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.

I'd forgotten I can enjoy this genre. It's been a while.
At times, I wondered why I kept reading, but in truth I came to like the characters.

Five daughters. Five very different women who have to come together in order to deal with their father’s grave illness and possible death. You guys know me by now. I loves me a book that focuses on women and their lives. Add in some fantasy elements and this is a slam dunk for me right? I’m not quite sure.

I have a certain amount of respect for Bluebell. She is a strong woman, with a sense of loyalty and duty which I can admire. Her sister Ash is also somewhat endearing. She is lost in her magic and afraid to admit to her power. However, I have trouble feeling anything for the other women in the story. They are by turns, lusty, selfish and deluded. The book left me feeling disappointed. There was a little too much sex, but not enough love. These girls haven’t much love for one another, for their father, for their children or for their lovers. It makes sympathizing with them difficult. I have to think though. Should I require these women to be lovable? Isn’t it enough that they are individual and unique? They don’t all have to act in ways I think are acceptable, I’d rather they should be themselves, and goodness knows sometimes we are all un-likeable. I can deal with that.

One issue I have with the book is that some of the plot resolutions come a trifle too easily. A character is in a perilous situation and a magical creature appears, saves her, throws some prophecy into the wind and rides away. It was a little too convenient. I think that the problem is the book suffers from middle book syndrome. But this is a first book you say?! Yes, that’s true. I just think that this is a story and character’s who are decidedly on the road to somewhere else. That can be frustrating for an observer. We like a beginning, middle and end, but those aren’t to be found here. This is going to be a lengthy journey. I think some of these abrupt resolutions will get a call back later and things that bother me right now will likely make more sense when I get to the end.

For now though, it is goodbye Yellow Brick Road. These girls are definitely going places, but it won’t be pretty and they won’t always be nice. While I do have trouble deciding how I feel about this first book right now, this is a story I can get behind. I’m just going to have to keep reading.

Song for this book: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John

Well, I really liked the betrayal in this. At first I thought there were too many sisters and too many POV’s. The warrior, the romantic, the seer, the flirt, and the crazy. They each had their distinct personalities, but I couldn’t connect with most of them. I actuallu liked “the villain” Wylm the best, and sweet Eni. I felt so bad for little Eni! I am anxious to see where the next book is going to go. Bluebell definitely gave me Xena vibes!

Pub date: Mar 2018
A really good high fantasy featuring 5 very different sisters, whose father, the king, has fallen ill. Their own motivations and desires come into focus as Bluebell, the heir, races to find a cure. It was a great set up for the rest of the coming series with magic, religion, and sacrifice coming into play. I can't wait for the second, since this book was somewhat depressing with the strife and selfishness, and I'm hoping that in the second we'll see the sister's characters made stronger. I realize that I'd read Ms. Wilkins before; I also recommend her book Giants of the Frost, a contemporary/Norse mythology fantasy,

I feel like I gave this an honest shot, but none of this was connecting for me. I didn't find myself invested in anything happening 20% in, and I need a lot more from YA-adjacent fantasy these days than this. Nothing terribly new or revolutionary here, so I'm bailing.

This was not the book I thought it would be. I say that only to say it was much (MUCH) better than expected! All of the sisters have their own ways, their own powers, so to speak, and they are entirely realistic in that some aspects of them I adored, and some I loathed, but they all got under my skin. Bluebell, the obvious, was my favorite. She is fierce, she is devoted, she is single-mindedly loyal to her kingdom. But all of them have a true passion.

The secondary characters are not shadows, either. They breathe, they live. Heath, Gudrun, Wylm and Rowan - while they aren't quite solid, they're real enough that you remember them.

The plot was great - twisty and turny and it all came together in the right ways at the right points, in ways I didn't always foresee.

I'll look forward to her next books!

Five sisters are brought back together after their father, the king, is stricken by a mysterious illness and they must try to save him. Bluebell is a military leader and is next in line for the throne. Rose was married to the king of a neighboring kingdom to bring peace, but she herself is anything but at peace with her situation. The younger twins Ivy and Willow were brought up far from their older sisters by an uncle. Ivy wants only to be admired by men and Willow who lives for her devotion to her religion. Finally, Ash who is to be a healer/nun of sorts, but has discovered a gift that might endanger her family.

The quest has moments of greatness, but others I just plodded through. The voices of each of the sisters are well done, but it was a bit too much for me to be constantly jumping from one to the next. Ivy especially felt a bit unrealistic in her behavior and actions. Overall, an interesting read, but I doubt I will stick around for the second book.

Couldn't get into this one, so I didn't finish it. It just wasn't for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.