This was a whirlwind of a book, and not for all the right reasons.

I really liked the premise of this novel, but the execution didn’t follow through for me. I was expecting a little more fantasy, but I felt like the worldbuilding was minimal, the characters were flat, and I knew the plot twist in the first few chapters.

The book takes place in about a week, and in those few days, the entire story seems to crumble as you continue to read it. Elodie and Sabine are such boring characters, and I really didn’t like how Elodie just bulldozed her way around, and Sabine was just… there. While they do compliment each other, they don’t feel like romantic partners, or even friends. They were just shoved together and they had to make it work.

I think that the beginning of the story set it up for a very high fantasy story with a lot of magic and suspense. But it really felt rushed, and I had to put it down multiple times because I just didn’t understand what was happening. The world doesn’t seem real, and I couldn’t picture how it was laid out because of how much jumping around the setting was doing.

The magic/religion part of the plot was what interested me the most, and I had already figured out the plot twist when we started to learn more about Sabine and Brienne. I think that it was a good idea, and it would’ve worked really well, if there was more build up to it. I would’ve liked to know a little bit more about The New Maiden and see a bit more about how it influenced daily life.

The ending of the book does build into a second book, but I think I can kind of tell where the story will end.

Did I like this book? Sure. Do I think it needs to be a series? Absolutely not.

Thank you to NetGalley, Little, Brown Publishing and the author for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC! I am very grateful and happy to explore everything this author will write in the future as well!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This was a disappointment. Part of the problem may have been that I read it immediately after the Jasad Heir, which was everything this wasn't. But also this was just.... bland.

The characters felt very one-dimensional. Elodie was very "I know everything and am just better" but really just made a bunch of stupid decisions and didn't actually know anything about the people in her kingdom. Sabine was just sad and depressed (but this results in magic which is leveraged for money? which felt weird?) and guilty. Also I spotted the twist about Sabine from the very first time she was introduced.

The worldbuilding was barely there to the point of being nonexistent. The antagonists were cartoon levels of evil. It was too on-the-nose with its attempt to twist the Sleeping Beauty tale.

I didn't feel any connection between Elodie and Sabine. Maybe that developed after I gave up (around 40%)? But I somehow doubt it. Nothing else had any depth.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, and Christy Ottaviano Books for providing an early copy for review.

This is my first book by @adriennetooley and with all of the tropes (YA fantasy, slow burn, FF romance, royalty, and political intrigues), I have high expectations.

The writing style stands out for me. I don't have the slightest trouble devouring the story and the pace is quite fast. It featured morally gray characters which I always loved to read however some characters are too unlikeable and even hard for me to "understand" with their complexity. I definitely will be absorbed more into the world if we have better knowledge about the magic system. For a high fantasy, it touched only the surface. I hope we can get more on the sequel.

This book was amazing. The characters were all very well developed, as well as the plot. I enjoyed the romance, and the LGBTQ+ representation was extremely well done. It didn't seem to be forced, and it wasn't giving any mis-information about the community.

Tooley does an excellent job of crafting a twist on the Chosen One prophesy trope. The characters were flawed, believable, and genuine. Would love to see this world expanded in the second book, as the single location made the setting a bit bland.

I did not have time to download and read this book before it was archived, so I'm unable to leave a review.

The Third Daughter is one of those books that I kept getting distracted by other new, shiny books and leaving it, but when I finally sat down I went "why did I abandon this book? It's great!"

Told in dual POV, The Third Daughter centers around princess Elodie Warnou, whose little sister is the prophesied Third Daughter and inheritor of the crown, and apothecary Sabine, whose tears hold magical powers and who battles a hidden darkness inside of her. Expect excellent worldbuilding and a sharp critique of the in-world religion, along with all of its twisting politics and secrets. The MCs themselves are morally gray and fun to root for, because I love a good morally gray MC, and the romance is very well done. I would have appreciated a little more buildup/come-down, and if you're going in for the romance alone, be prepared that it takes a backseat to the politics both girls are entangled in frequently. Still, Tooley's worldbuilding is very well done, I did not see many of the twists coming, and I really loved the cliffhanger that it ended on. I can see this becoming a really strong duology once Book 2 comes out, and I would definitely encourage any fans of Claire Legrand (especially Furyborn and Exstacia) or Robin LaFever's His Fair Assassin trilogy to pick this up.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Christy Ottaviano Books, and Adrienne Tooley for giving me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

