Review by aliciawhatsthestory - A Broken Blade

aliciawhatsthestory 's review for:

A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair

4.5

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Wow. What a journey from watching booktokers receive their anonymous ARCs of this book to now, finishing my own eARC from Melissa’s publisher—Union Square & Co.

This debut YA fantasy novel was such a great read. Once I got to the 30% mark, I couldn’t put it down. This is the book that will keep you up reading until 5 am. I loved that you get all the fantastical elements of other high fantasy, but with an anti-colonialist perspective. You really get a look into not only the workings of Keera’s world, but also into how she has been affected as a woman who has never been able to choose how to live her own life, including dealing with grief, alcohol abuse, physical violence, and threats of sexual violence (please do check TWs before reading!), not to mention the guilt that hangs over Keera from actions she was forced to take or die herself.

My single complaint about this book was that, at times I felt like a little detail in the world building was left out, leaving me a little confused about technical things like how exactly Fae/Elven/Mortal/Halfblood genetics work.

That aside, I really enjoyed this book. It’s a dazzling debut that left me anxious for more (as in I need book 2 right now so I can find out what happens after this cliffhanger!!!). I will eagerly await more from Melissa Blair, and I’ll definitely be picking up a physical copy of the gorgeous, subtly metallic, paperback to add to my shelves when I can.

Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for granting me a advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Content Warnings