Scan barcode
ashley_a_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It’s definitely slower, but everything feels believable with the pace. The relationships take natural courses. Very, very slow burn. The book sets itself to be very action packed moving forward. The characters are amazing, the world is beautifully complex. The only thing that keeps me from giving it five stars is that sometimes is definitely slow, it feels like things are happening but nothing is moving.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, and Slavery
mj_86's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Trafficking, and Grief
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Torture
lorange's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse
judassilver's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Self harm, Slavery, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Sexual violence, Blood, and Colonisation
Minor: Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
careinthelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Colonisation
brjedi26's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault, Torture, and Trafficking
dragongirl271's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.25
“Why else make a journey you didn’t expect to survive? But maybe you’ll find more than survival here. Maybe you’ll find redemption.”
This is a series I'm thoroughly excited to finish. I had a great time reading this first book. I really enjoy the worldbuilding by Blair and I love a protagonist that's very complex and not always right, which is found with Keera.
A Broken Blade is the first book in The Halfling Saga. We're introduced to Keera, a half-elf (known as “halflings” in this world) who was forced into the King’s service and became his top spy and assassin. Keera's never been happy with the King's rule, but following his orders is how she stays alive. Until, a mysterious figure working against the monarchy appears. Can this “Shadow” help Keera find a new path toward survival and freedom?
Again, I really enjoyed Blair's world. I think she did a good job adding depth to the side characters. We also get a romance subplot with some great tropes without it feeling too trope-y?? Sign me up for the sequels. (Disclaimer: I could still see some of these tropes coming a mile away the second they were hinted at. No, that did not stop me from kicking my feet in glee when they finally happened.)
I think this is also going to be a really good discussion on how messy revolution is. Not everything goes well. People get hurt. Keera's got her own traumas and trust issues. And it seems not everybody is involved for the right reasons. The synopses of the next two books give me hope that the story will stay complex and nuanced.
1st-person POV. Fast pacing. Bisexual main character!!! Tough topics addressed with MC (see CWs at beginning of book).
Tropes included:
Enemies to lovers
There was only one bed
Who did this to you?
This is a series I'm thoroughly excited to finish. I had a great time reading this first book. I really enjoy the worldbuilding by Blair and I love a protagonist that's very complex and not always right, which is found with Keera.
A Broken Blade is the first book in The Halfling Saga. We're introduced to Keera, a half-elf (known as “halflings” in this world) who was forced into the King’s service and became his top spy and assassin. Keera's never been happy with the King's rule, but following his orders is how she stays alive. Until, a mysterious figure working against the monarchy appears. Can this “Shadow” help Keera find a new path toward survival and freedom?
Again, I really enjoyed Blair's world. I think she did a good job adding depth to the side characters. We also get a romance subplot with some great tropes without it feeling too trope-y?? Sign me up for the sequels. (Disclaimer: I could still see some of these tropes coming a mile away the second they were hinted at. No, that did not stop me from kicking my feet in glee when they finally happened.)
I think this is also going to be a really good discussion on how messy revolution is. Not everything goes well. People get hurt. Keera's got her own traumas and trust issues. And it seems not everybody is involved for the right reasons. The synopses of the next two books give me hope that the story will stay complex and nuanced.
1st-person POV. Fast pacing. Bisexual main character!!! Tough topics addressed with MC (see CWs at beginning of book).
Tropes included:
Enemies to lovers
There was only one bed
Who did this to you?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Torture, and Trafficking
Minor: Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
ishbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Self harm, and Grief
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Suicide attempt
cold_shiver's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Nothing good is found in a book when it starts with a dedication to booktok.
I will say this is not the worst romantasy book I've read. That title still belongs to Fourth Wing.
However. It is incredibly obvious from the get go that this is Throne of Glass fanfiction. We have a badass woman who's the best assassin in all the land who teams up with a Fae male love interest to take down a tyrannical king. Like you couldn't be farther up SJM's ass if you tried.
My first gripe is that in Blair's world is that offspring of elves and humans are not called half-elves but halflings. Maybe that's trying to do something original but Halfling is so synonymous with Hobbit that I couldn't help but imagine that entire race as 3'5" tall women which made things slightly more entertaining. Imagine how much better the story was Blair went that route.
Now for my serious critiques. Blair has no idea what a character flaw is. Having nightmares of your dead lover accusing you for not keeping your promise is not a character flaw. Making your character turn their self-harm scars into cool elven sigils is not a character flaw. Giving your alcoholic MC a magic potion that keeps her from experiencing physical withdrawal symptoms is not a character flaw.
The story would have been so much better if Keera had gone through actual recovery during the course of the book. Think how much higher the stakes would have been if she's in the middle of a fight and she gets shaky and disoriented. Instead she gets a potion so Blair doesn't have to make Keera's alcoholism a big issue and Keera can get "badass" moments like somersaulting over a bad guy (yes, she actually did this.)There's also the "twist" of Keera being the only surviving member of Elves thought to have died long ago. Wow. Didn't see that one coming.
