Wow, this was absolutely stunning. Mad Sisters of Esi is high fantasy, and it’s mystical and lyrical and magical and ethereal. It’s also like very few other modern books I’ve read (it gives me ancient mythology vibes though, tellings of how the world and its people came to be, interspersed with research that supports this), and honestly, it’s a work of art.
The story follows sisters, Myung and Laleh who inhabit the Whale of Babel, a universe in itself that floats through the black sea. Laleh is content to explore the many chambers of their universe, but Myung feels there is more out there, so she leaves the whale to find the people she dreams of. In doing so, she comes across the island of Ojda where we learn about another pairing of sisters, an island shrouded in madness once a century, and eventually, the secrets of the whale.
Read more: The Best 99p Amazon Kindle Book Deals
It is, as others have described, an absolute fever dream, but the most glorious, gorgeous fever dream you’ve ever experienced. You’re carried by the descriptions and the prose through a fathomless universe. Tashan’s imagination truly has no bounds and I was so happy to be along for the ride. I
This isn’t exactly a disclaimer as I would have given the same review had anyone written this, but to give more context to the review, the author is my best friend’s best friend; she actually gets a very prominent mention in the acknowledgements. Knowing this and knowing them does give this so much additional depth to me, especially given the nature and subject of the novel – sisterhood, but not through blood. You can feel the bond and the love and the beauty and the intricate nature of these relationships that’s not linear but is so real.
Read more: Best Romantasy Books & Series You HAVE To Read Now
The pace is not fast, as you’d imagine it would be when a girl is trying to find her sister who has escaped from their whale universe, but it doesn’t drag. Instead your attention is demanded at every turn of the page by snippets of articles and research that build a wider world than the perspectives we’ve been given, while the chapters from the women’s perspectives are so rich and complex, but like floating through a dream.
The space they are in is limitless and has boundaries, a feeling that is indescribable except to say that the edges of this space are mirrors-the space ripples endlessly through it, but you cannot.
There are times where, thanks to what is happening in the book, the reader joins the collective “we”, you feel totally immersed in the narrative and part of something bigger than yourself.
We pause here.
We sit down. We rest. We’ve spent lifetimes in this story-it is not so easy to leave.
Stay.
Breathe.
There is no rush.
I’m not going to forget this book any time soon; now I just need to get my hands on a physical copy as the stunning words inside are matched only by the gorgeous cover!
Read more: 5 New Romantasy Books You HAVE To Read in 2025
I highlighted so many passages for both their pure beauty and the simple truths hidden among the words. I’ll leave you with a few more to help convince you to read this book:
Esi is opening up. It is a pomegranate, tearing to reveal millions of ruby worlds within it.
Sister is a careful word. That’s what we say in the family. It is a special relationship. You have to love and hate each other. Want to drown them but also burn the world if it threatens them…You have to be slightly mad to love like that.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for a review copy of this book.
If you’re interested in knowing my thoughts about two other books (in very different genres!) that were published today, check them out below:
Romance Book Review: CEO Not Welcome by Mandy Sawchuk
Book Review: The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar
