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Daughters of Light #1
The Castle & the Cloister
Not yet published
Expected 4 Aug 26The Priory of the Orange Tree meets Black Sun in the thrilling launch of a political fantasy duology following three people—a wet nurse, a heretic queen, and a priest—as they attempt to shape the fortunes of a continent shattered by war.
Two hundred years ago, the warmongering Inver clan conquered the nation of Honoria, suppressing its pacifist goddesses, and ushering in an era of blood and battles. Now, after a brief but fraught peace, a king’s whims threaten to reignite the engines of war.
At the sun goddess Raea’s cloister, the last stronghold of Honoria’s matriarchal religion, Fia and her infant daughter are in search of a safe haven. Fia aims to offer her child more than the poverty and abuse she was raised with, but the price of the cloister’s protection will tear her from what she loves most and thrust her into a game more complex than she could imagine.
Within the Invers’ mountain fortress, Ariana is known as the apostate queen. Once a follower of the goddess of stars, she left her faith for the sake of a king. But old loyalties are not easily severed. Ariana treads a dangerous path, striving for peace in a court made for conquest.
Deep in the heart of the mountain, the Inver Priest bides his time, presiding over his people’s brutal religion. Blinded in the fight for the throne, he harbors a bitter grudge—one that could lead to Honoria’s ruin or renewal.
Amid a treacherous landscape of enemies, allies, and intrigue, three lives will intertwine. Each will have to risk the wrath of gods and kings alike to alter the course of nations.
Two hundred years ago, the warmongering Inver clan conquered the nation of Honoria, suppressing its pacifist goddesses, and ushering in an era of blood and battles. Now, after a brief but fraught peace, a king’s whims threaten to reignite the engines of war.
At the sun goddess Raea’s cloister, the last stronghold of Honoria’s matriarchal religion, Fia and her infant daughter are in search of a safe haven. Fia aims to offer her child more than the poverty and abuse she was raised with, but the price of the cloister’s protection will tear her from what she loves most and thrust her into a game more complex than she could imagine.
Within the Invers’ mountain fortress, Ariana is known as the apostate queen. Once a follower of the goddess of stars, she left her faith for the sake of a king. But old loyalties are not easily severed. Ariana treads a dangerous path, striving for peace in a court made for conquest.
Deep in the heart of the mountain, the Inver Priest bides his time, presiding over his people’s brutal religion. Blinded in the fight for the throne, he harbors a bitter grudge—one that could lead to Honoria’s ruin or renewal.
Amid a treacherous landscape of enemies, allies, and intrigue, three lives will intertwine. Each will have to risk the wrath of gods and kings alike to alter the course of nations.
448 pages, Paperback
Expected publication August 4, 2026
663 people want to read
About the author
Laura E. Weymouth
8 books697 followersLaura Weymouth is a Canadian living in America, and the sixth consecutive generation of her family to immigrate from one country to another. Born and raised in the Niagara region of Ontario, she now lives at the edge of the woods in western New York, along with her husband, three wild-hearted daughters, an unruly garden, and an ever-expanding menagerie of animal friends.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
3.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
Orden Inver, the unexpected heir to his family's bloody lineage, is engaged in two wars at once. The Inver's violent gods are at odds with the peaceful religion of the rest of the land, but Orden's violence is held in check by his wife Ariana, who balances her own desires for peace with love of her husband. When Ariana gives birth, her old friend Fia is manipulated into coming to her aid.
Review
I’m a little conflicted in how I feel about this book. It was very competently put together, but with some important flaws, yet redeemed itself in part toward the end.
Technically, in many ways, it was one of the strongest debut novels I’ve seen. The prose is strong, the characters carefully thought out, the emotional highs and lows well placed, the world credible. There’s a lot that’s good about it, and I can add to that an ending that in many ways supported emotional impact rather than Hollywood happiness.
At the same time time, there were some weaknesses. While the world building is well done – clearly deep, but never piled on as dressing – some aspects needed more balance. For example, there are two opposed religions, but one is clearly depicted as the true and honest religion, while the other is evil and venal. In a book that seems in many ways to strive for accuracy, that kind of black and white delineation rings false. That’s true of some of the characters as well – Ariana in particular, while assigned a few token flaws, is too pure for words, and simply doesn’t fit in a world where everyone makes pragmatic compromises left and right. Her complement, Fia, is more credible, but comes across as remarkably flat for someone making such difficult decisions. I read Fia as being much more in service of the plot than as a fully developed character, which is a serious problem in her role as the story’s hinge pin. The story’s main villain is irritatingly two dimensional. These character weaknesses are all the more unfortunate in a story that so clearly was trying to make them credible. Fia at one point betrays someone for seemingly no other real purpose than to betray them – there’s a given story reason, but it’s a thin reed. A few characters are so incredibly convenient that they undermine the story, with only one given a rationale for being so.
