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A review by mgodkin1
A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Maybe trying to annotate and sticky tab as I read was my mistake but trying to do so made every flaw and boring sentence glaringly obvious. I gave up about 70 pages in when I realized I was begging the author to show and not tell (or to simply please just stop explaining things twice in a row oh my god) and suggesting full sentence rewrites. I'm not some famous author so what does it matter if I disagree with the prose in the grand scheme of if someone ELSE would like this book or not, but holy cow I was bored.
If you don't have the space to be empathetic towards someone with an alcohol dependency you may struggle with liking the main character. I recognize the beauty in focusing on that kind of struggle in a MC's journey but I wasn't actually expecting it to play so center stage for some reason.
I found almost all the twists to be very predictable, probably because everything was over explained any chance the author got.
Once I decided I'd stop annotating and start to "turn my brain off"/try to enjoy it for the story it is/speed read, I still had a tough time loving or even liking this book. It was fine.
Those who say it is like FBAA from JLA are more correct in terms of pacing and skill. Those who say it is similar to TOG from SJM are right only in that we have a magical realm with a king's assassin who lost a loved one and is traumatized. I wouldn't say there's anywhere near the same level of intrigue, sass from the FMC, or emotion in the writing in general. Or worldbuilding tbh.
and I have no idea why people are saying its super spicy. it was like a 🌶️🌶️ at MOST.
TL/DR; cool idea, terrible execution
If you don't have the space to be empathetic towards someone with an alcohol dependency you may struggle with liking the main character. I recognize the beauty in focusing on that kind of struggle in a MC's journey but I wasn't actually expecting it to play so center stage for some reason.
I found almost all the twists to be very predictable, probably because everything was over explained any chance the author got.
Once I decided I'd stop annotating and start to "turn my brain off"/try to enjoy it for the story it is/speed read, I still had a tough time loving or even liking this book. It was fine.
Those who say it is like FBAA from JLA are more correct in terms of pacing and skill. Those who say it is similar to TOG from SJM are right only in that we have a magical realm with a king's assassin who lost a loved one and is traumatized. I wouldn't say there's anywhere near the same level of intrigue, sass from the FMC, or emotion in the writing in general. Or worldbuilding tbh.
and I have no idea why people are saying its super spicy. it was like a 🌶️🌶️ at MOST.
TL/DR; cool idea, terrible execution
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Alcoholism
Moderate: Death, Torture, and Xenophobia