Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Blade of Secrets

So I didn't fall in love with Blade of Secrets.

Let's start with the good stuff first. Levenseller's depiction of the MC Ziva's social anxiety was very, very well done and realistic. I also liked reading about the relationship Ziva had with her sister, and the

slow-burn romance with Kellyn was also developed nicely

.

The main areas which I felt were lacking were mainly to do with worldbuilding and pace. As the novel began, I assumed it to be taking place in some kind of quasi-medieval fantasy setting - a country called Ghadra which is split into territories. But then I kept finding inconsistencies that took me out of the world completely. The really big one I noticed came when Ziva mentioned the term

"boomerang", a term which I believe originated with Indigenous Australians. How would she know this?

. I was also unclear as to what Ziva meant when she referred to the "world", because practically no broader context is given outside of Ghadra.

The pacing was also really weird. There were parts of the novel where not a lot happened, and when the action did take place there was no build-up, no suspense. For me, this meant whenever the characters were under attack by enemies, it took a moment for me to realise that "oh, they're meant to be in danger now."

I also wasn't clear on all aspects of how the magic was supposed to work. I felt Ziva's magic was described in most detail, but other parts seemed pretty vague.

All up, Blade of Secrets had some good, and some not-so-good. I'm not sure yet whether I'll continue with the series, given how this book ended on something of a cliffhanger. But we'll see.

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oliviaprowse's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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kynthebookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Not the best, not the worst.

There isn't honestly much to say about this it was just a kind of typical fantasy? I had elements I enjoyed like the social anxiety representation, the somewhat cozy feel of the journey, and the way the primary relationship developed, which were all pros. Still, there were some pretty significant flaws in this as well.

We start the book following a blacksmith named Ziva that is gifted to be able to make weapons and infuse them with her magic. She ends up being commissioned by one of the most powerful people in the world to make a sword that is the most powerful Ziva has ever made. The sword ends up being able to obtain people's secrets when it cuts them and that sets up the story.

Although the main character, Ziva, was relatable I found myself questioning her character because she would constantly go back and forth between what she wanted, which I understand is most likely what was meant to happen but I just found it repetitive. I did relate to her quite a bit though which contributed to my liking of her character overall.

The main love interest was interesting at first but as we go through the book he becomes more of a stereotype. Strong, handsome, and a softie with a hard exterior. I didn't dislike him though and he contributed to the storyline well.

Temra who is Ziva's sister is probably my favorite character. She is the person that Ziva feels she must protect but in most cases, Temra seems to protect Ziva instead. Temra proves that you can be flirty and boy-crazy while also being an extremely determined person and fighter. I also quite like her love interest, Petrick, and the way that they seem to be best friends even with Temra's constant flirting.

There are other characters but I honestly don't have much to say about them as they pretty much fit regular fantasy character molds. The plot was essentially a journey across the land because a villain was chasing the main characters, which was interesting to read but not anything very new. I did want to mention though that I found Ziva's power very interesting and I will probably read the second book just to get her and her mother's history.

Thanks to BookishFirst and Square Fish for a free copy of this book

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thecatconstellation's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Overall, I really enjoyed this. I found it to be a quick read. While Ziva’s social anxiety at times can feel overused, it was really nice to read about a character struggling in ways that I have. The main group of 4 characters make a good mix, and I enjoy seeing the relationships develop. I would not call this an “enemies-to-lovers” as I have sometimes seen it called, more of a “ugh he’s gross and selfish to lovers”. I do think the pacing was a bit odd at times, sometimes a bit slow and sometimes a bit fast. But I enjoyed it!

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katyfortner's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I loved this book! I didn’t realize that this was the same author as the Shadows Between Us. There were multiple twists in the book that I really liked. Also, I liked that this book was mostly plot and adventure than just relaying on the characters and romance. There was a slow burn romance that was so sweet and wasn’t too much or too frustrating that it didn’t happen sooner. It felt natural and like the reader was really along for the ride of the adventure. Can’t wait to read the next book!
I was not expecting Petrick to be the Warlord’s son… or for her to even have a son haha. I’m glad that he stayed true to his friends though and I’m hoping that stays the same throughout the next book. Also, I feel like both of the sisters relationships came so naturally that it wasn’t rushed or pushed down the readers/ throat. We were made to love the characters separately than together as couples.

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rinku's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Blade of Secrets was such a disappointment for me. I was so excited to read about a main character with social anxiety, but this was almost all that was there to the story. Especially the fantasy aspects and the storytelling itself felt quite flat.

The general concept of the story was so intriguing: social anxious Ziva is able to forge magical weapons and makes good money selling them. One day, a woman called Kymera makes a commission for a sword that becomes more powerful than any sword Ziva has crafted before. She then overhears what plans Kymera has with the sword and flees with her sister and other travel companions from her. Sadly, that’s about it what is happening in the story besides an insta-lovey romance. The characters seem to have no other goal than fleeing which was bit boring. The book got better after the first half, but it was just not enough for me. There was also one of my least favorite plot twists towards the end when

it’s revealed that random characters are related to each other. At least, this didn’t make Petrik a traitor

My biggest critique with the book is probably the flat and boring world building. At the beginning, I even thought that the story would take place in our regular world because the world building was so simple. This is also caused by the writing style that barely describes something and if it does, th descriptions are often clunky. There’s also too much telling, especially when it comes to the behaviour of characters; one of them is called arrogant but is barely shown as being it.

Like I’ve said, it was very nice to have an MC with social anxiety. Ziva’s struggles because of it were well depicted in my opinion. Sadly, some things about her character were stereotypical, like the fact that she has a dead mom and that she’s not like other girls.

I generally liked the rest of the cast but especially the male characters were so cliché. Of course, the love interest is arrogant, flirty and muscular. Another problem I had with the characters was that they and their conflict were sometimes just annoying; for example, Ziva and her sister always argue about such childish things. One thing I liked though was the causal queerness of the story in some parts.

Blade of Secrets is another book that proves that a good idea doesn’t mean a good execution. I’ll maybe read the second book if my library gets it but otherwise, this series is sadly nothing for me.

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