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Daughter of Rage and Ruin
294 pages, Hardcover
Published February 4, 2026
About the author
K.B. Hoyle
17 books271 followersK. B. Hoyle’s love of good stories began when she stepped through a wardrobe at age six, and she never looked back. She is the multiple award-winning Young Adult author of THE GATEWAY CHRONICLES fantasy series, THE BREEDER CYCLE dystopian series, The Fairytale Collection, and more.
In addition to her many novels, K. B. Hoyle is the co-founder and CEO of Owl's Nest Publishers, an independent press specializing in books that capture the imagination of adolescents. She is also a sought-after voice in the areas of storytelling and culture, and she has contributed articles and essays to a variety of publications. Her speaking resume includes keynote addresses, leading writing workshops, and international experience as a featured panelist at the 2013 Sydney Writers' Festival.
K. B. Hoyle stays busy at her home in Wisconsin on a winding creek with her husband, their four sons, and the variety of wildlife that frequent their land.
For more information on K. B. Hoyle, visit her website at kbhoyle.com or find her around social media at @kbhoyle.author on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads. Email her at author@kbhoyle.com.
In addition to her many novels, K. B. Hoyle is the co-founder and CEO of Owl's Nest Publishers, an independent press specializing in books that capture the imagination of adolescents. She is also a sought-after voice in the areas of storytelling and culture, and she has contributed articles and essays to a variety of publications. Her speaking resume includes keynote addresses, leading writing workshops, and international experience as a featured panelist at the 2013 Sydney Writers' Festival.
K. B. Hoyle stays busy at her home in Wisconsin on a winding creek with her husband, their four sons, and the variety of wildlife that frequent their land.
For more information on K. B. Hoyle, visit her website at kbhoyle.com or find her around social media at @kbhoyle.author on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads. Email her at author@kbhoyle.com.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 16, 2026
This newest addition to K.B. Hoyle’s Fairytale Collection is as fabulous as the rest! 👏
I thoroughly loved this wonderful retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk. I am amazed yet again by Hoyle’s skill to retell a fairytale in a way that is original, clever, completely captivating, and perfect for teens.
As with all the books in this series, we encounter characters we’ve met in previous stories and also find ourselves greatly attached to the newest ones.
In the Daughter of Rage and Ruin, Jack is consumed with guilt over the death of her sister and willing to take any risk to make up for it. (I loved the gender swap with this character!) Quil is a prince who is forgotten and without purpose. Together they unite to conquer danger and giants and magic beans while discovering sweet love along the way.
While this is a fairytale retelling and a story of adventure, it is also one of depth about overcoming fears, insecurities, regrets and choosing to love and forgive and heal.
I highly recommend this entire collection! You can definitely read each of them on their own, but it is especially fun to read them in publication order to experience the depth of the overlapping characters and storylines.
Loved this!
I thoroughly loved this wonderful retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk. I am amazed yet again by Hoyle’s skill to retell a fairytale in a way that is original, clever, completely captivating, and perfect for teens.
As with all the books in this series, we encounter characters we’ve met in previous stories and also find ourselves greatly attached to the newest ones.
In the Daughter of Rage and Ruin, Jack is consumed with guilt over the death of her sister and willing to take any risk to make up for it. (I loved the gender swap with this character!) Quil is a prince who is forgotten and without purpose. Together they unite to conquer danger and giants and magic beans while discovering sweet love along the way.
While this is a fairytale retelling and a story of adventure, it is also one of depth about overcoming fears, insecurities, regrets and choosing to love and forgive and heal.
I highly recommend this entire collection! You can definitely read each of them on their own, but it is especially fun to read them in publication order to experience the depth of the overlapping characters and storylines.
Loved this!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I am so honored to have received an ARC of Daughter of Rage and Ruin! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
We're thrown right into the story of Jack, a 13 year old girl whose sister, Ruby, was killed by the giant Galifron. Jack blames herself for her sister's death and would do anything to get her back. So when the Crone of Cruror tells her climbing the giant's tower, retrieving a giant's blood, and venturing into the kingdom of the sky could bring Ruby back, Jack sets out on a quest to fulfill the crone's instructions.
