Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Daughters of the Storm

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
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. Ash is discovering a dangerous talent for magic that might be a gift—or a curse. And then there are the twins—vain Ivy, who lives for admiration, and zealous Willow, who lives for the gods.
But when their father is stricken by a mysterious ailment, these five sisters must embark 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.
The saga continues in . . .
SISTERS OF THE FIRE

Praise for Daughters of the Storm

“[Daughters of the Storm] is a twisty high fantasy . . . exploring political machinations and the relationships between sisters; betrayal lurks at every turn.”—The Washington Post
“This fantastic series opener, powered by an engaging, female-led cast of characters, is riveting from page one right through to the end, with almost every scene bringing new excitement and intrigue. All of the five leading women are richly drawn, with distinct voices and multidimensional personalities that never slip into caricature. [Kim] Wilkins sketches these royals with nuance and sensitivity, making even the vexing characters like careless Ivy and the villainous Wylm feel worthy of our sympathy. . . . Wilkins has struck gold with her thrilling high fantasy world. Book two can’t arrive soon enough!”—RT Book Reviews
“Readers who enjoy epic journeys and strong female protagonists will enjoy Wilkins’s first installment of her new Sisters of the Fire series.”—Booklist
  • Creators

  • Series

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 16, 2017
      Australian author Wilkins’s unsophisticated fantasy epic falls flat. In the generically European fantasy kingdom of Almissia, the king is in an enchanted sleep, and his five daughters set out together to find a magic user who may be able to wake him. The journey, too straightforward to be called a quest, is punctuated by predictable challenges that make the plot feel plodding and inevitable. The stereotypical characterization of the sisters, each of whom is selfish and unpleasant in her own way, forecast the attempted plot twists: the warrior thinks with her sword, the mystic has plot-convenient abilities, the flighty one and the strumpet cause political troubles with ill-advised affairs, and the religious zealot will betray anyone to serve her god. Readers hoping for an exciting female-led take on epic fantasy will instead find this book drearily familiar. Agent: Selwa Anthony, Selwa Anthony Author Management.

    • Kirkus

      March 15, 2018
      In the first of a Norse-inflected high fantasy series, five sisters (and one stepbrother) threaten the status quo of all the countries of Thyrsland.The once strong and hearty King Athelrick of Almissia is dying from a mysterious illness. While his despairing second wife, Queen Gudrun, claims that the king's sickness has a mundane cause, the king's eldest daughter, a quick-tempered, ruthlessly pragmatic warrior incongruously named Bluebell, is convinced that evil magic is at work...and she's right. Bluebell gathers her four sisters together in a quest for his cure only to discover that her siblings don't share her country- and family-first attitude; they have their own preoccupations. Queen Rose of Nettlechester longs for her lover, Heath, her royal husband's nephew, who secretly fathered her child. Ash feels overwhelmed by her growing affinity to undermagic and tormented by visions that she will one day doom thousands. Ivy resents leaving her comfortable life with her uncle and aunt while lusting for every good-looking man she sees. Willow has rejected her family's pantheistic religion in favor of the monotheistic, patriarchal trimartyr faith and believes that the god Maava's angels speak to her personally. And Gudrun's son by her first marriage, the ambitious Wylm, sees this calamity as an opportunity to claim the throne for himself. Wilkins does an excellent job of setting the stage for her series, but it's disappointing that most of the novel is basically a mechanism to put the characters in place for future drama later. The story is also short on surprises; it seems fairly obvious how the women's iconic roles (warrior, magician, priestess, etc.) and personal flaws will lead them toward tragedy. Given that the novel is clearly inspired by Norse folklore, that is probably deliberate but may lose some readers with more modern expectations. Ash redeems the book by being the most sympathetic and interesting of the bunch; her magic and intelligence make her more self-aware than her sisters, who generally fail to consider the consequences of their actions.Potentially interesting, but only time (i.e., future books) will tell.

      COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      February 15, 2018
      Five sisters, bound by blood but not similar in character, set off on a journey in search of a cure that will awaken their father from a magical sleep. Bluebell is the unkillable warrior who reacts with passionate violence without thinking first. Ash was given a magical gift, or burden, that she has tried to thwart by burying herself in academia, but her magic might be just what she needs to help her father. Rose loves too easily; however, it is not her husband that she bestows her passion on. Willow and Ivy are twins but could not be more different, as Willow is set to worship the gods and do their bidding, while Ivy is happy to be of royal blood and expects to be treated as such. As with all families, there are secrets that each sister holds dear. Meanwhile, betrayals could destroy the entire kingdom before the sisters can save their father. Readers who enjoy epic journeys and strong female protagonists will enjoy Wilkins' (The Veil of Gold, 2008) first installment of her new Daughters of the Storm series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

    • Library Journal

      January 1, 2018

      Aelthric, King of Thyrsland, is in a coma, the result of a magical curse. But this fact must be hidden, and his five daughters gather to find a cure that may lie with a long-lost relative in the north. With a stepbrother determined to take the kingdom they are trying to save, the sisters embark on an epic journey to find this powerful witch. Though they are tied by blood, the siblings--Bluebell, Rose, Ivy, Willow, and Ash--are very different from each other. Each sister, bearing her own secrets, will face decisions along the way that not only affect them but also those closest to them. The distinct but not always sympathetic personalities of these five women may polarize readers' sentiments at times, but the flaws and strengths of each are impossible to deny. VERDICT Wilkins's (The Infermal) Norse-inspired epic fantasy series debut highlights divided loyalties and ambitions that pit family members against one another, in a vividly drawn world where deception and devotion are two sides of the same blade. [See Prepub Alert, 10/9/17.]--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., South DeerfieldA fate worse than death, strange births in a strange world, a witch's daughter forges her own path

      Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Library Journal

      November 1, 2017

      The prolific Wilkins, winner of four Aurealis Awards in Australia but not yet much published here, offers a series opener about five royal sisters and the stepbrother who's attempting to usurp the throne. With their father, the king, in a magically induced coma, they set out for the frigid north to find help, but their path is fraught with dangers--not least the secrets that each one holds.

      Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Loading