THE FIFTH DAUGHTER OF THORN RANCH

by

Julia Brewer Daily

Women’s Fiction / Contemporary Western / Family Saga

Publisher: Admission Press

Pages: 322 pages

Publication Date: November 1, 2022

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Emma Rosales is the heiress of the largest ranch in Texas—The Thorn. All the responsibilities of managing a million acres now fall into her fifth-generation hands.

A task Emma could handle with her eyes closed…if The Thorn were any ordinary property.

The Thorn is home to many things. Clear, cloudless skies. Miles of desert scrub and craggy mountains. A quiet disrupted only by whispers of the wind. And an ancient web of secrets won’t let Emma out alive without a fight.

The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch is a family saga as large as the state of Texas.

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Praise

“A delight to read.” —Theresa Kadair, Seattle Book Review

“Julia Daily builds a captivating world by letting her imagination lead the way. The result? A unique story that’s a little Wild West, a little old Mexico, a little ancient history, and a lot rebellious.” –Julie Cantrell, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Perennials

“A novel that combines mystery, suspense, adventure, and a romance that neither hardships nor time can erase between the main characters.” –Debra Holt, award-winning, multi-published Texas author of series such as The Tremaynes of Texas and The Lawmen Series.

“A dignified, passionate, and layered tale in a rugged yet picturesque landscape… This book testifies to the rewards of fighting for enduring connections between family members and home.” –RECOMMENDED, The US Review of Books

I didn’t want this book to end!

This is the second book I have read by this author, and both times I have been swept away by the characters, the breathtaking scenery, and the emotions that run through the book.

This story is told from two points of view – Emma and Josie.

Emma is a young yet strong woman. She is the heir to a ranch in Texas, but she wants more from life. She has grown up on Thorn Ranch, and some of the stories that are told of her antics reflect the type of woman she is in life. She may not have lived long, but she has seen a lot.

Josie is Emma’s mother. While we learn a little bit about her life growing up, what we see in this book is the devastation of potentially losing a child and how much she has wrapped up in her daughter. We also have a peek into the expectations that have been passed down from mother to daughter over the years in the form of the ranch.

There is so much wrapped up in this story that is told over a year’s time. Emma was out on the ranch and stumbled across a cave that led her into another world. This world is made up of a tribe called The People, who are insulated from the modern world, and for some reason, haven’t been discovered before now. Their lifestyle is rudimentary, but it is what they know, and it is very different than anything Emma has ever experienced. Emma, being Emma, tries to escape to go back home, but they won’t let her. I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t, other than perhaps not wanting to be discovered by anyone else. They lived a peaceful life and didn’t want to bring turmoil into the mix.

I was captivated by Emma’s experiences with The People, and how she never gave up trying to go home. She discovered a lot about herself and this tribe of people. It wasn’t an easy time, but I could see her mettle throughout. My heart hurt for Josie. She didn’t know what had happened to Emma, but she never gave up hope or the search for her daughter. But this hope was detrimental because she couldn’t focus on anything else. This was a danger to her since she wasn’t taking care of her own needs.

This author knows how to draw me into her stories and picture myself on this ranch, experiencing what all of the characters experienced. While this book ended well, it left me with many questions. I won’t share those questions because it would give away part of the story. I hope the author decides to share more of Emma’s story in a future novel.

This was such an enjoyable book, and we give it 5 paws up.

Julia Brewer Daily is a Texan with a southern accent. She holds a B.S. in English and a M.S. degree in Education from the University of Southern Mississippi.

She has been a Communications Adjunct Professor at Belhaven University, Jackson, Mississippi, and Public Relations Director of the Mississippi Department of Education and Millsaps College, a liberal arts college in Jackson, MS.

She was the founding director of the Greater Belhaven Market, a producers’ only market in a historic neighborhood in Jackson, and even shadowed Martha Stewart.

As the Executive Director of the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi (300 artisans from 19 states) which operates the Mississippi Craft Center, she wrote their stories to introduce them to the public.

She is a member of the Writers’ League of Texas, the Women Fiction Writers’ Association, Women Writing the West, and the Pulpwood Queens Book Club.

A lifelong southerner, she now resides on a ranch in Fredericksburg, Texas, with her husband Emmerson and Labrador retrievers, Memphis Belle and Texas Star.

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