Daughter of the Reef

Ancient Tahiti #1

by Clare Coleman

From Jean M. Auel's THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR to Linda Lay Shuler's SHE WHO REMEMBERS, novels set among pre-historic cultures have shown a very strong appeal to readers of all types from fans of genre fantasy to historical to romance. E-Reads is pleased to offer a three-volume series--An Epic of Ancient Tahiti. In the first volume, DAUGHTER OF THE REEF, Tepua, the daughter of a chief sails from her coral atoll home toward her planned, and ritually mandated, marriage. But she never reaches her destination because a violent storm damages her vessel and leaves her stranded on the shores of Tahiti, a land previously unknown to her. She is made unwelcome because of her foreignness and is victimized because of her weakness and innocence, but her spirit is strong and her will to survive and thrive is boundless. The world of Tahiti is very different from the one she has known, beautiful, savage and mystical by turns. But she is determined to build herself a new life and, in the process, she will change the destiny of all for generations to come. Look for the second and third volumes in the series, SISTER OF THE REEF and CHILD OF THE DAWN.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Prehistory, Historical, Adult Fiction, Prehistoric, Romance

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1992

About the author

Clare Coleman is the pseudonym used by co-authors Clare Bell and M. Coleman Easton.

Reviews

[Lewaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this at least once a year(the trilogy). I've been reading it since I was 19.

I'm from Fiji and it's a rare find when you come across rich ancestral stories from the South Pacific and better yet it's steeped in politics, romance, survival and culture.

Tepua's character in so special you begin this journey with her and watch her evolve to survive and it's such a treat. Clare Coleman is amazeballs

[Ishtar Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daughter of the Reef is a book after my own heart!

The main character struggles again society and her own heart as she is torn left and right through this twist and turn tropical story. Rich detail, powerful character development, and a complex non-linear story bring ancient Tahiti to life!

The book takes place in the unspoiled times before Polynesia was discovered and despoiled by western explorers. Extreme detail was placed into each page to bring this love story and complex coming of age tale alive. The attention to historical detail and authenticity is superb, while the reader is carefully acquainted with new terms and complex names. The author's use of a rich and complex vocabulary raises the bar on novels, banishing the mundane. Yet, the context of each scene is richly painted allowing for no confusion of meaning.

Funny and serious, sad and beaming, the main character is full of life! Her thoughts are those of a youth, full of confusion, second guessing, and sudden certainty. I devoted every waking hour of free time reading the book from cover to cover, and I am glad to find that two more books in this series remain.

[Katie M · Rating 1 out of 5]

A not-especially-interesting protagonist, and two very different but both unlikeable men for love interests. Skip it.

[GollyRojer · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a child, I read a Reader's Digest condensed book form of chapter 2 of James A. Michener's book Hawaii, in which some 7th-century inhabitants of Bora Bora leave by canoe for Hawaii to start a new life. It was a fascinating, absorbing read, wherein I identified with multiple characters and rooted for the journey's success. The impression it made still remains. From the description of Daughter of the Reef, it seemed I had found a similar book or series. This turned out not to be the case.

World-building: the storyline never expanded out to give a feel for the general "lay of the land", a broad perspective from which to consider the events of the storyline. For example, I know from reading that there was royalty, a priesthood, and a guild of performers called Arioi, and that fishermen were viewed with scorn by all of these. But I know nothing else of Tahitian society from this book. How did business and commerce take place? What was the structure of their caste system? While the royalty was being royal and the priests were being priestly and the Arioi were Arioing, what was the rest of the population up to? We don't know because we never get to see them. Although one of the main characters is a fisherman, we only see fishing once, and that from a distance. The focus remained always on one main character or another and specifically what was happening with them at that moment.

Authenticity: kudos to the author for the research and preparation that went into this book/series. I checked some of the terms used and found them to be authentic and accurately applied; for example, the properly spelled/pronounced "tapu" rather than our modern-day derivative, "taboo". A few things bothered me, however. There was no continuity of naming convention. Some names are descriptive, like "Scratches-and-Sniffs", and others are phonetic, like "Oongawa" (these are not actually from the book). But worse yet, at one point the high priest is praying and he says, "Hearken, O gods, to thy worshippers!" Wait... did prehistoric Tahitians speak 16th century English? Or did they maybe have their own anachronistic language which through superstition and ignorance was believed to be the proper way to address one's gods?

