Genre: Fantasy Age Range: YA Star Rating: 4 stars Series: first book of duology
Blurb:
Eighteen-year-old Ziva prefers metal to people. She spends her days tucked away in the forge, safe from society and the anxiety it causes her, using her gift to craft unique weapons imbued with magical power.
When Ziva takes a job from a powerful warlord, the result is a sword capable of stealing its victims’ secrets. A sword with the strength to topple kingdoms. The warlord’s sinister plans for the weapon soon become clear, and Ziva has no choice but to take her sister and flee.
So begins an epic quest to keep the sword safe until they can find someone worthy of wielding it – or a way to destroy it entirely.
Blurb taken from Goodreads. Add to your shelves here.
Review:
BLADE OF SECRETS is a pacy, fun fantasy novel about two sisters and their (unintended) travelling companions as they flee from a warlord bent on dominion.
It has a slight group cast feel thank to Ziva and Temra travelling with Kellyn (handsome mercenary) and Petrik (nerdy scholar.) For most of the book, it’s just the four of them, with all their own mistrusts and flirtations. It’s a nice collection of personalities, leading to a small, intense group cast feel (despite only Ziva narrating.) I liked travelling with them, watching them grow to like and trust one another.
Ziva’s weapons have a variety of very specific abilities that add a little edge to the fights. The boomerang spear was my favourite because it was so unexpected and could be used to deal with an attacker even if you missed. Plus a big powerful sword is a pretty dangerous thing to protect, which helped with the stakes.
Ziva has quiet acute social anxiety and it can cause panic attacks. I really liked seeing that representation, could see some of my own awkwardness and difficulties dealing with lots of people and also new people. Here is a heroine who isn’t bold and funny and confident, but one who still gets the job done despite wanting to never have to speak to anyone ever again.
The book is very pacy which makes it feel short (it’s just over 300 pages) and easy to gulp down. It’s a good one to pick up toward the end of the year to reach a reading goal, or one to read at the start to get ahead! Plus the sequel is already out, so I’m picking that one up immediately!
Read my reviews of other books by Tricia Levenseller:
Bladesmith (this series):
- MASTER OF IRON (#2)
Daughter of the Pirate King:
The Shadows Between Us:
Sifa Elizabeth Reads 