Sistersong
#4993.94 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2021 Reading commitment Low Lucy Holland Last reviewed 2026-08-25
Overview
Three royal siblings, Riva, a healer; Keyne, struggling for recognition as the king's true son; and Sinne, restless for a life beyond their fortress walls, navigate old magic, a new religion, and a rivalry that turns deadly, in a retelling of the "Twa Sisters" ballad set against the last days of pre-Christian Britain, as the kingdom of Dumnonia faces Saxon invasion. Lucy Holland's Sistersong was published in October 2021; Publishers Weekly predicted it would leave "fans of folkloric fantasy spellbound," and other reviewers called it "magical, beautiful and heartbreaking," with Grimdark Magazine recommending it to readers of Madeline Miller's mythic retellings. Holland, also known for co-hosting the British Fantasy Award-winning podcast Breaking the Glass Slipper, drew on early medieval Britain's shifting religious and political landscape to frame the siblings' personal struggles against a wider historical upheaval.
Mythic fantasy, Historical fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Sistersong (2021) core · 3.94 (11,290 ratings)
Quick answers
- How many books are in Sistersong? Sistersong's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Sistersong finished? Complete (2021).
- How much reading does Sistersong take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is Sistersong ranked? #499 in this site's official ranking, based on 11,290 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #499?
Ranked #499 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.94 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (11,290 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #498, Wayward Children (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 1 book · Complete · 11k ratings · Ranks #499 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what Sistersong and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
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- The Forgotten Beasts of Eld Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.07
- The Tale of the Serpent's Heart Mythic fantasy / Historical fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.06
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.94 across 11,290 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit Sistersong (Lucy Holland) accepted 2026-08-25
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- General encyclopedia entry (Sistersong) Tier 3
- https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/lucy-holland/sistersong/9781549139673/
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26
Rule: Core Canon covers the single standalone novel, Sistersong (2021).