Five sisters, daughters of the king, all come home because their father is dying - poisoned with magic - and they must unite to try to save him. The girls range widely in age and have diverse personalities, character traits, and intentions - warrior, healer, possible dark magician, man crazy teenager and religious zealot. Bluebell, the heir, is a warrior and the natural leader. She goes on a quest with two of her sisters to find a cure for her father, while trying to keep the kingdom stable and deal with her underhanded step-brother. While not a particularly deep novel, I found the story very interesting for the most part. Sections were a little repetitive, but it had some great twists and turns along the way - and the end definitely makes you want to see what the next book in the series brings. I expect the characters to be developed more fully in the next book, as they often are. None of the sisters are particularly gripping at this point, or pulled me in emotionally, but there is great potential here. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine/Del Rey for the arc! 3.5 stars.

3.5 Stars for Daughters of the Storm

This is going to sound crazy but the entire time I was reading this book all I could think of were the lyrics to Beyonce's Runnin' (Lose it All).

Runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'
Runnin', runnin', runnin'
Ain't runnin' from myself no more
Together we'll win it all

Runnin', runnin', runnin'
Ain't runnin' from myself no more
I'm ready to face it all
If I lose myself, I lose it all

The story is told from the perspectives of 5 sisters, daughters to the King of Thrysland, who are on a quest to save their father's life and reconcile their own problems. These five sisters could not be more different. From the brutal and unlikeable Bluebell to the lovesick Rose to the polyamorous Ivy, each sister is flawed with either hubris, selfishness or more. Which is why this book is such a slow burn. As the sisters race to save their father, their stepbrother maneuvers for the throne.

I found myself hating and loving the characters at different points in the book. Willow because of her priorities, Ivy with her desires to pounce anything that moves. The journey peels back the sisters layer by layer, as bonds that were broken are reforged between the sisters and others lost. Nature vs. Nurture really comes into question here because a lot of the sisters' actions are a result of their upbringing. When Ash saves Bluebell and the warrior confesses her love for her sister, I felt a a fierce pride for Ash. I think in the end she is my favorite.

The conclusion is a cliffhanger and while I had many feelings with this book, I will be picking up the sequel to find out what happens next.

I received this ARC of Kim William's book Daughters of the Storm, the first in the Blood and Gold Series in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. I had never read any of Kim William's books but the story line was intriguing and the protagonists of the story are all sisters seemed interesting since they were all so different. The story seems to be set in medieval times and the eldest daughter, The story begins with the discovery that the King is dying and that it is possibly due to magic.Blueberry, is a knight in her father's army and heir to the throne. Blueberry is told since she is the heir and she immediately suspects her father's new wife. The sisters join together to get their father out of the castle to a place where they hope to find a cure for his illness. Ash, another one of the sisters, is training to be a caregiver of sorts and she has magic that is quickly becoming to large for her to handle. She fears that she is becoming an undermagician and her path will take her away from everyone she loves. Rose, Ivy and Willow are the other three sisters. They also have dilemmas in their lives involving men, religion and the struggles of being a woman.
I was drawn in immediately to the story and had no trouble keeping interested in the story line. The only issue I had was that when the story switched to another sister there was no gap, it felt like sometimes it should be the next chapter. Not just the next paragraph. I felt like the sudden switches made me wonder if I missed something along the way. But it was not a major hindrance in the flow of the story. Overall I definitely would recommend this book.

Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins is the first book in the Blood and Gold series. The story opens with King Atherlrick of Almissia, the warrior king, the Storm Bearer in the land of Thrysland, is ill. News spreads to his eldest daughter, Bluebell, a warrior like her father and heir apparent. She immediately rushes to her father’s side while spreading word out to her other sisters. Rose is married to Wengest, king of Nettlechester but her heart belongs to another. Ash is a student of the common faith who has been have horrible dreams. Ivy and Willow are twins. Ivy lives for the admiration of others and Willow lives for the gods. Together the sisters must discover the source of their father’s illness; however the journey will force them to face their past, their choices and the secrets they keep from each other.
Daughters of the Storm is a slow moving story. So slow I found myself phasing out and realizing that I hadn’t read anything on the page. Of the five sisters, the only one I enjoyed was Ash. I did not like Bluebell as I found her to be too harsh. Overall, I did not like this book. Pages and pages went on with nothing really happening. I read a description online that called this book “Game of Thrones with women” and it fits. A long winded book with pages and pages of description and very little explanation as to what is going on or action. An “elf-shot” was referred to many times in the beginning and I kept waiting for a hint on what an elf shot is? I had to assume bad magic the way the characters seem to terrified of it. Pages later, you learn its “wild” and very old magic. Why couldn’t this be mentioned earlier? And the language! The f-word was used so much in even the open chapters that I cringed every time it was used in the rest of the book. If you enjoy Games of Thrones, you may enjoy this book and even the series; however, I cannot recommend it. I wanted to enjoy it and based on the description of the story, I thought I would. However, it is very slow and way too much language for my taste.

