Second Daughter

by A.E. Mann

Kora's family has a secret.

Food, Flowers, and Family—that's all Kora wanted from life. Then a mysterious stranger tried to buy aconite from her flower shop and launched her on an adventure of uncovering the secrets within her family, her world, and herself.

A quest she never wanted,
a love she never expected,
and a truth she never knew.

Explicit content. 18+ ONLY. This novel deals with many hard and uncomfortable themes, such as violence, physical abuse, familial manipulation, and sexual assault. There are many instances where characters use a knife to make themselves or others bleed, which can be triggering for self-harm survivors.

531 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 18, 2025

About the author

Abby "A. E." Mann (she/they) is an author, editor, astrologer, and chaotic house witch. With over a decade of editing experience in academic, professional, fiction, and poetry, Abby spends more time thinking about commas than is healthy. Other things considered too often include, but is in no way limited to: coffee, flowers, Saturn, the gender binary, the historical ramifications of Alexander the Great, and cats.

Reviews

[Jessica Marksbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an interesting storyline and unique setting of the magic system. A.E. Mann has set us up in a world much like earth that has gone through a dystopian level War of Wars that has sent us back technology wise. There is a large and diverse cast with 4 main POVS that we bounce between. These characters come with deep trauma rooted in a vast history that we have only started to dive into. Our FMC is an unreliable narrator who is learning that sometimes you can't even trust your family when the secrets run so deep.

I'm excited to see where this story goes, it is best to go in blind which is why this review is so short and vague. The reason this is a 4/5 star review is because it did take me a bit to get into the story, I felt like some of the reactions were not truly believable, the romance was quick, Kora easily forgiving for something that shouldn't be so forgivable. I'm usually not a fan of insta-love which is what this more leans on. But this story definitely has promise and I feel the world and the relationships are going to get more complicated and expanded as the series progresses.

Thank you A.E. Mann for the chance to ARC read in exchange for an honest review

[MicaylaTheBookDragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book! Second Daughter is set in a wonderful fantasy world that still has modern touches. It has a large and diverse cast of characters with wonderful found family elements. I loved the sizzling banter and chemistry between the characters. Some of the characters carry some heavy trauma that we have barely scratched the surface of, but the lighthearted moments they experienced made the story that much sweeter. I am intrigued by the magic and mythology of this story. I cannot wait for the next installment!

Thank you to @aemannauthor for the advanced eARC.

[Desiree Hiatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I…well…I don’t know. This was ok for me. I considered 2-star, but I don’t think that’s fair. I received an advance copy and immediately dove in, but I must’ve had too many other things going on in my head and with other books that I couldn’t fully invest. I can very rarely DNF and Ziya carried this for me once introduced lol. I fully intend to reread in time for the next release and re-evaluate my review. It just took me a really long time to get through but the story and characters are really interesting!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book!! There were so many twists and turns in the book, and I loved all the different types of magical beings in the book. Witch, vampire, nymph,demons, and the sub-beings within them. There is so much going on!!! I love the romance between our FMC and MMC. The background stories of many of the characters are sad or complicated, which is nice and gives them depth and reliability. There are so many unanswered questions I have for the next book. On the spice scale, I would give it a 2.5 🌶🌶 personally, but i found it the perfect amount of romance and spice!
4.5 🌟

[Kaitlin C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the world and character building that takes place. I also adored Kora and felt like she was extremely relatable.
I loved my ARC and can’t wait for more!!