The Sisters of Reckoning by Charlotte Nicole Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Sisters of Reckoning is the sequel to Charlotte Nicole Davis’s 2019-release, The Good Luck Girls; it’s one I have been very highly anticipating.
Truly a powerful follow-up, I felt like Davis’s writing really blossomed within these pages!
Set in the fictional world of Arketta, the action takes place close to a year after the conclusion of the first book. Please note, as this is the second book, there may be some mild spoilers within this review.
Proceed with caution.
After successfully fleeing their Welcome House, Aster remained in Arketta and has become a Lady Ghost, while her fellow Green Creek girls have now settled themselves in the country of Ferron, across the border.
With her work as a Lady Ghost, Aster continues to assist Good Luck girls to escape from their various Welcome Houses; but the progress is slow.
When Aster hears that her enemy, the despicable landmaster Jerrod McClennon, is planning to open a brand new Welcome House, as well as lower the age nationwide that girl’s will experience their Lucky Night to 13, she knows she has to do something.
It is no longer good enough to try to save one girl at a time. Aster wants to free all dustbloods from the the landmasters who oppress, abuse and degrade them.
She plans to hit them where it hurts; their money sources. Gathering up the old crew, as well as some bold new allies, Aster leads a movement, known as The Reckoners, who are willing to fight for a new system for Arketta.
Sacrifices will need to be made and the fight may be long and bloody, but Aster and friends, feel like they have nothing left to lose. They are tired, they’re frustrated, but they are not weak and they will not rest until they get the justice they deserve.
Y’all this is an impactful story. Davis did a great job of expanding and building on the groundwork that she laid in the first book.
There is a ton of thoughtful social commentary woven throughout the narrative; it’s not subtle and I appreciated that. The issues Aster and the other Good Luck Girls are dealing with are not unique to them; they’re systemic and Aster realizes they must tear down the system in order to build a new one where dustbloods can be free.
I loved watching Aster grow in confidence and leadership ability. She was still suffering from PTSD related to her time in the Welcome House and that was handled beautifully as well.
My only slight criticism would be somewhere in the middle, it began to feel a little drawn out. The pace decreased a bit and some of the circumstances felt repetitive, but overall, this is an incredible continuation to this story and I loved the ending!
If you haven’t picked up The Good Luck Girls yet, you really should. It would be the perfect time to binge the two back-to-back!! I personally would love to see more from Davis in this world.
A hearty thank you to the publisher, Tor Teen, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. Davis is so talented and I definitely plan to pick up anything she writes!!!