The Third Daughter has a couple of aspects of its premise which absolutely hook me (depression-based magic, a female-focused religion subsumed into patriarchy), but I wish it brought more to the booming genre of sapphic YA fantasy. The plot progresses exactly as expected, with foreshadowed twists and a cute enough romance progressing through the familiar tropes. The timespan of the plot is weirdly short, and this does not give the romance anything like the slowburn element marketed, nor does it give enough weight to events; I find more challenging the contrived feel to some of the central elements (Elodie in particular suffers from decisions that feel plot-necessitated and not coherent). Book two might have some more interesting directions to head in, but for the moment this is a book that is readable and fine, but not remarkable enough.

*Actual rating is 4.75 stars*

Oh, wow! This book had me in its complete grasp since the first page. It also had so much more to it than I first thought going in, which was a delightful surprise.

I really liked the cast of characters, and the dual pov between Princess Elodie and Sabine, their growing relationship, and struggles with family issues and abuse. The power struggle between Elodie and the church served as a nice conflict that made it feel like the stakes always were high. I seriously couldn’t stop reading it, as I needed to know what would happen next to the girls.

Some minor things kept this book from being a perfect 5 star, but it’s really close. I had such a great time with this book, and the big reveal in the end left me on the edge of my seat. I can’t wait for the sequel to see how things will resolve!

The Third Daughter is a slow-burn, sapphic romance brimming with politics, betrayal and a whole load of emotion.
This book is my first Adrienne Tooley novel and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I really enjoyed this book and I will definitely be picking up the sequel when it is released next year. My favourite part of this book was the political intrigue and the depth at which it was weaved into the story. It was so intricate and left my head spinning trying to predict what was going to happen. There were plot twists, one of which I could see coming, but the final one I could not predict at all. The romance was sweet, although not dominating, I imagine we will see more in the sequel. The characters were well written (except for one thing which I’ll mention later) and I really wanted to throttle the villain, which is always promising. I also liked the dual POV, especially Sabines and we got to see the true depth of her emotions.
Slightly spoiler-y ahead:
There were a couple of niggles that prevented this from being a 5-star read for me. Firstly, I didn’t enjoy the way Elodie behaved near the end, it seemed very at odds with her character that had been building up from the beginning of the book. And secondly, for me, the villain acquiesced a bit too easily considering the terrible acts he had committed for power. He just stepped aside and I think he should have gone down with more of a fight, it was just a tad unbelievable for me.
Other than those two minor points, this was a really strong novel and I can’t wait to see what awaits in the sequel.
Thank you to Hodderscape and NetGalley for the e-arc.

After reading and loving Tooley’s other works (Sweet & Bitter Magic, Sofi and the Bone Song), I will read anything she writes. I went into The Third Daughter without knowing much about it, just that it is from one of my favourite authors. Well, this book did not disappoint.

The Third Daughter is a sweeping fantasy that follows Elodie and Sabine. Elodie is the eldest child to the Queen, and she has lost her claim to the throne to her youngest sister, Brianne, the fated Third Daughter. Sabine is an apothecary with a strange magic she doesn’t understand, and Elodie turns to Sabine for a sleeping brew, hoping to send her youngest sister to sleep so she can retake the throne and protect her home.

Both girls are from completely different worlds, but when everything goes wrong, they must work together to save their country before it is too late.

The Third Daughter is another fantastic book from Adrienne Tooley. In true Tooley fashion, this is a sweeping and lyrical tale, told from the dual POV of Elodie and Sabine (with scattered POVs from Brianne). The dual POVs work well as you get a deep insight into both main character’s thoughts and feelings. Plus, as each character comes from a different situation, you as a reader get to see the same situation from different perspectives.

All of Tooley’s books are full of emotional resonance, and The Third Daughter is no different. In fact, I think she has weaved more emotion into this book than her others, especially through Sabine’s POV. Sabine’s magic is tied to her emotions, her sadness, and the way topics like depression have been entwined with the magic of this world is extremely clever. Through Sabine’s eyes, we get to live in her sadness, and see how the reactions of others, such as her family, affect her. It is fascinating to see how her magic works throughout this book, and the reveal ends up making complete sense when you look back on Sabine’s arc.

The relationship between Elodie and Sabine is beautifully done. It’s a slow burn sapphic love story that just builds and builds from their first encounter. The way these two characters interact is very true to their upbringing and history – Elodie is very confident, but this masks insecurities; Sabine is very reserved, but over time she comes out of her shell more and more. Seeing how Elodie interacts with Sabine throughout the book is interesting too. Elodie starts off very single-minded in her task, but as she gets to know Sabine and, in turn, gets to know the situation of those less fortunate, you can see Elodie start to rethink her priorities and misconceptions. She really grows as a character from this.

The history of Velle is interesting to read about. Throughout the book you learn about The New Maiden, who Velle worships, and how The Third Daughter is the second coming of The New Maiden. The way the Church, Crown, and people of Velle interact with this history is fascinating, and it leads to some serious political intrigue between the characters.

Overall, this is a fully immersive fantasy book. Full of magic, political intrigue, and sapphic yearning, this was a fantastic read and it perfectly sets up the next in the series.

Book Review 📚

The Third Daughter by Adrienne Tooley - 4/5 ⭐

This is my first read from Tooley and I dived in as soon as I got it. Because of that I can say I will happily read another because The Third Daughter was phenomenal.

I loved the fact there was dual POVs, that always makes a book top tier in my opinion. The story itself was beautifully written, with a plot that had me hooked from the first line. The mix up between the magic and politics was such an interesting theme to follow, but it definitely worked. It's a very slow burn romance but it does get there eventually, so just wait it out.

Characters were amazing. I felt for Sabine every step of the way. It seemed like she could do nothing right and was a failure. The story with her magic was truly heartbreaking and she's deserves such a happy ending. Elodie is strong independent type but I also have moments where I really felt for her as well. Can't help but love them both and want a happy ending for them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

3.5/5 stars rounded down.

I've really liked Tooley's writing since reading her debut Sweet & Bitter Magic and I adored Sofi and the Bone Song, but I'm sad this one didn't hit me like I thought it would.

Don't get me wrong, the writing is still eloquent, and the characterization for Elodie and Sabine are really strong here. The theme exploration of the power of the church and the corruption that often proceeds it was a bit on the nose, but I still found it interesting, nonetheless.

My primary problems lie with the plot. I already guessed the plot twist pretty early on, but the story kinda just floated along until it finally got to that point. I just didn't feel the stakes as intensely as they should have been, because the girls were shopping and panicking over the one-bed trope while the church was taking over the kingdom.

Speaking of which, I also couldn't get a solid sense of place of Velle. There were other nations outside of Velle mentioned, but I couldn't tell you their importance or impact on the world. I'm hoping they'll be fleshed out more in the sequel, along with other things such as:

1. The queen's death. She died in her sleep, but I highly suspect foul play. The fact that this wasn't even thought by Elodie, a character supposedly intelligent, calculating, and well-versed in the world of politic feels weird.

2. What the deal is with Tal, the captain of the guard and Elodie's childhood best friend. The narrative tells us they were good friends once, but all we see from Tal himself is that he's manipulative and shady as hell. Elodie quickly bending over to him in the last fifty pages despite how obviously sus he was felt way out of character for her.

And 3. What exactly is the Second Son. The religion has solely focused on the Third Daughter this whole book, but then Tal brings up the Second Son and all the sudden the dude's a big deal? Surely, this will be expanded upon in the sequel, but I wish the Second Son was mentioned much sooner, like describing people giving thanks to the Second Son along with the Third Daughter, so it would have been more natural when this was brought up at the end.

I know I'm going off a lot like I didn't like the book, but I did. I just have a lot of thoughts and it's really the ending that got me irked the most. Hopefully, the sequel will provide the answers I need.

A dark fairy tale of prophecy, princesses, and potions.

It’s said that the third daughter of a third daughter will usher in a new world, but Elodie is the first daughter of the Queen, and thinks herself perfectly capable of doing a great deal of ushering. Sabine, on the other hand, lives about as far away from the palace as you can get, and is nearly consumed by her misery. But there is magic in her tears, and that magic is the only thing putting food on the table. One simple mistake sets events in motion that will bring them both together.

I think the most succinct review I can give is this: I want to read the next book in this series immediately. Like, right now. I may attempt to befriend the author, merely so I can find out what fate awaits them both. The story moves at a brisk pace, alternating between the perspectives of the two main characters, and I couldn’t wait to find out what Elodie thought about what just happened with Sabine, or vice versa, as the two grew closer through bouts of quiet sapphic yearning. If that sounds appealing, this is definitely worth your time.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an early copy.

Brilliant! I really loved this story and it’s interesting take on the norm! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this title!

3.5⭐️

This had such a promising beginning but I felt like it just lost steam by the mid-way point, sadly. The plot felt like it plodded along, and what should have been tense, exciting, steamy, just fell flat. Everything seemed to come so easily to the FMC when she needed to do magic and this also added to the lack of suspense. I also felt frustrated because this wasn’t quite the miscommunication trope, more like a general lack of any communication that would solve their problems and therefore leading to a frustrated reader.

Overall, this had great potential but unfortunately it didn’t live up to it in my opinion.

3.5 stars

Absolutely devoured this. I haven't read anything by Adrienne Tooley before but she is definitely an author I'll be picking up again. The Third Daughter does a brilliant job of setting up this duology in a clear and concise way; no filler. I loved following Sabine and Elodie as they navigate their personal goals and their families, and the way these two young women supported each other once they found common ground. The magic and politics were so perfectly intertwined and they set some high stakes - particularly for Sabine. The only reason I haven't rated this higher is because I would've loved a bit more magic and boss bitch energy from our girls; just my personal preference.

The breakdown:
- Royals
- Prophecies
- Religion
- Magic
- Secrets
- Twists
- Queer rep

Can't wait for the next book, The Second Son. Will 100% be adding this to my collection.

I really enjoyed this!

The Third Daughter is set in a fantasy world where the line of succession is matriarchial, underpinned by the religious belief that the third daughter of a third daughter will be the reincarnation of 'The Maiden' an alternate Joan of Arc character who led the country to success. Elodie would have been heir to the throne if it wasn't for her younger sister, who is a third daughter of a third daughter and the laws of succession have been rewritten by the church to enable the religious order to rule through her. Problem is, Elodie's younger sister is 13 and is not astute enough to rule by herself. Elodie seeks to right this by putting her sister to sleep during the years of regency to stop the church getting control, but she makes things even worse and has to race against time to set things right...

This was a relatively simple story of court politics, intrigue and adventure but written very well. The suspense was good and the characters mostly likeable. I loved the way depression was portrayed and also there is representation in the form of MM and FF romances and a main character is bisexual in a way that didn't feel forced. The Sapphic romance was sweet and very believable, with the author exploring the characters motivations that left them open to being receptive to love. Although romance is a big part of the plot, it didn't sideline the main story which is fantasy at its core. The book came to a satisfying conclusion but did leave it wide open to this becoming a series and I will look forward to reading it.

4.25 stars

The Third Daughter was an enjoyable read. There wasn't anything massively stand out about this book for me. But it was still a quick and fun read.

DNF at 21%
I really wanted to love this book but as you can see it wasn’t the case. A lot of small things made me dislike the beginning. The latest one being Sabine saying that her sister is a bit of drama Queen when Sabine just insulted her. That just doesn’t sit well with me. This is quite a short read and yet nothing happened for the first 20% (65p), I usually try to read 100p before I DNF fantasy books but I really couldn’t read more right now. I may go back to this one in a couple of weeks and maybe my second read will be better.

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review.
This isn't usually my kind of book but I really enjoyed it. I will be buying this as a gift for my teenage niece

OMG THIS BOOK! I got an ARC (advance reading copy) and loved it.

The book was about family fights, friendships and love, magic, and so much more that you have to read it.

How Sabrina is depicted with her darkness reminded me of depression. How it can be so overwhelming you don’t want to get out of bed yet there can be some light in your life that makes it better. It felt like a lighter way to talk about depression for young adults and a way for them to understand it is okay.

I love books where being LGBTQ+ is normal and not a persons whole personality. It is always very refreshing and what i look for in fiction books, esp fantasy.

Would recommend this book so hard.

There is a prophecy that The New Maiden, a God to the people of Velle, will be reborn as the third daughter of a third daughter. And it has finally happened - a young Princess, newly crowned Queen, is celebrated by the Church. But they might have an ulterior motive...

This is a quick and easy read about the dangers of religion, with a good bit of world building and interesting characters. Overall I enjoyed it!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed the writing style and the representation.
Love a fantasy with sapphic main characters.
So much to enjoy here, the romance, the magic vibes, the friendships and challenging family dynamics.
Some of it was a little predictable, but a solid fun fantasy read and how dare it leave me on a cliffhanger!

I loved seeing the father-daughter relationship between Elodie and her real father. There was funny moments and banter passed around.

A book has never single handedly given me so much rage like this one. The first few chapters made me want to jump into the book and scream at Chaplain, Brianne's real father. The "advice" he gives Brianne is only to deceive her.

When there is so much hatred you can only expect someone to strike. In comes Sabrine, her tears are said to hold magic. Coming from a poor background, she wants to make ends meet even if she has to be in pain. Elodie so desperate for anything goes to Sabine by fate.

Trying to save herself and her nation, she makes it worse. Now not only has her sister been put under a deep sleep but now Chaplain is in control. Now the fate of the nation is doomed.

This book goes through many twists and turns. Watch out for the cliff hanger ending! I can't wait for book two to come out!

A must-read for fans of the BookTok sensations Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson, and These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong.

Full review on my blog! I will also be posting an Amazon review!

I don’t think I’ll ever come out of an Adrienne Tooley book feeling anything other than awed and emotionally vulnerable.

I love that I get to place The Third Daughter next to Sweet & Bitter Magic and Sofi And The Bone Song as some of my favorite books. The way the Adrienne writes about emotion is just special. There is something so achingly REAL about them, and paired with how stunning her prose is, it creates an effect that is almost, delicately beautiful I want to say? Nevertheless, the way that sadness, depression, mental illness, EMOTION are inserted into a fantasy world is so brilliant, and my absolute favorite kind of story.

It is a just a part of Sabine and Elodie, but it also ties into a story of complicated politics and an even more complicated religion. It’s about two girls (screaming it’s gay too) and it’s also about a kingdom. The intimacy and the vastness tie together so wonderfully. It makes me want to swallow the entire book whole.

Leider find ich mich weder mit dem Schreibstil noch mit den Characteren gut zurecht. Bereits nach den ersten Seiten gebe ich diesmal auf, da das Buch keine Lesemovation in mir weckt. Es tut mir immer so leid, wenn mich ein Buch nicht fesselt oder ich es nicht mag. Denn es steckt viel Arbeit drin und es klingt so gut. Vielleicht aber findet es andere Leser, die es glücklich macht.