Suspension of disbelief: I loved the authenticity of the book and so was let down when religious events were presented as supernatural. An idol takes on the spirit of the god it represents and its appearance changes; a basket of highly sacred feathers momentarily blinds a person who peers into it; a person in a trance is literally displaced in his body by a malevolent god. This caused an uncomfortable attitude adjustment as I switched from "all this could have happened" to "oh... we're in fantasyland now."

Sadly, I never came to identify with, or even care about any of the characters. Pretty much everyone is an asshole, and personal growth doesn't occur to any noticeable degree. In fact, late in the story when a vain, selfish character stops behaving greedily, it all happens between the end of one chapter and the start of the next: we come back and time has passed and now he's behaving.

It's a great premise for a story. I just was expecting so much more.

[Helen Pugsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

CW/TW: Sexual assualt
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Took off a star for every time the main character was raped. Sorry, not my kink.
This was billed to me as a romance novel. Probably another female author who was forced to classify their books as romance in order to get published. Which is also Hella gross!
Really, the only reason I didn't toss it out was because it was so historically accurate [to the best of my knowledge]. I never knew anything about Tahiti but it was cool to learn. REALLY did not like the part where she would've been put to death for being raped. You know, by an asshole named Tangled-Net. (So many red flags) So it kind of made rape a plot device. ICK.
All in all
Tahiti: YAAAAS BITCH
Sexual assult: BLECK
Even the one time it was mostly consensual it started out as "Omigob, stoooooooooooooooooooooooop. UwU" so I counted it. It just wasn't her idea and it kinda felt like "Might as well enjoy it."
Anyway, I'm going to yeet this out of my collection.

[Your Common House Bat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have some mixed feelings about this book; I adore the premise and the world was vivid and lush. Coleman's prose are immersive and left me itching for the beach, warm weather, and summer. I liked Tepua as a narrator, she is bold and daring and seeing from her POV was cool.

However I am not fond of rape scenes. I can stomach it once (if even) but this girl was raped several times over and it got somewhat hard to read. Because of that I hated all of the 'love interests'. Tbh pretty much all of the men in this book were deplorable which took away some of my enjoyment which is why I gave the book 3 stars instead of 5.

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daughter of the Reef by Clare Coleman is the first book in the Ancient Tahiti series. Daughter of an island chief, Tepua, on her way to an arranged marriage, survives a shipwreck and is washed up on Tahiti. This is the story of her survival in a new unfamiliar place. An interesting story and I enjoyed learning about the ancient polynesian culture and beliefs. I read this for a Moana retelling and although not usually a book that I would have chosn, enjoyed the journey.

[Michael Brunson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good read.

Predictability was the only reason it did not get five stars. The reason it got the four stars is for its interesting history of Tahitian Culture given in a pleasing story line. I would recommend for teens and up. Now, I look forward to the other books in the series. I hope you enjoy this book as well.

[Josette Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved books about ancient people and their culture.. this book did not disappoint. I found it as a recommendation. The story flowed smoothly and I loved Tepua. Such a strong female willing to stand up in a society where class and ethnicity were important. I look forward to more of her adventures.

[Brooke Penney · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my absolute favorite series. The first "adult" book I'd ever read. I've reread this trilogy so many times I had to purchase the first one again because my original started losing pages. It's my go-to reread when I'm feeling down.

[Gale Laroche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

This is a well written book that will hold your interest from page one to the end of the story. I am eager to read the sequel!

[Tessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although it's always fun to read historical fiction about an unusual time period (and I think Coleman did her research) this book just...wasn't good.

[Carole Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me a little bit of time to get through, because the beginning was slow, but after about 30 pages it got better. Drama ensued and it made the story better. I was at first really, really worried this was soley going to be a boring ol' story, but there is a lot at play. There is a love triangle, political intrigue, and a growing into a woman story. Some parts where very, very dry, but the not dry parts did make up for it sort of.

