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A review by lindzy
Shadowblade by Anna Kashina
4.0
Full review here
I was dubious about Shadowblade as the average rating on Goodreads is around 3*. While I often feel disappointed by books that have a lot of hype surrounding them, I was pleasantly surprised to find the opposite was true this time.
Naia is an orphan with no clue to who she is. Taken in by elite warriors, she works to prove herself as a powerful fighter to join their ranks. Her temper makes her enemies, while her good heart gets her into trouble.
Naia is a likeable character. At times, her temper does seem extreme and I doubted whether someone would lash out with such violence given the circumstances. But you understand why she does. She is always anxious to prove herself, whether to her superiors or to herself. She feels things deeply; determined to protect those less able than herself and unwillingly to sacrifice the love she felt for someone even when things turn against her. She doesn’t see things in black and white, which meant her reactions weren’t predictable.
Karrim, part love-interest, part-strongest-warrior-in-the-land was my favourite character. No one can match him with weapons, but he, too, has a good heart and he lightened a number of scenes with his humour.
Other characters – Gassan, the man who set the whole thing in motion, Mehtab, Naia’s teacher and Arsat, head of the Jaihar warriors – help shape Naia into the woman she becomes and you like/dislike them just the way you’re supposed to, following Naia’s emotions.
When a betrayal was revealed (I’m not mentioning names here), I was unsure of its positioning in the book, despite starting to have suspicions. However, the change in narration and switch in view point to other characters worked to keep the plot moving forward, even when Naia isn’t fully aware of a situation.
The pacing felt slow: the majority of the book is setting up Naia’s skills and chance to take on the assignment. But it meant you connected with the characters and while the tension wasn’t high, it didn’t drag. You got invested in the characters as well as the plot.
The latter part of the book had a much stronger pace and the tension was higher, helped by the changes in narration. It could have been a very strong book if this stretched for the entire thing, but I still found it enjoyable.
There are a few explicit sex scenes in the book: two in particular. The first one didn’t work for me; it completely stalled the rhythm just to explore the emotions from both parties involved, which made it feel it dragged. Again, that worried me about the rest of the book, but it thankfully picked up momentum after that. The second scene felt more natural. The scenes work if they advance the plot, but the initial one felt it was in there for the sake of it.
I enjoyed this book. It was well-developed and had a satisfying end, which makes a change from leaving it open for a sequel.
I was dubious about Shadowblade as the average rating on Goodreads is around 3*. While I often feel disappointed by books that have a lot of hype surrounding them, I was pleasantly surprised to find the opposite was true this time.
Naia is an orphan with no clue to who she is. Taken in by elite warriors, she works to prove herself as a powerful fighter to join their ranks. Her temper makes her enemies, while her good heart gets her into trouble.
Naia is a likeable character. At times, her temper does seem extreme and I doubted whether someone would lash out with such violence given the circumstances. But you understand why she does. She is always anxious to prove herself, whether to her superiors or to herself. She feels things deeply; determined to protect those less able than herself and unwillingly to sacrifice the love she felt for someone even when things turn against her. She doesn’t see things in black and white, which meant her reactions weren’t predictable.
Karrim, part love-interest, part-strongest-warrior-in-the-land was my favourite character. No one can match him with weapons, but he, too, has a good heart and he lightened a number of scenes with his humour.
Other characters – Gassan, the man who set the whole thing in motion, Mehtab, Naia’s teacher and Arsat, head of the Jaihar warriors – help shape Naia into the woman she becomes and you like/dislike them just the way you’re supposed to, following Naia’s emotions.
When a betrayal was revealed (I’m not mentioning names here), I was unsure of its positioning in the book, despite starting to have suspicions. However, the change in narration and switch in view point to other characters worked to keep the plot moving forward, even when Naia isn’t fully aware of a situation.
The pacing felt slow: the majority of the book is setting up Naia’s skills and chance to take on the assignment. But it meant you connected with the characters and while the tension wasn’t high, it didn’t drag. You got invested in the characters as well as the plot.
The latter part of the book had a much stronger pace and the tension was higher, helped by the changes in narration. It could have been a very strong book if this stretched for the entire thing, but I still found it enjoyable.
There are a few explicit sex scenes in the book: two in particular. The first one didn’t work for me; it completely stalled the rhythm just to explore the emotions from both parties involved, which made it feel it dragged. Again, that worried me about the rest of the book, but it thankfully picked up momentum after that. The second scene felt more natural. The scenes work if they advance the plot, but the initial one felt it was in there for the sake of it.
I enjoyed this book. It was well-developed and had a satisfying end, which makes a change from leaving it open for a sequel.