Third Daughter

The Royals of Dharia #1

by Susan Kaye Quinn

Sneaking out of the palace wasn’t one of Aniri’s best ideas. But she’s the Third Daughter of the Queen of Dharia—zero responsibilities and zero royal duties. She’s just the backup daughter, in case her older sisters’ arranged marriages—to take the crown or broker an alliance—don’t quite work out. But once Aniri reaches her 18th birthday, she’ll be truly free… and then she can marry the charming fencing instructor she meets for fevered kisses in the forest.

But then the impossible happens—a marriage proposal. From a barbarian prince in the north, no less. And if Aniri refuses, the threat of their new flying weapon might bring war.

So she agrees to the young prince’s proposal, but only as a subterfuge to spy on him, find the weapon, and hopefully avoid both war and an arranged marriage to a man she doesn’t love. But once she arrives in the sweeping mountains of the north, she discovers the prince has his own secrets… and saving her country may end up breaking her heart.

This Bollywood-style royal romance takes you to an alternate East Indian world filled with skyships, saber duels, and lots of royal intrigue.

THIRD DAUGHTER is the first book in the Royals of Dharia trilogy.

Genres: Steampunk, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Fiction, Science Fiction, Ebooks

346 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 2013

About the author

CLICK HERE for a FREE STORY

Susan Kaye Quinn has designed aircraft engines and researched global warming, but now she uses her PhD to invent cool stuff in books. Her works range from hopeful climate fiction to gritty cyberpunk. Sue believes being gentle and healing is radical and disruptive. Her short fiction can be found in Grist, Solarpunk Magazine, Reckoning, and all her novels and short stories can be found on her website. She is the host of the Bright Green Futures podcast.

SOLARPUNK
collections
Bright Green Futures: 2024 (edited by SKQ)
Halfway to Better

novels
Nothing is Promised series
When You Had Power
You Knew The Price
Of Kindness and Kilowatts
Yet You Cry When It Hurts

short stories
A Moon Goddess to Watch Over Me (Luna Station Quarterly) (hopepunk)
It's in the Blood (Reckoning 8)
Once and Future Kilowatts (Solarpunk Magazine)
Rewilding Indiana (Little Blue Marble)
Seven Sisters (Grist)
The Joy Fund (DreamForge Magazine)

SCI-FI
Singularity Novel Series
The Legacy Human
The Duality Bridge
The Illusory Prophet
The Last Mystic

Stories of Singularity
Restore
Containment
Augment
Awakening
Harvest
Defiance
Resistance

YA SF
Mindjack Series
Open Minds
Closed Hearts
Free Souls
Locked Tight
Cracked Open
Broken Wide
Mindjack Short Story Collection

WATCH the award-winning live-action Mindjack Book Trailer!

STEAMPUNK ROMANCE
Royals of Dharia
Third Daughter
Second Daughter
First Daughter

CYBERPUNK
Debt Collector
LIRIUM (Season One)
WRAITH (Season Two)

WATCH the Debt Collector Book Trailer

ANTHOLOGIES
Synchronic
Telepath Chronicles
AI Chronicles
Dark Beyond The Stars
Future Chronicles
Cyborg Chronicles
CLONES: The Anthology

MIDDLE GRADE FANTASY
Faery Swap

WATCH the Faery Swap Book Trailer

CONTACT SUSAN
Susan's Website | Sue on Bluesky | Sue on Mastodon
Susan's Email: sue@twistedspacepub.com

Reviews

[Gail Carriger · Rating 3 out of 5]

In brief? A good premise of Bollywood meets steampunk with a great title, that drags and suffered for lack of developmental editing.

Classified as a sweet romance by which moniker the romance genre seems to imply clean: no nookie and no nudity. I wouldn't necessarily call this book a romance novel, however. There is a great deal of technology, spy work, politics, and other drama which make the main plot not about the two characters getting together. Although you could make a case to the contrary. (In this regard the book is hard to classify, not unlike Soulless.)

I enjoyed the world building, atmosphere, and concept. I thought the story was passable and characters were OK, however the writing dragged to the point of frustration. I feel like Third Daughter started well but lagged at about the 1/3 mark and never recovered. Frankly, it needed a good developmental edit pass. There was a great deal of redundant phrasing, repeat plot points, and circling back conversation (where characters say the same thing to each other in different ways a few pages apart) that all should have been deleted. That said, the copy edit was stellar.

"Yet, her mission wasn’t simply to verify its existence, but to discover its exact nature and capabilities." Aniri (protag) must have said some iteration of "I need to see the airship" at least six times in the space of one chapter.

Oh, and at one point Aniri literally tells the bad guy, without irony, "You won’t get away with this."

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been trying to sort out how I feel about Third Daughter the past few days. On one hand, I did enjoy the second part of the story and I enjoyed seeing a non-European steampunk fantasy world. The characters were well drawn (if romanticized in the cases of the love interests) and I'm not sorry I read it.

On the other hand... well. Dharia, the alternate reality version of India, seemed very much to me like a white person's idea of what India is like.

First we have a Princess in the Tower trope with the titled Third Daughter, Aniri. Even though she doesn't really spend time in her mother's court or with politics because, as a third child, she doesn't really need to, she still feels trapped by the conventions of her status and longs to be free. The Princess in the Tower trope isn't so much of a thing in India, especially in relation to Indian princesses. It isn't unheard of for an Indian princess to lead an active life or even take part in revolutions. (Related, everyone should read about Noor Inayat Khan. Because she was awesome.) Of course there were likely some princesses who led quiet or secluded lives, but it wasn't all of them.

I also found it very unsettling that a lot of the Western clothing pieces were named -- such as corsets -- but any Eastern Indian staples were vaguely described and unnamed. A saree, for example, was described as only a "sweep of fabric across the shoulder" and mentioned as being traditional. Matha patti was only described as a piece of head jewelry that ended in pearl or a ruby on the forehead. Mendhi, or henna as it's known to Western people, was vaguely mentioned as "having ink done".

Aniri also expresses some shock that Jungalian men wear jewelry, as Dharian men do not. I found this to be a strange decision in regards to world-building, as Indian men do wear jewelry, or they did in the past.

If you're doing to write about a steampunk fantasy alternate of India, commit to your setting. An Indian/Dharian character should call these things by their names. Not only should, but I believe they would. I can't help but wonder why the decision was made to leave these things unnamed. Ignorance isn't an excuse -- it literally only took me a minute to Google "Indian jewelry names" and find a site that described all the various pieces, how they're worn, when they're worn, and what they go with.

So why three stars? Well, because I did end up liking the story, at least enough to finish it. I enjoyed the relationship between Aniri and Malik; it progressed slowly enough to be believable. I would have liked to see them butt heads over things, though. Their relationship progression was almost too smooth. I would have also liked to have seen Aniri have some trouble acclimating to Jungalian culture. She has more issue adjusting to the thin mountain air of Jungali than she does taking in the culture of the place.

Still, it's nice to see a non-European fantasy steampunk novel, and I do plan on reading the second novel. I only hope all of these issues are resolved in the third book of the trilogy.

A copy of this novel was provided by the author through NetGalley for review.

[angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of action and intrigue

Another excellent book by Author Susan Kaye Quinn, you can always expect the best when reading her books. The third daughter was chalked full of spying, action, treaties and technology. This story was very hard to put down and when I did, all I did was think of it. Excellent writing, story and characters.

[Feather Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review *****

First and foremost, I seldom rate novels with five stars. Third Daughter is well deserving of a five star rating. Let me tell you why.

Characters: Seldom do I read a romance novel wherein the characters are well developed and believable. Third Daughter is a refreshing romance novel because the characters, all of them, are clearly defined, having strengths and weakness - yes, even a sin or two, or making human mistakes. I loved them. They were well suited to the plot and setting. Susan described their personality, facial expressions, body language, demeanor and their clothing. What I particularly enjoyed was Susan can describe the character's behavior in very clear, descriptive, and yet concise language.

Though there were several characters in this story, I always had a clear picture of each one (visually, personality, role). The main female character, Aniri, begun as a fairly self absorbed young princess. As the story progressed she developed into a strong and courageous woman who I grew to respect and admire - and feared for her life.

Plot: How often do you begin to read the first few chapters and already know how the story is going to end. I made a prediction while reading Third Daughter - and, huh, I was totally wrong, and so excited to be wrong. There is no lull in Susan's writing. If a story slows too much, I'll skip paragraphs, even chapters. You can't do that with Susan's books. While reading Third Daughter, every paragraph was essential to understand the conflict and the twists and surprises along the conflict trail. Susan is a master at keeping the flow smooth, and tension elevated.

Setting: How fun to be taken into a setting that is totally foreign. The description of the landscape, palaces, mountains and valleys was in rich detail - but not so detailed the flow slow down. The frost and freezing cold, the thin mountain air, the sun beaming through the windows - Susan put me in the setting. I felt drawn into the scenery and my senses were tantalized on every page.

Climax: Relax, I do not do spoilers. But what tension! OMG. I was on the edge of my seat, wondering who would survive. A great novel will tie up all the plot threads and Susan does that perfectly. And then, on the last page, last sentence she lands a bomb shell. You'll have to read her book to learn more about that.

Well done, Susan. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read Third Daughter. It's a keeper.

[✶Rachelle✶ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars

An immature, stupid, and brash MC who literally has zero common sense whatsoever + an unbelievable romance = a very dissatisfied Reader.



Also, one of my biggest pet peeves was that everything about the world was constantly described rather than named. Let me explain...as this book was influenced by Indian culture, it would have been nice to have some of the terminology of the culture brought over. "Hand tattoos" = henna. "Dresses with wraps of fabric" = saris. "Jewelry worn on forehead" = tikka. It would have enriched the story so much more had the author used the actual terms of the culture rather than constantly described it.

[Kiersten · Rating 5 out of 5]

See more of my reviews at We Live and Breathe Books

It's kind of an understatement to say that I liked Third Daughter - I absolutely loved it. It's no secret that I am a fan of Susan Kaye Quinn's work and this book is no exception. Susan Kaye Quinn always does a beautiful job of balancing description with smooth character development, world building, and plot development. Once again, Susan Kaye Quinn delivers on a beautifully written and original story that brings you to a new world and makes you feel all the feels.

