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A review by cold_shiver
A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair
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