If you loved how Daine talks with and protects animals—from soothing the Queen’s Riders’ mounts with Onua to rallying wild creatures against spidrens and Stormwings—then you’ll click with Karigan’s urgent partnership with a mysterious messenger horse in Green Rider. Like Daine being swept from the stables into defending Pirate’s Swoop, Karigan is yanked into peril by a duty-bound steed and a message that could save a kingdom, with the rider–mount bond carrying real emotional weight and danger.

If Daine’s training under Numair Salmalín—his exacting lessons, sudden tests, and the way crisis at Pirate’s Swoop demands she level up—was your catnip, Uprooted delivers that same mentorship spark. Agnieszka’s raw, untidy magic is hammered (and liberated) by the aloof wizard known as the Dragon, and as with Daine’s nature-rooted gifts, her power thrives when she trusts her instincts—and must, when the forest’s corruption threatens everyone.

Daine’s coming-into-her-own—learning the reach of her wild magic, facing Immortals, and stepping up when the kingdom is on the line—finds a powerful echo in Sabriel. Thrust from school into the Old Kingdom, Sabriel must wield bells and Charter Magic to rescue her father and halt the Dead, much as Daine must shoulder responsibility beyond her years. It’s a brisk, peril-strewn journey with a capable young woman at the center, making hard choices and growing fast.

If your heart warmed at how Daine finds a home with Onua, Numair, and the Queen’s Riders—turning comrades into family—Sandry’s Book will hit the same note. Four misfit youths (Sandry, Tris, Daja, and Briar) gather at Winding Circle, where mentors like Lark and Rosethorn help them braid their distinct magics into something stronger. It’s that same Pierce alchemy: companionship, belonging, and power that grows because people choose each other.

Daine’s fierce respect for nonhuman lives—arguing for creatures others call monsters and defending them during Immortal incursions—pairs beautifully with The Beast Player. Elin’s gift with Toda and Royal Beasts mirrors Daine’s empathy-driven magic, but the story also probes the costs when rulers try to weaponize such animals. If Daine’s debates over what’s owed to the wild stirred you, Elin’s struggle to protect her bond—and the beasts themselves—will grip you.