Sisters of the Snake by Sasha Nanua, Sarena Nanua
Publisher: HarperTeen
Special thanks to Harper Collins for sending a copy for review.
Summary:
A lost princess. A dark puppet master. And a race against time—before all is lost.
Princess Rani longs for a chance to escape her gilded cage and prove herself. Ria is a street urchin, stealing just to keep herself alive.
When these two lives collide, everything turns on its head: because Ria and Rani, orphan and royal, are unmistakably identical.
A deal is struck to switch places—but danger lurks in both worlds, and to save their home, thief and princess must work together. Or watch it all fall into ruin (Goodreads).
Thoughts:
I was slightly disappointed by how predictable the novel was since I was expecting the plot to be unique. The ending was too perfect. I didn’t particularly love how everything just fell into place and was solved with magic; I would’ve preferred an end with more obstacles because it would be more challenging.
At some point, someone aside from Amara should’ve noticed that Ria and Rani had switched places, so I feel that this wasn’t realistic. Even though Ria and Rani look alike, imitating someone to the exact detail when you just met recently is difficult. They also both live opposing lifestyles, so it would not be easy to pick up on each other’s habits right away. It would’ve been interesting for someone else close to the girls to notice that they were acting differently and threaten to spill their secret. This would’ve created more conflict for the story and built up tension of them having to hide their true identity. I loved watching Ria and Rani slip up from their disguise and have to cover it up because it is realistic and amusing.
The motive for Ria to go to the castle to steal jewels instead of running away was an excellent meet-up point for the twins because it felt natural. I adored how the twins are strong, determined and fiery characters because they work hard to create the change they want to see. Watching Rani stepping up to save her country was fantastic because she grows into an independent woman who is more sure of herself. Ria continues to persevere and fight to reach her goals, and it was fun following her journey to achieve them.
Amara was a somewhat two-dimensional character, and I would’ve liked to see her get developed even more. I was glad that her motives were revealed, but I wanted genuine sympathetic moments between her and Saeed (her son), and Ria and Rani’s mother.
It would’ve been interesting to stray from giving both twins a love interest and maybe have one protagonist remain single or have a platonic relationship. While both Amir and Saeed are very charming, I would’ve loved seeing a single female protagonist change things up. Rani, who’s betrothed to Saeed, had a bit of an ex-lovers story, and I would’ve liked to see more conflict develop from that.
I love that the authors incorporated their own culture into this story because books are a terrific way to share our culture with the world. The worldbuilding was very vivid and elevated the Princess and the Pauper trope to a new level. I’m expecting a second novel or more to expand on the myths and masters mentioned in the first book because they don’t get fully explained.
This story has some powerful protagonists and rich worldbuilding. If you’re looking to dive into an adventure-fantasy novel inspired by Indian culture, you should check this book out!
Reviewed by Stacey K.