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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really don't think I can speak my feelings in words. Or maybe I can I just know this is arguably in my top 3 of books she has written. Perik and Ziva are my favorite characters and I'd think I'd do anything for them. Having a character with social anxiety touched my heart and I really felt for Ziva during this story. I now must struggle waiting for the sequel :(
3.5 this was such a fun fast read!! I always love YA fantasy books because they are easy to follow and always entertaining. Had no idea this was a duet so now i want to pick up book 2 and see where the story ends.
I love the idea of a blade smith who creates magical weapons and love all of the characters in this!
I love the idea of a blade smith who creates magical weapons and love all of the characters in this!
adventurous
challenging
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of my favorite reads of 2020 was The Shadows Between Us—which was my first time reading a Tricia Levenseller book—so I was very excited when I heard about Blade of Secrets! And this book did not disappoint!
Listen, I don’t know how Levenseller does it, but her ability to fit in so much in such short books is wildly impressive. While Blade of Secrets is the first in a duology, it surprised me how much character development and action Levenseller managed to squeeze into the first book alone. With Blade of Secrets, I especially enjoyed seeing how Ziva changed as a person, but also how the dynamic between Ziva and her sister Temra changed over time. When the book starts, Ziva is both wildly co-dependent of Temra, but also steadfastly protective of her, which in and of itself is an interesting dynamic to navigate. Temra, while equally protective and loving toward her sister, very evidently wants to branch out and find her own place in the world that isn’t necessarily by Ziva’s side, and this creates conflict between the two as it becomes more apparent to Ziva that what she wants isn’t what Temra wants. Watching these sisters clash over their conflicting interests throughout the book, and seeing them learn to respect each other’s wishes and grow into themselves—Ziva especially—was such a realistic and gradual evolution, and I’m in awe of how well Levenseller made it work, especially for how short the book was.
So, yes, I loved Ziva and Temra and exploring their relationship, but we can’t forget about Kellyn and Petrik. I don’t want to spoil too much about these guys, but I have to give Levenseller kudos, once again, for writing such perfectly imperfect male leads! On top of that, the banter between our four main characters was just too fun at times, and I found myself laughing out loud while reading.
Now, we really need to spotlight the anxiety rep in this book because it is phenomenal, in my opinion. I don’t know really anything about Levenseller and whether or not she herself experiences anxiety, nor is it my business to speculate whether that is the case, but if she doesn’t, I cannot applaud her enough on how accurately she depicts Ziva’s social anxiety, down to the smallest mannerisms. At first, I even found it a bit difficult to fall into a steady pace with reading Blade of Secrets because being inside Ziva’s head was rather overwhelming with the rapidity of her thoughts and sensory overload she was constantly facing. But truly, Levenseller did such a fantastic job at making Ziva’s anxiety feel real and consistent, and not just like a tacked-on personality trait for the sake of mental health representation, nor like a caricature depiction of anxiety. Additionally, I cannot say enough how much I appreciated the fact that Levenseller was so careful about making sure Ziva’s love interest didn’t carry on the role of trying to “fix her”, and that he, rather, worked with her to understand her anxiety and help her in what ways he could while allowing her the space to figure things out for herself. When it comes to mental health, it seems to be such an easy trap for authors to fall into where they want one character to “fix” the other character, and that is just so damaging and disappointing to see in portrayals of mental health.
Even though Blade of Secrets was only my second experience with a Tricia Levenseller book, I’m now, more than ever, thoroughly convinced I need to read more from her, and I’ll definitely be back for Master of Iron when that is eventually published!
**Thank you to Fierce Reads for an eARC of this book!**
Listen, I don’t know how Levenseller does it, but her ability to fit in so much in such short books is wildly impressive. While Blade of Secrets is the first in a duology, it surprised me how much character development and action Levenseller managed to squeeze into the first book alone. With Blade of Secrets, I especially enjoyed seeing how Ziva changed as a person, but also how the dynamic between Ziva and her sister Temra changed over time. When the book starts, Ziva is both wildly co-dependent of Temra, but also steadfastly protective of her, which in and of itself is an interesting dynamic to navigate. Temra, while equally protective and loving toward her sister, very evidently wants to branch out and find her own place in the world that isn’t necessarily by Ziva’s side, and this creates conflict between the two as it becomes more apparent to Ziva that what she wants isn’t what Temra wants. Watching these sisters clash over their conflicting interests throughout the book, and seeing them learn to respect each other’s wishes and grow into themselves—Ziva especially—was such a realistic and gradual evolution, and I’m in awe of how well Levenseller made it work, especially for how short the book was.