The world of Third Daughter is unlike any I have read before. The world is, just as advertised, a mix of Indian culture and steampunk culture. The greatest thing about this world is that even though it combines two things you might not traditionally mix together, it doesn't feel forced. The mix between Indian culture and steampunk seems very natural and is described vividly throughout the entire book.

Just like the world, the characters are masterfully developed. I found that the characters were very easy to love and empathize with. The Third Daughter, Aniri, is a perfect balance between tough girl, reckless teen, scared child, and noble royal. Aniri is a character that feels so believable and real. Like most book heroines, Aniri wants to fight for herself, but she has no problem accepting help when she needs it (although she often thinks she doesn't need it).

While Third Daughter is clearly a romance, I definitely would not say that the romance is in your face. Susan Kaye Quinn mixes the romance into the plot in a way that the romance has plenty of time to grow in a life-like way. It's not insta-love, it's not the stereotypical love triangle - it is a beautiful telling of a girl torn between her heart and her country and how her relationships grow and change as she learns more and more about what's really going on.

In Third Daughter, Susan Kaye Quinn brings a totally original and well developed world to life. Third Daughter has a perfect balance between the romantic element as well as the action and intrigue. As a fan of the Mindjack series, I can say that this is definitely a must read for fans of Mindjack, but also for everyone else. READ THIS BOOK! IT'S AMAZING! Especially if you haven't read any of Susan Kaye Quinn's work before. Susan Kaye Quinn has such a different approach to the young adult genre that I think all readers of YA can appreciate.

[Debby *BabyDee* · Rating 4 out of 5]

This my first time listen/read by Susan Kay Quinn and Third Daughter was a very wholesome and refreshing listen for me. There was mystery and twists and I enjoyed this story.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid 4.5 star book. I completely wish we had the half star option available for use, but I digress.

The only bits I didn't like were that the Indian heritage stuff wasn't NAMED, such as saris, henna, etc. That would have made the world THAT much more authentic and would have closed the gap from 4.5 to 5 stars. Also, Jakan was kind of a jerk. He's supposed to be older than the princess and he speaks without diplomatic care. I guess that's his personality, but I would think that being in a royal court in the honor guard that he would have picked up on the politic way of speaking, even in private with royalty.

I'm not usually into political intrigue, but this was good. It wasn't too much for me to follow, but had twists enough to keep me interested. There was action and adventure, as well as love, with the requisite love triangle. That part was annoying, but it was resolved by the end of the book, which was a big positive.

As the first of a trilogy, the ending did lead into the next book, but it isn't a cliff-hanger. You could never read the next two books and still feel satisfied with the first book. Though honestly, why wouldn't you read the next one? This one was fabulous and I for one want to learn more about the MC's sisters.

The characters were real to me. They lived and breathed, though the MC did have a tendency to wander off, but to be fair, if Janak had held his tongue, the last action scene would have gone down a different way. Sorry, so not liking that character. So I guess he's written well, if he gets under my skin like that.

I highly recommend this book. It could use more cultural color and maybe some more steampunk stuff, but that's a minor quibble. The book is well written, the plot interesting and the characters engaging. What more can one ask for?

[Sudha Kuruganti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book from BookBub because the description really excited me - Indian steampunk! I remember wondering if the author, who is not Indian, would be able to really 'get' the country and our culture—mostly because the vast diversity in India makes it difficult for even Indians to fully 'get' the many different cultures. In that respect, this book was, unfortunately, a let down.

I enjoyed the story, although there were many moments when Aniri and her stupidity annoyed me—and almost every time I had to remind myself that in the universe of the story, Aniri is only seventeen—and there were lots of stupid things I had done at seventeen.

It did not make sense, though, for Aniri's mother, who is set up as an exceptionally wise and tactically sound ruler, to decide to send her impulsive, headstrong, and not very intelligent daughter off on a delicate double agent type spy mission to what is, essentially, enemy territory.

But what really cut into my enjoyment of the book was all the bits of Indian culture that seemed to have been shoehorned into the text, willy-nilly. Each of the chapters had some nonsense words placed into the chapter titles—I kept hoping they would end up making some sense in the end, but they didn't. Many words don't make sense in the context—Araama cannot be used as a greeting, mostly because of its usage in Hindi, aaram—it would be like going around greeting people with 'To rest!'

Another thing was the names. We have a Nisha, a Priya, a Devesh and an Ashok (all real names)—and then you have the completely made up names of Aniri, Seledri and Nahali. And then the name of an obscure character from mythology, Janak. Most Indian names have meaning to them—they're based on words and concepts from actual languages. Which is why names based on a set of syllables that simply 'sound good' seem so utterly foreign. And because the syllables in most Indian languages are pronounced in a way that is completely different from English and other Germanic languages, force fitting contractions from English into Indian languages doesn't make sense. To wit, Ashoka would never, ever call himself Ash. That would be like a Jonathan calling himself Jonath.

Actually, it would be like a book of Prince Jonath and Princess Amylikasda and their friends Michael, Susan, Anne and Priam.

Although the book was good, and I liked the idea of a steampunk India, I do wish the book could have had a 'cultural advisor', as it were. Something that would have helped the book be great, instead of 'alright'.

