This is SO UNDERRATED.
True enemies to lovers.
True love triangle.
Nephilim?
Shifters?
How have I never heard of this book or author??
Also, the first erotica scene was written so well (gave me BIG "Diablo" vibes, which I loved), and not the characters you expected, which was a pleasant surprise.
This was so unique and original with such a breath of fresh air in romantasy where it seems EVERYTHING is on constant repeat. This had new themes and loveable and despicable characters that weren't slam in your face.
Not to mention the cliffhanger at this ending? Geeze, I can't wait to reread this prior to the sequels release.
And this audiobook? Wow, what a thematic experience. Probably one of the best audiobooks I've listened to yet!

The Seventh Sister is the first book in a new romantasy series set in a Vikings-esque fantasy world.

I enjoyed the second half of the book a lot more than the first half, as the plot seemed to become more unique in the second half. There were some really interesting twists that I didn't see coming, and I'm really looking forward to see where the story goes next.

The audiobook is really well narrated by the sole narrator, Jacci Prior. She does a good job at the various accents displayed by the characters, and has a great emotional range. I really appreciated the addition of music to the audiobook - it occurs at the start of chapters, but also to great effect during the chapters, to ramp up tension etc.

In the advanced copy of the audiobook that I listened to, there was a chunk of the audiobook missing at one point, so I don't know what I missed there, other than that it cut mid-sentence from the FMC's POV to what seemed like a chapter from Fenris' POV, but I don't think he had any other chapters, so that was a bit confusing. I don't imagine that this issue will be present in the main release of the audiobook, and was probably just an issue with my ALC version.

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Listener Copy from NetGalley but this is my voluntary and honest review.

Starting this audiobook it felt like I was immersed in an unexpected epic story tale with goddess, angels and demons. And the first chapters where actually providing that same premise, and I was hooked with the story and what it can provide, but as the story progress so did my disinterest with the story.

I think my major issue with this book was they things where happening constantly and yet if felt the story and plot was going nowhere, every plot point got us nowhere and for more that I advance with the story I felt o never was properly introduce with this whole new fantasy world, first book in a series are supposed to gave us the introduction we need to make it easy for the next books to navigate said world, yeah finished the audiobook without actually understanding how it worked. I wanna point out it maybe be the reason I was never able to immerse myself into the world building was because I’m not familiar with Nordic and Vicking mythology.

Now on the audio narration was MARVELLOUS, the narrator did an amazing work not only giving voice to the FMC but all the other characters have unique voices. That’s truly a great work.
The music in the background for specific scenes was a nice touch.

Jacci did an amazing job with the narration. She definitely made this story come to life. The music was a little distracting and I felt like it didn't go with the story and could've been left out. Now the actual story left me confused. The writing flowed well but I was still left wanting more. I felt like more of the world and politics could have been explained more to answer some questions. And while I liked Ertha, she still frustrated me at times. I will be picking up the next book because duologies can improve and I want to know what happens in the end.

The narrator did a wonderful job and this really felt like a theatrical version with the BGM. Ertha is a bit frustrating and dense as a FL. It is difficult to watch her actively create her own misunderstandings and that is the only reason why this doesn't get 5 stars. Otherwise, the writing is lyrical and interesting. The world building is easy to follow and interesting. I am looking forward to the next book.

I deeply loved this audiobook!
I, firstly, love the voice of the voice actor so that’s wonderful as this aspect can have a huge impact on our listening experience.
Secondly, I found the story super interesting and it kept me invested through it all. The pace of the audiobook was perfect!
Definitely would recommended this audiobook to anyone who’s a fan of fantasy! I’m very grateful I got to listen to it.

The Seventh Sister by M.A. Brown is an interesting and colorful new dark romantasy full of vivid imagery and penned with a whimsical writing style.

What you can expect:
👑 Stolen Princess
👑 Meddling Gods
👑 Unknown Magics
👑 Creatures and Myths
👑 Enemies to Lovers?
👑 Single POV
👑 Slowburn
👑 Political Intrigue
👑 Captor x Captive
👑 Soft but Strong FMC
👑 Inspired by Fairytales & Norse Mythology

I found the writing throughout to be very colorful and fluid, painting vivid imagery and creating a whimsical effect. The world building is interesting and mysterious; you get little bits of information and history about the places, creatures, peoples, and politics, but much is still a mystery and keeping the story moving is definitely prioritized over ruminating on details. The story is rife with tension and the stakes are super high, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat.

