The Lost Sister

by Elinora Pane, Alexa H. Michaels, Eleanor Elaine

Our family was torn apart by our father’s hunger for power...


Meira:

I’ve lived two hundred years without my sister--my twin. And the worst part is she doesn’t even know I exist.

Now, I’m sneaking into the kingdom where I was born, right under the nose of our megalomaniac father, who happens to be the king.

He can’t know I’m here, or we’ll both be trapped.

I can only pray that my sister isn’t cruel like him. That she will accept me and want to escape. I have to save her. Or die trying.



Rina:

My father is a tyrant king. And now he’s betrothed me to a monster. This palace is just a gilded cage, and I have to find a way out.

Just when I give up and decide to do something desperate--a miracle. My mirror image appears in the market.

This stranger claims to be my twin. She promises me escape.

If I don’t go with her now, I’ll be trapped here forever.



The Lost Sister is a high fantasy adventure. This epic voyage has dark elements, heart breaking romances, and plenty of narrow escapes on the high seas and islands in the world of Theria.

***This is the first book in the Daughters of Elydon duology. That means this book has a “to be continued…” ending.

****This series contains adult content in terms of language, situations, and relationships. Fade to black romance and off page abuse are mentioned. Please be advised beforehand.

Genres: Fantasy, Ebooks, Paranormal

466 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 8, 2022

Reviews

[Tristan]

First off, the book description is misleading. I was under the impression this book would be about two sisters and their worlds, kind of like Crown of Coral and Pearl, but instead the main theme was all about Faes, which nothing wrong with that, but the description gives no hint whatsoever as to what the reader is getting into. Fae is such a hit or miss sub-genre that there's a high chance the book description will mislead readers who are into fantasy fiction, just not the world of Faes, resulting into major disappointment on their part.

I pressed on with the book bc I don't mind that type of reading, but truthfully I found the book to be lukewarm at best. The writers did an excellent job with their world-building and creating the settings and the story's background, but the characters themselves were not dynamic enough. I felt no emotional pull towards any of them and it got to the point where I realized, do I even care about any of the main characters? Plus, so much background information was thrown out at the very beginning that it made for such a slow start and a clunky first few chapters. If the writing could be more seamless and planned out more strategically, I think that would make this book so much stronger.

[Carolina]

I think this story has a lot of potential but it missed its mark. It was a nice debut for the duology, but it lacked something. The premise was good but for some reason I couldn't really care about the plot or characters, more so when one of the main characters kept making dumb and reckless decisions and expected everyone to forgive and support her, no matter what. The other main character was what I usually describe as pãozinho sem sal (bread without salt), meaning she didn't have any thing that gave her depth as a character, even with everything we were told she had gone through. Same for their friends. They seemed nice enough, but I didn't really care about them, specially when they were constantly bickering over the second main character.

I also didn't really enjoy the fact that there was too much going on at once. They didn't solve any of their problems before jumping to the next and it resulted on a lot of unanswered questions by the time I finish the book, answers I hope we have over the course of the next installment. That said, I will probably be reading the next book.

Thank you NetGalley and Chowen Publishing House LLC for granting me my wish of getting an e-copy of the book in an exchange for an honest review.

[Miri (Taylor's Version)]

★★★★/5 stars!!

"Traitors don’t deserve swift deaths."

-Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC.-

The story starts of sort of slow. We were introduced to two twins named Meira and Rina.

Rina was stucked with her wicked father who betrothed her to a person she doesn't love.

Meira on the other hand was on a mission to rescue her twin sister.

This story was so awesome! I also love the characters. Specially Kotosh. Definitely will read the sequel of this book.

Plot: ★★★★/5
Characters: ★★★★★/5
Pacing: ★★★/5
Overall: ★★★★/5 stars!!

[Lila And Her Library]

I am so conflicted with this book!! There is so much potential here but I feel that while this book was enjoyable, it missed the mark of ✨what it could have been✨ I’m very middle of the road with it hence the right in the middle rating. I go back and forth with the pros and cons of this book so I’m going to try and break it down to make sure I convey all of my thoughts.

~Worldbuilding~
The first thing I encountered when I started reading this book was the worldbuilding and I LOVED it. The world was magical with different well thought out cultures and customs. I enjoyed seeing the differences between Meira’s and Rina’s worlds and discovering the land of Theria ❤️

~Characters~
I loved the idea of so many of these characters but I failed to connect strongly with any of them. A strong brash water fae. A protective skilled prince that can merge with shadows. A trapped princess trying to fight against the iron grip of her tyrant father. A childhood friend choosing between duty and those he cares about. Don’t those sound freaking amazing?? Yes, the answer is yes, and at times they were great but I wish we could’ve delved a bit deeper and seen more complexity and growth in these characters.

~Plot~
The plot started out really well with multiple rescue missions. I was pretty hooked straight off the bat. And it didn’t let up, conflict after conflict plaguing the group. But as the story continued, more and more the resolutions seemed…too easy. I was never convinced that something bad would happen to the characters or that they wouldn’t find their way out. I feel like the authors did a good job setting up an event and the anticipation for it, but were missing key components for the climaxes.

