Good Sister, Bad Sister

Heart of the Staff #1

by Carol Marrs Phipps, Tom Phipps

Minuet Dewin, eldest daughter of the wizard Razzmorten, practically raised her half sister Leeuh, who was abandoned by her mother. For many years, Minuet is Leeuh's passionate champion. As time passes, Leeuh becomes increasingly hard to defend as she grows determined to be awful at every turn. Whilst undoing her dangerous pranks, Minuet finds herself the target of her hatred and jealousy. And when they fall for the same prince, it looks like war.


Suddenly Leeuh vanishes. She returns years later, compliant and sweet as she always should have been. Minuet is stunned. Should she trust her, or will it be the very death of her?

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction

ebook

Published October 6, 2012

About the author

I am an author who writes fantasy, mainly with my husband. We currently have nine books independently published on Amazon. I currently live in the country with my husband, eight cats, two cockatiels, a raven and a parrot.

Reviews

[Kristy Volchko]

A fantasy Read Like No Other!

Good Sister, Bad Sister (The Heart Of The Staff series book 1) by Carol Marrs Phipps & Tom Phipps blew me away right from the very beginning! I’ve read several books from this imaginative author duo (as I love fantasy/dystopian anything) and the things that never fail to stand out to me are the superb world-building and powerful characters. With plenty of folklore, language, and fairytale-ish action to keep me hungry for more, the story itself is a unique and fascinating one (no spoilers here). I couldn’t put it down. Five stars! Loved.

[C.J. Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Author’s Voice:

From the first few paragraphs I could tell this book had a fairy tale feel to it which suits the book, and me, just fine. The narrative language is suited to the time period, with a vocabulary that shows good research and a love of historical fantasy. I would have to call it a historical fantasy fairy tale tone.

The dialogue struck me as highfalutin early on, but the family is high society, trusted and loved by Kings and Queens – so it works for them. If everyone in the book had spoken that way, it would have ruined it, but they dont. Every race, and region has it’s own style of language making each creature, and person as unique as the first ones you meet.

While the dialects and language of the various races and characters is a strength, it also makes it a bit uncomfortable to read at times. Example:

“Then as hit thinks me, sitting over here you will need to be before to you the rest of hit I can for to tell.” – Meri Greenwood
Now, granted, I took this completely out of context 2 pages into the dialogue with Razzmorten. The reader does have a bit of a chance to grow acquainted with Meri’s style of language – but not much. I had to read that sentence about five times to know what the little Yoda-esque guy was talking about. That ripped me away from the book for minute and was frustrating. It happens a few times throughout the book.

4 Stars

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The Plot

The story starts with the return of the black plague, which has not afflicted the land in over 200 years. I sensed a little of Terry Goodkind’s influence here, as the story has hints of his fourth book in the Sword of Truth series, Temple of the Winds. But the plague itself is not the plot, it’s a portion thereof.

The slow reveal of the actual core plot is done well, but then the plague takes a back seat and is ultimately resolved in a way that is anticlimactic and leaves the reader to find out what happened second hand. Also, Ugleeuh’s disappearance for 5 years puts a hole in the book as far as Im concerned. It was too sudden and without enough explanation. Also, many things that I would have liked to have seen during those 5 years were simply glossed over or “told” rather than shown. Is it a major failing of the book? No, I dont think wishing for more out of a book is a major failing. It means you are enjoying it, and want more – but it also means I felt a little cheated. Just a little.

4 Stars

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The Technical Stuff

There are some POV switches in mid chapter that are a bit confusing at times which tends to push the reader back out of the story. It took me a few moments to change gears internally and try to delve back in. It happens only a few times, but it is my biggest complaint about the book by far.

There were also some misspellings, and some formatting errors, but they didnt bother me much, save for once or twice when they happened in quick succession. You’ll find most of the issues in the middle of the book – dangerous territory to have problems.

The glossary was a great idea, and I recommend every reader bookmark it. However, I will say that if a fantasy novel needs a glossary, you might want to slow down with the amount of information thrown at the reader.

3 Stars

Overall

From start to end, Good Sister, Bad Sister held my attention. Even when it had its technical issues with POV and formatting, I kept reading in spite of its flaws. That’s where the mixed bag of reviews on Amazon comes from. This is another great book that is a victim of under-editing.

I loved the fairy tale style, and the shameless way it introduces high fantasy elements like fairies, elves, and magic. The world is well fleshed out, as are the people who live in it to the point that it would make a great Dungeons and Dragons campaign setting. (Something for the authors to consider, in my opinion) The only problem with the setting in MHO, is that with Razzmorten and other characters teleporting everywhere, I never really got a sense of its scope. I would have liked to see a map of the world to give me some perspective.

Would I recommend the book to a friend? Sure, but with a caveat. Some of my friends and family members have little patience for things like formatting and other errors, and I would feel the need to warn them. But overall, the story is what is important, and Good Sister, Bad Sister delivers a good one.

Will I read the next book in the series. Yes. I liked enough to keep going, so look for my Hook Review of Book 2, The Collector Witch.

4 Stars Overall

[bex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book in its entirety, but always felt at a distance from it. I never got into it properly like I usually do when reading. Beyond that there wasn't anything seriously wrong with it except for the strong need of a proper edit/proofread. Even character names are spelled inconsistently and at least once an important character is referred to with a different important character's name!! It is much harder for me to get into a book when it has these issues, but it was something more than that that bothered me, although I can't figure out exactly what it was.

[Elaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an imaginative setting for two sisters that are complete opposites of each other! When the plague hits and most scramble to find solutions and cures, others attempt to use the chaos to their advantage, even going so far as to hang Elves for no other reason than they are Elves. Without giving the entire story away, I must say I kept wondering when someone would realise, well, RATS. Rats keep scampering and no one gets it! I found that a great touch, I must admit.

There’s a host of characters you either love or hate, but each is ever so interesting. From palace to forest, from farm to dark woods, from cliffs to caves and much more, laced with much magics and the craziest folk and creatures, the action and scheming is non-stop. I have to say I adored the mercenary crow the most!

Carol and Tom Phipps have a unique voice. This is not your everyday kind of tale – it has character, it’s different, and it draws you in. I definitely recommend this to readers of fantasy who like it with a twist.

[[ J o ] · Rating 1 out of 5]

A twist on the evil twin kind of tale, with sometime good description but lacklustre in all other areas.

The two sisters, Good and Bad (or Minuet and (I kid you not) Ugleeuh), are pathetically childish and act like 7-year-olds when in reality they are bordering adulthood and the rest of the characters are abysmally flat.

There were moments when you'd read some description of the location and it would seem quite nice, but the shoddy editing and mistakes coupled with the terrible dialogue really make it a difficult read.

It also takes quite a long time for anything particular to happen, and much of the story could be condensed to a few choice sentences without losing anything except word count.

It is, however, incredibly easy to breeze through once you learn to ignore these and can get through the story very quickly, if you do wish.

With more editing and a little plot development this has the potential to be something. Unfortunately, it is rushed tripe.

[D.A. Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Evil Twin Retold

Good Sister Bad Sister is a great start to the Heart of the Staff series.

The Wizard Razzmorten lives in the fairy-tale kingdom of Niarg not far from Castle Niarg. Razzmorten has two daughters: One good and one bad. The elder sister, Minuet is a good woman who tried her best to raise her half-sister, Ugleeuh. But Leeuh stubbornly refuses to embrace good behavior and this leads her down a path of betrayal and violent mischief.

To set the stage, King Henry calls for Razzmorten to deal with an outbreak of plague. The disease proves difficult and leads to plot developments freeing the evil sister from the boundaries of propriety and the control of her father which we suppose tempered her flares up and her pranks. Minuet eventually marries a prince, and this not only stokes the embers of jealousy, but frees Leeuh from her influence.

Unbridled by her father or her half-sister, Leeuh joins a criminal enterprise. Together with her uncle Razzorbauch and Demonica, they start a plantation to produce sukere, an undesirable intoxicant.

Before Good Sister Bad Sister closes Leeuh stirs up trouble. Magicians poison enemies, dragons burn villages, and Leeuh forces her father to turn on his daughter to help save the kingdom. For Epic Fantasy fans what more can you want?

Buy Good Sister Bad Sister:

Amazon US
Amazon UK - Kindle eBook

Ranking:

Carol and Tom make a good team. They develop Niarg and their characters reasonably smoothly. What Ugleeuh lacks in explaining the development of her character is more than made up for by the lack of silly, pseudo-psychological, Freudian mumbo-jumbo that often gets trotted out to explain inexplicable behavior. Happily, Ugleeuh is a villainess and for the most part we are spared any drawn out theories or pity parties.

As a pro-bono attorney, I find it refreshing to have a unapologetic, female villainess. No battered women’s syndrome or Stockholm syndrome here. Having seen women in such situations, I doubt most authors could accurately describe those conditions as they actually exist. Leeuh fits the mold of witches and wicked step-mothers wholack the conscience our enlightened society still expects from the so-called ‘fairer’ sex.

As always my ranking takes the target audience into account.

If Gentle Readers enjoy Epic Fantasy, they will enjoy Good Sister Bad Sister. Although the book should appeal to both boys and girls, there are certain scenes and subplots that will probably appeal more to girls than boys.

Though the story involves extreme violence, much of this is implied, off-screen, or otherwise softened for a younger audience. Good Sister Bad Sister is not a zombie horror epic full of graphic slaughter lovingly illustrated in gory detail for all those Gentle Readers interested in becoming forensic pathologists. There are some profane terms.

Format and Writing:

The writing is solid with clear descriptions and a good pace. Viewpoint shifts and transitions are handled very well. The writers are professionals and the reader is never lost in the plot or the story. Unfamiliar names are a feature of Epic Fantasy and not a bug. Though this might disconcert a non-fantasy fan, or might throw off anyone unfamiliar with the genre, it’s expected in Epic Fantasy.

The version of Good Sister Bad Sister reviewed for this post lacked an active Table of Contents. Though of no great consequence, I recommend that you don’t lose your place. Another minor quibble: Paragraphs are block formatted. Most fiction books use a first line indent to identify new paragraphs. Again this isn’t relevant unless, like me, you’re compulsive and you constantly notice the distinction through the whole book. I’m almost sorry to mention it, but it’s part of my own insanity.

This version also lacked a copy of the map. A map seems a bit silly to many readers of other genres, but many Gentle Readers expect to see a map in Epic Fantasy.

Good Sister Bad Sister offers an extensive appendix full of additional information for die-hard fans. For the general reader, the appendix shows how much thought the authors have poured into their story. If the Gentle Reader has to set the book down for a week or two, or if it will be some time before she begins the sequel, perusing the appendix may help her memory.

Recommendation:

If you are an Epic Fantasy fan, I highly recommend the book. Good Sister Bad Sister is a great opening novel, and I’m certain the Gentle Reader will enjoy a few hours of pleasant reading.

About the authors:

Carol and Tom Phipps are teachers and writers who spent the bulk of their careers on what we currently call Native American Reservations. They spent much of their time in the great, southwest desert of Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada. No doubt their years of friendship with Native Americans, the wide open spaces, and the southwest’s laid-back culture influenced the authors. I hope their audience finds them and their stars rise.

Reviewed by:

Dan Knight

This is a review of the Kindle version downloaded during a free promotion.

[Esther Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for me

I just couldn't get into this book. At first it seemed like it would be fun, and had a whimsical Wizard of Oz charm to it, but the plot, such as it was, meandered along at a glacial pace without any urgency, and I found myself sympathising far more with the Bad sister than I did any of the heroes.

The sudden timeskip near the end was incredibly jarring and pulled me right out of the story, and I never was able to fully connect with any of the characters. The bright spot was a raven called Ocker whose amusing bird antics did manage to hold my interest. 2.5 stars

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great book to read

[Carrie Lahain · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book in a planned series has to do double duty. First, it has to be a satisfying read in itself. Second, it has to leave enough unanswered questions to entice the reader forward to the next installment. GOOD SISTER, BAD SISTER is the first book in THE HEART OF THE STAFF fantasy series by Carol Marrs Phipps and Tom Phipps. There's trouble in the land of Niarg. An outbreak of plague threatens to devastate the kingdom. The Wizard Razzmorten undertakes to find a cure. At the same time, he has even bigger problems brewing at home. His daughter Ugleeuh--naughty by nature, it seems--is running amok. Older sister Minuet, who has tried to keep the giggly psychopath in check, is quickly losing ground.

From the very start the book's intended age group is unclear. Initially, I thought I'd picked up a tale for the 7 through 9 set. It wasn't just the childish names given to the "bad" girl, Ugleeuh, and her "evil" mother, Demonica, that gave me this impression. The simplistic language used in the first few chapters and the awkward or invisible transitions between scenes and locations also made it seem like a children's book. I admire how the authors tried to use unique speech patterns to differentiate some of their tribes/characters--the Greenwood fairy, for example. The problem is that the strange grammar is too strange to catch onto right away. It took three or four attempts before I could stop struggling to decipher what they were saying and just appreciate their quirks. The most overall successful characters for me were the crow Ock and his mate. The authors did a great job with this pair.

Perhaps my biggest problem with the novel was the authors' decision to have Ugleeuh vanish for five years and then return. There's no leading in to it, no set up. One minute she's plotting to use her father's new apprentice to help break up her sister's engagement to the prince. Then it's five years later and Ugleeuh has returned to the kingdom. It appeared to me that she'd tried her gambit and failed and gone away in a huff. But, from the authors' blurbs about the book, the disappearance was actually part of her plot. Problem is that neither option makes much sense. If she made an attempt and failed, there's a massive hole in the middle of the book where all the intense action should be. Even the plague--started by Ugleeuh and now destroying the kingdom and its allies--ends off stage. Instead, the book becomes about her attempt to establish a sort of drug trade in Niarg. On the other hand, if the disappearance was intended, there's a failure of logic too big for any reader to get around. The prince was Ugleeuh's Big Goal--the reason she started the plague was to stop him marrying a foreign princess--why let him marry your sister then try to kill them both five years later?

The reason this central plot point fails no matter which way you look at it is because it likely was never important in itself. The entire book is meant to set up the series. Which is a shame, because there are enough interesting characters and dramatic situations to have made the novel wonderful all by itself AND an effective introduction to a fun series. The failure here was in development.

Are there hanging threads that I'd be interested to follow? Sure. I want the Greenwood fairy to find Celeste, his exiled mate. I want to find out if anyone discovers that Ugleeuh turned her apprentice-husband (the marriage happened the missing 5 years)into a sea serpent. I want to know whether Hubba-Hubba, Ugleeuh's drug-addicted familiar (his downward spiral also happened in the missing 5 years), is ever reformed back into Minuet's sweet popinjay. Unfortunately, none of these threads have much to do with the authors' main characters or premise.

In my opinion, the authors tried too hard to write a first installment of a series and, in the process, failed to give their novel the development it needed to succeed on its own.

[William Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Stone Heart (Heart of the Staff) a while ago and, since that book wasn’t the beginning of the series, I decided to read Good Sister, Bad Sister so I could get the background on the series. I must say i wasn’t disappointed!

Summary (from the author): Minuet Dewin, eldest daughter of the wizard Razzmorten, practically raised her half-sister Leeuh, who was abandoned by her mother. For many years, Minuet is Leeuh's passionate champion. As time passes, Leeuh becomes increasingly hard to defend, as she grows determined to be awful at every turn. Whilst undoing her dangerous pranks, Minuet finds herself the target of her hatred and jealousy. And when they fall for the same prince, it looks like war.

Suddenly Leeuh vanishes. She returns years later, compliant and sweet as she always should have been. Minuet is stunned. Should she trust her, or will it be the very death of her?

What I liked: Carol Marrs Phipps created a wonderful world full of interesting characters. I enjoyed learning about the background of the two sisters, Minuet and Ugleeuh, and how their adversarial relationship developed. Add to that the conflict between Razzmorten and his wizard brother Razzorbauch, and the stage is set for a great story! Some of the other characters I liked were Hubba-Hubba, Ugleeuh’s pet bird, Ocker, a wheeling and dealing crow, and Demonica, Ugleeuh’s mother and a formidable witch in her own right.

All of the characters and their interactions are set in Niarg amidst a plague that is sweeping through the kingdom. With Razzmorten trying to find a cure for the disease, Ugleeuh learning from her uncle Razzorbauch and Demonica more of the darker side of magic, and Minuet trying to figure out how to manage her sister, it is a complex entertaining tale! And, Carol Marrs Phipps left plenty of dangling threads to entice the reader to go to the next book of the series!!

What I didn’t like: There were only a few things about the book I didn’t like. The story was a bit difficult to follow at times with so many things going on at the same time. I thought that Demonica could have been a stronger part of the story (though I suspect she will be in future installments). Other than that, a great book!

Overall impression: As with the second book of the series, I really enjoyed the story. Knowing what I know now, I will have to reread the second book and then continue on to the third installment! i would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy! Well done, Carol Marrs Phipps!!

[R.P. Rochford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must admit that this genre does not always appeal to me but, in this case, the carefully crafted storyline really grabbed my attention from the outset and kept it till the very end. The book pictured an idealistic medieval world with kings, queens, wizards and dragons.

Unfortunately, this perfect world is split between the forces of good and evil. On one hand Razzmorten, the good wizzard, his daughter, Minuet and her loving husband while on the other hand the evil characters, Razzorbauch, who is actually the twin brother of Razzmorten, Demonica who used to be Razzmorten's wife but later became Razzorbauch's partner and lover and Ugleeuh, Razzmorten and Demonica's daughter. Ugleeuh is beautiful, perhaps even more beautiful than her half-sister, Minuet, but she is selfish and ruthless. Her actions engaged the reader's concern, because she wasn't just evil, she was very clever and shrewd with it. Here was a young woman who knew exactly how to turn all situations to her advantage. She seemed to have no conscience at all.

The kingdom of Niarg becomes the scene of the symbolical fight between good and evil. The evil characters being related to the good ones makes the situation even more complex, as it means that while this fact didn't make any difference in the actions of the evil ones, it meant a real struggle for the good ones as they tried the impossible: to overcome the evil traps without destroying the lives of their loved ones.

In the midst of this struggle there was another problem Razzmorten and his friends had to deal with. There was a plague in the country that killed thousand of people and seemed to be unstoppable. As it turned out later, the plague was the result of Ugleeuh's jealous actions.

To make the story more interesting there were some animal characters too with the ability of speech who could think and behave as humans. Ocker, the raven and Hubba-Hubba, Minuet's pet bird, are very important creatures in the story line. Ocker was a very interesting character with his salesman, businessman features. He didn't show much consideration for what the outcome of his services would be but towards the end his character improved and he seemed to develop some kind of conscience.

This book is an excellent first book of a series and I can highly recommend to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy and enjoys the magic world of a fairy-tale kingdom.

[Susan Waterwyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

5-stars of enjoyment for GOOD SISTER BAD SISTER

GOOD SISTER BAD SISTER by Tom and Carol Marrs Phipps is the first book in an epic series titled THE HEART OF THE STAFF. Like Alice and Malice in Wonderland but instead of falling down a rabbit hole, it uses a magical "scrying ball" to help you travel through the enchanted kingdom. Niarg is inhabited by witches and wizards, humans, elves, and fairies, unicorns and dragons, and Ocker, (my husband's favorite) a magically endowed raven, clever, ambitious, and a trifle avaricious.

The good sister, Minuet tries hard to change the sinister nature of Ugleeuh, the bad sister, a daunting challenge considering that Ugleeuh is selfishly focused on achieving power and wealth above all else. They are actually half-sisters, sharing the same father, Razzmorten (a powerful wizard).

A cruel and lethal plague sweeps over the land, and Razzmorten is determined to find and administer a cure. Minuet
works to help the sick while Ugleeuh runs off to learn magic from her Uncle Razzorbauch. Ugleeuh's mother is the powerful sorceress, Demonica, who shows up at times to stir things up and add to the overall intrigue of the story.

The action keeps the story flowing to the end. Here's a quote from Chapter 11: "Demonica set to work at once, hurling crackling lavender bolts from her staff into the faces of beast after beast as they thundered from the caves..."