[Ilias · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. The characters were well developed and the world was well built and it managed to be both very exciting and dramatic and the, like, quintessential adventure story while also surprising me with every twist. Surprising might be a little strong, but I genuinely did not see almost any of it coming, even what was obvious in retrospect. I don't want to talk about the climactic confrontation because I think this book is spoilable, even if I don't think it would lose a lot from being spoiled, but it was so good!! The sword-fighting!! The climbing around outside of buildings!! The jewels + clockwork!! It was all so atmospheric and dramatic and I love... genre fiction...

It was very heterosexual, but I thought the romance was convincing, if not overwhelmingly so, + it wasn't the focus of the piece, even if the protagonist is very in her head abt her feelings all the time. I mean who among us. She manages to convey growth in the character subtly, in a way that I personally found believable and well-grounded.

I dunno, I just really enjoyed it + am looking forward to reading a sequel.

Also though I did find this book on a list of romances, + it's not really that. I guess it's arguable, + it's definitely an arranged marriage au, but I think the plot was located enough outside the relationship of the main characters that I wouldn't classify it as a romance novel.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hum this is a hard book to review. There was much to like and there were things I wanted to change. I like to write reviews where I loved or hated the book. So the pros were that this was a fun paced action packed book, that had great descriptions and a good feel. The steampunk world was new for me and fun to read about. This was all from one persons point of view and was done well. It was a good length. The cons; This biggest problem with this book was that there was no connection with the characters for me. The main character I didn't like throughout much of the book, by the end she learns and grows and changes but it was almost too late. The love story was such a mess and not well done and I just didn't care. That is why I gave it 3 stars and why I won't be reading the 2nd. You can have every other element in a book but if you don't care about the characters there is no point in reading more. This was a clean teen book. There is some kissing in the beginning and a little innuendo. The violence is light. There is a couple swear words.

[Isabella · Rating 2 out of 5]

She was the worst kind of fool.
That is a quote and all I have to say about this book

[Márcia Ferreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75*

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up!

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published at Reading Reality

Third Daughter is a first-rate fantasy. Especially if you like your fantasy mixed with a little steampunk and a lot of political machinations. It’s also the coming-of-age story about a fascinating heroine who goes from spoiled princess to smart operator through a trial by literal fire.

This fantasy is set in a land based on Indian-influenced customs and legends. Not Native American, but the Indian subcontinent. According to the author, Third Daughter is steampunk and fantasy with a lot of Bollywood.

However you describe the setting, it is refreshing to read a fantasy that uses something other than Celtic mythology and Medieval Europe as its starting point.

The story is the tale of the Third Daughter of the Queen of Dharia. Aniri has grown up in the mistaken belief that her mother does not have a political purpose planned for her, and that she will be able to marry for love the moment she turns 18.

Of course, it is not to be. And a good thing, too.

Aniri has fixed her heart on a courtesan attached to the household of the Samirian Ambassador. She believes that the Samirians are allies, and that Devesh really loves her and wants to help her. Aniri is politically naive, and doesn’t understand that courtesans are also spies.

But the Prince of Jungali arrives just before her 18th birthday, and promises her kingdom a peace treaty in return for marriage to the only unmarried daughter of Dharia. Meaning Aniri. Her mother wants peace with Jungali because the mountain country is rumored to be developing a skyship, a weapon that will change the balance of power between Dharia (currently on top) and Jungali.

Aniri reluctantly does her duty and accepts the engagement, but only after her mother lets her in on the real plot. Aniri is supposed to spy on her new country, and discover whether the skyship is real, or merely rumor. Once her mission is done, she will be free to return to her lover.

But the world is not as Aniri imagines it. Not just because it feels wrong to spy on the man she is supposed to marry, but because the Prince is much more than the barbarian she has been taught that all Jungali are.

Prince Ashoka wants peace. He wants to unite his people, and get rid of the warmongers who have been fomenting trouble between Jungali and Dharia with the help of the Samirians. But the young and handsome Ash also wants Aniri as his Queen. Not just for peace, but for real.

He’ll just have to navigate the plots and counterplots in his own court, and find the way to Aniri’s heart. But first, the would-be princess spy and the barbarian prince will have to cut their way through the secrets and lies that would keep them apart. And survive the assassins.

Escape Rating A-: Third Daughter is terrific fun! The setting feels fresh and new, in a way that makes you dive right into the story as you learn how the world is set up. It feels a bit like a fantasy version of India under the Raj, except that there are no British overlords. Each country is ruled by a Queen rather than the traditional male hierarchy.

Even Prince Ashoka of Jungali can’t unite his country until he finds a Queen who will rule. In Dharia, it is the First Daughter who will become Queen after her mother.

Aniri’s adventures are her coming-of-age story. She starts out rather spoiled, believing that the rules don’t apply to her. She also hasn’t bothered to learn about the conditions of the world around her, or the issues that make government such a burden for her mother.

Being sent to Jungali is the making of her. Aniri has a great adventure, but what makes her interesting to follow is that she learns from her mistakes, and does she ever make a lot of them! She wants to do the right thing, but starts out believing it is going to be much easier than it is.

She also discovers that a lot of people have been lying to her. Learning truths for herself is part of growing up. Aniri changes from willful child to self-sacrificing adult as she navigates her new and unknown country.

