I really like Lyn's thrillers. I was waiting so much to see how this was going to play out and what was going to happen next. I loved the narration on this one.

I got this as an audio arc on Netgalley and it has since come out. This was beautifully written and narrated. This was a multi layered book about trauma, being a woman and Taiwanese complicated history. I got completely swept up in. The descriptions of panic attacks felt so realistic.

Liv Kuo is a US based chef from an immigrant family, struggling to recover from a violent incident in a restaurant which almost took her life, and left her barely able to function. Help comes from an unexpected source when Liv's much-loved grandmother contacts her from Taiwan, asking for her assistance with a most unusual situation.

To Liv's shock, it turns out that many years ago Ah-Ma's husband gave away their fourth daughter, Yi Lee, whom he considered to be unlucky for their family. This opens up the reader's exposure to a little-known practice (which is also new to Liv), where at a certain time in modern Taiwan's history, there was a practice of giving away girl children to other families for a variety of reasons, including as future brides.

This engaging family saga introduces us to the inner workings and cultural practices of a Taiwanese family, as well as their friends and neighbours, through the deep bond between Liv and Ah-Ma, grandmother and granddaughter.

Lyn Liao Butler is a talented writer who takes us on a very different journey this time, in comparison to earlier psychological thrillers and most recently, the over the top story of a group of bookish influencers.

This book seems to come from a deeply personal space, offering readers not only delicious descriptions of scrumptious Taiwanese dishes, but also the history and culture that brought them into being. The narrator does a wonderful job with the audiobook as well. This is an emotional piece of story telling and will appeal to a wide range of readers. It gets 4.5 stars.

Really informative about the political turmoil and martial law in Taiwan. I had no idea any of that was happening.

I didn’t really care about Liv, like at all. Her relationship with Simon seemed out of place and I couldn’t really get into it. So much was shown and not told when it came to the characters’ personalities.

I absolutely loved this story and it is one that will stay with me for a long time.

Spanning several Taiwanese generations, this is a heartbreaking tale that is told so beautifully.

After a traumatic incident at her workplace, Liv is suffering from PTSD and is struggling to claw back her old life. Until she is given a fresh purpose when her Ah-mah asks her to help her find her daughter who over sixty years ago was taken from her by her husband and given to another family.

A tale told over a time when Taiwan was under martial law, of oppression and fear, of loss and unbreakable friendships. Of a broken grandmother and granddaughter bonding over life stories and healing through sharing and creating traditional Taiwanese food together.

A family saga, historical fiction (though this story is steeped in truths), and a blossoming romance.

I adored this audiobook, the narration was superb and at times I found myself sobbing.

This was both a heart breaking and beautiful story of a family and love that spans generations with multiple POVs. The narrators did an excellent job portraying the depth of the characters. Highly recommend this audiobook!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for my copy of The Fourth Daughter by Lyn Liao Butler Narrated by Elaine Kao; Christina Ho; Austin Ku; Nancy Wu; Dana Wing Lau in exchange for an honest review. It published August 1, 2025.
First off, the narration was very well-done. I definitely appreciated all of the talent between all of the readers!
This book was an absolute roller coaster and I am so glad that I got to ride it. I learned a lot about Taiwan, and its recent history. I also loved the characters, the different perspectives and timelines, and really getting to know these families well. I highly recommend this treasure of a book!

This book is like a warm bowl of soup on a rainy day… except someone slips in a dash of a mystery spice that keeps you sipping until the very last drop.

Liv Kuo’s star as a Manhattan chef was just starting to rise—until the day she watched her colleague get shot right in front of her. The trauma leaves her battling severe PTSD, unable to even step outside her apartment or cook something for herself. But when her beloved grandmother, Ah-Ma, calls from Taiwan asking for help in finding her fourth daughter—stolen from her as an infant—Liv does something even she didn't expected from herself at that moment: she gets on a plane across the world for family.

