A review by livreads54
A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair

adventurous challenging tense 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

4.25

I went into this book fully expecting it to be fine but it was actually really good. I got it because I wanted to solve the author mystery (which I definitely did not do), but I ended up having more fun with the story than the mystery. Heavy fantasy isn’t usually my thing, but the world building here was so good that I didn’t mind. 

The characters were really interesting, and the way they interacted with each other was fantastic. I think it’s so rare to see friendships in adult fantasy that are healthy and fun, but this book has some of the best friendships I’ve seen in this genre. Keera is a super compelling main character, but I found that Riven fell a little flat for me at times. The side characters were phenomenal, and everyone was pretty well developed considering this is only the first book in a series. 

My main complaint is that certain plot points got repetitive. The way that Keera’s drinking was described was really redundant, but other than that, I thought the book was pretty well written. For a debut, I think the writing was really solid, and I was pleasantly surprised. If you’re a fan of adult fantasy, I absolutely recommend that you pick up a copy of this book.
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