I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Death's Daughter by S.A. Barnes Series: The Children of the Old Ones #1
Published by Bramble on May 5 2026
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 400
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: S.A. Barnes’s fantasy debut is a solid series opener with dangerous characters, high stakes and plenty of romantic angst.
“And I need you to know that I may not enjoy killing people, but I am very, very good at it.”
Despite my middle of the road rating, I really did enjoy Death’s Daughter, and I do plan to continue the series. Did I like it as much as S.A. Barnes’s space horror books? No, but I respect authors who want to try new genres, and this is completely different from her other books. Barnes’s world is inspired by Greek mythology and the gods, and I liked the way she incorporated these “children of the Old Ones” into a contemporary urban setting.
Jocasta is Death’s Daughter, but she wants nothing to do with her powers and is basically hiding from her birthright. She discovered a “magical dead zone” at a small Massachusetts college called Beecher, a place where she can’t detect anyone else like her, and she’s made it her home. In order to survive, Jo has to feed on people’s fears and disappointments, but she only takes small “sips” so no one knows who she is or what she’s doing. So far it’s worked for her, and she’s settled in and made friends.
But one night as she’s unwinding at a local bar, she senses a strong magical presence, a man named Devon who turns out to be a spawn of Lust. Devon’s powers have captured the attention of everyone in the bar, but Jo is more interested in what’s he doing there, after all, Beecher is her territory. Devon finally reveals the big news that everyone but Jo seems to know about: Death has decided to step down, and he’s named Jo as his successor. This is shocking news to Jo, who hasn’t heard from her father in years. It’s also unwelcome news, since becoming Death is the last thing she wants.
Devon proposes an alliance—getting on the good side of a powerful spawn is his main reason, but he also tells Jo he can protect her against other spawn who might not see her succession as good news. But then people around Jo start to die in horrible ways, and she knows someone is trying to get her attention, someone who wants her dead as well.
I loved the college setting and the way Barnes slowly reveals Jo’s true nature. At first you think she’s just a normal student, pining after her psychology TA Carter and hanging with friends. But Jo isn’t normal at all. She’s been hiding the fact that she has the power to actually kill people with magic (when she absorbs people’s negative emotions, she can kill them if she takes too much of their essence.) And really, she just wants to be a normal girl, and who can blame her? It isn’t until Devon bursts onto the scene that she has to face reality.
I also enjoyed the mythological elements, like the different children of the Old Ones, who end up swarming Beecher looking for an alliance with Jo. There’s Lust, which is self explanatory😂and War, one of the most dangerous and deadly type of spawn. Jo ends up working with a few of them who seem to have her back, but others are just out for blood.
The story is narrated by Jo, and her personality comes across as brash and off-putting at times, although I personally didn’t mind it. She swears a lot, seems to be horny all the time, and she doesn’t always think before she acts. She’s also in college, and I feel like these traits are appropriate for that age group. However, not all readers will relate to her, so it was sort of a gamble on the author’s part to write her personality this way.
As for the romance, it felt very much like a love triangle (Jo/Carter/Devon), even though Jo is mostly focused on Carter. But Devon is hovering on the sidelines just waiting for his turn, and I suspect he’ll get it in the next book (wink wink). Because this is marketed as romantasy, I wasn’t surprised to see a couple of spicy sex scenes, so do be aware if that’s something you’re not into.
My biggest problem with Death’s Daughter, and the reason for my lower rating, is the pacing and the meandering plot. For a four hundred page book, not a whole lot happens. First, the whole story takes place on the Beecher campus, so it feels a bit claustrophobic. Jo spends a lot of time thinking about her relationship with Carter, which started as an illicit affair (technically as a TA, Carter is off limits to students) and fell to pieces when emotions got too high. Plus the reader is subjected to Jo’s internal monologue, which becomes repetitive after a while. When students start dying, the story becomes more of a murder mystery, as Jo and Devon try to figure out what’s happening. This mystery held my attention, but eventually the action stalled as the characters seemed to be going in circles. This lack of forward momentum made some sections a bit tedious to get through.
But overall, I’m very glad I read Death’s Daughter. Best of all, by the end of the story, I was dying to see what would happen next, especially after a few surprise reveals. There isn’t a cliffhanger, thankfully, but Barnes drops some hints about what might happen in book two, and I’m excited to read more!
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
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