A hundred years after disappearing, Isolde mysteriously reappears on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. The daughter of a powerful member of a magical race, the Tuatha Dé Danann, and part of a prophesy to overcome their age-old enemies, the Fomorians, it comes as a shock when Isolde has no powers of her own. Giftless, she is extremely vulnerable to the power-hungry, fire-wielding Fomorians who know she's the only one standing in their way.
Meanwhile, the Fomorians, having spent the last century hiding and surviving among the upper classes of Europe, turn their sights back to Ireland. Despite their growing numbers, they have been away a long time, and to regain their footing they'll need to catch up with the changing political landscape amidst the Norman Invasion.
Lawless manages to do something with this book that few authors can do: revisit and expand a well-established world with a new cast of unique characters. Not to mention, she does this all while balancing a real-world setting and intricate historical politics. That being said, I wouldn't pick this book to start reading these series' with. While I found myself just as enraptured with the Ireland she builds in this book as with the Ireland of the Gael Song Trilogy, with the added benefit that many of the characters also had to get re-acquainted with the many changes that a new century brings, much of the story relies on at least some knowledge of past plots and characters.
In terms of a new cast of characters, it felt as though some development had to take somewhat of a backseat as Lawless set up the story arc. A few, especially those introduced towards the end of the book blended together. Hopefully we see them again in more detail later on. The main cast of characters, featuring some new and some familiar faces was wonderful to meet. Isolde, among others, stood out as fresh and different. Characters from Gael Song have grown since that series, but are coming up against new arcs and emotional journeys.
If I had to critique the book at all, it would be that Isolde, while unique in relation to the previous series, is partially a re-hashing of familiar tropes. A teenage girl foretold by prophecy to overcome some kind of ultimate evil is a well-trodden path in many YA stories. That includes some choices Isolde makes which seem to come out of no where. At once I think having something familiar is useful for a story that drops you in the middle of a tense and complicated historical setting, but also I hope that Lawless twists her character into something more interesting in the next book. Fódla and Gormflaith were like no female characters I've ever read before and I'd like to see more along their lines.
All in all, Daughter of the Otherworld was a beautiful follow-up to what I consider one of my favourite trilogies of all time and I can't wait to see where Shauna Lawless takes each and every one of the characters. (But especially Cuan!)
Hope you guys check this or Children of Gods and Fighting Men (Book #1 of the Gael Song Trilogy)!
Thanks, Aleks
Book Information
Title: Daughter of the Otherworld
Author: Shauna Lawless
Published: 11 November 2025
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Format: digital, reviewed through NetGalley
Pages: 480
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