Sisters of the Snake

Sisters of the Snake is a Prince and the Pauper-style identity swap set in Abai, a fantasy world inspired by India. Ria is an orphan and a thief in a country ruled by an oppressive raja. Rani is the raja’s daughter, constrained by the demands of her princess role which includes developing the much-feared snake magic that only the royals can wield.

When Ria is conscripted into the army, she risks burglarizing the palace to get enough jewels to buy a forged passport to escape Abai. Rani discovers Ria and convinces her to swap places so that Rani can go searching for a mysterious stone her beloved tutor told her about before he was executed for treason. The truce between Abai and the neighbouring kingdom of Kaama is about to end, and Rani believes the Bloodstone is the only thing that will prevent the countries from plunging into war.

Rani joins Ria’s best friend and partner in thieving, Amir, convincing him that she is Ria. They go on a quest for the Bloodstone, collecting a few reluctant allies along the way, and they eventually find the stone, only to have it taken away by the raja.

Meanwhile, Ria is pretending to be the princess. She uncovers the plot of Amara, advisor to the king and mother of the princess’s betrothed, Saeed. Amara has been using forbidden memory magic to control the raja, inciting him to war. She also made both the raja and the queen forget that they had twin daughters: Ria discovers her birth certificate and learns she is Rani’s sister. Ria connects with Rani’s bonded snake, and together the sisters summon enough snake magic to defeat Amara and restore their parents’ memory. Freed from Amara’s influence, the raja forges peace with Kaama. At the moment of her certain death in a snake pit, Amara disappears with the powerful Bloodstone, ensuring a sequel.

Sisters of the Snake has all the elements of an exciting adventure story, with action and suspense in both storylines. Narration alternates between Ria and Rani, with humour and tension in each girl’s attempt to fit into the other’s life. They each get a romance, as well, with the complication of falling in love with Amir and Saeed while lying about who they are.

Characters are given interesting backstories, and the magic system is generally explained well enough without being overly complicated. The setting is colorful and varied: palace, marketplaces, magically hidden jungle village, secret temple—reminiscent of Indiana Jones. The worldbuilding was sufficient for plot purposes but did not feel particularly nuanced or detailed.

The writing is somewhat labored, the dialog can be stilted, and the book is longer than it needs to be; the romances felt a little forced. But, overall, Sisters of the Snake is an enjoyable novel that will appeal to readers of fast-paced fantasy adventure like those of Kelly Armstrong, Renée Adieh and Jay Kristoff,