Tagged: second daughter
Second Daughter by Susan Kaye Quinn
(Cover picture courtesy of Susan Kaye Quinn’s site.)
The sequel to the steampunk fantasy romance Third Daughter (The Dharian Affairs #1) is here!
Assassins, skyships, and royal intrigue…
With plans for a second skyship exposed, Third Daughter Aniri fears her sister, Seledri, will be caught in a war between the three Queendoms. Seledri is the Second Daughter of Dharia, which means she had no choice in her arranged marriage to the First Son of Samir—a country with whom they may soon be at war. As Aniri fights to free her sister from a husband and a country she does not love, she questions her own rushed betrothal to Prince Malik, the noble barbarian who controls the skyship—and whether a love pledged in the heat of adventure can survive the looming threat of war.
Second Daughter is the second book in The Dharian Affairs trilogy (Third Daughter, Second Daughter, First Daughter). This steampunk-goes-to-Bollywood (Bollypunk!) romance takes place in an east-Indian-flavored alternate world filled with skyships, assassins, royal romance and intrigue.
[Full disclosure: After seeing my 5 star review of Third Daughter, Susan Kaye Quinn provided me with a free ebook of her second book in exchange for an honest review.]
As you guys know, I really don’t read much steampunk. It’s never really appealed to me as a genre but I’ve picked up the odd one here and there. I almost didn’t request Third Daughter on NetGalley several months ago, but I’m so glad I did. I was even happier when Susan Kaye Quinn contacted me about reviewing the sequel. I mean, after that doozy of a cliffhanger, how could I resist?
I definitely wasn’t disappointed with this second installment in the Dharian Affairs. It has just the right amount of romance, intrigue and action to make it an enjoyable sequel. What I really liked about Second Daughter was that not everything is as it seems: the people you think are villains are a little more ambiguous later on. I don’t want to reveal too many spoilers, but I will tell you that all of the plot twists and turns will keep you on the edge of your seat.
I like how Aniri has matured a little bit after her adventures in Jungali. She’s clearly in love with Ash but at the same time she’s getting cold feet about the impending wedding since she’s only known the guy for a couple of weeks. These doubts make the whole thing a little more realistic and allow Aniri to decide what she really wants out of life. Add to that the fact her sister is pregnant in a country that is on the verge of a civil war between the two princes and you’ve got the perfect recipe for some adventure. She meets her old lover Devesh and things quickly turn complicated but I promise you that this is not your typical love triangle. It’s pretty far from that, trust me.
As I mentioned earlier, the plot was insane. It wasn’t action movie fast but it was so interesting I couldn’t put my ereader down. After learning about the second skyship at the end of the first book, I knew things were going to be exciting. What I didn’t know was just how exciting this book would be! There’s so much intrigue George R. R. Martin would be proud. When I say things aren’t always what they seem in this book, I really do mean it.
If you haven’t yet checked out Third Daughter, you really should. Even if you’re not a huge steampunk fan, it’s worth giving it a try because the Dharian Affairs trilogy is just amazing. And if you’ve read the first book, getting Second Daughter is a no-brainer. It’s just that good.
I give this book 5/5 stars.