There’s also far too much politics in the story for my taste – realistic, but not interesting, in the same way that Katherine Kurtz’ Deryni stories got off track (and were famously called out by Ursula Le Guin). More troubling to me was a continuing S&M-flavored thread of misogyny and submission that was not at all to my taste. There were quite a few moments that I found genuinely repellent, and not only from the designated villains.
Formatting-wise, it was mildly irritating that it takes a long while to get to the actual story – working past page after page of praise, an author’s note that while interesting should have been an afterword, etc. There were only a few typos that will hopefully have been cleaned up by the time this is published.
While this mostly looks to stand as a complete novel on its own, the final chapter and epilogue say ‘sequel’ in big, flashing letters. It could be interesting, but I do think there’s a risk that story will double down on this one’s flaws. For the time being, if you’re interested in a credible, interesting world with complex but sometimes simply drawn characters, try this out.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
Summary
Orden Inver, the unexpected heir to his family's bloody lineage, is engaged in two wars at once. The Inver's violent gods are at odds with the peaceful religion of the rest of the land, but Orden's violence is held in check by his wife Ariana, who balances her own desires for peace with love of her husband. When Ariana gives birth, her old friend Fia is manipulated into coming to her aid.
Review
I’m a little conflicted in how I feel about this book. It was very competently put together, but with some important flaws, yet redeemed itself in part toward the end.
Technically, in many ways, it was one of the strongest debut novels I’ve seen. The prose is strong, the characters carefully thought out, the emotional highs and lows well placed, the world credible. There’s a lot that’s good about it, and I can add to that an ending that in many ways supported emotional impact rather than Hollywood happiness.
At the same time time, there were some weaknesses. While the world building is well done – clearly deep, but never piled on as dressing – some aspects needed more balance. For example, there are two opposed religions, but one is clearly depicted as the true and honest religion, while the other is evil and venal. In a book that seems in many ways to strive for accuracy, that kind of black and white delineation rings false. That’s true of some of the characters as well – Ariana in particular, while assigned a few token flaws, is too pure for words, and simply doesn’t fit in a world where everyone makes pragmatic compromises left and right. Her complement, Fia, is more credible, but comes across as remarkably flat for someone making such difficult decisions. I read Fia as being much more in service of the plot than as a fully developed character, which is a serious problem in her role as the story’s hinge pin. The story’s main villain is irritatingly two dimensional. These character weaknesses are all the more unfortunate in a story that so clearly was trying to make them credible. Fia at one point betrays someone for seemingly no other real purpose than to betray them – there’s a given story reason, but it’s a thin reed. A few characters are so incredibly convenient that they undermine the story, with only one given a rationale for being so.
There’s also far too much politics in the story for my taste – realistic, but not interesting, in the same way that Katherine Kurtz’ Deryni stories got off track (and were famously called out by Ursula Le Guin). More troubling to me was a continuing S&M-flavored thread of misogyny and submission that was not at all to my taste. There were quite a few moments that I found genuinely repellent, and not only from the designated villains.
Formatting-wise, it was mildly irritating that it takes a long while to get to the actual story – working past page after page of praise, an author’s note that while interesting should have been an afterword, etc. There were only a few typos that will hopefully have been cleaned up by the time this is published.
While this mostly looks to stand as a complete novel on its own, the final chapter and epilogue say ‘sequel’ in big, flashing letters. It could be interesting, but I do think there’s a risk that story will double down on this one’s flaws. For the time being, if you’re interested in a credible, interesting world with complex but sometimes simply drawn characters, try this out.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I was given an advance reader copy of The Castle and the Cloister for an honest review. This is Book #1 of The Daughters of Light Duology – releases August 2026.
