A review by haynoelle96
Blade of Secrets, by Tricia Levenseller
5.0
Okay. I haven't read a book this good in AGES. Tricia Levenseller, you did it again!! Please please please read this book, it's totally worth it and has EVERYTHING.
This book is about a pair of sisters and their quest to protect the most magical weapon one of them has ever made. Ziva is a blacksmith and has been for years, she likes the safety of her forge. It helps her quell the anxiety in her. But what makes her special is her ability to imbue magic into her weapons. Ziva unwillingly promises to make a weapon for someone that has nefarious reasons when Ziva only wants to help make the world a safer place. In order to keep the weapon safe, Ziva, her sister, and their two companions travel across their country to make sure the weapon doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
Fine, I'll admit it. I'm certainly a character-driven reader. And this book? Hooked me right from the start with the descriptions of Ziva's anxiety. And her relationship with her sister. This is one of the first books I've read in a while with a sibling relationship that was just perfect. They didn't hate each other, but they bickered like siblings. One of them wasn't DEAD (believe me, this trope gets on my nerves) and they both worked together in order to live. I would consider the book to have one main character, based on the fact that it is first person, but the three side characters (Ziva's sister, and their two companions) really get depth and character development along the way. This book makes you fall in love with the characters, makes you feel their pain and their victories. I cannot rave enough about how these characters are written.
I legit could not put this book down once I started. The pacing wasn't too fast that I couldn't understand the world-building and the magic system of the story, but it kept you engaged the ENTIRE time. I was never bored, nor were there any info-dumps that I felt were out of place. This is a fantasy novel, don't get me wrong, but if you're one of those people that is afraid of high fantasy, this might be a good segue book for you. It was fast-paced, not too complicated, and just out of this world.
One thing you have to know going into this book is that there are instances of our main character having anxiety/panic attacks. If you reading this would cause a bad reaction, I would just proceed with caution. I felt the author handled this extremely well and with care. As one with anxiety myself, I was really excited to read a fantasy novel that has a main character with anxiety. All anxiety is different and mine isn't exactly like hers, but it made me feel like I was represented. The scenes given were extremely relatable and I'm glad Tricia Levenseller included this in her book.
The plot of this book, while simple, gave a lot of opportunity for character growth and action. The writing and characters gave life to this plot and allowed for such a book to grow into the excellent work of fiction that it is. My spoiler thoughts will be below!!
If you are at all interested in a magical blacksmith with anxiety and her sister going on an adventure to prevent a powerful weapon from falling into the wrong hands, then please give this book a try. Tricia Levenseller deserves so much for this book and more people should know her name. This is one of my favorites this year for sure!! Happy Reading!!!!
The couple twists and turns that our group faces are well placed and while expected, also not expected. You know that there's more to Kellyn that meets the eye is obvious, but him having a whole-ass family and that's why he earns money as a mercenary???? Precious. And those family scenes give me LIFE. And the fact that Petrik is Kymora's son??? I knew something was up with him but not that!!!! Consider me shook.
Having a sibling relationship like Ziva and Temra's was so great and well-written and while there were normal bumps and bruises, they ended strong and I can't wait to see what's in store for them in the next installment. Especially with that magical healer that Petrick has told them about. Intriguing to say the least.
I was a little irritated that Ziva was mad at Kellyn for not running and getting Temra to safety when they were fighting Kymora, but I have a feeling that will be resolved in the sequel. But those scenes of Ziva and Kellyn getting closer just warm my heart. And how Kellyn handled her anxiety and didn't judge her for it was really special and sweet.
This book is about a pair of sisters and their quest to protect the most magical weapon one of them has ever made. Ziva is a blacksmith and has been for years, she likes the safety of her forge. It helps her quell the anxiety in her. But what makes her special is her ability to imbue magic into her weapons. Ziva unwillingly promises to make a weapon for someone that has nefarious reasons when Ziva only wants to help make the world a safer place. In order to keep the weapon safe, Ziva, her sister, and their two companions travel across their country to make sure the weapon doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
Fine, I'll admit it. I'm certainly a character-driven reader. And this book? Hooked me right from the start with the descriptions of Ziva's anxiety. And her relationship with her sister. This is one of the first books I've read in a while with a sibling relationship that was just perfect. They didn't hate each other, but they bickered like siblings. One of them wasn't DEAD (believe me, this trope gets on my nerves) and they both worked together in order to live. I would consider the book to have one main character, based on the fact that it is first person, but the three side characters (Ziva's sister, and their two companions) really get depth and character development along the way. This book makes you fall in love with the characters, makes you feel their pain and their victories. I cannot rave enough about how these characters are written.
I legit could not put this book down once I started. The pacing wasn't too fast that I couldn't understand the world-building and the magic system of the story, but it kept you engaged the ENTIRE time. I was never bored, nor were there any info-dumps that I felt were out of place. This is a fantasy novel, don't get me wrong, but if you're one of those people that is afraid of high fantasy, this might be a good segue book for you. It was fast-paced, not too complicated, and just out of this world.
One thing you have to know going into this book is that there are instances of our main character having anxiety/panic attacks. If you reading this would cause a bad reaction, I would just proceed with caution. I felt the author handled this extremely well and with care. As one with anxiety myself, I was really excited to read a fantasy novel that has a main character with anxiety. All anxiety is different and mine isn't exactly like hers, but it made me feel like I was represented. The scenes given were extremely relatable and I'm glad Tricia Levenseller included this in her book.
The plot of this book, while simple, gave a lot of opportunity for character growth and action. The writing and characters gave life to this plot and allowed for such a book to grow into the excellent work of fiction that it is. My spoiler thoughts will be below!!
If you are at all interested in a magical blacksmith with anxiety and her sister going on an adventure to prevent a powerful weapon from falling into the wrong hands, then please give this book a try. Tricia Levenseller deserves so much for this book and more people should know her name. This is one of my favorites this year for sure!! Happy Reading!!!!
Spoiler
Ohhhh boy, seeing the romance behind the scenes of this book was EVERYTHING to me. I love romance, I'm a romance reader, so the fact that Tricia Levenseller added romance to this book with how short it was and she made it quality???? Dang girl. You deserve all the props.The couple twists and turns that our group faces are well placed and while expected, also not expected. You know that there's more to Kellyn that meets the eye is obvious, but him having a whole-ass family and that's why he earns money as a mercenary???? Precious. And those family scenes give me LIFE. And the fact that Petrik is Kymora's son??? I knew something was up with him but not that!!!! Consider me shook.
Having a sibling relationship like Ziva and Temra's was so great and well-written and while there were normal bumps and bruises, they ended strong and I can't wait to see what's in store for them in the next installment. Especially with that magical healer that Petrick has told them about. Intriguing to say the least.
I was a little irritated that Ziva was mad at Kellyn for not running and getting Temra to safety when they were fighting Kymora, but I have a feeling that will be resolved in the sequel. But those scenes of Ziva and Kellyn getting closer just warm my heart. And how Kellyn handled her anxiety and didn't judge her for it was really special and sweet.