Ertha is an interesting character, naive and earnest, trying to do her best, and unfaltering even in dire situations. Her story is intriguing, seeing her growth as she battles tumultuous feelings and the intensity of her magic, along side the trauma, pressures, and outside magics surrounding her. Both MMCs are very interesting, and different yet similar characters, and I so wish we got to know more about them, to make better sense of the various machinations going on.

As always, Jacci Prior did a fantastic job with the audiobook narration. She is one of the narrators that I know instantly thatI’m in for a good listening experience with, bringing a wealth of emotion and heart to every performance. Her speaking voice has such a calming tone that is very nice to listen to, and makes even difficult and intense stories feel a bit easier to digest. The musical interludes between chapters are the icing on the cake, adding a little extra immersion the audiobook listening experience.

I was a little confused about using the term “nacht” instead of night,.. it felt like an odd choice to swap in a single German word into the text. I also wished the phrasing “do be” was not the only change in speech pattern for the Uther- it felt a little contrived, instead of showing an overall different way of speaking or stuttered language.

I definitely wished this book was longer, with a more built out storyline, deeper character and relationship building, and greater detail. It felt like too much happened without enough context. There were too many things that I was still confused about by the end, that- with more detail- I feel would have enhanced my reading experience immensely. Am I curious enough about the story that I’ll read the next book? Maybe- especially since I’ve found that a lot of duologies get significantly better in book 2. That said, I was disappointed with this one. There were so many good ideas and an intriguing overall story, but while it started strong, I felt like it stagnated by the end.

Thanks so much to M.A. Brown and Victory Editing for the NetGalley ALC- this is my honest review shared voluntarily.

The seventh sister by M. A. Brown is the book in The Strattarian Chronicles Duet. This book is a Dark High Fantasy with an absolutely brilliant world building, very detailed and immersing.
The plot is masterly crafted, with little Easter eggs and with a natural progression and unpredictable. The mythology is influenced by Norse and Greek mythology, however has its own backbone.
This book has romance but I would say this is a subtle and a subplot, however it think is building up more in book two, is pretty clear this is not a YA.
I am usually pretty good at predicting twists, this book is not the case, some yes I believe you will see them coming, however, some left my jaw in the floor.
The FMC, Ertha, a healer, is a smart, strong will, and a perfect heroine for this book. Seeing her growth thru this story is empowering, as she blossoms and finds her feelings, fantasies and magic.
I won’t speak about the MMC and I would like you to discover the love interests, who and what they are, and if there is one or multiple.
The characters as a per general overview are complex and intriguing.
Audiobook: preformed by Jacci Prior, she breaths life into this story and characters, with an amazing versatility as a solo narrator, making it an epic adventure, immersive and entertaining.
The production took this book to a next level, incorporating effects and music and making everything even more alluring.
Thank you very much M. A. Brown, NetGalley, and Victory Editing for this ALC!

3.5 stars

The world building in this book was interesting and intriguing. The writing is very descriptive and I did feel myself zoning out here and there during those parts.

The FMC Ertha learns she's not exactly who she thought she was, though I could have used more of an explanation on that throughout the story. I could tell who of the characters was vile not even halfway into the book.
I liked how in the big scene at the end, Ertha wasn't a damsel in distress, but was able to handle herself. I do NOT like how she was trapped by a certain someone. That was BS manipulation and she better get revenge on the person for it.

I AM interested in continuing with the series as it comes, but that last ending hit wrong for me. I am invested in what happens to Ertha and hoping that things get more fleshed out with further reading.

Reading The Seventh Sister was like jumping into a dark fairytale! The writing was so beautiful and really painted how gorgeous the lands in this book are. The story will have you sobbing from the beginning, but also giggling and kicking your feet.

Ertha is a renowned healer, and after a raid is stolen to enemy lands to care for their own. She learns to rely on those she’s unable to fully trust to get her home.