The descriptive prose provides good imagery. Here's a quote from Chapter 7: "...his castle was near the top of a great prominence overlooking a vast sea of twisted trees."

All in all, I enjoyed reading the story aloud with my husband. I'm happy to recommend it to lovers of fantasy and magic. We have purchased THE COLLECTOR WITCH to continue with the epic.

[Kurt Springs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was originally reviewed in Kurt's Frontier with Invincible Love of Reading.

Synopsis:
Minuet Dewin is the eldest daughter of the wizard Razzmorten. She has a half sister named Ugleeuh, Leeuh for short. Minuet practically raised her half sister herself after she was abandoned by her mother Demonica. However, Leeuh grows up self-willed, given to committing evil pranks that eventually turn her own sister against her.

Leeuh joins forces with Razzorbauch in a scheme to dominate Niag through a dangerous drug. Meanwhile, Minuet has married the prince of Niag. Now king and queen, they must help Razzmorten prevent Leeuh and Razzorbauch’s plans from coming to fruition.

Review:
Carol Marr Phipps and Tom Phipps have written an intriguing story set in a magical world. The good daughter Minuet assists her father with plague and then with her half sister in a classic fairytale style. Therein lies the problem. From the dialogue, when the story opened, I thought the two girls were much younger by the way they were talking. It’s only later that I realized they were in their late teens to early twenties. The dialogue throughout the book had an unnatural feel that was very distracting. In the last half of the book, the authors skipped over several years in a way that leaves the reader feeling unsatisfied, since some important action has taken place during this time. So even with a good overall story line, I am forced to give this one only three stars.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was sent a free e-copy of this book as I had entered a competition to win a paperback version but didn't win. However, i'm sorry to say but I really couldn't get my head round this book and begin to enjoy reading it like I have with other books, if I can't connect I find it hard to read, although I did finish the book.

I enjoy Fantasy and magical reading and as this book was about a wizzarding family I thought it sounded good from the synopsis. From the very start the story is mainly dialect of the characters and I felt that there could have been a bit more description to the characters and their locations etc.

The storyline itself is good, to the point the different "creatures" all speak differently to each other and don't look alike. The author took time to even included an appendix to describe some of the terms/words used in it which was helpful.

There were a couple of things I found very annoying with the book - character names were spelt wrongly from 1 page to the next, they didn't always have capital letters, there were a few spelling typos and some of the story seemed to be set in the olden days and then someone would say something that seemed really modern like calling someone an idiot, all of which should have been picked up by a proof-reader.

I'm glad I was given the chance to read this book but sadly I didn't enjoy and connect with it.

[Kerry Reis · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this fantasy tale, the good wizard Razzmorten has raised his two daughters, Minuet and Ugleeuh, at Peach Knob, a country farm near the kingdom of Niarg. Minuet is a sweet, caring soul, while her half-sister is vain, petty and conceited. On Ugleeuh's eighteenth birthday, Razzmorten is distracted by a black plague that has begun to spread death across the northern continent and must leave via his magic scrying ball to the dark continent to quickly find the cure. Ugleeuh, feeling rejected as is her usual nature, is enticed by Razzorbauch, Razzmorten's evil twin brother, to leave Peach Knob for his keep next to the Chokewood Forest on his promise to introduce her to the mother that had abandoned her on birth, Demonica. Razzorbauch also has plans to include Ugleeuh in his business of growing and selling sukere, an addictive sugar drug, throughout the northern continent. The tale is full of kingdoms, dragons, wizardry, elves, unicorns and talking ravens, but does feel bereft of a grand quest or bold moments of battle between the good and evil forces that tends to separate fantasy from other forms of fiction. In reading this, it is best to bookmark the appendix to quickly look up some of the Niargian and Elven language created for this tale.

[Lee French · Rating 1 out of 5]

Note: I did not read the entire book. Let me explain why.