Ash is a great foil for Aniri, and also a swoon-worthy romantic hero. He will do anything for his country in order to bring peace. He thinks he’s sacrificing himself when he goes to Dhaira to bring home a bride, but he falls for Aniri and thinks its going to be unrequited. But he continues because he knows it’s best for his country.

It takes Aniri a long time to see the treasure that is in front of her, and to accept the life before her. Working with Ash, traveling with him and seeing his country through his eyes, opens hers.

And the swashbuckling, death-defying adventure climax helps to make Third Daughter one fantastic read.

[mad mags · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hella Fun!

(Full disclosure: I received a free electronic copy of this book for review through Library Thing's Member Giveaways program.)

As the Third Daughter of Dharia, Aniri enjoys a luxury which was denied her older sisters: on her 18th birthday, she's free to marry for love instead of country. First in the line of succession, Aniri's oldest sister Nahali has been groomed from birth to become Queen; fittingly, she arranged to marry a Dharian nobleman (whom she just so happened to love). Meanwhile, middle sister Seledri married a Samirian prince in order to further the alliance between her country and his (sadly, the prince's love for Seledri is as of yet unrequited).

With no interests left to further, Aniri happily awaits the day when she'll be able to marry her lover Devesh, a courtesan and fencing instructor from Samir. Then they will travel the world in search of the Samirian robbers who murdered her father the King some eight years ago.

Naturally, a wrench finds its way into Aniri's plans - in the form of Ashoka Malik, the barbarian prince of Jungali. After the untimely deaths of his mother and younger brother, Prince Malik - "Ash" to his friends - finds himself in charge of a fractured country. Comprised of four provinces, the mountain country is mired in poverty and fraught with infighting, particularly as at least one of the provinces' generals play at a military coup. Rumors of a Jungali flying machine run rampant, and war seems inevitable. Hoping that his marriage to a Dharian Prince will cultivate a powerful alliance and unite his people behind him, Prince Malik proposes a peace-brokering marriage to the Queen. Unfortunately for Aniri, she is the only single daughter left.

And that's just the first few chapters! (I won't say more because I'd rather not spoil the story, but suffice it to say that nothing is as it seems.)

Equal parts political intrigue, steampunk fantasy, and romantic subterfuge, Third Daughter is a rollicking fun read. Just when you think you know where the story's headed or who you can trust, Quinn throws in a plot twist or added layer of deception that you never saw coming.

Yes, there's a love triangle; and yes, its resolution is somewhat predictable. But that doesn't make it any less fun! (Or progressive: there's plenty of class warfare in Third Daughter, and Princess Aniri is forced to confront and reconsider her prejudices about the "barbarian" prince from the poor mountain country whom she's dispatched to marry/spy on. In her constant protestations that she doesn't deserve Ash, Aniri brings to mind Katniss and Peeta - minus the troubling racial aspects. In fact, Quinn flips that triangle on its head, as in this case it's Aniri who's richer and more privileged than her "pretend" lover.)

The steampunk elements are hella fun, too. From using steam-powered automatons as fencing partners to flying death ray/butterfly crystal blimps, Third Daughter is over-the-top and made for the big screen. I could easily picture this as a Bollywood movie. And I'd give anything to see a CGI version of the shashee. I bet they're adorable, like a cross between a snuffaluffagus and a camel. Or maybe like a Bantha, minus the horns. Whatever. I must have a clockwork shashee, is what I'm saying! (Note to Susan Kaye Quinn: I'll settle for an illustration in the next book!)

For all the nearly 350 pages, I can think of only one minor criticism: the fact that the Prince found the "assassin's" rope but failed to connect it to Princess Aniri seems a rather obvious plot hole. (Her own bedsheets are clothing are in there!) As far as plot holes go, this one's easily overlooked, and I'm loathe to hold it too strongly against Quinn.

In the Acknowledgements, Quinn reveals Third Daughter's genesis as a contest entry on Rick Daley's blog, The Public Query Slushpile: "given a vague premise, writers were asked to submit a query and the first five pages of a (fictitious) novel [...] He posited (and I believe) that each author couldn't help but craft something unique, even though they were starting with the same basic story construct (a military intrigue)." I think she more than succeeded with Third Daughter.

The first book in a planned trilogy, Third Daughter has a pretty awesome cliff-hanger ending, but also works well on its own. The next installments will be Second Daughter and First Daughter, respectively. I can't wait to revisit the wondrous world Quinn created and learn more about Aniri's sisters, who were introduced briefly (and with some pretty tasty tidbits) in Third Daughter.

Well done!

http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/04/28/...

[The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still tweeting the hashtag #WeNeedDiverseBooks while reading Third Daughter and loving every cinematic word of this non-Eurocentric rollicking steampunk tale. I am doing happy dances and chomping at the bit for the next book in the series.

I've been a long-time fan of the science-fiction/fantasy subgenre known as steampunk, and while it's been awesome to see it re-emerge in popularity, it's driven me to distraction that too many authors and readers appear stuck on stupid when it comes to reimagining a steampunk world that is NOT just centered around Victorian London. Don't get me wrong, I do love corsets and crinolines, but one of the aspects that attracted me to steampunk in the first place was the idea of re-imagining a different and more inclusive Victorian world. After all, that's what good speculative fiction is supposed to do. Thankfully there are authors who've been creating a more diverse steampunk, setting their stories in Japan, Mesoamerica, Ancient Egypt and Africa, as well steampunk cosplayers who've brought a refreshing and innovative look with multicultural steampunk. So yes, Third Daughter satified my desire for diversity with strong female characters, lots of adventure and while there's romance, it isn't the raison d'etre of the heroine.

