Daughters of the Storm (Blood and Gold #1) by Kim Wilkins
Published by Del Rey Books on March 6th 2018
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 4134
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Goodreads
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Five very different
sisters team up against their stepbrother to save their kingdom in this
Norse-flavored fantasy epic--the start of a new series in the tradition
of Naomi Novik, Peter V. Brett, and Robin Hobb.
FIVE ROYAL SISTERS. ONE CROWN.
They
are the daughters of a king. Though they share the same royal blood,
they could not be more different. Bluebell is a proud warrior, stronger
than any man and with an ironclad heart to match. Rose's heart is all
too passionate: She is the queen of a neighboring kingdom, who is
risking everything for a forbidden love. The twins: vain Ivy, who lives
for admiration, and zealous Willow, who lives for the gods. And Ash, who
is discovering a dangerous talent for magic that might be a gift--or a
curse.
But when their father is stricken by a mysterious ailment,
they must come together on a desperate journey to save him and prevent
their treacherous stepbrother from seizing the throne. Their mission:
find the powerful witch who can cure the king. But to succeed on their
quest, they must overcome their differences, and hope that the secrets
they hide from one another and the world are never brought to light.
Because if this royal family breaks, it could destroy the kingdom.
This book has been kind of on my radar for a little while, but nothing I thought I'd actively pursue. Then I saw it at the library while renewing my card and scooped it up. I'm so glad I did, too. Sometimes reading on a total whim can pay off in ways you don't expect.
Daughters of the Storm is not like most books I read, not even the YA fantasy I devour whenever I get the chance. And it makes me want to delve more into adult category fantasy.
First, the characters are just great. Each of the five princesses is so different in their personality. Bluebell, the warrior, who is poised to take the throne after their father, was by far my favorite, and definitely the one we spend the most time on. She's kind of the keystone that holds the family together, even if it is by brute force sometimes. She is said to be unkillable, and she really is an amazing, skilled fighter and protector. People don't exactly treat her kindly, though they do fall in line because they fear her. Except for her closest sisters, Rose and Ash, that is. And though Bluebell has a very tough exterior (and interior; she has no time for nonsense or anybody's bullshit) she really, fiercely loves her family and will do
anything to protect them. Her character was especially interesting to me because I don't often run across characters who actually will make the tough decisions. Sometimes she hurts her sisters' feelings with the tough choices she makes, but it
is actually better for everyone in the end. Even if it's painful.
Where Bluebell was defined by her strength, Rose is most certainly defined by her love--the love of her daughter, Rowan, and her lover, Heath. I loved Rose's perspective because I am always here for an angsty romance, and she and Heath are forbidden. See, Heath is her husband's nephew. Rose is married to the king of a nearby nation as part of a peace alliance, and her affair with Heath could ruin everything. Especially since Heath is Rowan's biological father. The push and the pull of this affair was maddening because on one hand, as an outsider, you just want to scream and them to pull themselves together. But of course, I was always pulled into the heady drama and romance of it all. And the intensity and anticipation of them getting caught was enough to make the pages fly by. I also related so well to Rose because of our shared motherhood. Rowan is a toddler and I could relate so much to Rose's relationship with her. The hard parts, like the crying and the tantrums and the clinginess. And also the desperation and love and protectiveness. Minor spoilers, but Rose and Rowan were separated for a time in this book and Rose's longing and desperation to have her daughter back made me ache and panic. It was the most emotional part of the novel for me.
Ash is the final of the older sisters and another one I'd consider the mains. I was also drawn to her story because of her magical ability. She has gifts that she doesn't understand and that she isn't supposed to have. In the common faith, these gifts are bestowed upon people who are older, who have studied and devoted themselves for longer. But her gifts are getting stronger by the day and it's terrifying and thrilling all at once. I thought it was interesting that magic is so common and yet puts so many people on edge, even her sisters. But it's also incredibly useful, in instances like diagnosing their sick father or making sure one of her family members is alive and safe. I'm excited to get to know more about the magic system in the next book and to see if Ash can unravel the dreams of her own death that have been haunting her for months.
Then there are the twins, Ivy and Willow, who could not be more unlike if they tried. Ivy is flighty and flirty and ambitious, while Willow is quiet and cunning and faithful. Willow practices the trimartyr faith, which is basically like the Christian faith of the real world, and is completely at odds with her sisters' and home country's faith. It makes her basically an enemy to Bluebell especially, since the trimartyrs don't believe in queens or other female rulers. They believe in female servitude, purity, etc. Willow also hears angels' voices, which I really, really can't wait to further untangle in the later books because that tidbit is directly at odds with Bluebell's firsthand experience with her gods. While Willow is praying for her father's soul, Ivy is making mistakes and getting in over her head. I felt bad for Ivy while at the same time wanting to throttle her. Her mistakes are easy to see coming and yet her nature (and the nature of many, many teenagers) means she's going to make them anyway.
It's strange because so much does happen in this book, but at the end of the day, it is much more about character study, family, relationships, and introspection. Each character goes through a profound amount of growth in just 400ish pages. But I loved the quiet nature of this book. I am used to a lot of flash and bang, and while there were battles and intrigue and lots of magic, this book is on the quieter side. Which I greatly appreciated. It allowed me to savor the characters' journeys, the world they lived in, the magic surrounding it. It felt to me like events that had actually happened, like a history or a memory.
There were a good number of shocks and reveals leading up to a very satisfying conclusion. But there is so much left to explore and unravel and tie together that I just cannot wait for the next book in the series. I envy Australian readers who already have it in their hands. January cannot come soon enough! If you're on the market for character-driven fantasy about a tight-knit family of sisters who risk life and limb in their various journeys, I highly, highly recommend
Daughters of the Storm.
