S.J.A. Turney

An extraordinary story of the Knights Templar.Europe is aflame. On the Iberian Peninsula the wars of the Reconquista rage across Aragon and Castile. Once again, the Moors are gaining the upper hand. Christendom is divided. Amidst the chaos is a young knight: Arnau of Vallbona. After his Lord is killed in an act of treachery, Arnau pledges to look after his daughter, whose life is now at risk. But in protecting her Arnau will face terrible challenges, and enter a world of Templars, steely knights and visceral combat he could never have imagined. She in turn will find a new destiny with the Knights as a daughter of war... Can she survive? And can Arnau find his destiny? An explosive novel of greed and lust, God and blood, Daughter of War marks the beginning of an epic new series from bestseller S. J. A. Turney. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden and Matthew Harffy. Praise for S.J.A. Turney'Turney has woven a tale of absolute escapism. The depth of detail and strong narrative tension lead to complete, blissful immersion' Gordon Doherty, author of the Legionary and Strategos series

An unputdownable historical epic

Daughter of War

Sade A

We have been scammed!!! 😒
2.5 Stars

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I want to state that the MAJOR reason i purchased this book was because it alluded to the fact that there were women who were templars and in this book they were going to be at the fore-front of things. So while i was expecting this:



I got nuns instead. Making matters worse was the fact that they don't even fight. 

  
    "No, i have never wielded the blade before you ask, i may command here with a fist of iron, but i am a woman, and that fist has never held a sword"
  

Which begs the question why the heck this is the cover of the book:


  More than bad books, i detest books & authors that deliberately misrepresent what their book and work is about. It's not fair and it's really just a rotten and shitty thing to do.


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Anyways now to the real plot of this book. This book is told from the singular PoV of Arnau of Vallbona. A lesser Knight pledged to the service of Berenguer Carvello de Santa Coloma. When trouble strikes in the form of (view spoiler)[the death of his liege, he's forced to flee with Titborga the daughter of his liege and her maid to avoid said daughter marrying an evil evil man who basically just want's her land and money. Fleeing leads them to Templars in Rourell and well like the good book says "the love of money is the root of all evil", fleeing to the house of God doesn't stop the villain from trying to get what he feels is rightfully his.... (hide spoiler)]

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The plot i felt was actually good but somehow in the execution it fell flat especially after it got to the second part of the book. While Arnau was rightly affected by events, Titborga whose character makes it possible for this plot to even exist, was virtually scrubbed out of the book by the 2nd part. You'd be hard pressed to find a speaking line for her which is a shame as she was introduced as someone fiery with back bone especially coming from a woman in that century.

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Character Development also suffered in this book. I could not in all honesty say that Arnau was a well rounded character. It was like joining the Templars scrubbed everyone of their individuality. People just went about doing everyday Templar things and praising God. Truly forgettable characters.

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  Would i recommend this book? In all honesty, No. 
S.J.A Turney, does not really delve into what it is meant to be Templars, either as women or otherwise. 
The fact that the characters happened to be Templars did not in anyway i feel, add any meaning to the plot. 

As far as i'm concerned, this book cheats readers out of what should otherwise be an exciting and at the very least a thought provoking look into what it was to be a woman leading a Templar house, a woman refusing to bow to the dictates of a male dominated society and carving her own part destiny. 
Instead we're stuck with the same old stories.

Janne Janssens

3.75*

"It is a sad fact that sometimes blind optimism overrides common sense." - Titborga

I never give another star rate than a whole or a half star. But 3.5* would be too low and 4* too high, so what else could I do?

I got the ARC of 'The Last Emir' on Netgalley, not knowing it was part two of the Knights Templar series. So I have read 'Daughter of War' in preparation for it, meaning I would have to read at least two books of this series, so it better be good.

And it was good. First of all I loved the writing style. The author gave enough descriptions and details to help you visualize the place where it all happened, but at the same time there was enough space to let your imagination run free about e.g. a character's look.
There is quite some dialogue, which I do not dislike. However, sometimes a dialogue became more a series of little monologues, which didn't feel naturally.

In my opinion, S.J.A. Turney chose the right place and time. Even though the main character was a male knigt and the order of Templars, which plays a big part in the story, is a man's world, the author chose to place a woman at the head of this certain perceptory in Spain, preceptrix Ermengarda. Also the second imporant female character Titborga, escaping a forged marriage by controling men, doesn't take the role of victim upon herself. She has her own will and doesn't accept to be commanded by men. Both women are based on real people from the history of the Templars.

I have been very positive about 'Daughter of War' so far, but still I don't think it deserves a full 4 stars. Here is why: even though S.J.A. is a master in lively describing battle scenes, the story wasn't a lot more than fighting scenes. The plot was an alternation of fighting, hiding in the preceptory, fighting again, and so on. I would have liked more variation in the plot.

However, I do look forward to read 'The Last Emir', the second part of this series! Because apart from this last comment on the plot, I really enjoyed the book.

Daughter of War An unputdownable historical epic

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