~•~
I have some mixed feelings about Daughter of Rage and Ruin. I'm going to begin with the negative to get it out of the way.
I was put on edge right off the bat as Jack meets Quil (an 18 year old). I'm unsure of how old she was at this point. In the prologue she is 13 and as the main story starts it says two years later. However, later on Quil says she was 17 when they met. If she was 17 I have no problems, but if she was 15 Quil being 18 and romantically pursuing her seems inappropriate.
Directly after they meet Jack tells Quil she doesn't need his help and walks away but Quil follows thinking "don't let her get away". After this instance he is extremely respectful and gentle but him chasing her as she tries to walk away just rubs me wrong.
The final thing that didn't work for me personally is the focus on bringing people back from the dead. Only God can do that.
Now, on to the positive!!!
I LOVED these characters! I feel like in romantic fiction, couples often fall into the trap of sharing nearly identical personalities but that is not the case here at all!
Quil is so charming and charismatic, always ready for an adventure and his devotion to Jack as their relationship grows is so sweet.
Jack is incredibly complex and her character growth is beautiful as she becomes more confident in herself, her beauty, her strength, and even in depending more on others and letting herself be supported which is a super important lesson.
The world building was, of course, spectacular! It was fun to get a little cameo from James and Aurelia! (From K.B. Hoyle's 'Son of Gold and Sorrow')
Final word:
Overall the quality was great, the characters were great, and I loved it! I would take half a star off because of the things I mentioned at the beginning but since you can't do that on Goodreads I'll round up to five 😉.
We're thrown right into the story of Jack, a 13 year old girl whose sister, Ruby, was killed by the giant Galifron. Jack blames herself for her sister's death and would do anything to get her back. So when the Crone of Cruror tells her climbing the giant's tower, retrieving a giant's blood, and venturing into the kingdom of the sky could bring Ruby back, Jack sets out on a quest to fulfill the crone's instructions.
~•~
I have some mixed feelings about Daughter of Rage and Ruin. I'm going to begin with the negative to get it out of the way.
I was put on edge right off the bat as Jack meets Quil (an 18 year old). I'm unsure of how old she was at this point. In the prologue she is 13 and as the main story starts it says two years later. However, later on Quil says she was 17 when they met. If she was 17 I have no problems, but if she was 15 Quil being 18 and romantically pursuing her seems inappropriate.
Directly after they meet Jack tells Quil she doesn't need his help and walks away but Quil follows thinking "don't let her get away". After this instance he is extremely respectful and gentle but him chasing her as she tries to walk away just rubs me wrong.
The final thing that didn't work for me personally is the focus on bringing people back from the dead. Only God can do that.
Now, on to the positive!!!
I LOVED these characters! I feel like in romantic fiction, couples often fall into the trap of sharing nearly identical personalities but that is not the case here at all!
Quil is so charming and charismatic, always ready for an adventure and his devotion to Jack as their relationship grows is so sweet.
Jack is incredibly complex and her character growth is beautiful as she becomes more confident in herself, her beauty, her strength, and even in depending more on others and letting herself be supported which is a super important lesson.
The world building was, of course, spectacular! It was fun to get a little cameo from James and Aurelia! (From K.B. Hoyle's 'Son of Gold and Sorrow')
Final word:
Overall the quality was great, the characters were great, and I loved it! I would take half a star off because of the things I mentioned at the beginning but since you can't do that on Goodreads I'll round up to five 😉.
April 1, 2026
I'm familiar with Jack and the Beanstalk, Mickey and the Beanstalk being one of my favorite adaptations, but this retelling went so much deeper than I anticipated.
Jack is riddled with guilt over the death of her sister.
Quil is a prince without a purpose.
Together, they go on a quest to find a giant and learn the meaning of love and sacrifice along the way.