In Taiwan’s lush landscapes and bustling streets, Liv uncovers a history threaded with love, loss, and the kind of resilience only women who’ve endured the unimaginable can carry. As Ah-Ma’s story unfolds—set against Taiwan’s turbulent years under martial law—Liv learns about betrayal, the weight of secrets, and the food and traditions that have silently bound her family together.

And in the middle of all this, she meets Simon. He’s steady, kind, and somehow exactly what she didn’t know she’d been searching for—everything she needed, and so much more. Their connection is built on mutual respect, quiet support, and a simmering want for each other that never tips into cliché or melodrama. It’s the kind of romance that feels both grounding and life-giving.

Along the way, a worn old cookbook and buried truths give Liv more than answers—they give her courage. Courage to face her past, to embrace love in all its forms, and to find her way back to herself.

🍜read if you like: intergenerational family stories, mother-daughter bonds, historical fiction set in Taiwan, food as a love language, slow-burn and respectful romance, and healing journeys.

The Fourth Daughter is a poignant and gripping novel that had me hooked from the very first passage. Lyn Liao Butler masterfully weaves together past and present in a story rich with secrets, cultural tension, and emotional depth.

The characters are raw, complex, and deeply human—especially the protagonist, whose journey of self-discovery and healing is both heartbreaking and inspiring. I appreciated how the novel handled tough topics like generational trauma, abuse, and identity with such honesty and grace.

As someone with a deep love for food—and a best friend who always says food is synonymous with love and family—I found Butler’s depiction spot on. The emotional connection through food added another layer of authenticity and warmth to the story.

The writing is lyrical yet accessible, and I loved how the rich cultural detail brought Taiwan vividly to life. The family dynamics felt so real—sometimes painful, sometimes comforting, always relatable.

This book will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy family dramas with heart, depth, and a powerful message of hope.

Thank you to Lyn Liao Butler, Brilliance Publishing, Brilliance Audio, and NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

What an amazing story about a Taiwanese family and how two women on either ends of the generational arc come together to discover a lost sister and daughter.

The writing is rich. I could almost smell the stinky tofu! Taiwan isn't a place normally featured in family dramas, but it was essential here. There's much weaving in and out of time periods and movement between character perspectives, but the masterful narration by Elaine Kao, Christina Ho, Austin Ku, Nancy Wu, and Dana Wing Lau ensure that all characters are distinct and full of life.

I must say, everything was resolved a little too neatly and the story wrapped up a little too nicely. There's characters with PTSD but they might as well not have it. In fact, I'm not sure why that setup was needed. Also, the romance was appreciated but again unnecessary, making the whole package feel a little bit too much like a dream come true.

‘The Fourth Daughter’ is a heart-rending story of loss and hope, set within Taiwan’s near past and present. It’s also, more generally, a thoughtful consideration of women’s place in society then and now. Cultural mores are also explored, as well as the pernicious effect that power can have on the human mind.

The story unfolds through the voices of the various characters involved, always in the first person, and this gives an immediacy to the story, no matter which era is being invoked. It also helps us to understand everyone’s perspectives and, to a large extent explains their actions. This is a clever vehicle that enhances the story-telling, especially in this audio-book version which has a number of different narrators.

I enjoyed this book very much on several levels and the only strand that felt contrived was the love story. The other familial coincidences were more convincing and therefore believable.

There is plenty of suspense in ‘The Fourth Daughter’ and the international reach of powerful men is sinister and haunting. I wondered throughout if ‘the incident in the restaurant’ was part of that strand too.

But there is plenty of love, hope and resilience too, so ultimately the novel is uplifting.

I thoroughly recommend it.

I learned a lot about Taiwanese history from this book, and appreciated the research it must have taken to put this story together. That said, the plot was interesting, but the way it all came together was a little too neat for me. There were so many coincidences or convenient circumstances that pulled me out of the narrative. I think the story would have been more powerful without the romance plot or the social media bits. I’d love to read more about Taiwan in fiction, and hope the author will write more in this setting.

The narrators did a good job, and I’m glad that multiple narrators were used in order to differentiate the POVs.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

what a beautifully written, melancholic and touching story it is! this is such a story that makes you feel a lot, some of the truest, most bittersweet feelings that could ever exist…

throughout the story from the very beginning , a mother is desperately searching for her “fourth” daughter who has been taken away from her…and that’s how we visit a certain part of Taiwanese history that was quite unknown to me, along with some family dynamics, generational trauma, misunderstandings, heartbreaks and a bit romance as well. the dual timeline and multiple POVs were perfect together. in fact a great blend of things that could exist in a story together.

I found this book to be very very realistic and worth reading at the end of the day. although I thought the ending was a bit rushed or maybe incomplete.

whatever, definitely looking forward to reading more by the author. because I found her writing to be very intriguing, comforting and relatable…

thanks to brilliance audio and netgalley for the listening copy in exchange of my honest review.

The premise had so much potential, so I was severely disappointed by the subpar writing. There was so much telling, even if things that should have been obvious, and there was a severe lack of showing. I was told a lot about the characters but didn’t really see it in action.

There were a lot of ingredients here that should have meshed but didn’t. The themes of multigenerational family, historical tragedy, and self-identity could have made a significant emotional impact, but ultimately felt underdeveloped.

The tone of voice really confused me. It was as if a contemporary romance author decided to give historical fiction a shot. This could have been two different stories.

The characters felt awfully simplistic. The 35 year-old protagonist seemed to have the mind of a teenager. There were several components that served no purpose other than to give the protagonist and her romantic counterpart a tragic backstory.

The full cast of narrators was a nice plus, but it was ultimately unable to make up for the underwhelming writing. I believed this story is geared towards adults, but it really felt like YA or middle-grade.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for this ALC.

A lovely, emotional story shifting in timelines between a mother’s life in 1960s Taiwan and present day. Sometimes the prose and story was a bit simplistic and predictable, but it allowed the aspects of history I had not been aware of to shine. I’d recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction readers who like a happy ending. The narration of the audiobook was particularly great, all the narrators did a great performance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

The Fourth Daughter explores the story of Liv, a sous chef who haven't left her New York apartment since she lived a traumatic experience at work until she decides to pack her bags and face her fears, to fly to Taiwan and help her grand-mother find her long lost daughter.

The main intrigue was a little predictible and easilly solved and while I would have appreciated a more complex story or a finale plot twist, I think the main point of this book was to tell the story of the characters, the traumas and hardships they've been through and how they overcome and heal from it.

This book is a little different from what I usually read and it felt refreshing.It was a nice fiction laced with mystery and a little bit of romance, perfect for fans of multigenerational sagas and historical ficition (although it is stated in the authors notes that this is not a political book, but it definitely made me want to learn more about Tawain's history).

Many thanks to Netgalley and Lyn Liao Butler for giving me this opportunity to read this book.

thank you NetGalley for an ARC both audio and e-reader!
This book is outstanding! told in varying timelines and varying voices, this is the story of not just a mother's search for her beloved fourth daughter who was stolen from her and not just of three generations of women but is also a story of martial law in Taiwan and how it ripped apart families and also a story that ponders the question: what is family and who do we love.
The narration is done in different voices for each character's chapter.
I couldn't put this one down; if I wasn't reading, I was listening. I recommend not listening to the ending while you're walking your dog unless you want people to stare and your sobbing face!
Let's hope there is a sequel, especially about the woman who owned the medicine shop. I know she has a story for sure.
Now curious to read more about Taiwan during these times, I am grateful for the education.
Historical fiction should be required reading, especially now for American women. Martial law ended there in 1987. 1987! we need these stories to be told so history doesn't repeat itself.

I loved this multi-generational fiction novel. It gave me Pachinko vibes. And just as good too. Loved it! 5 stars

Many thanks to Net Galley and Brilliance Publishing for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.