I loved Sweet and Bitter Magic so I was excited for a longer fantasy duology from Adrienne Tooley! I loved the way the worldbuilding comes together, and how it's set up - it's very refreshing. Tooley's greatest strength is her characters, and I could not believe how heated I was getting at Rene. I was so furious on Elodie's behalf. Tooley's descriptiveness and depth of emotion, especially in scenes featuring Sabine, were especially strong, too. I can't wait for the second book and to see more of what Tooley writes!!

I enjoyed Sweet and Bitter Magic by Tooley previously and found her new book, The Third Daughter to be very cute! It's a queer romance that touches on a lot of complex topics and added a new, fun, twist to Sleeping beauty. Tooley's writing is beautiful and adds a great flow to the story!

The Third Daughter by Adrienne Tooley is a lovely Young adult sapphic fantasy exploring prophecy, personal power and family in a wonderfully dynamic way.
What I loved
-amazingly descriptive and captivating writing style.
-Good chemistry development between characters
-Good pacing throughout the story
What didn't work as well for me
-Some dialogue places came off wonky
-I wanted the story to be longer to allow me as a reader more time and depth within the world this wonderful writer presented me.
Who I would recommend this title for
YA fantasy readers especially those who love stories such as Bone crier's moon or sweet and bitter magic will find themselves right at home in The Third Daughter by Adrienne Tooley.

a sapphic romance, an antiheroine you will absolutely cheer for, and a haunting fairytale you can't look away from. Adrienne Tooley is unbelievably talented and THE THIRD DAUGHTER is arguably her best work yet!

This book started off really strong and I think it has a lot of potential, but as I worked through it, it felt predictable and superficial. I really liked the characters and the plot.

Adrienne Tooley, you've beguiled me again.

If you love all things:
YA sapphic,
Fantasy,
Feminist rage,
First in a series,
One bed...

Then what are you waiting for. Go buy it now. Highly recommend.

Thank you to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Christy Ottaviano Books, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

This was Tooley’s best worldbuilding so far - it’s obvious that she has big plans for this larger world and the ramifications of our main characters’ actions. However, the pacing (in book time; the unfolding of plot for the reader is pretty solid for the first 75%) doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. There are a lot of dramatic shifts in these characters’ lives and in society in only… I think 3 days? Maybe 4? We like when books have a sense of immediacy but this just doesn’t feel possible; I know this is a point of contention I’ve had with Tooley’s other books as well, so I guess it’s just something she isn’t good at.

That brings us to the last 25%. It felt like all of the carefully planned sociopolitical structures all fell apart. Things took a very sudden turn (again, in a way that defies logic when you think about the timeline). As soon as our characters separated, they stopped behaving “in character” (for Sabine it made sense, but for Elodie it very much did not).

I liked how Elodie and Sabine interacted with each other, how their thoughts and attention were always drawn to each other, and that they challenge each other (kind of; Sabine backs down too easily, but that’s also in character). And I liked how Sabine’s power was so heavily rooted in depression and intrusive thoughts without romanticizing or waving away either of these things.

Did I love it? No. Will I read book two? It’s likely.

The writing and plot of this book are lovely. I liked the main characters and there was good representation of mental health and queer characters. The representation of how the depression/anxiety was used was beautiful.

Also the writing was phenomenal. I think the characters were interesting, and the story flowed really well. I think my main issue with this book was it felt like there were parts of the story that either didn’t give enough background context or felt out of character for that character (maybe more background context could have filled in more reasoning). But other than that I thought this was a really well written book with an awesome premise and great characters.

*Received as a free ARC*
Sharp and enticing. I was sucked into the story immediately. Elodie and Sabine are flawed, but likeable. The ending sets up for an intriguing sequel. I highly recommend.

3.5 rounded up to 4
Pretty interesting story. I thought it was a bit draggy at parts but I love the characters. I would do anything for Elodie - Our grey shaded heroine
Always love an anti-hero book and Sabine was a perfect counterpart to Elodie. Can't wait to read more of this world in the second son