There's an almost dream-like quality to this book, particularly in the back half, that really makes you feel like you're inside the fairytale.
I've really enjoyed all of the fairytale retellings in this series, and honestly, there isn't a K.B Hoyle book I haven't loved. This book is no exception...I flew through it in 2 days.
While it is the 4th in a series, I feel like it could be read as a standalone.
Thanks to Owl's Nest Publishers for the advanced copy, although I had already pre-ordered the paperback of my own accord.
Jack is riddled with guilt over the death of her sister.
Quil is a prince without a purpose.
Together, they go on a quest to find a giant and learn the meaning of love and sacrifice along the way.
There's an almost dream-like quality to this book, particularly in the back half, that really makes you feel like you're inside the fairytale.
I've really enjoyed all of the fairytale retellings in this series, and honestly, there isn't a K.B Hoyle book I haven't loved. This book is no exception...I flew through it in 2 days.
While it is the 4th in a series, I feel like it could be read as a standalone.
Thanks to Owl's Nest Publishers for the advanced copy, although I had already pre-ordered the paperback of my own accord.
May 9, 2026
A captivating and layered twist on Jack and the Beanstalk. Like a good rollercoaster - just when you think you know where things are going, they get turned upside-down. It is full of adventurous quests and an authentic, slow-growing romance. The exploration of the self-sacrificial nature of true love was helpful and profound. I will happily hand this to the teen readers in my life.
March 26, 2026
I loved this book! The writing was so thoughtful and the story was so good it was impossible to put down. The characters had humor and heart, and love for friends and family was constantly present. I received a free copy from Owl’s Nest in exchange for an honest review.
May 12, 2026
What a sweet story!
This fairytale retelling felt fresh and different. It’s not your usual “prince and princess” story, it’s a retelling of several different “Jack tales” like Jack in the Beanstalk.
I loved seeing Jack again after meeting her in Son of Gold and Sorrow. Also seeing James and Aurelia again was wonderful! The romance was sweet and the adventure was very fun! I would have loved a little more time with the happy ending but other than that a wonderful story!
This fairytale retelling felt fresh and different. It’s not your usual “prince and princess” story, it’s a retelling of several different “Jack tales” like Jack in the Beanstalk.
I loved seeing Jack again after meeting her in Son of Gold and Sorrow. Also seeing James and Aurelia again was wonderful! The romance was sweet and the adventure was very fun! I would have loved a little more time with the happy ending but other than that a wonderful story!
April 7, 2026
Thank you to Owl's Nest for sending me an ARC of K.B. Hoyle's latest book, Daughter of Rage and Ruin. I was so delighted when I heard that she was releasing another book in her fairytale collection! I am a big fan of the three books, and especially loved Son of Gold and Sorrow. She effortlessly weaves past characters into each book so naturally, and I love that you can read them in any order! The dialogue flows so well in each of her books, and she truly brings each character and setting to life. In Daughter of Rage and Ruin, we are reintroduced to Jack, who is still living in the wake of Galifron's destruction. Her shame and rage propel the story on as she goes on a quest to bring her sister back from the dead. She eventually (And literally!) runs into Prince Quil, who is dealing with shame of his own, and their stories intertwine. I love that they are both dealing with those same struggles and processing them in different ways. Without spoiling the rest of the story, the ending was simultaneously beautiful and a little heartbreaking! K. B. Hoyle is such a gifted storyteller, and I love that her stories are always redemptive and full of hope, even when dealing with difficult topics/scenarios. And I love that I can always recommend them to my students! I can't wait for the next one! ☺️
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Summary: A retelling of some of the Jack and the Beanstalk stories.
I have made my love of KB Hoyle's writing well known. I have read every book she has written, most more than once. I have never met her in person, but we are both in the facebook group for Christ and Pop Culture magazine where she is a regular writer and we have interacted a lot over the years. Hopefully we will meet someday.