Also some of my favorite parts of the book were the romantic tension scenes between the twins and their respective love interests. I was left wanting more!! AHH those moments were far too short for me. But to be fair, this is a high fantasy adventure, not a romance so I’ll take what I can get 😂

~Writing~
The writing was great and it’s obvious these authors have had some practice. I have but one, nit-picky pet peeve. It’s completely subjective and won’t impact everyone’s enjoyment of the book. I’m not a fan of modern language in high fantasy settings. Sometimes the tone and grammar sounded as if they were contemporary characters living in a fantasy world. And of course, if that’s how the people of Theria speak then that’s valid but it’s just not my favorite. It tends to break my immersion.

Read if you enjoy:
🌊Sea adventures
👯‍♀️Long lost twins
🧚Fae magic
💗Enemies to lovers
🤞Fated mates (maybe? to be discovered in book 2)
💔Unrequited love
✊Themes of empowerment

[OJ Reads]

Enticing and Thrilling Adventure Read
Meira is on a mission to rescue her long-lost twin, Rina, from her father's kingdom. Meira is unsure Rina agrees to come with her when her twin is not even aware of her existence. There is a possibility that Rina may be as cruel as her father and Meira's companion; her best friend, Casimir, isn't approved of this mission. A green-eyed stranger came to her aid in the rescue. This mission ensures that a power-hungry war will hit her home, Honae. With the help of her friends and fae magic, she is determined to find a way to end this war. But a strange pull with a stranger whose intentions are as hidden as land in the ocean might ruin her plans in an instant.

This book's writing style is fantastic, and the world-building is both astounding and detailed. Though it took me some time to capture this world, the wait was well worth it. I adore the new world's leisurely pace and intricate elements. I had no idea this world was so vast, little history is revealed still, many withholdings and conflicts remain for the next installment. The adventure is singing in the blood; when you think the adventure has come to an end, the new one begins with an enticing and thrilling start.

Rina and Meira are both opposite each other. When I read the blurb of this book, I thought I would love only one sister, but the POV of both twins let me connect with them. I adore Rina as much as Meira. There are many characters present in the story. Casimir is a secretive and hidden character, and I like him more than anyone. I had hoped to read only the sisters' dynamics, but hey, it surprised me with the diverse relationships between best friends and the sweet connection between sisters. Kotosh will most likely be my favorite character in the next book, and I really like the protectiveness of Avery.

There are a few romantic moments, but their intensity is hard to ignore. Also, plenty of laughing moments keep the mood light. The slow burn and tension in the relationship heighten the desire to read more. But because this novel includes a high-fantasy adventure, I'm alright with reading less romance. For me, the male and female dynamics are the one that ties this fantasy to reality.

The authors, new to me, yet managed to impress me with this novel; a different world of fae, a ride of sea adventure, and the smoldering romance of a memorable read.

Full Review on OJ Reads

[Kels W]

★ ★ ★ ✰ ✰ DNF

Let me preface by saying I was given a chance to read this book for free for an honest review. The synopsis caught me with its promise of an epic high fantasy and dark elements.
★ ★ ★ ★ ✰ Plot: The plot is very intriguing; I can honestly say I haven’t read another book similar. My only gripe is that it did seem a little bit slow, to the point of being boring, I did not get my epic high fantasy adventure that I was promised in the synopsis. It is possible that if the worldbuilding and characters were better fleshed out that this wouldn’t be as much of an issue, and that that might really be where the boredom came from, so keep that in mind as you read on.

★ ★ ✰ ✰ ✰ Worldbuilding: The main area in which I am a tough sell is worldbuilding. I give a lot of slack for plot and characters because I read for enjoyment, not purely analysis or literary enlightenment, but worldbuilding will make or break a book. In this case, it broke it for me. The plot set up a great opportunity for an amazing book, but there was hardly any effort put into the world. Which types of people live where? Apparently, there are fae (which was not in the synopsis and was hardly touched upon- no culture or history) but are there humans? There was a brief mention of sorcerers and witches but no culture or history or information on where they come from. Another issue I had was that there were no maps. With a story like this, an “epic adventure” where the characters are sailing from country to country, there needs to be some kind of visual representation.

★ ★ ★ ✰ ✰ Characters: I do not have much to say about the characters other than that they were forgettable. I formed no attachment to them, and the nicknames/ bonds that were written between characters seemed like they were copy and pasted from others in the book. Not much imagination or depth.

Final Verdict: If you are looking for a fae high fantasy adventure, this book is not for you. If you are looking for a quick pleasure read and do not mind dry worldbuilding, then give it a shot.

[Lousbookstuff]

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫...
┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
♥𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖♥
𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑: @elenor_elaine_author, @author.a.h.michaels
𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐘: @bookofmatchesmedia
𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄: Fantasy
𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: ✰✰✰.5
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

┍━━━━━━━★━━━━━━━┑
𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐃:
○ The worldbuilding. I loved discovering the differences between the two worlds the sisters came from as well as the way magic functions and how it differs depending on the wielder (fae, wizards, sorcerers etc.)
○ The characters. I felt like there was a really good range of different character types (strong fae warrior who can walk within the shadows and who keeps deep dark secrets, confident, sassy princess who has a mouth like a sailor, trapped princess trying to escape and see the world).
○ The plot/adventure. I had a lot of fun with this. It started off quite slow.
There was a rescue mission and it was all a little bit dull until it wasn't. At about 50% you are thrown into a whole other adventure which is bigger than anyone imagined. So much happened in the latter half of the book!
○ The romance. It was well done, slow burn. So much tension!