This book was great! I love character driven stories that also bring action, intrigue, and immersive world building. The plot moves with and through the internal motivations of the characters giving it depth and purpose. Two of the main character’s (Fia and Ariana) are strong parental figures showing the physical and emotional challenges of negotiating the religious, political, romantic, moral, and other aspects within themselves and the kingdoms they are trying to influence or save while balancing their number one motivation – the well-being of their child and the world they live in. I love these two and how they are portrayed. When characters have layers, it keeps me reading.
The setting has thoughtful deep world building – with each region within this world feeling real and lived in. The areas have a purpose (not just window dressing) that lends connection to the characters in the story. For me, some of the regions were characters unto themselves.
I knew this story was part of a duology, so I was curious as to how this book would end and lead into the second book. The author did not disappoint and I’m looking forward to the next part of this story.
I highly recommend giving this a read.
This book was great! I love character driven stories that also bring action, intrigue, and immersive world building. The plot moves with and through the internal motivations of the characters giving it depth and purpose. Two of the main character’s (Fia and Ariana) are strong parental figures showing the physical and emotional challenges of negotiating the religious, political, romantic, moral, and other aspects within themselves and the kingdoms they are trying to influence or save while balancing their number one motivation – the well-being of their child and the world they live in. I love these two and how they are portrayed. When characters have layers, it keeps me reading.
The setting has thoughtful deep world building – with each region within this world feeling real and lived in. The areas have a purpose (not just window dressing) that lends connection to the characters in the story. For me, some of the regions were characters unto themselves.
I knew this story was part of a duology, so I was curious as to how this book would end and lead into the second book. The author did not disappoint and I’m looking forward to the next part of this story.
I highly recommend giving this a read.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Rating 4.5
The Castle & the Cloister literally takes place in the fragile space between two powerful symbols, the weight of the crown and the hush of a postulant’s prayers. This isn’t a sweeping fantasy of sprawling realms that demands a gilded map and a glossary to navigate. Instead, Weymouth offers something quieter and far more intimate. We are given an atmosphere thick with history, where every stone seems to remember the past. The world feels forged by conquest, ancient and taut with tension, burdened by the relentless struggle between faith and oppression.
This is not a plot-heavy fantasy, there are no large-scale battles with rapid political twists or an Intricate magic system so be aware going in. This is character-driven fantasy that is gradual, lingering and restrained. Much of the high stakes drama unfolds internally with emotional and spiritually with the external stakes sometimes feeling muted compared to the internal ones. The writing is really well done and really quite beautiful without feeling forced or overdone.
Overall, I found The Castle & the Cloister thoughtfulI to be a political fantasy that wrestle with faith and identity and is thoughtful, atmospheric, and quietly powerful.
The Castle & the Cloister literally takes place in the fragile space between two powerful symbols, the weight of the crown and the hush of a postulant’s prayers. This isn’t a sweeping fantasy of sprawling realms that demands a gilded map and a glossary to navigate. Instead, Weymouth offers something quieter and far more intimate. We are given an atmosphere thick with history, where every stone seems to remember the past. The world feels forged by conquest, ancient and taut with tension, burdened by the relentless struggle between faith and oppression.
This is not a plot-heavy fantasy, there are no large-scale battles with rapid political twists or an Intricate magic system so be aware going in. This is character-driven fantasy that is gradual, lingering and restrained. Much of the high stakes drama unfolds internally with emotional and spiritually with the external stakes sometimes feeling muted compared to the internal ones. The writing is really well done and really quite beautiful without feeling forced or overdone.
Overall, I found The Castle & the Cloister thoughtfulI to be a political fantasy that wrestle with faith and identity and is thoughtful, atmospheric, and quietly powerful.
Review of advance copy received from Author
When I tell you that this book has stayed with me, I mean it.
Here are my official thoughts: At once achingly sweet and lavishly dark, Weymouth deftly weaves a tale of war, love, sacrifice and devotion. Add in poignant portrayals of motherhood and faith, and The Castle and the Cloister brings something truly human and honest to the adult fantasy landscape.
Here are my official thoughts: At once achingly sweet and lavishly dark, Weymouth deftly weaves a tale of war, love, sacrifice and devotion. Add in poignant portrayals of motherhood and faith, and The Castle and the Cloister brings something truly human and honest to the adult fantasy landscape.
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January 28, 2026Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Every character felt complex and interesting. The setting is seemingly simple at first, but I love how fleshed out and immersive it becomes. Book 2 can't come soon enough!
October 20, 2025
Literally my magnum opus. It took me twelve years to perfect this story, and I cannot WAIT to share it with all of you!!!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews