Just Finished Reading ... Sisters' Fate by Jessica Spotswood

Sisters' Fate (Cahill Witch Chronicles #3)
by Jessica Spotswood
To be published by Putnam Juvenile
on August 14, 2014

Source: bought

Synopsis from Goodreads -- edited to remove spoiler: A fever ravages New London, but with the Brotherhood sending suspected witches straight to the gallows, the Sisters are powerless against the disease. They can’t help without revealing their powers—as Cate learns when a potent display of magic turns her into the most wanted witch in all of New England. To make matters worse, Cate is certain she can never forgive Maura. And now that Tess’s visions have taken a deadly turn, the prophecy that one Cahill sister will murder another looms ever closer to its fulfillment.

My take: This is the final book in the Cahill Witch Chronicles and I have to say: I've really enjoyed this series!  I'd describe it as an alt-history Little Women with witches.  You can read my review of book one, Born Wicked, here, and book two, Star Cursed, here.

If you haven't read these books, or if you have a bit of series amnesia, below is my Quick and Dirty Spoiler Free Series Summary:

The Cahill Witch Chronicles follows three sisters living in New England in the late 1800s. In the alt-history world of the book, the Western United States was colonized by Indo-China, while Spain settled the South. A group of witches -- the Daughters of Persephone -- were among the original American colonists, but had to go underground as society turned against them. With the Brotherhood in charge, magic is a punishable offense, and women who are accused of witchcraft face banishment, confinement to an asylum, or death. But there's since been a prophecy about three sisters: one of them will be the most powerful witch in centuries, and one of them will be murdered by another. 

BEWARE: the review below will have major spoilers for books one and two. NO spoilers for Sisters' Fate!

As Sisters' Fate opens, Cate is despondent. Sister Cora has died, leaving the Sisterhood in the hands of the scheming Sister Inez. Even worse, Cate's jealous sister Maura has performed mind manipulation on Finn and erased his relationship with Cate from his memory.  The political tensions between the Brotherhood and the Sisterhood are higher than ever, and a deadly fever is sweeping the town. Tess is having disturbing visions, and Cate fears for her sister's sanity.

To me, the heart and soul of these books is the relationship between these three sisters, and, as the title of this final installment suggests, we finally find out what becomes of this troubled trio. Cate still can't forgive Maura, and Maura  doesn't seem sorry at all, with Tess stuck in the middle. Plus, there are still other issues to be resolved: the conflicts within the Sisterhood, the dangerous plans of the Brotherhood, Tess' developing talents, and Cate's broken heart.

I thought this book did an excellent job of interweaving political intrigue, family drama and romance. I've (sorry!) never been a huge fan of Finn, and at one point in this book it seemed like a new love interest had emerged, but I thought that the resolution of this romance managed to be both realistic and non-depressing. As for the sisters' quarrel, it had an outcome I was not expecting, but I thought it did fit the story.

If you enjoy historical fiction, witch stories, and/or sister stories and haven't yet given this series a try, I definitely recommend it.