Early Review – Blade of Secrets (Bladesmith, Book 1) by Tricia Levenseller (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN-13 : 978-1250756800
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Blade of Secrets series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for Review
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Eighteen-year-old Ziva prefers metal to people. She spends her days tucked away in her forge, safe from society and the anxiety it causes her, using her magical gift to craft unique weapons imbued with power.
Then Ziva receives a commission from a powerful warlord, and the result is a sword capable of stealing its victims secrets. A sword that can cut far deeper than the length of its blade. A sword with the strength to topple kingdoms. When Ziva learns of the warlord’s intentions to use the weapon to enslave all the world under her rule, she takes her sister and flees.
Joined by a distractingly handsome mercenary and a young scholar with extensive knowledge of the world’s known magics, Ziva and her sister set out on a quest to keep the sword safe until they can find a worthy wielder or a way to destroy it entirely.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Bladesmith series, this is a planned duology. I got a copy of this to review through NetGalley.
Story (5/5): I loved this story so much. It features an anxiety-riddled blacksmith, Ziva, who accidentally makes a super powerful sword for a warlord who ends up having evil intentions. Ziva and a cast of crazy characters flee town in order to find a way to destroy or protect the sword. This was full of a lot of adventures, some politics, a bit of romance, and some neat blacksmithing info.
Characters (5/5): I loved the characters here. I could totally relate to Ziva and loved the tight bond she has with her sister. They are joined by a scholar and a mercenary on their journey who are both incredibly well done. I love how Ziva’s traveling companions learn the best ways to interact with Ziva. All these characters are fun to read about and you meet many more interesting ones on Ziva’s adventure.
Setting (5/5): The world-building here is very well done but pretty typical “fantasy world” in style. I enjoyed the discussion of how magic works and enjoyed the amazing cities we adventure to. The description is very well done and I never struggled to picture the settings.
Writing Style (5/5): I have read most of Levelseller’s other books (not “The Shadows Between Us” but everything else) and really love her writing style. Her writing style just really works for me. It’s a wonderful balance of excellent world-building, intriguing magic, amazing characters, exhilarating adventure, and just flat-out good storytelling. This book was completely engaging and effortless for me to read, I loved it!
My Summary (5/5): Overall I absolutely adored this book, it was another amazing adventure fantasy (I have read quite a few awesome adventure fantasies this year!). If you are a fan of adventure fantasy, definitely pick this book up, it’s so well done. I absolutely cannot wait to read the next book in this series! I also immediately went and bought “The Shadows Between Us” since that was the only Levenseller book I hadn’t read yet.