Part of what I love about her books is that they are literary and still written for middle grade or young adult readers. By literary, I don't mean esoteric or abstract or hard to understand, but I mean that there is depth that invites rereading. There is always a surface story that moves the story along and engages the reader. But there is also always depth to the story in allusions and references and underlying themes that may not be apparent to a young adult reader on the first reading.
One of the things that drives my kids crazy (but I think it is still important) is that I frequently will stop a movie or pause in reading and ask about a scene and what is going on. Sometimes they have understood the reference or know what the word means, but a lot of the time they haven't. Part of what I am trying to do is invite them to look for the meaning below the surface.
I have been hosting a zoom book club since 2020. Right now we are reading James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time. It is a compilation of four biographical essays. Baldwin is a master of references and allusions. Some are easier to spot than others, but it is clear that he isn't only a writer, but a deep reader, of scripture, the classics and the current literature of his time. It is a joy to read that in a group because we have different histories and experiences and we catch different things.
One of the challenges of a pluralistic society is that we do not always share the same literary and cultural history. But good writing is still good writing on the surface. It communicates a top level meaning. The story moves along and engages. Or the essay communicates meaning. Baldwin is talking about his awakening to his body and sexuality and at the same time, his grappling with the reality of racism and the isolation of growing up in Harlem (in part because of his exposure to the world outside of Harlem) when he starts a line with, "For the wages of sin were visible everywhere...." The rest of that phrase from Romans brings context to the passage.
The verse from Romans 6:23 is, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The context of the longer passage is that Paul is talking about the relationship between sin and grace and the role of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection in overcoming the influences of sin. The paragraph that follows Baldwin's opening line discusses the tragedy of a ghetto, but also before he ends the paragraph he invokes White Christian racism that does not follow through on the Christian love that Christ call us to in "love one another as I have loved you" and "love your neighbor as you love yourself."
Without knowing the multiple biblical allusions in that paragraph, you can still read it and know that Baldwin is describing the problems of poverty and isolation and the temptation to crime as a means of escape from poverty (or just to survive.) But with the additional layers of the biblical allusions of the passage, there are layers to Baldwin's words that cut deeper than a simple description of growing up in Harlem. That is wide afield of a fairytale retelling of various Jack and the Beanstalk tales, but I think it is worth emphasizing that the depth to the story is what makes the story great.
In each book of Hoyle's fairytale series, a minor character from a previous book becomes the main protagonist in the new book and a new tale is told. In The Son of Gold and Sorrow, James has to complete three impossible tasks before he can break the curse on the woman he loves. One of those tasks is to kill a giant who is terrorizing a village in the kingdom where he is. When James comes to the village, he is unprepared for the size of the giant and the terror of the people. The giant has been taking young women and eating them for years. The people have started naming their daughters with male names and dressing them in male clothes to hide them from the giant. So when James meets a young woman who has been preparing a spear that will be long enough and strong enough and sharp enough to kill the giant, it not surprising that the name of that girl is Jack.
Jack gives James the spear and it is a mixture of James, the people of the community who are stirred to action by Jack, the animals of the area who come to help for another reason I won't get into, that end up killing the giant. But the tragedy that runs throughout the Daughter of Rage and Ruin is that while the giant is dead, Jack's older sister had been killed the night before. The giant is dead, but Jack's purpose in making the spear was to save her sister. Jack saves James' life as James kills the giant, but Jack is unable to save her sister's life.
And that sets up the story told here. As with all of this series, there is a chaste romance and lots of action. But that underlying theme of grappling with grief and the trauma of feeling like you could have prevented tragedy is present. There are also sub-themes of the role of class and station in life as is common in royal romance books and grappling with feelings of inadequacy (while others view the person with wonder) that is also a very common theme of young adult books.
As with the rest of the series, I do not think you need to know the underlying fairytales well to enjoy them. But I did spend a few minutes exploring the Jack and the Beanstalk wikipedia page to learn a little bit about the history of the stories and their modern adaptations as I did with the other books in the series. I am more familiar with this story than the previous two so I am not sure it is was as helpful or needed as it was in the previous two books.
At this point, I don't know if I am waiting more impatiently for the next book in the Starborn series or the next book in the fairytale series.
I received a digital copy of this book in advance for purposes of review. I had already preordered a copy of the book when I asked for the advance copy.
The review was originally posted on my blog at https://bookwi.se/daughter-of-rage-an...
I have made my love of KB Hoyle's writing well known. I have read every book she has written, most more than once. I have never met her in person, but we are both in the facebook group for Christ and Pop Culture magazine where she is a regular writer and we have interacted a lot over the years. Hopefully we will meet someday.
Part of what I love about her books is that they are literary and still written for middle grade or young adult readers. By literary, I don't mean esoteric or abstract or hard to understand, but I mean that there is depth that invites rereading. There is always a surface story that moves the story along and engages the reader. But there is also always depth to the story in allusions and references and underlying themes that may not be apparent to a young adult reader on the first reading.
One of the things that drives my kids crazy (but I think it is still important) is that I frequently will stop a movie or pause in reading and ask about a scene and what is going on. Sometimes they have understood the reference or know what the word means, but a lot of the time they haven't. Part of what I am trying to do is invite them to look for the meaning below the surface.
I have been hosting a zoom book club since 2020. Right now we are reading James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time. It is a compilation of four biographical essays. Baldwin is a master of references and allusions. Some are easier to spot than others, but it is clear that he isn't only a writer, but a deep reader, of scripture, the classics and the current literature of his time. It is a joy to read that in a group because we have different histories and experiences and we catch different things.
One of the challenges of a pluralistic society is that we do not always share the same literary and cultural history. But good writing is still good writing on the surface. It communicates a top level meaning. The story moves along and engages. Or the essay communicates meaning. Baldwin is talking about his awakening to his body and sexuality and at the same time, his grappling with the reality of racism and the isolation of growing up in Harlem (in part because of his exposure to the world outside of Harlem) when he starts a line with, "For the wages of sin were visible everywhere...." The rest of that phrase from Romans brings context to the passage.
The verse from Romans 6:23 is, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The context of the longer passage is that Paul is talking about the relationship between sin and grace and the role of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection in overcoming the influences of sin. The paragraph that follows Baldwin's opening line discusses the tragedy of a ghetto, but also before he ends the paragraph he invokes White Christian racism that does not follow through on the Christian love that Christ call us to in "love one another as I have loved you" and "love your neighbor as you love yourself."
Without knowing the multiple biblical allusions in that paragraph, you can still read it and know that Baldwin is describing the problems of poverty and isolation and the temptation to crime as a means of escape from poverty (or just to survive.) But with the additional layers of the biblical allusions of the passage, there are layers to Baldwin's words that cut deeper than a simple description of growing up in Harlem. That is wide afield of a fairytale retelling of various Jack and the Beanstalk tales, but I think it is worth emphasizing that the depth to the story is what makes the story great.
In each book of Hoyle's fairytale series, a minor character from a previous book becomes the main protagonist in the new book and a new tale is told. In The Son of Gold and Sorrow, James has to complete three impossible tasks before he can break the curse on the woman he loves. One of those tasks is to kill a giant who is terrorizing a village in the kingdom where he is. When James comes to the village, he is unprepared for the size of the giant and the terror of the people. The giant has been taking young women and eating them for years. The people have started naming their daughters with male names and dressing them in male clothes to hide them from the giant. So when James meets a young woman who has been preparing a spear that will be long enough and strong enough and sharp enough to kill the giant, it not surprising that the name of that girl is Jack.
Jack gives James the spear and it is a mixture of James, the people of the community who are stirred to action by Jack, the animals of the area who come to help for another reason I won't get into, that end up killing the giant. But the tragedy that runs throughout the Daughter of Rage and Ruin is that while the giant is dead, Jack's older sister had been killed the night before. The giant is dead, but Jack's purpose in making the spear was to save her sister. Jack saves James' life as James kills the giant, but Jack is unable to save her sister's life.