I tried to give this book a fair shot. There are just too many mistakes that should have been picked up in proofreading. One of the main characters is addressed by so many different names, I have no idea what it's supposed to actually be. About a third of the way in, I reached parts with spoken grammar so difficult to parse it turned me off to the rest of the book. There's nothing specifically wrong with different speech delivery and cadences, unusual idioms, and spelling out accents. If the rest of the book didn't have so many proofing issues, I don't think it would have bothered me so much to have the odd speech patterns.

The dynamic between the two sisters made me feel like I was reading a children's book, as they're so simplistically 'good' and 'bad'. I actually thought they were 8-10 years old, until it was explicitly stated the one girl was 18. The father is alright, though he's also a bit flat. The secondary characters aren't interesting at all. The plot is fine, so far as I could tell. The writing isn't compelling.

If you're interested, I strongly recommend reading the sample first, to see if the errors bother you as much as they did me. With a new edit, I would be willing to give it another try.

[Sharon Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Good Sister, Bad Sister' is a fantasy tale of two very different half-sisters, Minuet and Leeuh. Minuet's sweet nature blinds her to how bad her half-sister really is, but as much as she wants to can she really trust Leeuh has changed when her sister shows up again after several years away?

I'll admit that it took me a while to get into this book, mainly because I prefer modern settings in fantasy novels, but once I got into it I was completely hooked by the characters and the story. The characters were very well developed, both good and bad, and I found myself worrying for the good ones whenever the evil sister began to scheme. Leeuh was a very nasty character, which was obvious from the beginning, but as the story moved on I was shocked by how evil she actually became and I began to truly worry for her sister's safety.

Overall this is an excellent story with well written characters. I would recommend it to just about anyone who enjoys fantasy. It would be suitable for older children and is very well done in a timeless classic kind of way that makes it a good read for adults as well.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a die hard fan of horror. I normally don't pick up or even look at another book.
BUT - something about the title and the cover of this book drew me in. I am so SO very glad it did!
I immediately settled in following the lives of the sisters, Minuet and Leeuh. How striking their differences were is a story in itself. But, I am not the type to read and tell; so you shall need to read the book for yourselves.
I will say this, though. As a reader for mainly pleasure purposes, I thoroughly enjoyed the book "Good Sister, Bad Sister" by Carol Marrs Phipps. It actually reminded me of my sisters and I, although I won't say who's good or bad there (ha-ha).
I felt the story moved along smoothly and was well researched for characters and the era suggested. I am eagerly awaiting more of Minuet and Leeuh, and some great writing by Carol Marrs Phipps.
I would highly recommend "Good Sister, Bad Sister" - and any other works for that matter - by Carol Marrs Phipps, to any avid reader.

[Yvette Calleiro · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I could give this book a better rating, but I could not get into the characters or the storyline at all. There were many punctuation errors and some of them made me have to reread to try to figure out what was being spoken and what was descriptive. There were characters with made up languages that were somewhat hard to follow. One character seemed to be talking very yoda-ish but in paragraph form, and I just ended up skipping whole parts because it was slowing me down to try to figure it out.

There was a part in the story where there was a time gap with no announcement. I was confused about halfway into a chapter (and even stopped to go back to see if I had accidently skipped a bunch of pages) before it was announced that years had passed. Minuet was the only character that I could somewhat connect with, and even then, it was minimal.

To be fair, I'm not a big unicorn and dragon type of fantasy reader. So, maybe it just wasn't my kind of story. Plenty of other people have written rave reviews for the book and the series, so take my review lightly.

[Jenny Burnley · Rating 5 out of 5]

GOOD SISTER BAD SISTER, the first in the epic series of THE HEART OF THE STAFF, is a wonderful fantasy tale, weaving a complicated, exciting web of intrigue, where good battles evil. The story takes place in the kingdom of Niarg and revolves around Razzmorten, a good wizard who has two very different daughters, the good Minuet and the evil Leeuh.
The book is rich with bold, memorable characters, including elves, witches, dragons and magical, speaking birds, including a wily raven named Ocker, who steals the show from time to time, in my opinion. When Leeuh teams up with her bad wizard uncle, Razzorbach, the inevitable feathers begin to fly and this multi-layered, exhilarating story races on, drawing the reader with it to its thrilling close.
I highly recommend Good Sister Bad Sister and think this book is must for anyone who enjoys a good fantasy, with an exciting plot that includes many surprises, such as magic, dragons, witches, duplicity, and betrayal. Will good triumph over evil this time? You will have to read the book to find out!

[Larry B Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Sister, Bad Sister by Carol Marrs Phipps and Tom Phipps is a very good fantasy tale of adventure and intrigue. It was full of plot twist and excitement which kept me glued to the story.

The authors did a great job of weaving a tale full of magic, elves, wizards and even a few dragons. The storyline was both realistic and believable. There were a few editing issues but these failed to distract from the overall readability and otherwise great story.

I like the way Carol Marrs Phipps and Tom Phipps developed the characters. Both ours heroes and the villains in the story were believable and easy to identify with. I always like when an author gives enough background information to make the characters seem like real people.

I really enjoyed reading Good Sister, Bad Sister by Carol Marrs Phipps and Tom Phipps. I recommend this book to all readers.

This is the first book of The Heart of the Staff series and I look forward to reading more.

[Dawn J Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

There IS a good story here. Characters are unique, interesting, and the plot moves along nicely. HOWEVER, what prevented me from actually finishing this book was the errors and lack of editing. 25% into the book on Kindle and I found probably 20 errors and typos. Some of the dialog was a bit hard to read due to the characters poor speech and grammar. I don't usually nitpick dialog because a character's speech should show their personality, but with all the errors I wondered how much of it was intentional and how much was just poor editing.

If you can look beyond the errors, there is a pretty cool fantasy story here. I'm just not one that can look past it and really get into the book like the author intended.

[Robbie Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story although I did have trouble reading some parts. The attempt at varying language styles left me baffled as did the names of the unicorns. I loved the descriptions and how scenery was incorporated into the story line. A good read for young adults.

I felt like some plot lines were dropped and left unfulfilled, but as this is one in a series I am hoping that they will be answered in the next book.

I was not a fan of the sudden jump in years during the story. There was no reason for it or lead up to it. At first, I was left baffled and searching to see if I had missed something. I did, however, enjoy the character of Ock and would have loved to have seen more of him. I hope I get to in the upcoming books. I look forward to reading it.

[Fajriy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is interesting, unusual and quite well-written.

The character I like is Demonica because, in spite of her short appearances, she keeps her voice distinct while other characters, mostly, felt like speaking in one voice with different names. Also, in several occasions, unnecessary dialogues are present, but don't seem to disturb the course of the story.

Despite the title, it seems that the sisters' father and his brother play a bigger part in the course of the story. Even though at the very end it is revealed that Ugleeuh is the one who causes the plague, neither she nor Minuet does enough contribution to the many twists of the story.

**Note: I voluntarily read and review a free copy of this book provided by the author.**

[Regina Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy reading fantasy stories, and this one had some great potential. I think the authors have some talent and I would be interested in following other books they may write in the future. I thought this story was fine, but the execution of the telling needed help. The dialog could be worked on, the character voices could be a bit more distinct (without being too sterotypical), and overall the novel needs to be edited.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting fantasy novel. Razzmorten, who has daughters Minuet and Leeuh, is searching for a cure to the plague.
This book combines magical themes with Fantasy and is a good read people will find engaging. I liked the feel of this book and the way the author brought readers into a different time and a different world.

[W.C. Quick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining Fantasy

The story seemed rushed in places and has some grammar and spelling errors that step on the reading experience. I enjoyed the spells and teleportation aspect of the tale. There seemed to be a wasting of characters in general but the story still held my interest. I would read more from these authors.

[Stephen Reese · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable book. I know there have been some comments about errors, but I tend focus more on the story. The one thing I didn't like was the five year jump ahead in the storyline. There seemed to be a lot of action that occurred during those five years that the readers missed out on.

[S. McPherson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elves, plagues, magic and more. A great YA read for all fantasy lovers. I liked how every character was unique with distinct personalities and voices. I was plunged into a world of magic and misfortune and I am looking forward to reading the rest of this enchanted series.

[J.R. Sweeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey here is a fun book filled with colorful characters and face paced movement. Good adventure tale with the two sisters bound to collide but when and where? both have the power and both have agendas. yes a good read I say