was everything I like and more and was well worth the read! Plus it made me pre order the third book at like 100 pages into it, soooo, just saying. Fantasy fans and Nevernight fans I recommend this book to you because whilst it has similar details, it's a very very different story that I think you will just love! 4.5 our of 5 stars. Can't wait for Grey Sister!