Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - A Broken Blade (The Halfling Saga Book 1)

I did go into this not knowing much about it other than it was a debut from a First Nation author. When I started this, I wasn't sure if it was going to grab me. It took about around 100 pages for things to really start flowing but once it did, I started to really, REALLY enjoy this. The foreshadow was a bit too 'hey, look at this twist that's coming' so it was predictable. Keera is definitely the highlight of this book, being a bad ass but flawed FMC who has multiple struggles to work through and the back and forth with Riven is a delight. And there are parts that are so heart wrenching that i had to sit the book down and process it (Looking at you Ch. 25).

I can see why some people may not like this since it's a fairly trope heavy book. The author thanks BookTok and it does gear it towards that type of 'tell me the tropes' writing. My biggest complaint was about half way through the book I was over being reminded that Halfings had their ears altered. Very repetitive reminder to the readers to see it mentioned over and over. While there was a lot more political intrigue than I anticipated which I love as a trope, I feel like the colonialism could have been a bigger aspect. I hope the next books continue to talk about it but bring in more to the forefront.

But when I hit the 75% mark I immediately ordered the next one and pre-ordered 3 so I clearly enjoyed it. Give me tropey fantasy and I will devour it.

Content Warnings

readbynany's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

This the kind of book that white straight people would complain about on booktok 😭😭. The writing and story was impeccable and captivating, only thing I had trouble following was fight or action scenes.
The fmc is bi and the mmc is a moc!

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whatkireads's review against another edition

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adventurous relaxing fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

3.5⭐️
I don't know how to feel about this book because in the beginning, the main character threw me off.

I didn't really like that she was wallowing so much, like girl how are you an assassin an also a drunkard at the same time?? but maybe I just haven't wrapped my head around flawed fmcs just yet. It was slow, and then suddenly I find myself staying up late to read and picking this up first thing in the morning to read for 3 hours straight. The "romance" here feels a bit rushed, it went from him hating her guts and barely trusting her to oh she broke her bones so I love her now, like the shift was a bit drastic. I didn't like how she just caved into it either, would have been nice to see more tension developed. The ending was...a little unexpected I can't say I saw that coming but it's also somewhat of a rushed ending too? It's a trilogy that has time to be adapted so it's fine but I did enjoy the book at the end of the day so can't wait to read the next few ones 🫶

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ljp817's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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mal880_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional

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

3.75

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anareads_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

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lilhappyhermit's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

This book had me hooked from page 1. Seeing where Keera starts off and how she grows as a character throughout the book was such an amazing experience. Watching her work through her grief and guilt as she makes these unexpected connections an friendships made her journey, from start to finish, that much more meaningful. The plot twist at the end had me shocked and needing to grab book 2 ASAP!

Content Warnings

tanadeet's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense 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

4.25

A surprisingly enjoyable story which needs more love. A story about Fae and humans, saving a kingdom, slow burn romance, found family and a strong FMC, fighting for survival, for love and her people ⚔️

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