And that sets up the story told here. As with all of this series, there is a chaste romance and lots of action. But that underlying theme of grappling with grief and the trauma of feeling like you could have prevented tragedy is present. There are also sub-themes of the role of class and station in life as is common in royal romance books and grappling with feelings of inadequacy (while others view the person with wonder) that is also a very common theme of young adult books.
As with the rest of the series, I do not think you need to know the underlying fairytales well to enjoy them. But I did spend a few minutes exploring the Jack and the Beanstalk wikipedia page to learn a little bit about the history of the stories and their modern adaptations as I did with the other books in the series. I am more familiar with this story than the previous two so I am not sure it is was as helpful or needed as it was in the previous two books.
At this point, I don't know if I am waiting more impatiently for the next book in the Starborn series or the next book in the fairytale series.
I received a digital copy of this book in advance for purposes of review. I had already preordered a copy of the book when I asked for the advance copy.
The review was originally posted on my blog at https://bookwi.se/daughter-of-rage-an...
April 14, 2026
The newest book in The Fairytale Collection, DAUGHTER OF RAGE AND RUIN, is here! Giants, curses, and magic beans…this Jack and the Beanstalk retelling is clever and original and perfect for teens. The heroine, Jack, is running from survivor’s guilt and ready to tackle even the most impossible tasks for the chance to save her sister. She meets Quil, the “spare” prince of an island kingdom who is looking for adventure. They team up to (you guessed it) take down a giant.
On the surface this story is action packed, but it has a depth beyond the plot twists and jaw dropping moments. This is a story about being a survivor. About doubts and fears and not being good enough. About choosing to trust and love and grow and heal—and just how hard that is to do. This is a real story, a relatable story, a fun story. And a love story.
My teen son loves this series. He flew through this Daughter of Rage and Ruin in less than three days and I had so much fun hearing his updates and guesses about what would happen as he read. This has been such a fun series to share together. Plus I love that these are books I feel confident handing to young teens and even tweens. They are books that realistically portray the hurts and struggles of life while always, always pointing the reader to truth and beauty and honor.
You can read this series in any order! (You really can.) If you’ve never read any books in The Fairytale Collection by K. B. Hoyle, dive right in with this new release. Or go back to the beginning and read in order (Son of the Deep, Son of Bitter Glass, Son of Gold and Sorrow, Daughter of Rage and Ruin) plus more planned for this series!
On the surface this story is action packed, but it has a depth beyond the plot twists and jaw dropping moments. This is a story about being a survivor. About doubts and fears and not being good enough. About choosing to trust and love and grow and heal—and just how hard that is to do. This is a real story, a relatable story, a fun story. And a love story.
My teen son loves this series. He flew through this Daughter of Rage and Ruin in less than three days and I had so much fun hearing his updates and guesses about what would happen as he read. This has been such a fun series to share together. Plus I love that these are books I feel confident handing to young teens and even tweens. They are books that realistically portray the hurts and struggles of life while always, always pointing the reader to truth and beauty and honor.
You can read this series in any order! (You really can.) If you’ve never read any books in The Fairytale Collection by K. B. Hoyle, dive right in with this new release. Or go back to the beginning and read in order (Son of the Deep, Son of Bitter Glass, Son of Gold and Sorrow, Daughter of Rage and Ruin) plus more planned for this series!
May 7, 2026
K. B. Hoyle has done wild and wonderful things with "Jack and the Beanstalk," as she's done with so many stories before. Her series of inventive and twisty fairytale retellings, with its valiant, loyal, and lovable characters, continues to delight.
(Full disclosure: The author is a friend. I was sent a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.)
(Full disclosure: The author is a friend. I was sent a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.)
April 17, 2026
This may have been my favorite? But I’m always wanting a little more resolution/time to breathe at the end. I find myself feeling that way about all of Hoyle’s books.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews