A dying king and his children, in this case five daughters, trying to deal with his condition. They aren’t exactly squabbling for the throne, but they aren’t exactly as loving as many sisters are. At the head of this sisterhood is Bluebell, strong, strong-willed, determined, and a feared warrior; she refuses to let her father die of the malady that has beset him which would allow the kingdom of Almissia to slip into chaos. Rather, she and her sisters take their father from the castle in a quest to heal him. Things don’t exactly go smoothly.
ABOUT DAUGHTERS OF THE STORM
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 other sisters include Ash, a healer mage/druid whose powers are growing; Rose, a passionate woman who is in a marriage devoid of love; and the twins Willow, who is exploring a religion at odds with her father’s kingdom, and the jealous and spiteful Ivy. They each react in their own way to their father’s ailment from deep concern to annoyance. Bluebell suspects the root of her father’s ailment is that he was poisoned by the Queen, a queen who is the king’s second wife and not the mother of any of the daughters. There is an enormous amount of conflict and tension between the Queen and Bluebell, as well as Wylm, the queen’s son from before her marriage to Bluebell’s father.
Bluebell is most definitely at the center of the story and her uncompromising concern to see her father healed, alive, and the kingdom of Almissia at peace. Even if that peace is at the cost of her sister Rose’s unhappiness or her own solitude. Bluebell is a character that demands respect; from her sisters, from her enemies, and the people of the land who know her as something of a living legend. Much of the novel, though structured as something of a quest, is actually more of an examination of the characters, particularly the five florally-named sisters.
If Bluebell represents the physical center, Ash may represent the magical center with her powers/abilities of “second sight.” She abandons her formal studies at the behest of Bluebell, but her learning about and the development of her supernatural powers continues. This ability has long been a part of her life and she struggles to fully comprehend those powers, but throughout the novel there’s a believable balancing between Ash’s growing abilities and her devotion to her family. Rose finds herself extremely torn; her loveless marriage to Wengest forces her to find love and passion elsewhere. She married her husband at Bluebell’s urging to build a strong alliance with Wengest’s nation. In addition to the complications of a marriage in which Rose is miserable, Rose has a child, Rowan. Rose also finds herself drawn to Heath, a young man related to her only through marriage. The attraction, as it turns out, is dangerously mutual.
Willow, on the other hand, is more devoted to the religion of Maava, which is in conflict to her family’s faith. She is blinded to many things because of this faith, but of the five sisters, she gets the least amount of narrative attention. Her twin, Ivy, is one of the most selfish and self-centered characters I ever read. There’s a consistency to her character’s actions throughout the novel, which is admirable from a writing/storytelling perspective but I found very little redeemable or likeable about her as a person. I suppose that’s the point.
There’s an emotional subplot involving one of Bluebell’s friends and how he and his life are uprooted by Wylm. Even though Wylm is painted as a jealous and angry young man, he’s quite layered and complicated; far from black and white and more than just a foil for Bluebell and her sisters.
I’ve thrown around the word “conflict” a lot in this review. Daughters of the Storm is indeed a novel filled with conflict. There is some physical conflict in the form of some swords clashing, fists being thrown and whatnot, but the majority of the conflict is interpersonal and within the individual characters themselves. As soon as one character takes an action, she often regrets it immediately the selfish act is completed and the consequences become clear. This is true for most of the sisters to one extent or another, except for Bluebell. Although the impetus for every action she takes is for her family and peace, viewed in another light, she can be seen as a villain. Some characters do, in fact, view her this way; as at least the enemy. I’d dare say there’s some similarities between Bluebell and Walter White, especially in how headstrong pride can blind a person’s judgement to many things.
Daughters of the Storm is largely a character study of five women and it is quite strong in that respect. They aren’t necessarily likeable characters, but that’s by design and all the more admirable for it. What further elevates this character study is seeing most of the five sisters from the POV of each other; i.e. how Ivy feels about Bluebell. The sisters are all facets of something larger, representative of something mythical or archetypal (warrior, mage, lover, dogmatist, and envy) that may be strongest when together. What this first novel in the Blood and Gold series hints at; however, is that a house divided is tragic.
It isn’t immediately clear that this book is the first of a series, only on the marketing sheet that arrived with the book did anything hint that this book was a series starter. Nowhere on the book is it indicated that this is the first part of a larger series, which could frustrate some readers once they get to the end and not all story threads are resolved. The story certainly feels and reads like a series opener.
Recommended
© 2018 Rob H. Bedford
Book One of Blood and Gold
Excerpt: http://www.unboundworlds.com/2018/01/50-page-friday-daughters-storm-kim-wilkins/
Published by Del Rey Books | March 2018
Review copy courtesy of the publisher