I actually didn't mind the love triangle. Crazy, right? It wasn't over-the-top and it wasn't annoying. It didn't take over the whole story. Honestly, though, I knew who she was going to pick after a certain event and plus she would be a fool to pick a certain someone. Okay...after a while, it was no longer a love story - the one boy was trying to fight for her, but she was not having it because he was an idiot and did stupid things. Idiot.

ANYWAYS

It was a fun adventure. It was certainly an interesting location and I'm glad I saved this for winter time. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, I wanna go to the beach and be all warm and stuff. I def recommend this to those that want a huge change of scenery in their reading especially to escape for a moment from the cold.

The ending....now THAT was a twist I did not see coming. Honestly, I don't know what made Tepua change her mind. I was lost on that front. I think the author forgot to mention her change of her somewhere, because I thought her one ultimate goal was set in stone if occasion arised. Did I miss her change of heart? Mmmmmmmm....

ANYWAYS

In the end, this was certainly a good shake-up in my reading. It was a good way to end the year. :) A nice book about love, politics, the ancient world, and a girl turning into a woman story. I liked how it ended, so I'll have to see what the second book in the series is about (I hope its about a different character or something - because I liked the ending Tepua got). I do recommend this to those that like historical fiction and are looking for a change up in their reading. Well, I shall stamp the last book of the year with 3 stars.

Favorite Character(s): Tepua & Tepua's sister-in-law (I can't remember the names that well lol)
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Tepua's brother & the main bad guy

[Anastaciaknits · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daughter of the Reef shares the tale of Tepua, a chieftain's daughter, who's on her way to a different island to get married to a man she doesn't know, and ends up almost drowned. The book starts off nicely, with some background setting the scene and the characters, but ends up being too slow paced for me.

I didn't like the pacing very much the first half of the book, but enjoyed the story line enough to keep on going for the first half of the book, but by the halfway mark, I just wanted the novel to be over.

There was a little too much romance and not enough historical detail for me, and the pacing was just so slow, and I didn't feel the characters were drawn enough to really get to know them or care about their lives. I really wanted to like this book, as I really enjoy other, similar novels and I don't think I've ever read a novel set in Tahiti before, but I wanted to learn about the culture and the people, and that was sadly lacking.

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I was asked to read and review this book by the publishing company, received a free copy of this book to review but was not paid for my thoughts or review

[Faith King · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so good! I liked how it threw me back to ancient Tahiti and to a way of life that has no resemblance to how (my) life is now. I loved the details, from their staple food, to fishing methods, beliefs, and governance! I enjoyed the characters as well—strong women who do not take sh*t from anyone/anything are totally my thing! :D

I have to mention, having grown up in a Catholic-majority country where there is traditionally a lot of anxiety about sex, that I found refreshing how sexually free the characters were. Sure Tepua mourned losing her virginity, but that was more because she was raped and her royal status demanded that she remain a virgin until she produced a son for her husband (after which she would be free to do as she pleased). It makes me wonder how people in my country viewed chastity/fidelity before we were first colonised.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy historical fiction so I finished this, but there were some major plot issues that confused me - why Tepua went from desperately wanting to get home to desperately wanting to avoid home, as well as there was little to no development of the relationship between Tepua and Rimapoa - it seemed to fall into an intimate physical relationship without build up. As well, there was a handful of typos which could be jarring.

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this whole series. It is very rare for me to read something twice but this saga was so detailed and the images of this ancient time so interesting that once I finished the last in the series I couldn't wait to read it again.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I can't wait to read the next 2 in the series! I love all things Polynesian as I grew up with Polynesian dancing and so I was able to understand how their culture works (arranged marriages, the importance of dance). Just a great story overall!

[Ruby Tickle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for beach time and really any other time also. I got lost in the islands and felt connected with these characters. I would have gave an additional star if the romance would have been more abundant.

[Polly Krize · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in ancient Tahiti, Tepua finds herself stranded in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by the unknown. Through her strong values and generous personality, she finds her path. A wonderful read about times past, and I look forward to the second and third volumes.

[Rob]

Fascinating look at a historical culture that most people know little about. A strong woman character. Plenty of romance and adventure. Reminds me of She-Who-Remembers.

[Victoria Angelone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really was one of the best books I've read in a LONG time.