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈 𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄:
○ The characters. Although I felt that there was a great range and that they were interesting I failed to connect or really care about any of them which is really important to me.

𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐋:
If you enjoy books set on the high seas, stories about Fae and magic or are just looking for an adventure then this could be a good choice for you!
┕━━━━━━━★━━━━━━━┙

[Shasta]

Likes: If you are looking for an epic high fantasy sea adventure look no further than this book! I really enjoyed the read and getting to know the two different worlds that these two sisters are from. I loved how the plot came about and got me hooked immediately. The world building in this book was pretty spot on. I love how the authors put the book into both of the sister’s points of view.

Dislikes: Though this might be only me, I felt the writing was a little off. Sometimes the author would use difficult words to describe an action that a character took and I would have to look it up to see what it meant and thought to myself that it could have been described in a different way and would make more sense for the general audience. The plot felt a little bit off towards the middle of the book and went into a total misdirection, maybe I just wasn’t prepared mentally.

I received an advance review copy for free. All opinions are my own.

[Jakki (BizzyBookNook)]

Twins separated at birth, one in a cage under the eyes of a tyrannical father, the other taken to safety by her fleeing mother. This book was utterly fantastic. The characters were relatable and I found their banter amusing. The bonds that were forged between each of them held their own importance that carried through the entire story. There was quite a bit of growth and development in them which lent to them becoming more personable as time went on. The world building was really fun. I love stories that are set on the sea and the islands and situations they found themselves in were beautifully crafted. This book is non stop action, little twists and turns in the plot making you not want to put it down. And the ending….. I’m going to need book two soon as I know I’m not going to be able to stop thinking about it.

[Jacqui]

DNF @ 33%

Thank you to BookSirens for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Now to be honest, I didn’t place a rating because I might finish it and provide a better rating versus no rating at all.

The story took too long to pick up. I felt like there was a lot of filler and I wanted to find a favorite character but I felt that all the characters were too similar to each other. The plot sounds fantastic and the villains in the story are vile creatures but the main characters are a little boring and I was hoping to see how BAD @ss they could be but maybe that’s later on in the novel.


I do hope to come back to this read in the next for months but for now this is my review!

[Jeanette]

I received a free copy of this book for my review and I have to say that I am glad to have read it. This book was a good read with adventures taking place on land and in the ocean. New relationships grow and old ones are challenged to make room for new. It is a cliffhanger.
My only issue was sometimes I wished that it would get to the point. The book is detailed and gives you good visuals but sometimes too much. It gives the feel of added language for word count purposes.
I enjoyed reading it and will definitely read the second book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[TaniaRina]

Boy, is Meira feisty! She drops some “bombs” throughout, but they just add to her sparkling personality. Her name means “Bringer of Light” and it totally apropos to her character who is an adorable ray of sunshine. She and Casimir (play)fight as people who are very comfortable with each other. It was so realistic, that I could hear myself and my former “partner in crime” co-worker bickering over work duties. Add the other two, and it was like a bunch of cousins talkin’ smack.
I loved being with them on their adventures and look forward to reading the extra material Heart of Honae & The Cursed Captain before continuing with Of Air and Water.

[Lisa]

⭐️💫 / 1.5 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via BookOfMatchesMedia in exchange for an honest review!

The Lost Sisters is a NA epic fantasy book about twins who have been separated at birth, when their mother fled from their father with Meira, leaving Rina behind. 200 years later, Meira comes to rescue Rina from their father’s clutches.

I was really excited to start reading this book for the ARC tour I am part off! The synopsis was really interesting and I was still craving books with sea travels, so it fitted perfectly. Unfortunately, I seemed to have hyped the book up a little too much in my head and I had expected more/different things from it. I had different hopes and thus was let down by what I read.

If I had to describe the book in a few words it would be; confusing and not cohesive. That is the overall feel I have for this book, which came from the very beginning and held until the end. While in the beginning confusion isn’t perse a bad thing, you are unknown with the world, the characters and everything has to be explained, when it holds until the very end it is not a good thing.

The book started off really slow for me. I understood why, as we had to get acquainted with the twins and because they were in different places the worldbuilding and introduction took a bit longer. Only, it seemed that at 14% of the book, only the characters were really introduced. I had no clue about the world, the magic, the plot really. I would’ve liked those points, especially the plot, the be a bit clearer when reading at that point in the book. I just had a lot of questions personally which I would’ve liked answered, but never were.

I just had a really hard time reading this book, I struggled with it a lot. I was distracted a lot while reading and had a hard time picking this book up to continue and instead kept wanting to read other books. This was a major flag for me personally. I couldn’t connect with the story and thus somehow didn’t want to keep reading it. A lot of times, I really debated DNF’ing this book, but in the end decided against it, even if it meant forcing myself to keep reading it.

