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umma's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This its one heck of a good boo.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Blood
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
Some might think its violent but its really not graphic at allbookish_hollyx's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
wad3mil3sgarru2's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
chapters_and_pages's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I didn’t really know too much about this book going into it, but as I liked Daughter of the Pirate King, I figured I’d give it a go and I’m so glad I did!
Ziva spends her days hidden away in her forge, using her magical abilities to craft unique and powerful weapons. She much prefers to be surrounded by metal than people. When Ziva creates a sword for a warlord that can share a person’s secrets, Ziva discovers the Warlord’s true plans with the sword, and must flee with her younger sister to stop the sword ending up in the wrong hands.
I really enjoyed this book! It was a really fast paced, easy to get through read, which I think isn’t as common in fantasy. I really enjoyed our four main characters, as well as the relationships that developed between the group.
I also really liked the representation of social anxiety which we don’t see all that often in fantasy books. I did pick up on some aspects of Ziva’s character that could suggest that she is neurodivergent. Of course, neurodivergence and Autism isn’t really present in most fantasy books (at least, I’ve never read a fantasy book with the rep) and it could be that as a neurodivergent person myself, I’m seeing similarities in my personality and behaviour to that of Ziva, but whether it was intentional or not, I really enjoyed that aspect and wanted to mention it.
I loved the gentle romance that blossomed between Ziva and Kellyn, it was honestly adorable, and the sisterly bond between Ziva and Temra was really enjoyable as well.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to read the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
hayzey's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
chirin_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Cons: The chemistry felt inorganic for the first 3/4 of the book. Kellyn seemed flat to me at times. Ziva’s vocabulary use bothered me occasionally— almost as if that was the only way the author could think of to give her a “unique voice.” Just a personal preference, but this made some conversions frustrating. Conflict resolution felt forced for most of the book. Kymora was a standard villain. Biggest concern was that the representation/cast diversity read as token— a subtle sentence here and there or a one-chapter side character. If you’re going to make the cast diverse, commit!!
Pros: THOROUGHLY enjoyed the last 1/4 of the book, not just because of the sudden chemistry, but mostly because it seemed like Kellyn had a real personality outside his macho bravado. Maybe this was intentional, but I would have liked to see more of a gradual build. Temra and Petrick were excellent. Hopefully even more of them in book 2. The world building was interesting! Classically medieval, fun fairytale references. Ziva’s anxiety makes her a unique main character; I also would have liked a more gradual development of this as well. Looking forward to seeing the cast again in book 2!
Pros: THOROUGHLY enjoyed the last 1/4 of the book, not just because of the sudden chemistry, but mostly because it seemed like Kellyn had a real personality outside his macho bravado. Maybe this was intentional, but I would have liked to see more of a gradual build. Temra and Petrick were excellent. Hopefully even more of them in book 2. The world building was interesting! Classically medieval, fun fairytale references. Ziva’s anxiety makes her a unique main character; I also would have liked a more gradual development of this as well. Looking forward to seeing the cast again in book 2!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, and Religious bigotry
kassidyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Violence
Moderate: Death and Blood
Minor: Death of parent
shadereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death
Minor: Murder
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.0
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 theslow-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.
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
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
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: War
bookaholic_in_wonderland's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Violence and Blood
Minor: Death of parent