Dedicated to all readers who “stagger beneath the weight of expectations and emotions, The Third Daughter by Adrienne Tooley tells two parallel stories. One reveals the ambitions of the Warnou family; the other shares the reality of the Anders family. As much as this is a story about those who are born into wealth versus those who are not, it is also about the impact of power and privilege. It reveals the consequences of knowing and embracing one’s identity.
Born the eldest in the royal family, Princess Elodie Warnou has been raised to be strong, calculating, and regal. Her mother taught her not only to be loyal to country and family but to remember “that sometimes it takes a monster to keep the beasts at bay” (47). As a result, Elodie “seizes opportunities, even those she doesn’t fully understand. She is daring and willing to go out not with a whimper but a scream. Ruthless enough to be powerful” (196).
An apothecary from Harborside, Sabine Anders, on the other hand, has been raised in poverty, unaware of her true identity. Taught to bottle her emotions, Sabine’s sadness is vast and vicious. She wonders whether she will only ever serve the darkness or if her magic can be used to heal others. Her dark inner voice usurps her energy, “smothering her hope, her curiosity, her joy” (106). Sabine and her family peddle her tears, selling off her magic to patrons who use it to supplement their own needs and desires.
When the lives of the two girls cross paths, an entirely new destiny unfolds. Under the influence of Tooley’s pen, readers not only learn that the truth has consequences—whether told or withheld—but that bold decisions are sometimes the best ones. The Third Daughter is at once a romance, a fantasy, a mystery, and an adventure story—one that will keep the reader intrigued. This is Book One in a planned duology about legacy, trust, and how emotion is manipulated for personal as well as political gain.
- Posted by Donna