Reviews tagging 'Classism'

A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair

16 reviews

triley's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Alcoholism, Self harm, Violence, Genocide, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Vomit, Kidnapping, and War

melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

Wow wow wowwww! I had no idea what to expect from this book since I only picked up the audiobook on Libby for being a fantasy romance (without reading the blurb) but it beat every expectation I had. I assumed it was YA, so imagine my surprise when the characters started cussing in some parts and there was even some spice (though they didn’t go all the way). I love that it was a high stakes fantasy that didn’t shy away from the violence and gore especially since most of it was done by our badass female lead. As for the romance, I’m not mad about the person who was “The Shadow” being predictable bc it leads to an amazing enemies to lovers situation filled with tension due to their forced proximity (and even the “single bed” trope😉.)

The ending may have also been a bit obvious with its plot twist but it left off at a good cliffhanger, so I can’t wait to pick up the next book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Slavery, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Medical content, War, Addiction, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Self harm

Moderate: Cursing, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Trafficking

cassandramt17's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, Classism, and Colonisation

Moderate: Genocide

Minor: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault

winterzeshoek's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

Pleasantly surprised by the main character; not a traditional fantasy hero or a Mary Sue, but someone with flaws and traumas. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Addiction, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content

bookish_afrolatina's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Blood, and Death

lastblossom's review

adventurous sad tense medium-paced

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

tl;dr
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

cliffhanger ending that puzzled me a little bit in terms of its execution

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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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Murder, Xenophobia, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Classism, Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Blood, Grief, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Kidnapping and Vomit