The Third Daughter

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.

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.

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.

*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!