So, yes, I loved Ziva and Temra and exploring their relationship, but we can’t forget about Kellyn and Petrik. I don’t want to spoil too much about these guys, but I have to give Levenseller kudos, once again, for writing such perfectly imperfect male leads! On top of that, the banter between our four main characters was just too fun at times, and I found myself laughing out loud while reading.
Now, we really need to spotlight the anxiety rep in this book because it is phenomenal, in my opinion. I don’t know really anything about Levenseller and whether or not she herself experiences anxiety, nor is it my business to speculate whether that is the case, but if she doesn’t, I cannot applaud her enough on how accurately she depicts Ziva’s social anxiety, down to the smallest mannerisms. At first, I even found it a bit difficult to fall into a steady pace with reading Blade of Secrets because being inside Ziva’s head was rather overwhelming with the rapidity of her thoughts and sensory overload she was constantly facing. But truly, Levenseller did such a fantastic job at making Ziva’s anxiety feel real and consistent, and not just like a tacked-on personality trait for the sake of mental health representation, nor like a caricature depiction of anxiety. Additionally, I cannot say enough how much I appreciated the fact that Levenseller was so careful about making sure Ziva’s love interest didn’t carry on the role of trying to “fix her”, and that he, rather, worked with her to understand her anxiety and help her in what ways he could while allowing her the space to figure things out for herself. When it comes to mental health, it seems to be such an easy trap for authors to fall into where they want one character to “fix” the other character, and that is just so damaging and disappointing to see in portrayals of mental health.
Even though Blade of Secrets was only my second experience with a Tricia Levenseller book, I’m now, more than ever, thoroughly convinced I need to read more from her, and I’ll definitely be back for Master of Iron when that is eventually published!
**Thank you to Fierce Reads for an eARC of this book!**
I received an ARC of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
3/5 stars: ★★★☆☆
"I wish I could separate myself from the fear, to learn who I truly am."
In this retelling of the origins of King Arthur's sword, metal-magician Ziva is commissioned to make a sword for a warlord who turns out to be intent on using the magical weapon to take over the kingdom. When Ziva learns of her patron's intentions, she flees with the sword, her sister Temra, a hired mercenary to protect them, and a scholar of magic who insists on following along. Full of adventure, romance, violence, anxiety/mental health-representation, and a dash of magic, this was a fun and easy-to-follow story for fans of [b:Daughter of the Pirate King|33643994|Daughter of the Pirate King (Daughter of the Pirate King, #1)|Tricia Levenseller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483132546l/33643994._SY75_.jpg|46636002] or [b:Sorcery of Thorns|42201395|Sorcery of Thorns|Margaret Rogerson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541621322l/42201395._SY75_.jpg|61425757].
I am consistently pleased by Tricia Levenseller's writing abilities. I really cannot think of a YA fantasy author who writes so clearly and makes her plots so easy to follow. I really feel like I got everything I needed to out of this book despite speed-reading it at times, which is impressive and really speaks to the clarity of the writing and plot design.
That being said, this is a very simple story. Ziva makes a sword with immense power, including the ability to reveal the secrets of those it cuts. While testing the sword, the powerful warlord who commissioned it cuts herself and Ziva is made aware of the lord's intentions to take the kingdom by force. Ziva runs, fearing what her creation might do to the world. This concept is simple, and the events that follow are spaced widely and explained well. Conflicts arise and are settled, clues are dropped very obviously, and everything gets resolved. Well...not quite everything, because this will be a duology, but there is no big cliff-hanger and the direction of the next book is made extremely clear.
Also, I need to throw in some appreciation for Kellyn the mercenary. Hottie!!!! And sensitive. We like.
Any-who...with this book's simplicity is also its lead character's very typical, almost textbook, experience with her anxiety disorder. While I appreciate the representation, as someone with multiple anxiety disorders myself, I consistently almost felt spoken down to about something that I myself have. When Ziva would have a panic attack, for example, it didn't feel right in the story. if anything, I felt like I was being taken out of the story, read the definition of a panic attack, and the dropped back into the book as if I could pretend that nothing had happened. Also, for someone with pretty extreme anxiety, Ziva seemed to come up with some pretty clever comebacks and well-spoken words in general, which just didn't feel genuine. My own anxiety makes me stutter, go completely blank, or even ramble endlessly, depending on the situation. Ziva never did any of this, and always said the right things to move the plot perfectly, so...it just felt like the book was already written and then the author decided to splice in Ziva's inner thoughts about her anxiety later on. It just didn't flow.
Blade of Secrets was a good story and I'll probably read the next book. I liked the romance and the twists, and the concept of an Arthurian re-telling without Arthur or Merlin (so far) is a nice and creative change. Just be aware that those with anxiety, or those expecting a complex high fantasy, may be disappointed.
3/5 stars: ★★★☆☆
"I wish I could separate myself from the fear, to learn who I truly am."
In this retelling of the origins of King Arthur's sword, metal-magician Ziva is commissioned to make a sword for a warlord who turns out to be intent on using the magical weapon to take over the kingdom. When Ziva learns of her patron's intentions, she flees with the sword, her sister Temra, a hired mercenary to protect them, and a scholar of magic who insists on following along. Full of adventure, romance, violence, anxiety/mental health-representation, and a dash of magic, this was a fun and easy-to-follow story for fans of [b:Daughter of the Pirate King|33643994|Daughter of the Pirate King (Daughter of the Pirate King, #1)|Tricia Levenseller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483132546l/33643994._SY75_.jpg|46636002] or [b:Sorcery of Thorns|42201395|Sorcery of Thorns|Margaret Rogerson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541621322l/42201395._SY75_.jpg|61425757].
I am consistently pleased by Tricia Levenseller's writing abilities. I really cannot think of a YA fantasy author who writes so clearly and makes her plots so easy to follow. I really feel like I got everything I needed to out of this book despite speed-reading it at times, which is impressive and really speaks to the clarity of the writing and plot design.
That being said, this is a very simple story. Ziva makes a sword with immense power, including the ability to reveal the secrets of those it cuts. While testing the sword, the powerful warlord who commissioned it cuts herself and Ziva is made aware of the lord's intentions to take the kingdom by force. Ziva runs, fearing what her creation might do to the world. This concept is simple, and the events that follow are spaced widely and explained well. Conflicts arise and are settled, clues are dropped very obviously, and everything gets resolved. Well...not quite everything, because this will be a duology, but there is no big cliff-hanger and the direction of the next book is made extremely clear.
Also, I need to throw in some appreciation for Kellyn the mercenary. Hottie!!!! And sensitive. We like.
Any-who...with this book's simplicity is also its lead character's very typical, almost textbook, experience with her anxiety disorder. While I appreciate the representation, as someone with multiple anxiety disorders myself, I consistently almost felt spoken down to about something that I myself have. When Ziva would have a panic attack, for example, it didn't feel right in the story. if anything, I felt like I was being taken out of the story, read the definition of a panic attack, and the dropped back into the book as if I could pretend that nothing had happened. Also, for someone with pretty extreme anxiety, Ziva seemed to come up with some pretty clever comebacks and well-spoken words in general, which just didn't feel genuine. My own anxiety makes me stutter, go completely blank, or even ramble endlessly, depending on the situation. Ziva never did any of this, and always said the right things to move the plot perfectly, so...it just felt like the book was already written and then the author decided to splice in Ziva's inner thoughts about her anxiety later on. It just didn't flow.
Blade of Secrets was a good story and I'll probably read the next book. I liked the romance and the twists, and the concept of an Arthurian re-telling without Arthur or Merlin (so far) is a nice and creative change. Just be aware that those with anxiety, or those expecting a complex high fantasy, may be disappointed.
Tricia Levenseller never disappoints! Just like her other book The Shadows Between Us, this is being added to my all time favorites! The story was incredibly unique, fast paced with a little bit of romance and a characters who were flawed and interesting. There wasn't a moment in this book where I was bored and all I could think when I finished it was that I wish there was so much more. I don't know how I'm going to wait for the second one to come out!