Daughters of the Storm
will be available in hardcover and eBook
on March 6, 2018

** spoiler alert ** I just finished this book today and many thoughts so far. 5 sisters all of who are different and deal with different things. Eni and rowan are the two kids in the story and add more depth to Rose and Wilm. Actually, I started liking the Wilm more since he was taking care of him. Rose is in love with nephew and had a child with him, but Queen in the land. Bluebell is the oldest and warrior. Ash is elemental and learning the ways of magic. Willow and Ivy are twins but one is more into boys and the other is religious. They all meet up to help cure their dad, but then they all have different issues to work through.
This is my first time reading this author. I enjoyed this world and seeing the sisters and their journey's. I do want to see what happens with the sisters but this book made me care for the villain more than I wanted too. I also understood Rose's issue. I didn't like that the sisters were in each other business. Also one of them did something that I wasn't expecting. I know that this is marketed as a YA book, but this seemed to have adult undertones. I was sad to see some make poor choices and having the book with a different point of views was good but at times I had to check and see who I was reading. These girls seemed to all over and not taking responsibility when it occurred ( bluebell talking with Rose) ( Ivy and seeing things and telling secrets) and many more. The girls seemed real but making poor life choices.

A book about women wielding power- be it physical violence, manipulation, or betrayal. I love that these five sisters are o distinct- you think you have a favorite, or that you hate one of them, and then something happens and it all switches. Cannot wait for more!!

So, this book was a little bit messy.

The writing was fine, but there were some formatting choices that I didn't like. Multiple POV's in each chapter, with only a short break between them making it barely clear when the POV shifted.

The messiest part for me though is the characters. Not a single one of them is remotely likable in any way. I also wasn't a huge fan of their names (Bluebell, Ash, Rose, Ivy, and Willow). It made them come across as just obnoxious to me. Especially the MC, Bluebell. She's supposed to be this hardened warrior, heir to the throne, tough as nails, scary... but her name is Bluebell.... and I don't know. It just made her character seem cliche to me.

The other thing that just made the story a little unbearable was the plotline of the overtly sexist religion that disallows women to rule, for... whatever reason. I never got to where, or if, it was covered as to why the religion felt this way. But it is quite possible that I just missed it when I was reading because everything just felt so boring to me.

While I love Disney princesses, these characters are not them! I thoroughly enjoyed the diverse characteristics each daughter portrayed and that they weren't all the same, or all simpering side objects, I like stories where everyone doesn't have to be the same, people can be mean, evil even. It feels truer even though it's fantasy. I will be highly recommending this title to my library and look forward to more.
This was read as an ARC through netgalley.com

There was just too much going on in this book for me to enjoy it. Reading the story from at least 6 points of view just made everything cluttered and made me feel as though I knew a little bit about a lot of the characters, instead of really getting to know and feel connected to at least one character. Not being able feel that connection with anyone in the book made it at best confusing and at worst uninteresting. I feel as thought the author should have stuck with telling her story from the point of view of just one of the sisters, or done just a third person omniscient POV all the way through, instead of jumping from perspective to perspective. I am sure the sisters and those around them had an important journey to complete, but I just found myself not caring. I would not recommend this book.

Wow. I didn't know this book existed until recently when I saw it on Netgalley. But reading it felt like satisfying a craving for something I didn't know I wanted.
The story follows five royal daughters after the king has been magically poisoned. While he lies in a sort of coma, the different girls either try to save him, themselves, or advance their own interests. Meanwhile, others are using the opportunity to move against their family, and it slowly becomes clear that they might have more to fear from each other than they'd thought.
So smartly constructed and fast-paced. Highly recommend for fans of Sarah Beth Durst, George RR Martin, and Erika Johansen.
Many thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy!

This books started out very strong for me. It's well written, the plot was intriguing, and Bluebell is an amazing character. I started getting frustrated with the sisters and Wylm as I read because many of them I found annoying or unlikable. This read much more like a family drama than what the description of the book led me to believe - that this was an adventure in which the sisters team up to save the kingdom from their stepbrother. I think the opposite of teaming up happens and they grow further apart which is not what I was expecting.

It's funny how sometimes, you just don't know what you have been craving until you taste it. This was true of Daughters of the Storm. I got an email saying "if you like Robin Hobb, this is the book for you", and I DO like Robin Hobb, so I requested it. And instead of it being a targeted marketing scheme, this is absolutely true. If you've gotten lost in Robin Hobb's works, let me be the one to tell you that Daughters of the Storm will satisfy a need you have to read moving, pragmatic, and beautifully written words.

I know there is a long time to wait, but please do not hesitate to give this a try. It's woooonderful.

New fantasy series get started all the time. Some are better than others. This one, my friends, is going to be EPIC! There is nothing here not to love, from the gorgeous cover to the big, fat, luscious story that features women in non-traditional roles (well, at least one of them!)

The power held by the women in this story is remarkable, even if some of the characters aren't always likable. Bluebell is a character to remember. Is there anyone like her in literature today (I haven't read Game of Thrones, so maybe there is...). Even so, she is the alpha and omega here, the male and female, hero and antihero, and oh, how I love her! Highly recommended.

This book started off so well. A bunch of princesses coming to their sick father's rescue. I have sisters, so this really resonated with me. The dynamic between the sisters was great. They fought, loved and kept secrets from each other.

To save their father, the sisters decide to take him to a sacred place, but crazy things happen on the road. This is where I get a little lost. The world building fell apart and suddenly I was lost in the woods, literally. The characters wandered through the woods. None descriptive woods. That's how the rest of the story went, and the story was great. All the sisters brought their own strengths to the journey and made it a fun place to be, if only I could picture where that was.

Still, a great read.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

This book should have been great, featuring five sisters, daughters of the King of Thyrsland, each different. One is the warrior queen-to-be, one a seflish romantic, one almost overwhelmed with her gift of foretelling, one an immoral tart and one drowning in religion and madness. The king is ill and his wife, Gudrun, fears and hates Bluebell, her oldest stepdaughter, and distrusts and dislikes the other sisters. She clings to her son from her first marriage and hopes to maneuver him into eventually ruling in place of warrior Bluebell. Doesn’t that sound like an enticing novel?

The setting and back story should be great too. Thyrsland follows the old religion, which doesn’t differentiate between men and women for ruling; the romantic sister is married to Thyrsland’s old enemy who calculates that switching to the Trimartyr religion will push his son to the fore as Thyrsland’s eventual ruler.

Unfortunately the story doesn’t jell. The plot has many strands and parallel stories that don’t make full use of the inherent conflicts. It felt like an extended set up instead of a story. It didn’t hold my interest after the first fifth or so.

Plus, as a book that relies on characters, there is no sister to like, none is the eventual heroine. All the sisters are flawed and Willow, Ivy and Rose are despicable. I like Bluebell the best. She cares for her country more than herself and is smart, cagey, realizes the religious threat. On the other hand she has a genius for making people hate her (mostly deserved) and doesn’t seem to care that she exacerbates the threat from raiders, step mother, step brother and her erstwhile brother-in-law.

This novel did not work for me. I got it from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Had it not been for that I would have deleted it after the first fifth, as it was I managed to skim the last half. I won’t look for the sequels.

Five daughters. One Kingdom. Bluebell is a warrior. She strikes fear into the heart of those she meets on and off the battle field and does not suffer fools lightly. I imagined her as Xena. Everything is cut and dried for her. It's right or it's wrong based on how it affects the Kingdom and her father. Eventually she will rule. 

Rose has been married off to the King of another area that assures peace for both countries. But her heart is with the man she couldn't have. And her daughter may be his also. She is tender-hearted but can get the job done if need be.

Ash has been hidden away for years studying to become a counselor, but when she is called home when her father becomes ill, she finds herself surrounded with magic and knows she has to leave.

Willow has lived with her Uncle and comes home to find her ill father. She has taken up the faith of another God and is obsessed with it and the voices in her head. She has no loyalty to anyone including her sisters.

Ivy is the flighty, boy crazy one. She has no problem stealing your boyfriend or her sister's husband. But she gets neither.

Now they must work together to get their father to safety and to find the undermagician who can make him well again. All the while their step-brother is planning on killing Bluebell and taking the throne with his mother as Queen. I did not care for his character. Shallow and calculating, he kills with no care and yet cares tenderly for a blind child. 

This is the first book in the series and I found it to be quite entertaining. A new fantasy series in which all of them are just discovering who they are and what they are.

Ms. Wilkins has created smart, conflicted and addictive characters here. I can't wait for the next one!

