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Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation
Moderate: Addiction, Physical abuse, Torture, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment
Everyone has an agenda and will do just about anything to achieve their goals, including our heroine.
Though many of their goals align, will they be ready for the truth of their actions and how they impact one another?
And I have to say, like many others, I'm not sure about the love interest. I kinda want it to be someone else, so we'll see how it all comes together in the end.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Self harm, Slavery, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Vomit, Kidnapping, War
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Self harm, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Solid inclusion in the ladies who are assassins in fantasy worlds genre with a lot of cool characters. World building can be confusing.
About
Keera is the King's Blade, his favorite assassin. She's killed many in his name, including her own people. Her latest mission is to hunt down the Shadow, a mysterious fighter who's been causing trouble for the crown. But when she chases the Shadow into the faelands, she discovers that everything she's learned about the kingdom and her history may be a lie.
Thoughts
Are YOU a person who likes a YA/NA fantasy novel centered on a female who carries a ton of blades? Because if so, I've got great news for you. "Lady has a lot of sharp objects" is one of my favorite genres, and I was happy to discover that this one is genuinely lethal, and not simply lethal by lip service. (Her kill count in this book alone is well over a dozen.) There are actual several ladies with sharp objects in here, and several fight scenes where they get to show off. This book also features quite a bit of magic, a masquerade ball, political shenanigans, and a sparse amount of lovemaking (spice level: middle?). While there's a clear enemies-to-lovers slow burn going on, it largely takes a back seat to story, so don't expect too much on that front.
World building is sometimes difficult to follow. Terms like fae, elf, mage, and halfling all hold specific meanings that don't always line up with the widely accepted definitions, and then we find out later in the book that some of those definitions were misconceptions anyway. It's a lot to try to keep sorted.
As for the plot, it takes a while to get started. The actual conflict between Keera and the Shadow is postponed quite a bit, and there's a lot of time spend setting up the pieces on the metaphorical game board. I don't think genre savvy readers will find a lot of surprises, but it's still a mostly satisfying series of events, with a
As a final note, Keera's alcoholism plays a major role in the story and her arc, and might be a difficult read for some.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, Xenophobia, Murder
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Sexual harassment, Classism
Minor: Vomit, Kidnapping
Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Colonisation
Minor: Torture, Death of parent
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence