Julia Brewer Daily’s ‘The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch’ Is an Unexpected Delight [REVIEW]

She may be a recent college graduate, but her life is about to change in ways even she did not expect. Soon, she is about to face off with the past on the sprawling Texas ranch where she grew up. As a result, she will come to know the land better than anyone in her family could have ever hoped. But at what cost? And will these ghosts of the past be her downfall or her salvation? Find out in Julia Brewer Daily’s The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch.

Texas is a big place, and the Thorn is the largest privately owned ranch in the state. Comprised of a million acres, it would be a big responsibility for anyone to take care of, but especially for Emma Rosales, the recent college graduate and heiress destined to become the fifth generation of women who stand watch over the property with an eagle’s eye.

As she explores the more desolate parts of the ranch, she encounters a fantastical portal to the past, one that will unveil long kept secrets and educate her about the very land her family owns. But the truth she learns may become the very trap that holds her captive, binding her forever to the people who populated the plains before a Rosales ancestor ever walked the land.

Will she learn how to break free from the past’s tenacious grip and return to the arms of her heartbroken mother, a woman desperately searching for any clues that indicate what happened to her beloved child?

The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch is one of those novels that is far more than what it originally appears to be. Sure, it is an adventure of sorts, one which delights us with its clear, crisp prose and engaging characters.

Upon first picking up this book, however, may expect it to be more akin to something Janet Daily would have written for her Calder family saga. Instead, this story catches us off guard and drags us deep inside its gaping maw, willing prisoners bewitched by a skilled scribe who wields her pen like a sorceress does her wand.

As the Rosales women tell us their spellbinding story from various points of view, they manage to keep us riveted for the entire unforgettable ride, always eager to learn what happens next. Powerful, insightful, and wonderfully alluring, The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch is an unexpected surprise, one that will resonate with fans of both Paulette Jiles’ rich storytelling prowess and Diana Gabaldon’s imaginative Outlander series.