The magic system was so fun and the narrator did such an amazing job!! So so excited for book two 🖤

The magic system was incredibly clever and the writing absolutely gorgeous. it built up so nicely to an ending that totally blew me away - I need the next book now!
The narrator was INCREDIBLE

The Seventh Sister is the start of a new romantasy series with a Norse -esque setting, a fresh new world and lore, and favorite tropes galore. The story follows Ertha, the seventh princess of her kingdom turned healer, after she becomes trapped in an enemy kingdom and tasked by a goddess to complete an ominous task. Desperate to get home and faced with multiple harrowing realizations, Ertha doesn’t know who to trust as she finds herself tethered to the brooding right hand of the king while also drawn to a charismatic soldier who claims to be different from the rest.
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There is no doubt in my mind that the author put work in to this book. While of course there are tropes I know and love present (no complaints there!), the world building was thorough and unique. Ertha felt like a fully fleshed out FMC and pretty much always operated in ways that I felt matched her characterization. I was intrigued by the dark and brooding Fenris and enjoyed his banter with Ertha. I wish he’d gotten a bit more time on page for me to build a bigger connection with him. But there were lots of other characters in the book who definitely added to the story so it’s hard to say where Fenris could have stolen more time. I felt like the pacing in general was good. However, there were a couple relationships that I struggled to understand the progression of based on what was on page. Primarily between Ertha and Kastor and between Ertha and her own gifts which detracted from my reading experience a bit.
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Overall, I wasn’t blown away but the story and characters were intriguing and I am likely to come back to find out what happens next. I think the series has a lot of potential.
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I listened to the audio edition of this title and I think I may have enjoyed the book more if I had read it myself. I want to be clear that the narrator did a great job! But this audiobook actually features some instrumental music behind the reading occasionally and I personally did not enjoy that. I am likely the outlier in that I do NOT enjoy graphic audio renditions or enhanced renditions of audiobooks because I find the additional noise distracting to my experience and that was the case for me with this audiobook. Anytime music played I was just anxious for it to stop. Which, I acknowledge is totally a me thing, but it’s my review, soooo, haha. Again, the narrators performance itself was lovely. I just will definitely elect to continue this series in ebook or physical book format in the future.
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**Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing, and M A Brown for the ALC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

I enjoyed this book more that I thought I would! 😌 Though I have to admit, at first I wasn’t sure where the story was going, but for the last 40% I could not put my headphones down! It has a really well done world building, characters that you actually like, and I loved how the romance part didn’t take away from the actual plot of the book. I’m really exited for next book!
p.s the audiobook narrator did an amazing job! 🤭

Thank you NetGalley, M.A. Brown & Victory Editing for providing this audiobook!

Goodreads & Fable reviews posted.
Post on Instagram will be posted 8/6

Audio details-
Single narration with some accompanying music

Tropes/ Highlights:
* Captor & bodyguard
* Meddling deities
* “Good Girl”
* “Who did this to her?”
* Slow AF burn
* Norse mythology vibes
* Magical/ whimsy but also dark

Giving Knight & the Moth vibes /
things aren’t as they seem

Short plot summary:
She’s a religious devotee with healing magic taken captive to use her gifts for an enemy, brutal & mysterious kingdom. She finds herself in a slight love triangle with her captor/bodyguard who bounds her to him and a knight that she healed on the night she was taken. She keeps her own identity secret and doesn’t know who she can trust and things don’t appear to be what they seem.

Audiobook ARC generously provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much NetGalley!
Publication: August 6
Narrator: Jacci Prior 🙌

What to expect / my thoughts:
Intricate & detailed world building. Norse inspired. Magic & (many) Gods. Demons?
Dire wolves. Ravens. 🐺🐦‍⬛✨ I want this to be explored more! Still so curious!
Lyrical imagery & diction choices.
Forced proximity (captive)
Slow burn (but not closed door! I get the feeling the next book will be [more] spicy? We got some explicit descriptions/fantasies/self pleasure but no deed) - romance subplot.
Mates?
“Feel you down the bond”
“My Wife”
Hidden Identity. Secrets. Quest/Prophecy.
Cliffhanger.

Talking about the characters will possibly give spoilers? 🙈 so be warned:
FMC - Ertha - Healer, Princess, Witch.
Mid to plus sized FMC? Descriptions allude it
MMC - Fenrys - dark, violent(?), misunderstood, tortured? Set up as the “bad guy” but you get the sense that he is much more complex as the story unfolds. So curious about his backstory and intentions! I am also really excited to see how this relationship (between Ertha and Fenrys) builds and develops (Duet).

This is a text that I would have loved a physical copy of the book to follow along with as I listened to the audiobook, not only so I could absorb the lush and purposeful prose but also to learn and follow the names and world building, or to be able to flip back and check details and lore.
This is a unique and dark fantasy world that I really enjoyed being immersed in. A lot to learn and follow but an interesting and unique twist/mystery. High stakes. 👌
A bit of Outlander vibes tbh.
The end really snuck up on me! I got so invested in the world and lore that now I’m dying for the next book!

"𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧."

I'm going to start this by saying thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to have a copy of this audiobook.
This book way 𝘸𝘢𝘺 different than I thought it would be (though that's my fault for not reading the synopsis 😭I picked this solely because of the cover, it's gorgeous).
It's not a bad book, but definitely not the best I've read this year either.
I feel like some parts are a bit forgettable but one thing I liked about this was how it pretty much just got straight into the action, though I wish at some points there was more detail. The world building was great and I liked the writing style. The audiobook narrator did a good job and I liked the music at the beginning of each chapter + at some other parts (&And chapters with names? 😻).
Honestly I was thinking this book was like a 2/2.5 star book, I feel it dragged on a bit, plus the parts where I was forgetting what happened despite just having listened to it and stuff like that 𝘣𝘶𝘵, that ending? The ending was my favorite part of the book, everything else was...okay? But that ending. That had upped it to a 3, if only barely.

Admittedly I did DNF this book, I found myself not connecting to the story or characters. The author over explained small actions but did not explain large plot points. For example, such lyrical writing to talk about midnight escapades but then *faded to black* during a ambush and the FMC only witnessed the aftermath of the carnage due to being locked in her bedroom. I feel like that would have been a great way to show her strength as a healer or her care for her people. A lot of moments are cheapened because the story isn't fleshed out enough for the reader to care. For example, the FMC has been stole away by the enemy at large & is witnessing the true magnitude of what they did to her people but because we know nothing of this character or her love for her people - the universal hand signal she holds up to show she's with them & outraged holds no meaning and feels awkward and disingenuous.

2.75

For me, The Seventh Sister was a case of so much potential but sadly underwhelming. It certainly isn’t a dark fantasy in my understanding but it might be a good read for those who usually like the more cozy books and want to venture a bit.


PLOT
The story started off good and intriguing, had me emotionally invested too. Until around the second third when I suddenly didn’t know what the goal was anymore. There was talk about plans but the FMC never acted as if she actually wanted to pursue them. Instead, the book that started off as fantasy with the potential for dark fantasy, turned into an almost cozy story of book clubs, yoga classes and shopping.

I didn’t HATE the story or the way it progressed, I just really think it missed the mark somehow.


CHARACTERS
I feel like none of the main characters - who admittedly got thrown together in an interesting constellation that made for naturally occurring conflicts - got quite the space and depth they deserved. Because the concept of Ertha and especially the male characters was really good!

Sadly, even though I really wanted to, until the very end, I personally didn’t feel any chemistry between the FMC and any male character. Even those that were clearly placed as potential love interests, even when her words wanted to tell me otherwise.


WRITING
Overall, the book was a case of telling rather than showing, I think.
The lyrical style is one I usually like and is done well most of the time, although it almost felt like it was concealing where the story fell a bit flat.

I did love the world building, the lore and overall construct and I do think that, if the characters get the necessary development in book two, this could turn out pretty good after all.

While I realize that this review sounds rather negative, I really, REALLY did enjoy parts of the story and it started off strong and ended in a way that regained some of my interest. And even though it wasn’t for me, I am sure this is a book that many will love, especially for the vibe.

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Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and M.A. Brown of an ALC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the audio ARC!

This one didn’t land for me. I think the author has a really strong grasp of writing and was often impressed by her prose, however the storyline feels disjointed and lacking a clear plan. Many plot points feel either unearned or pointless to the main story. While there’s good bones here (mainly in the world building surrounding the gods), we are missing character elements that could set this book apart from the mass influx of Romantasy books flooding the market. I also feel that a bit more editing could eliminate some of what is hurting the pace- we could do for a little less about dresses.

The audiobook narrator is fantastic and the music throughout was a nice touch.

Starting this audiobook it felt like I was immersed in an unexpected epic story tale with goddess, angels and demons. And the first chapters where actually providing that same premise, and I was hooked with the story and what it can provide, but as the story progress so did my disinterest with the story.

I think my major issue with this book was they things where happening constantly and yet if felt the story and plot was going nowhere, every plot point got us nowhere and for more that I advance with the story I felt o never was properly introduce with this whole new fantasy world, first book in a series are supposed to gave us the introduction we need to make it easy for the next books to navigate said world, yeah finished the audiobook without actually understanding how it worked.

One of the good sides the audio narration was MARVELLOUS, the narrator did an amazing work not only giving voice to the FMC but all the other characters have unique voices. That’s truly a great work.
The music in the background for specific scenes was a nice touch.