Netgalley/Del Ray  Release March 06, 2018

Daughters of the Storm follows five daughters of a King who all come together when they find out that their father has fallen ill. Then it is a race again time to try to figure out why their father is ill and how to save him.
The thing that impressed me the most about this book was how each of the five daughters were written so well and so differently from each other. Each time the book switched perspective, it was easy to follow and easy to know which character we were with. Bluebell is the ball busting warrior, Rose is the mother, Ash is the soul searching magician, Willow, the devout religious one, and Ivy is the boy crazy Princess. Each of them were written with their own unique voice which kept the story interesting.
My only real critique was I felt like the resolution with the father was too easy and too quick. All of a sudden, it came to a resolution more in a way of, well, I better end this book now, instead of allowing a greater conflict.
The fantasy world that she set up was good. I didn't feel like it had a ton of depth but it had enough that the reader was informed and it was believable all the same.
I will definitely continue in the rest of the series.

(thank you Netgalley for an early reader copy)

Think of this book as historical fantasy, in a way. No, it's not set in a real time in the past or a real place, but it could have been. The places, the people, the dilemma's all seem so real!

Bluebell is the oldest sister, and the king's heir. She is a warrior and both feared and respected in the kingdom. The king is under a terrible spell which has put him into a deep sleep and will die if Bluebell can't find someone to reverse it. She heads out on a quest. There are 4 other sisters: Rose is queen of a neighboring kingdom, whose marriage brought or bought peace between the two kingdoms. Ash has a magical ability that she doesn't yet know how to control, or what her powers are. Ivy is a bit of an airhead, and not very helpful in the quest to find a cure for the king; she's more interested in men, jewels and gowns. And Willow is a secret follower of a rival religion whose main objective is to save her father through her religion. Throw in a king's nephew for romantic interest, the king's stepson who feels he should be the king's heir, other magicians and magic, and you have a tantalizing mix of motives and possibilities. Each daughter has their special skills (well, maybe not ALL of them) and their flaws, which make them very human.

Daughters of the Storm is the first in what is planned to be a trilogy. The book does a good job of laying out the characters and their motivations, although the point is driven home a bit more than necessary. In spite of that the book moves along quickly, and when I reached the end I was ready to read the next one!

Honestly, I went into this really wanting to like it. Normally this is right up my alley of interest but I was just kind of annoyed by the majority of the characters. I get that they're edgy and realistic and nobody is perfect, but it was infuriating how it just dragged on. By the time I stopped caring about all the sisters except Ash, I was too far in to quit. I don't forsee myself reading any subsequent books.

3.5 stars
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I am not a huge fantasy reader. I don't have anything against it, I just prefer other genres. But the description sounded good and I figured why not!?!

Five very different sisters (Bluebell, Ash, Rose, Willow, Ivy) set off on a journey to save their father who just so happens to be King of Thyrsland. He is very ill, in a coma-like state on the brink of death. It is determined that he is elf-shot. Someone has poisoned him and he needs magic to cure him. Bluebell is leading the journey to find the cure for their father. Her sisters are not as "excited" as she is to go on this journey but they all agree to go along. The five sisters are attempting to reach their aunt who is a practitioner of undermagic. They believe she is the one who can heal their father. Along the way we see their individual differences as well as their similarities (childish/immature and selfish). Finding the cure for their father is not their only issue, they also have a step-brother, Wylm, who wants the throne. But is he the only threat to the kingdom? On their journey the ladies/sisters learn that they all have secrets that could hurt themselves, the kingdom and Bluebell getting the throne.

Breakdown of sisters:

Bluebell - oldest. She is a warrior who will one day inherit the throne. She is pretty kick ass but often acts without thinking

Ash - the mythical one. She has a gift for magic. She has visions and has even seen her own "becoming". But is her gift really a gift or is it is curse?

Rose - married to a King of a neighboring kingdom but in love with another man who has fathered her young daughter.

Willow - who is very devoted to her religion. She views her sister as being heathens. *Ivy's twin

Ivy - who lives for adoration and the attention of men and is quite active in that department. *Willow's twin

I found this book to be beautifully written but at times did seem to drag a little. There are various POV sections throughout this book as each sister has a part to tell in this book. Through their individual POV parts we learn their thoughts, motivations, secrets and fears. Thankfully, each sister had her own distinct personality that helped the POV parts from being confusing. There are some twists and turns, some treachery, secrets, and secret agendas. As I stated there were some slow parts and I think the book would be better with a little more editing. Some may be turned off by the constant swearing. The characters are flawed. Good people do bad things and bad people do good things in this book. This is more of a fun read than an earth shattering one. I think this is a good book for that plane ride, day at the beach or hanging out inside on a snowy day. You wont walk away feeling as if you read great literature, but it is a good entertaining read. Don't we all deserve a book like that once in awhile?

This is the first book in a trilogy.

Thank you to Random House Publishing - Ballantine and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.