A review by theladysparks
Of Sword & Silver by January Bell

5.0

 

Kyrie is a silver-tongued thief, gifted with magic by the Goddess Sola that allows her to detect lies and force people to believe hers, and she has stolen from the wrong mark. She went in believing she’d made off with a priceless treasure from a disciple of the death god but instead has been cursed and the only one who can help stop it is a dark warrior who is simply known as The Sword who is also the most feared of all the death God’s worshippers.

After Kyrie breaks the Sword out of prison (where he resides after the murder of a slew of Sola followers), the two make an oath to one another so that he can get his freedom and Kyrie can be cured of her curse. But The Sword seems to have his own agenda on this quest. And as their journey progresses, these enemies grow closer but there are secrets between them all.

"There's nowhere you could go that I wouldn't find you."

I've been in a bit of a reading slump between the end of February and the beginning of March but picking this up has cured me. This is the fantasy romance book of my dreams and I will literally be thinking about it nonstop until the next book comes out. It's giving Witcher vibes. It's giving Baulder's Gate 3 vibes. It's giving a magical world that I would like to be transported to immediately if I can have the Sword call me pretty little liar.

Kyrie's story gives me major Shadowheart vibes from Baulder's Gate 3 but only if she were a really sarcastic rogue. I love her with my whole being and I really enjoyed how she was written because it felt like as the people around her learned more about her, so did we as the readers. It felt like the further I got into the book, the more trust was being shared and the more she was stripping herself of the layers she has to protect herself. I think her entire backstory is so interesting (sad but interesting nonetheless) and I loved the fact that January Bell did not hold back when it came to the flaws that make Kyrie who she is.

The Sword was literally written for the people who love a dark, broody fae man who grunts more than he actually speaks. The same way that January Bell unraveled secrets with Kyrie, she did with the Sword but in a bit of a different way so we would get abrupt half-answers to questions we didn't even realize we had. It was frustrating but I loved how he was trying to give Kyrie the answers without actually giving the answers. (Especially funny if you take into account the fact that he talks about hating the Gods riddles on multiple occasions.) I think that this is a character that the bookish community is going to be obsessing over, and honestly as they should because same.

There was a really strong supporting cast of characters, including a direcat and a mule who had their own personalities that you cannot help but love. The supporting characters all have their own web of intricacies that I found really compelling while I was reading. They all have their flaws but you love them all the same. I think January Bell did a really great job at bringing out their humanness which sounds so silly but I think with fantasy books and anytime there are otherworldly things happening, the writing of characters can feel less human even when they're supposed to just be human so I just really appreciated that.

This book had me laughing. This book had me crying. This book had me throwing it down on the bed because I was so frustrated or shocked by what was happening. And I can't wait to read the next book. A very strong 5 star read that I highly recommend.

- fantasy romance
- enemies to reluctant allies to lovers
- slow burn
- high romantic tension
- loads of wonderful banter
- "little liar" as a pet name
- forced proximity
- really interesting magic
- a prison breakout, a heist and a masquerade ball
- touch her and die vibes
- found family, so much so
- grumpy hero / sassy heroine
- open door
- loads of secrets to unravel