A review by bluz19
Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland

adventurous challenging mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

I want to start by saying this book is the beginning of a series and I have no idea how long the series will be but I excited to see where this adventure will take our characters. Tis book has multiple viewpoints, LGBTQ+ themes, and is 400+ pages. I think the biggest downside for me with this book is that we get the viewpoints of six characters. Although it was great having that much insight, I found myself having to make a chart of who everyone was because it is so hard to keep track with them changing every chapter. Apart from that, I really enjoyed the story, the in-depth look into their lives, different backgrounds, thoughts, and connections. We are slowly introduced to each character, their skills, and their journey to reach the group and then to get rid of the “god-king”. The book is full of action, deceit, and characters with trauma and issues. Imagine a book of a ragtag group formed together to achieve a nearly impossible goal. That is everything that this book is. All the character provide layers and complexity to the story. Their decisions often shocked me but everything they did was built from the personality that their backstories and upbringing created. There is a lot of darkness pent up in this story but there are also light moments, humor, and love/ care. 
This book definitely kept me guessing, I felt like I was just along for the ride. There were definitely parts that surprised me and I’m still reeling on right now. There are also parts that I felt could’ve been more filled out because I had to go back and try to read them because it didn’t feel clear as to why or how it happened. I felt like the author was trying to throw in some twists that at times just fell flat. And as cool as the plot sounds, I want to note that this is more based on the character development and less on the actual plot which is interesting considering the plot s to kill and immortal king. The ending of this book is. Huge cliffhanger, just as a precaution to those who need to prep in advance. 
 
Ultimately, I loved this book and these character and I am very excited to pick up the second one and continue with these characters. If you enjoy journey stories, action, deception, a ragtag group of criminals, with a dash of romance and twist and turns then I think you will enjoy this story. The world building and the character set up was better than I have read in a long time. I am so excited for book 2!
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