Book Review: "Sister Hoods" by P.L. Blair

Title: Sister Hoods

Author: P.L. Blair

Publisher: Studio See Publishing

ISBN, PUB Date: 978-0-9796974-4-9, May 15, 2010

Reviewed by: Jennifer Shaw for Author Exposure

The fantasy genre is by far my most favorite. I find the creativity fascinating and I'm always excited to see where an author’s imagination will take me. The possibilities are endless!

Sister Hoods caught my attention for two reasons. The first is obvious—it fit in the fantasy genre and second, it was located in Texas. Then I noticed it was a fantasy/mystery book, which is a first for me. I also learned that it's the fourth book of the Portals Series, which really threw the experience completely off balance for me.

Sister Hoods starts off with a bang by enchanting the reader with the introduction of magical creatures (nymphs) robbing a bank with help from a group of satyrs. I was spellbound and ready for a gripping magical tale. The energy was high and suddenly just fell flat, never recovering for me.

The characters were colorful and well-developed, but something was lacking for me. I noticed halfway through the book that I didn’t care which characters lived and which died. I know that sounds quite harsh, but it’s true. The reader to character connection just wasn’t there. I fought to stay engaged in their magical adventure, but couldn’t do it.

The adventure itself was interesting. Sister Hoods is about a magical group working as part of the police department in the human world. Fascinating! Reading on, it became obvious to me that the main characters had a history with one another. As a reader, I felt like I had missed vital information that could have better connected me to them.

Overall, Sister Hoods could be a really great read. After all, it is book four of the Portal Series. This fact could be the reason I felt separated from the main characters and their situation. The missing history and background of the characters put distance between them and me. I cannot say that Sister Hoods is not a worthy read, as I could not finish it. To me, it is always best to read a series sequentially to gain the history of each of the characters.