Golden Daughter- Anne Elisabeth Stengl

My Rating: 5 Stars

Description: BEYOND THE REALM OF DREAMS IS A WORLD SHE NEVER IMAGINED

Masayi Sairu was raised to be dainty, delicate, demure . . . and deadly. She is one of the emperor’s Golden Daughters, as much a legend as she is a commodity. One day, Sairu will be contracted in marriage to a patron, whom she will secretly guard for the rest of her life.

But when she learns that a sacred Dream Walker of the temple seeks the protection of a Golden Daughter, Sairu forgoes marriage in favor of this role. Her skills are stretched to the limit, for assassins hunt in the shadows, and phantoms haunt in dreams. With only a mysterious Faerie cat and a handsome slave—possessed of his own strange abilities—to help her, can Sairu shield her new mistress from evils she can neither see nor touch?

For the Dragon is building an army of fire. And soon the heavens will burn.

My Thoughts: This my favorite Goldstone Wood novel since Starflower. I might even like it a bit more than Starflower, which I wasn't sure was possible. Golden Daughter takes us to another country in the history of this world, one with customs far different than the other countries seen so far. The culture Anne Elisabeth constructed was so intricate and detailed, making it seem like someplace that might have once been real (and this comes from a Cultural Anthropologist).

The character I didn't like was Lady Hariawan. Everyone else, including the villains, were so much fun to read about. Sunan (who I only recently discovered was Captain Sunan from Goddess Tithe) was probably my favorite, besides Sir Eanrin. As with Heartless, Eanrin spent most of the novel in cat form, which I must admit I found hilarious.

I can not wait to read what comes next in the series. Surely it will be just as delightful as this.

I received an ARC of Golden Daughter in exchange for an honest review.