A review by thebakerbookworm
A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair

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

3.0

Special orphan girl kills people in service to an evil king/tyrant because she has no choice but she feels *really bad* about it. She's also really good at it. Everyone judges her for being as evil as the king until they learn just how bad she actually feels, and then they fall in (romantic or platonic) love with her instead. She joins the war effort to overthrow said evil king, and then discovers she is actually uber special because of her secret heritage.

Sound familiar? I am describing A Broken Blade...but also countless other YA fantasy books. And that's what this whole story felt like—like I'd read it before. Nothing new, the plot points were all predictable, and the characters weren't unique or interesting enough to be memorable.

But it did entertain me, in the same way I'm guessing that people are entertained by Hallmark movies. It was comforting in its familiarity and predictability, rather than boring. The audio was also excellent, and that always helps.

Thanks to Libro.fm, Blackstone Publishing, and the author for my ALC.
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