The characters weren’t all that memorable to me. The twins were very different from each other, that I liked, as that sets the two off them apart a bit. Rina though, just came across as very naïve. I would’ve liked for her to grow into herself a bit more and be more confident. The growth was there, but not as much as I would’ve liked. Meira was honestly the most forgettable twin. She was portrayed as brash and confident, but her actions felt stupid most of the time and she got on my nerves. She didn’t seem to have any growth, which was a shame. The males, Casimir and Avery, weren’t as prominent in the book as they could’ve been and also didn’t seem to grow from the start of the book.

Another thing that I struggled with was the overall plot and progression of this book. Almost everything that happened seemed to happen for no reason or seemed just really random and it really threw me off. It felt a bit like the authors were trying too hard and it didn’t work out the way they had hoped. A lot of the events that happened seemed really unnecessary to me, like the tournament for Rina’s mating, Meira’s capture at the beginning in the castle and honestly, don’t get me started on the monkey scenes….

Another part of the book that just missed the point was the romance, or lack thereof. Both sisters had their interests, but with Meira’s their scenes progressed really weirdly that they suddenly got all heated and it made me almost uncomfortable reading it, as it was constantly out of the blue. With Rina there were hints to a love triangle, but not really explored so that will probably come in the sequel.

The last thing is the one I had the most issue with. This book was classed as a new adult book, so I have certain hopes and expectations when reading. For example, more spice, cruder language, more “gore”. Things that can be a bit too much when reading it as a young adult. When I finished reading this book, I had honestly forgotten that it was classed as NA, as nothing in the book indicated that. There was nothing spicy or heated enough that it should’ve been classed as such, just kissing is enough for YA. Cruder language, using the world penis two times is not it. Maybe the second book will have the content which makes it NA, but this book just didn’t.

Overall, this book really didn’t do it for me personally. I had no connection whatsoever with the story and afterwards it just left me confused. I can see that the authors really tried, but they missed their marks for me.

[Anais (atrailofpages)]

I LOVE this book! This is such an epic, sea-faring adventure fantasy!

This is told from Meira’s and Rina’s perspectives. They are twin sisters who were separated as babies when their mother ran from their maniac of a father to another land Thessadosia. Meira and Rina have been separate for almost 200 years(no explanation why, yet) when a particular event causes Meira to take action and save her sister. Rina is to marry Duke Heath Ilia of Kiel, a bloodthirsty, power hungry, arrogant jerk(much like her father) and when Meira hears of this, she decides it’s time to rescue her sister. With the help of her adopted brother Casimir, they go save her, which causes their father to act, and they decide it’s time to stop their father.

I just have no words to truly describe how much I enjoyed this book! First, I love books set at sea. And if they’re also a fantasy, and an epic fantasy at that, then sign me up! Second, this book has Fae, enough said. I love that although it’s an epic fantasy and has amazing world-building, it never takes away from the story or the characters or the romance. You really get to learn about each of the characters and what they’re like, especially the twins.

I applaud the authors work on the character development. The twins were so different from each other, and yet had similarities as sisters, it was so well done. Meira is the feisty one with the sailor’s mouth and has magic(she can manipulate water), and Rina is the more mild one, but tough, she is not weak by any means, but has no magic(although I wondered as the book went on if there’s something more to her, we and she just don’t know it yet). I love how she questions Meira when they first meet, she doesn’t trust her at first and once she does, she just goes along with the adventure. She made me think of Rapunzel and how enraptured she was with the world, seeing, experiencing, and learning new things and lands.

You also really get to learn about the side characters, such as Casimir. I love the grumpy, broody Fae warrior. He’s a shadow walker and heir to the throne, and his relationship with Meira is exactly like a brother and sister, it’s adorable. And then when he meets her sister Rina, we’ll let’s just say I’m all for it and I can hardly wait to see where that relationship goes in the next book!

And then Kotosh! Well, I needed to fan myself each time he came into the picture. I have nothing to say about him because we basically learn nothing about him aside from that he has an awesome name, and is clearly some sort of pirate/mercenary Fae. I am soooo looking forward to reading more about him in the next book!

Overall, I just adored this story! It’s a lot of fun, the characters are fun and you just root for them the whole time. Many things happen in this book, but it never felt fast or slow paced. It is such a well balanced book and story. The slow burn romances happening in this book I’m thoroughly enjoying as well. Aside from the sea voyage, the romances are my other favorite thing I just loved about this book! I highly, HIGHLY, recommend this book!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Enid Pereira]

What do you say of a book that have all the makings of a compelling storyline and characters but fall short for the very same reason.
Its very rare that I am confused of my feelings towards a book but this book has me all conflicted.
The story is about twin sisters who are separated from each other as their mother tries to escape from their tyrant father. The story is basically a fantasy version of the events that unfold when the sisters meet and they try to overthrow their father. This is in a nutshell but the story goes deeper with a lot fantastical elements added to it.

Meira and Rina are twins who are shaped by their upbringing. While Meira like any protagonist is shown to be feisty and adventurous, Rina on the other hand is mellow but has a fierce silence to her even in adversity.

Personally I found Meira to be brash and at times childish who doesn't seem to think of her actions and regrets them later EVERYTIME. I think that though the authors wanted to show that she is the bold one and has had a lot of experience of fighting it doesn't justify the sheer dumbness displayed by the character throughout the book. Rina is a well written character whose growth is believable with confidence that is inspiring and not annoying.

The book has an intriguing plot however as I said before the very same things that make the book good also is its shortcoming. The characters are bestowed with magic which is not explained well just seems convenient when they are faced with challenges. The plot is too muddled with too many fantastical elements thrown in the mix leaving the readers confounded.

I do recommend reading the book as I am definitely left curious to read the story in the next installment.

I give the book 3 stars for the plot and Rina.

What do you say of a book that have all the makings of a compelling storyline and characters but fall short for the very same reason.

Its very rare that I am confused of my feelings towards a book but this book has me all conflicted.

The story is about twin sisters who are separated from each other as their mother tries to escape from their tyrant father. The story is basically a fantasy version of the events that unfold when the sisters meet and they try to overthrow their father. This is in a nutshell but the story goes deeper with a lot fantastical elements added to it.

Meira and Rina are twins who are shaped by their upbringing. While Meira like any protagonist is shown to be feisty and adventurous, Rina on the other hand is mellow but has a fierce silence to her even in adversity.

Personally I found Meira to be brash and at times childish who doesn't seem to think of her actions and regrets them later EVERYTIME. I think that though the authors wanted to show that she is the bold one and has had a lot of experience of fighting it doesn't justify the sheer dumbness displayed by the character throughout the book. Rina is a well written character whose growth is believable with confidence that is inspiring and not annoying.

The book has an intriguing plot however as I said before the very same things that make the book good also is its shortcoming. The characters are bestowed with magic which is not explained well just seems convenient when they are faced with challenges. The plot is too muddled with too many fantastical elements thrown in the mix leaving the readers confounded.

I do recommend reading the book as I am definitely left curious to read the story in the next installment.

I give the book 3 stars for the plot and Rina.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Tea_Reading_and_Oz]

You know, the more I read arcs the more I'm really hating cliff hanger endings.

So alot more went on in this than what was said in the blurb, all that was really like 1/4 of the book, which I was glad for because at first I though there was gonna be alot of either unnecessary betrayals or too much of everything going wrong and plans changing way more than they needed to. This was very much not the case and I love that.

Overall the plot was a bit typical but the magic and interactions between everyone are really what made everything interesting and kept my attention. And there's a pirate crew so that was a definite bonus! The only thing was I had no idea going into this that there was gonna be magic and that anyone was fae. That was a welcomed surprise, but Incase anyone thought everyone was human think again.

Now onto the characters!

Meira, I love her, she's a badass, and would totally be the kind of person I'd wanna be friends with. She has powered, won't say what, but they were pretty cool. She had a cap on her powers which was a good thing because they totally could have skipped 75% of the book if she didn't have a cap. There's a dance she has with someone that I really want to see the explanation for in the next one since it seems like a fated lovers, possibly, or a literal opposites attract.

Raina, wasn't sure how to feel about her going in, she got better as the book went on, was a bit naive to start but got alot better in that aspect, and really started becoming a badass (although impulsive) in the end. It looks like she's got a romance triangle going on, which I already favor one guy over the other (mainly because the other is just there and he really didn't need to be on this trip, it was just a "holding onto a piece of home" that made that happen) so I'm hoping she ends up with my choice of the guys.


Casimir, he's freaking awesome, definitely a softy on the inside who hides it under the tough guy exterior. His powers were really intriguing and I can't wait to see the extend of his power in the next one, hopefully. He's on my list of book boyfriends now because I would gladly get into trouble to get his snarky remarks 😂.

Avery, he was alright in the beginning, was the reason for Rina being sane, buuuut I don't feel like he a purpose later on. He was just kind of there to help Rina before she got acquainted with everyone. He did help her with sword fighting and some small things but I felt like he held Rina back more toward the end. Maybe he has a bigger part in the next one which shows his usefulness, hopefully, if not then he's just meh to me.

I'll for sure he looking out for the next one so I can see what happened after that ending.

[THE EXTRAORDINARY YOU]

THE LOST SISTER
DAUGHTERS OF ELYDON #1

Blurb :

Meira, daughter of Tullia is on the mission with her Step Brother Casimir, to rescue her Twin Sister Rina from Elydon as she was supposed to be betrothed to the Duke. They infiltrated the city and tries to approach Rina to safely rescue her.

Rina on the other side hates her Father. She is trapped in that city and was not allowed to see the outside world. The only place she was allowed to roam was the City but with Ten Draugrs (A Mythical Creature) to ensure her safety. She tries to convince her Father to cancel the Wedding as Duke is a ruthless person who doesn’t respect her for who she is and keeps harassing her. When she was about to give up, she meets Meira.

Alaric is a Tyrant King who loves Power. Drowned in the ocean of greed to more power, he captures many Kingdom.

Will they be able to escape the Island from Alaric? What plans does Alaric have to capture the entire Southern Kingdoms? Will they be able to stop him?

My Thoughts:

This was a fast paced story. I loved the whole world! The ocean, Mythical creatures, Mountain Castle, Forest. It was all very exciting to imagine. I was sailing in a ship with those characters and watch them play ;)

I loved all the characters and liked the concept of strong woman lead and here it was two! The way Rina gets out of her closed self and learn new things for self defence and war, really made me jump. I was like Go Girl!!

With the Title and Blurb I assumed that rescuing Rina was the story all about. But the author proved me wrong and added more interesting plots. I loved all of Kotosh – Meira. Though I need some of Cas – Rina . The way Cas and Mei had each other’s back and they way Avery protects Rina, it’s just all so beautiful. I thought that the book would revolve only around the sisters, but the author wonderfully connected me with other characters as well.

This book left me in a cliffhanger and I have to wait till the next is released. I have many questions for which the second books holds answers. The entire journey was thrilling and I can’t wait for the second book to be released.
If you are a fantasy reader and loves Travel, Action, This is for you!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Stella Steph]

I can not say that this isn’t the type of genre or style that I would normally read; because as an avid ARC reader this is what normally lands on my lap as of lately. I would not say that this makes my love pile but it doesn’t make me no pile either. This book had its pros and cons. The authors did a great job with their world-building/ setting and being able to give background dynamics. The creation of the different customs and cultures was beautiful. done. The magic behind it all was spot on. I loved discovering the differences between the worlds. ( Personal note: I like a visual with fantasy books especially if the world is completely created by an author - wish it had a map.) I believe it would’ve help envision the journey of the characters. However, we were giving too much, too fast and it was a bit overwhelming and gave the book a slower start.

This book focuses on the story of two twin sisters who were forced to live a life without the other. They were separated at what we believe is birth. Meira was taken with her mother as she fled her tyrant power hungry husband, the king of Elydon. In the rush to flee, their mother was forced to leave one child behind, Meira’s twin Rina.

Until Meira comes across news her father intended to marry Rina off to a bloodthirsty duke. She comes up with the idea to go and steal her sister before the marriage takes place. Yet she finds out the King is not stopping at marrying off Rina but wants to conquer all of Theria. Now they must fight to ensure the salvation of everyone.It takes off on an adventure against time, dark elements and other dangers on their voyage.

I had a hard time connecting to any of the characters. There wasn’t a connection link that would make us want to know the character more. I felt the “fae” aspect of the story fell flat for me. This book has great potential, if some plot holes were filled in a bit or we were able to connect a bit more.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Gabrielle (belle.bookcorner)]

It's been a while since a book got me feeling so conflicted. I really like some aspects in this book but there are some things I didn't fully enjoy.

Let's talk about the good things first. The plot is fascinating and it makes me feel curious to know what happen next. The multiple POVs is also a nice touch to the story so the readers can get more insights about the characters.

The characters are all good, but I wish we got to see more character development and more depth about them so the readers can get more connected in reading their story.
Nevertheless, I really like Casimir and Meira sibling relationship and Meira with Rina, Meira's twin sibling.

As for the romance parts, I wish we could see more interaction between the main characters and their love interests like Meira and the mysterious mercenary as well as Casimir and Rina.

Despite all of that, I feel the pacing was too slow in the first part of the book even with the strong opening. I was starting to lose interest but fortunately it got a bit more interesting after 50% into the story.

The world building is actually interesting and I wish there are more explanation about how the magic works. Like how different Fae have different powers and how many powers can a Fae have ? Are there any forbidden magic or why certain Fae didn't have magic ?
I also wish there was a map in this book, it would be more helpful in envisioning all these characters on their quest.

Overall, this book is not that bad but it wasn't that great either. It has the potential to be more because it has a good material to begin with.
I'll probably read the second book to get some answers because I have so many questions from this book and I'm very interested in knowing more about the love interest.

A huge thank you to the authors, Elinora Pane and Alexa H. Michael as well as Book of Matches Media for giving me this ARC in return for my honest opinion!

[Celtic's Library]

I saw this book description and was instantly excited to send in a request and read it. It sounded exciting, enthralling, something I could truly enjoy reading. Within the first chapter, I knew I was in for disappointment. However, I pushed on and wanted to give it a try. Sometimes books take a little while to get going and live up to their hype. Unfortunately, that never happened. I did not like the characters.... at all. There was the typical tall, quiet, growly, "dark past" guy. There was also the girl who tried too hard to put a "girl power" front on. Then there is a princess who is being challenged to have character growth. Obviously some badies are thrown in for a little extra razzle dazzle. The world building was great, it was the characters that make my rating so low. They were just unbelievable. This book also poked at some of my pet peeves. I find it rather obnoxious when characters smirk, especially when they smirk a lot in situations that do not need a smirk in them. I actually went through and counted how many times certain words were used, and I think the author or editor could have replaced some of them with something better.
Smirk/ed/s count: 37 times
Growl/ed count: 34 times
Female/s count: 86 times
Male/s count: 203 times
As mentioned above, the world building was done wonderfully. The characters were simply not my style. They rubbed the wrong way. I am willing to give this author another chance in the future to see how they grow. I always enjoy seeing growth in authors and seeing where they go and what wonderful worlds they create.
Many thanks to the publisher for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

[Frances Law]

This book has nearly too much in it! It centres around an unusual family. Meira’s mother, Tullia, had been wed to Alaric the King of Elydon. She bore him twin girls, Meira and Ekatyarina. When it became impossible to remain as queen she took the chance to run away but she only had one child with her -Meira. She had to leave Ekatyarina with her father. She made her way to Thessalonia where the King, Leolani, fell in love with her and took her and Meira in. He treated her as his wife and Meira as his daughter. He also took in a young boy, Casimir, as his son. Casimir was made a Prince and, of course, Meira was already a Princess. Both were to inherit the kingdom but Meira wasn’t interested. She wanted to explore the world and be free. As a result, she was always getting into trouble but Casimir always had her back.

While on one of her (mis)adventures she discovered that King Alaric was going to marry her sister, Ekatyarina, off to another wicked ruler and immediately wanted to go to rescue her. Casimir, who had saved her yet again, persuaded her to return to their parents and to let the king and his council decide what to do. The decision is made to contact Ekatyarina to see if she WANTS to be rescued.

The story becomes more and more complex as it goes on. One thing that I didn’t make clear is that the family are Fae but they live among humans too. Casimir is a Shadow Walker with strong powers. Meira controls water and is strong but lacks control usually just as she needs it. Other family members have other skills.

There are enemies who become friends, sea serpents, witches and other malign magic users. They start out one way and end up going another, and then………

[Anshul (stories.buddy)]

This book has surprised me in so many ways, first, it started out a bit slow for my liking but never lost the plot. The tricks and treats of this story have kept me curious to know what happens next. And when the story is about fae I just can’t say no to it. As the name suggests it is about long-lost twin sisters who come face to face in a very dramatic way, where one knows everything about the other but the other knows nothing about the existence of her sister. The tyrant king has gone totally out of hand and to stop him from the madness the journey of this book is written.

The story becomes more interesting when they set to sail in an adventure nobody thought even possible, detailing is the asset of the story that’ll bond you to it, and having to know it from both sisters' point of view was bang on. The intense tension between couples is shown beautifully and I would love to see more of it in the next book. I can’t wait to read the next book in this duology.

Meira and Rina are similar yet very different from each other, they have strong personalities. Casimir is my favourite in the entire book who is alone a powerful fae and is the sane one in the crew. I wanted to see more of him and the feelings he shared which are being left unspoken off. Overall a good read for the Fae lovers.

[Belinda Smith]

Loved it! I am a big fan of sassy characters! So, this book was an easy win~~

There was so much more happening in the book than what was mentioned in the blurb - like the blurb was about the first 10% of the book. The beginning was a bit slow. It took effort for me to engage with the plot. But, it got better!

I loved Meira from the beginning! She was fearless and powerful. I definitely loved her relationship with Casimir. Gotta love bickering friends! Their conversations were a delight.

"​Watch out for monsters,” Casimir suddenly warned, a smile pulling at his lips as his words erased the odd reaction I’d seen a moment ago.
“I’ll charm them and slip them under your blanket while you sleep.” I wiggled my brow at him.
“I don’t have a blanket,”

Rina was an interesting character. I loved how strong she was in spite of her upbringing. She held fast even when the situation looked bleak. I loved her interaction with everyone.

The plot is intriguing and fun to follow. The writing was easy to follow and left me wanting more. Fun banter between Meira and her companions was a huge plus! I love a good enemies-to-lovers story with sassy characters! Very excited for book two!

[Becca Mee]

3.5 RTC
THE LOST SISTER was really a fun read. Basically it's like if TOG and Daughter of the Pirate King had a baby, this is that book, which was good! We have lots going on here: sisters separated by a tyrannical father, the chosen one trope, pirates, swoony vigilantes, a seafaring quest and much more. While the dialogue between some of the characters felt a little cringy at times, I found THE LOST SISTER to be a really great adventure that checked off a lot of boxes. I loved seeing Meira and Rina find each other and watching them bond as sisters. I also liked the dynamic between Casimir and Rina and I picked up on some romantic tension there that I hope the authors will capitalize on. Rina's character arc, in particular, going from a sheltered prisoner of a princess to someone with great self-determination and agency was really great to read. The world-building and element based magic was pretty well-developed, and there were times when I just wanted to keep turning pages because I wanted to know what happens next. The authors do a great job balancing pacing and establishing compelling character storylines. The ending felt abrupt, BUT it makes me eager to get my hands on book 2. Fans of SJM and Tricia Levenseller will enjoy this character-driven, high seas adventure and I am glad to have had the experience of reading it.

[Myreadbooks]

I would like to thank the authors and the Booksprout website for allowing me to read this book which is the first volume of the duology: "Daughters of Elydon".

We find Meira and Rina who saw their family torn apart because of their father and his thirst for power.

Meira has a twin sister who doesn't know she exists, she has lived for two hundred years without her. She will have to enter the kingdom where she was born without her father knowing. It turns out that he is the king of the Elydonian faes. She takes it upon herself to make sure her twin is not as cruel as her father. She will have to do everything to convince her to follow her to escape from this kingdom. 

As for Rina, her father is a tyrant, he has engaged her to a monster and she only dreams of running away. When suddenly her twin arrives to save her. She does everything to prove to him that it is his double and teaches him that it is war and that it is better to run away from there before being trapped, held forever.

I loved the authors' pen so addictive, the characters so endearing, the descriptions of the characters, the places that make you want to be by their side. I can't wait to discover the book two.

[Wendy Wallace]

This was a book of epic proportions. I found it to be an outstanding book.

This is the first book of the Daughters of Elydon duology. I definitely will have to read the second book as book number one finishes with a cliff hanger. The authors have provided a bonus chapter and an extended version of the bonus scene; both interesting reading.

Meira (Zarmeiriana) and Rina (Katyarina) are separated at a very young age. Meira is taken by her mother Alaria (now going under the name of Tullia) and Rina is with her despot father King Alaric.

Rina's tyrant father betrothes her to a cruel vindictive duke who has his eye on becoming king when Rina's father dies. All Rina wants to do is excape as she is kept locked up within the city.

Rina is unaware that she has an identical sister and is shocked when Meira turns up to rescue her.

Many adventures follow.

The book contains humor, adventure, death, romance, suspense, mystery and magic.

This book contains some adult language and dark scenes.

I enjoyed this book despite its length.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Nikola]

Arc provided by netgalley

3.5 ⭐️

I absolutely loved the description of the book it sounded so interesting and I couldn’t wait to read it however i did find the description quite misleading.

From the start i wasn’t really drawn to any of the characters at all, it felt like i couldn’t connect with any of them but i was hooked from the start which lead me to read more of the book.

I was so excited to meet the twin sister who was meant to marry the tyrant who is just like her father but as the book went on i found myself less and less interested in the plot and i just felt like it lacked something!

However, I absolutely loved Meira which surprised me as I didn’t really like the rest of the characters. I also found it very refreshing that for once the characters weren’t 16 or 17 but 200 year olds who were more mature.

Overall, i honestly don’t remember much of the plot which is why my review is so plain but i do remember i enjoyed it. I feel like this book lacks something and the characters need more depth to them so that we can connect to them as readers but this was a quick read for me and i am neutral about this book ❤️💜

[Magenta]

I enjoyed this book but ultimately was disappointed.

The premise, characters and world building all had immense potential, but it just didn't stick the landing for me. I am still debating if I am intrigued enough to read the second and final installment when it is released.

The premise was very intriguing; however, I found the pacing to be a little off with a constant stream of problems being resolved too easily or not at all and I found myself with many more questions by the end than I would like.

I found the main character to be kind of annoying as she continued to make reckless, silly decisions without any concept of consequences and expecting others to simply forgive and forget. The other main character was lacking so much depth she felt lifeless. I also found the love interests to be very two dimensional.

One thing I did enjoy was the world building. At the beginning there was a bit of info dumping but that's to be expected with a high fantasy, especially when there are only two books to set it up in.

Overall, as I said I did enjoy the book (even if it doesn't sound like it from this review), I just expected more.

[Nash]

I LOVED THE BOOK. Seriously, the 2 main characters being sisters is something that personally adore. Sometimes I wanted to lecture Meira for being a bit reckless but she had luck on her side - most of the times -
I found Casimir incredibly interesting, mysterious and I wanna know A LOT MORE about him and his abilities. I still can't say for sure if I like Kotosh that much, probably because he's 70% of the book playing hard to get.
I love Rina, so much!! She's being such a champ even tho she was most of her life imprisoned!!
P.s. I ship Rina and Casimir so much!

But... HOW CAN YOU LEAVE THINGS IN SUCH A CLIFFHANGER!! How long do we have to wait for the next part!!


*One detail for the author, Please change the cover of the book. It says nothing about the story, and it's a really good book!! and second, the Prologue with Casimir's POV was kind of weird, giving that the rest of the book is told from Rina and Meira's perspectives. But still I truly loved the book!

Thanks Booksprout for this ARC given to me in exchange for an honest opinion.

[A Reader and Dreamer (Vanshika)]

I received an e-ARC in exchange of an honest review.

My Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I always love a confident and badass female protagonist and Meira was just that. The book is told from a dual POV between Meira and Rina the twin fae princesses who were separated at birth. They provided a great contrast of characteristics as the story unfolded. I wish however that the story was told from a third person narration or multiple POV like the Throne of Glass series.

In my opinion the blurb is a little misleading. The “Twin Rescue Mission” seems like a sub plot in an over arcing plot. The pacing of the story was a little off but overall I really enjoyed all the angsty and funny moments. I’m usually not a fan of love triangles or slow burn romance so that part of the story wasn’t my cup of tea.

The world building and some other elements of the story were really intriguing but ultimately I didn’t connect with the characters in the book. If you’re a fan of fantasy-adventure and don’t mind romance being a sub plot, this book is for you.