All female halfings are forced into servitude either by becoming assassins for the king or courtesans. That's cool, l guess. But. There is nothing to keep the order of assassins from taking the initiative and killing the royal family. In all the history of this Order, you mean to tell me not a single person tried to actually kill the king? There is nothing to suggest they're unable to. There's no magic/blood binding to keep them incapable of harming the king. As far as I can tell, they all have free will. Blair does not explain any reason why Keera or Blades before her never attempted it.
This book could have been slightly redeemed in my eyes was if the mysterious Shadow actually turned out to be a woman. But nope. We get a generic Fae guy who's not even interesting. Which leads to another thing is that I don't consider this book to be LGBTQ+ friendly at all. There is one queer couple that's only mentioned and all the others are dead or die in the book.
But the thing that actually sent me into a rage: we do not romantasize self-harm. We do not romanticize self-harm.
I will say this is not the worst romantasy book I've read. That title still belongs to Fourth Wing.
However. It is incredibly obvious from the get go that this is Throne of Glass fanfiction. We have a badass woman who's the best assassin in all the land who teams up with a Fae male love interest to take down a tyrannical king. Like you couldn't be farther up SJM's ass if you tried.
My first gripe is that in Blair's world is that offspring of elves and humans are not called half-elves but halflings. Maybe that's trying to do something original but Halfling is so synonymous with Hobbit that I couldn't help but imagine that entire race as 3'5" tall women which made things slightly more entertaining. Imagine how much better the story was Blair went that route.
Now for my serious critiques. Blair has no idea what a character flaw is. Having nightmares of your dead lover accusing you for not keeping your promise is not a character flaw. Making your character turn their self-harm scars into cool elven sigils is not a character flaw. Giving your alcoholic MC a magic potion that keeps her from experiencing physical withdrawal symptoms is not a character flaw.
The story would have been so much better if Keera had gone through actual recovery during the course of the book. Think how much higher the stakes would have been if she's in the middle of a fight and she gets shaky and disoriented. Instead she gets a potion so Blair doesn't have to make Keera's alcoholism a big issue and Keera can get "badass" moments like somersaulting over a bad guy (yes, she actually did this.)
All female halfings are forced into servitude either by becoming assassins for the king or courtesans. That's cool, l guess. But. There is nothing to keep the order of assassins from taking the initiative and killing the royal family. In all the history of this Order, you mean to tell me not a single person tried to actually kill the king? There is nothing to suggest they're unable to. There's no magic/blood binding to keep them incapable of harming the king. As far as I can tell, they all have free will. Blair does not explain any reason why Keera or Blades before her never attempted it.
This book could have been slightly redeemed in my eyes was if the mysterious Shadow actually turned out to be a woman. But nope. We get a generic Fae guy who's not even interesting. Which leads to another thing is that I don't consider this book to be LGBTQ+ friendly at all. There is one queer couple that's only mentioned and all the others are dead or die in the book.
But the thing that actually sent me into a rage: we do not romantasize self-harm. We do not romanticize self-harm.
WE DO NOT ROMANTICIZE SELF-HARM.
This is not 2012. We do not have a boy kiss self-harm scars and call them beautiful. Self-harm is not beautiful, it is a result of mental illness. My god, Blair, what was in your head when you wrote that? I'm aghast no one spoke against this while it was in editing.
If you want a generically, poorly written, romantasy, SJM fan fiction with a cardboard cutout love interest then this is your book I guess. I only give it a one star because all Halflings in this books are Hobbits and you will not convince me otherwise.
This is not 2012. We do not have a boy kiss self-harm scars and call them beautiful. Self-harm is not beautiful, it is a result of mental illness. My god, Blair, what was in your head when you wrote that? I'm aghast no one spoke against this while it was in editing.
If you want a generically, poorly written, romantasy, SJM fan fiction with a cardboard cutout love interest then this is your book I guess. I only give it a one star because all Halflings in this books are Hobbits and you will not convince me otherwise.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Self harm, and Sexual assault
escaperoom's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
i think this book had a lot of potential, but it sadly fell through once the love interest was introduced. this is one of those books where romance just does not work. it wasn't written very well at all, it fell flat and felt like insta love. i also feel like the it wasn't needed. keeras character had a lot of potential by herself and was very fleshed out. this book could've been a 5 star masterpiece to me with just the found family. and honestly, i skimmed past the spicy parts because they made me feel icky. like i said, the romantic connection was just NOT THERE and felt so forced. on a positive note, the world building was good and the magic system has great potential. i just cannot get over how well keera was written too. and lastly the sensitive topics in this book were handled extremely well. sadly though, i will not be continuing the rest of this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Colonisation