For which I am hugely grateful.

I loved Aniri, the intrepid and adventurous heroine and I'm almost afraid to love her so much out of fear that everything I loved about her in this book won't continue in future books because someone will decree that she's had "enough adventure" and now it's time for her to "settle down and engage in a love triangle". I've seen this happen time and again with heroines who start out like Xena only to end up like Bella Swann and it drives me to distraction. By all rights and means, I should have given the side-eye to the annoyingly ubiquitous "love triangle" that found its way into this book and yet, this one actually made sense.

When the book opens, Princess Aniri, third daughter of the powerful Queen of Dharia, is climbing down the wall of her palace bedroom in order to meet her lover, a handsome courtesan/fencing master named Devesh. Seriously, how often are heroines given that kind of agency? Unlike her sisters who married for the good of the kingdom, Aniri only has to wait until her birthday to marry for love. Unfortunately, duty always comes before desire as Aniri is given an important mission upon which the fate of her kingdom--in fact, several kingdoms--rests. She is to spy upon the mountain kingdom of Jungali where there are rumors of a skyship being built by becoming the consort of Prince Ashoka Malik, who seeks peace and trade with Dharia.

Despite her feelings for Devesh, Aniri does her duty and finds herself whisked away by sashesh (elephants) and cloud car (much like the cable rides that soar over amusement parks and are powered by steam). Apparently the so-called "barbarian kingdom" isn't as backward as once thought. She also finds herself admiring of Prince Malik, who knows that this will be a marriage for appearance sake only and therefore he's willing to allow Aniri to keep Devesh as a lover.

Seriously? Can you imagine any of those questionably popular asshat-stalkerific heroes doing that? One word: NOT!

Malik has been added to my exacting list of book boyfriends.

For all of this, Aniri never forgets why she has been asked to undertake a daunting task where her country, her happiness and her very life are at stake. Armed with sword, dagger and a healthy dash of risk-taking, Aniri discovers the danger is not just to Dharia, but the kingdom of Jungali that she has grown to love, is very real. She also learns whom she can trust, and a painful secret from her past.

There is plenty of steampunkery to satisfy every aether-loving fan. The setting is a vivid and richly imagined East India that could have been. A cross between a classic adventure tale and a Bollywood movie where good triumphs over evil (for now). Through it all, Aniri remained a vibrant, fully-actualized heroine who kept her eyes on the prize and kicked ass when it was required, despite her feelings. That's one reason I'm hoping this continues in the next book.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

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Steampunk goes to Bollywood. I love this descriptor even more because it's actually true. So much of this story felt reminiscent of the film Jodhaa Akbar, about a Hindi princess forced to enter a peace-brokering marriage with a Muslim emperor, that I instantly felt the presence of Bollywood inspiration. Throw in rumors about a flying machine, some military intrigue, family secrets, and personal metamorphosis, and I'm one happy camper.

Princess Aniri of the powerful Dharian empire is days away from her birthday and the freedom it will grant her to escape the Queen's court and marry whomever she pleases. Specifically, a handsome courtesan whose kisses she steals in the moonlight. Cue the arrival of Prince Malik, of the barbarian mountain country Jungali, with an offer of a peace-brokering marriage between himself and the Queen's only remaining eligible daughter. Granted, for the first several chapters it seemed like this was going to be your run-of-the-mill 'princess forced to marry for duty while in love with someone else' story. But no. I learned pretty quick that Quinn doesn't want to settle for run-of-the-mill.

Torn and bitter, Aniri confronts her mother. This is when the Queen says she doesn't want her daughter to marry the war-loving Jungali's prince. She wants her to spy on him.

Things got incredibly interesting from there.

With her devoted maid servant and a bodyguard who despises her, Aniri ventures into the heart of enemy territory. Her mission is to learn whether this sky warship exists and bring the information back to Dharia before the wedding date. After that, she will be free to marry the man she loves. Until then, she can't tell him the truth.
I fell in love with this world. It's rich with Eastern culture and influence, like an exotic spice in an otherwise traditional buffet. People have been talking a lot about needing diversity in books, so I would start here. Only once or twice did a distinctly English colloquialism catch me off guard. The infusion of Bollywood and steampunk was beautiful and felt so natural together, I'm shocked I haven't seen this done before. I will be interested to see how far the other two books in the trilogy will take us into the world -whether we'll see hints of any culture outside of India- but if we just stay within the three Queendoms presented in this first book, I'll be happy. (That's another thing -the three most powerful countries here are ruled by women.)

I would classify this as a military intrigue romance, and I was very happy to find it clean. There's lots of kissing, certainly, but Quinn stayed away from anything too descriptive, doing the love story justice without dipping into the steamy romance side of the pool. For this, a million kudos.

Another thing I loved about the romance was that the love triangle wasn't overdone or overemotional or tacky. There is definitely a love triangle, but it never felt like a high school drama/teen movie/soap opera love triangle. One of my major peeves of love triangles is the feeling somebody is always being unfair and unfaithful or just downright insensitive and I never felt this to be the case.

Aniri had wonderful depth and development. I loved watching her grow, not just emotionally and in confidence, but in genuinely becoming a better person. She constantly feels ashamed in the presence of Prince Malik, who is so devoted to his country and people, whereas she is just waiting for her chance to escape. I loved how much she learned from him, and I love that she still has the potential for more development. Even better, all the supporting characters had their own depth and minor development while contributing to hers as well. I didn't see any flat characters here, and I cheer for that.

Satisfactory ending, but with open-ended elements to be dealt with in book two. And I must say, after reading the summary for the sequel, and the main character's doubts about relationship choices, make me hopeful that Quinn will make a very healthy handling of the romantic relationships.

In short, I had incredibly high expectations of this book, and it didn't let me down.

[Jenni Sauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where to even begin?

This book by far exceeded my expectations! The characters were amazing, the plot far more in depth and intriguing than I expected, and the romance was perfectly sweet and believable.

The Indian culture was woven into the Steampunk world naturally and stunningly. It all fit so perfectly and I was so pleased to see Steampunk explored in a different way.

Aniri is a great main character- relatable, flawed, and earnest. She is the kind of person you identify with and want to root for. The prince is amazing and precious and sweet and not at all what I was expecting. He is the perfect example of a cinnamon roll, too precious for this world, but also strong and a believable leader. The side characters were all nicely developed and each one leapt off the page in realistic detail. Though she was not in a huge part of the book I adore Priya and Janek is so intriquing. Even Nisha and Aniri's sister, who are hardly in the book at all felt real whenever they did step "onscreen"

And the plot! I was reading the book for the romance and the setting but the plot drew me in so fast. It took several unexpected but believable turns and kept me guessing the whole time. Just when I thought I had figured out where the story was going I was hit with another plot twist. It certainly kept me on my toes and surprised me in just the right ways.

And of course the romance. It was done so perfectly and naturally. I can't even start to say how amazing it was and how much I squealed while reading it. And it was so slow and gentle and never felt forced or unnatural. It played out at exactly the right speed and always stayed true to the heart of the book.

Overall this book was AMAZING! I read it on Kindle but plan to purchase a paperback copy as soon as my finances allow. I cannot recommend it enough!!

[Emily Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like steampunk adventure in a diverse setting, you’ll probably love this one!

It says romance, however it is mostly secondary to the rest of the story and does not go very deep.

The steampunk part was fun, with air ships and cable cars and long distance communication. The princess is very adventurous but a little spoiled in the beginning. It is pretty cool that she knows how to sword fight.

The setting seems to be an odd mixture of India and western culture. The ink on the princess’ hands doesn’t seem to exactly be henna, since in one situation someone takes the ink off her hand and puts new ink there and she acts like it stays for weeks without her doing anything. With henna you have to be careful to leave it on your hand for a long time the darker you want the ink to be. It would be obvious the henna is brand new.
There was also mention of the queen wearing a corset, which seems odd if the country really was an alternate India.

I was confused by her use of the word courtesan, which seems to be the same as courtier in this case, just someone who lives at court and might be inclined toward lying and scheming as part of court life. In my previous encounters of that word it has meant prostitute, notably in the Throne of Glass series. It seems like it would have been better to use courtier.

Januk was an annoying guard, his character’s purpose seemed to be to offend or shock the princess into action. If he was a good guard he would have been silent and not judgmental.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a coming of age story of Aniri, the third daughter of Dharia. A few weeks away from her 18th birthday and looking forward to fulfilling the dream of running away with her secret lover, she suddenly must step up and accept an arranged marriage with the prince of one of the other regions.

Quinn blends Eastern (think Bollywood) romance with steampunk and adds spy elements to this series first novel. The mashup of elements, especially the Eastern focus, does make for an intriguing story and moves away from the typical romantic locales. The political facet lends to a more layered story. I do wish that Quinn had spent a bit more time on this aspect of her tale, but perhaps she does in the subsequent novels of this series.

Aniri is a likable character, however her courtly naiveté and her damsel in distress demeanor that threads throughout the story. The prince, Ash, and the support characters could have had a bit more development. And in the case of Karan, there seems to occur a disjointed physical description from the first time that Aniri meets him to the next time she meets him.

Regrettably, I read the teaser for the second book: I was disappointed that Aniri runs off to comfort her sister and has doubts about marrying Ash. Their relationship had oscillated back and forth in the first novel and it seems like the second book may be retreading familiar ground. I'm hesitant to read any more in this series.

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited to be able to read Third Daughter, the first book in a new series by Susan Quinn. I LOVED her Mindjack series. LOVED. So, I had high hopes for this new book!

The east Indian flavor world sprinkled with steampunk creates such pretty pictures in my head. Bollypunk, indeed! I wasn't sure I was going to love it at first but I did. I totally fell in love.

Aniri is a passionate girl. Her emotions lead her decisions most of the time. In the beginning, what she wants most is to marry for love. I don't think that desire ever goes away but at some point Aniri focus shifts to her loyalty to her land, people and queen. It is always her heart leading the way though and I really loved that. Aniri is strong (but not too strong), brave and loyal. She does have a smart, quick mind that has just never really had the opportunity to shine. As the third daughter, not much was expected from her in that way. It was satisfying to watch her grow and use her mind and realize that she had value.

The world that was created for me was vivid and alive. I could see things and smell them. I loved the intrigue and danger. It was just a fantastic feast for my senses and my heart. I was so sad when it ended. I didn't want to put that book down and I didn't want to leave the story. I am going to be anxiously looking forward to the next book!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

My bookstagram: emm_enchanted

A decent start to the series.

Aniri is the Third Daughter of the Queen of Dharia, which means she is the back-up daughter with no responsibilities. She expects to be free and pursue her relationship with the Samirian ambassador. But when a proposal comes from the Barbarian prince, she is forced to accept to maintain peace while secretly going on a mission as a spy. Now she faces a moral dilemma where she has to choose between her kingdom and her heart.

Initially, I was a bit sceptical about picking this book because the description said "Bollywood style romance". I expected it to be overtly dramatic which is the pattern I've noticed in a lot of works from the West. But this book surprised me. While I cannot claim it to be the absolute best, it's nice for a one time read.
The book has a good amount of adventure and twists.
It's well written and descriptive. The world building is decent.
The characters are great, although I'm not very fond of Aniri. There's nothing specifically wrong with her, it's just that she couldn't decide whom she loved. She went back and forth between Devesh and Prince Malik which got a bit annoying after a point.
Prince Malik, on the other hand was amazing! Loved him throughout the book.
I liked the plot and the author made a good attempt to execute it.
There were certain parts I found confusing in terms of technology but that can be overlooked.
The romance seemed a bit forced and rushed. It felt like Aniri just jumped from one person to another when things did not go well.
The ending had some action which I liked.
Overall, this book was mildly enjoyable but I'm not in a rush to read the next one.

[Joana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another precious gem I found free on Google Play through BookBub, and it will probably be on my TOP 10 favorite books of the year; and I'm really considering on getting the rest of the trilogy
So first of all, the universe is AMAZING!!! It's inspired by East Indian culture/world (and I don't know how faithful it is, but I liked it), but it's also steampunk, something I had gotten even more interested in since I had to do a bit of reasearch about it for a paper last semester, and then it's so different, since I had never seen steampunk anywhere but the UK (mainly London). And then the book is also very political, about these nations working together, making alliances and fighting.
There's a small love triangle, but I feel like it's handled and sort of wrapped up almost in the beginning - it comes back, but it's never very heavy. And also the romance is not 'love at first sight', but built over time and the relationship was well developed and actually interesting :)
But while Aniri and Ash were very interesting characters and I really liked their development, I felt that the side characters were a bit underdeveloped, especially Priya and Janak - I really hope that in the next books, there's a bit more of them
Really a GREAT fantasy, very fast paced, with the beautiful visuals of steampunk and interesting politics :)

[Sacha Valero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third Daughter by Susan Kaye Quinn
3.5 – Stars

Straight away, the first half of the book sort of just slogs on. There's enough to keep your interest with the characters and the visuals, but almost no steampunk in the steampunk. The main character is essentially a spoiled child, the youngest of three royal daughters who isn't required to do much other than show up for court dressed in fantastically elaborate fashion. To be fair, she doesn't really go for the over-the-top royal duties and would rather spend her time fencing with her secret boyfriend and sneaking off into the wilds in the middle of the night to steal a kiss from him.

Then one night when she meets her not so secret lover, a royal guard arrives to inform her that the Queen. The Queen tells her that she's arranged a marriage with a neighboring nation to avoid war. This is where the book starts to get really good as the queen tells her about a rumored air ship and that her duties are really just to act as a spy. It's here that we start getting all the cool steampunky stuff.

Overall, it's worth the slow beginning to get to the ending.

[Goth Gone Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rich new world with interesting characters

While familiar with the steampunk genre, this is the first book I've read in that style. It's a merged world of Bollywood silks and jewelry, leather corsets and overly showy weapons and technology. And yet? It works, the idea is well enough described to be a believable, intruiging setting.

Aniri is the third daughter of the title, headstrong and seeking adventure as her departed father did. She has a love of climbing and fighting with traditional bladed weapons, and kissing her instructor. (Who keeps being referred to as her lover - those must be some kisses).

Ash is the prince of another kingdom who asks for Aniri's hand in marriage, with whatever conditions she would like. The story takes off from there, full of action, dastardly villains, double crossing, steampunk technology, and romance.

Overall it's well written, rich with detail, and a plausible enough ending. Aniri has skills far beyond her years which seem to stretch suspension of disbelief a bit more than I normally prefer.

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

It's entirely possible I'm being too hard on this book based on the opening scenes, I just... I thought she had a cooler reason for sneaking out at night than a make-out session. And I might even be more tolerant of it (despite the *long* descriptions of them kissing) if I didn't know from the synopsis, that this is not going to be the main relationship in the book.

I was already feeling meh about it and trying to give it a chance, and I think I'm done now.

[Adelheid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good steampunk mystery/romance! Read it!

The alternate world is a quirky take on Eastern Indian Steampunk, and the characters are well rounded and engaging-- especially in juxtaposition to the steam powered and clockwork devices. I can overlook the small errors in the text because the story is excellent ! This goes on my must read list!

[Kristi Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one. It surprised and delighted me.

[Somia]

Free on Amazon 4th April 19