Monika
Contains spoilers
I really liked the story at first, though the way Clarissa's nearsightedness was described was a bit extreme, but her nit having glasses and then only using them when she was alone once she got another pair dragged on way too long. It required many characters to be way too stupid for it to work, even with suspension of disbelief.
I got to read the ARC as part of Shalini's street team.
This Blade of Ours has it all:
- Various shades of antagonists, from shameless and unrepentant in their villainy, to ones you can't help but pity.
- Cunning protagonists who, nevertheless, get things wrong because they're still flawed humans.
- Anek, the best, sassiest, most relatable neutralis this side of the Kaycakh Mountains, continuing to shine as my favourite side character.
- A woman craving power to ensure security for herself and the people who are being failed by the existing system, and the man who would give her all his power or burn it all for her if she asked but supports her handling things the way she sees fit.
- Kadra's slutty, slutty robes “accidentally” falling off his shoulder in a bid to influence Sarai's decisions.
This Blade of Ours is a wonderful sequel to This Monster of Mine, one of my all-time favourite books. Both are written in a way that inspires you to create something yourself, which I believe is the best way for a piece of art to affect its audience.
In the sequel, Sarai and Kadra find themselves facing the consequences of their triumph over the antagonist of the previous book, trying to work within a system they broke, and solving a new case — one that hints at a threat to all of Ur Dinyé.
Dealing with greedy Guilds, religious zealots, and the dubious joys of being in the centre of public ttention while trying to keep a crumbling empire and its people safe from destruction is no small feat.
This sequel is everything I could've wished for, balancing between compelling political intrigue, a revenge plot years in the making, and the challenges of Sarai and Kadra's relationship. It made me wish I could cancel all my plans and binge-read it in one sitting.
It highlights how it's not enough to gain power, you have to find a way to keep it, which may be difficult without compromising your ideals. Between Sarai, Kadra, Cassandane and Harion we are presented with vastly different ideas on how to be a good, effective politician and it's fascinating to see them implemented to varying degree of success.
On a personal level for Sarai and Kadra, the story delves into what it means to find comfort and love with someone deeply scarred, both physically and psychologically.
Neither of them are magically free from trauma and pain just because they fell in love with each other. They both have their pasts and the ghosts that still haunt them. This is particularly emphasised in Kadra's POV chapters which allow us a glimpse into what has made him the force of nature we know.
If you love This Monster of Mine you’re going to love This Blade of Ours just as much.
It was amazing getting to know those we met in Priory as side-characters and getting a glimpse into their lives before the main events.
I fell deeply in love with Marosa as a character and hope we get to see her healing her country in the Priory sequel.
I didn't expect to love and mourn Marosa and Aubrecht's engagement
I was really interested in the premise, since I hated Haven so much when I read the first book in the series and was wondering how on earth they could get back together in any sort of happily ever after. This book was enjoyable but honestly I expected gut-wrenching angst and didn't feel this was emotional enough for me to really connect with the characters' story.
Did not have praise kink + face sitting + traditionally published historical romance (all in one box!!!) on my 2025 bingo but, thank the gods, here we are. And to think I was gonna skip books 1 and 2 and just read Knockout because it seemed the most interesting!
The sex scenes felt like fanfiction and I mean it as the highest praise possible because no one does smut the way fic writers do ??????
My audiobook app suggested this to me in the romance section which made me expect a bit more focus on that rather than the subtle (and lovely!!) romance this had as an addition to the amazing plot that actually focused on the supernatural mystery and relationships other than romantic. Because of these expectations I was a bit surprised at the direction th3 book went but otherwise it was so amazing I listened to it non stop when not at work or sleeping
I liked the story, but I think the description is misleading. It made me expect a very different plot, with Stella and Silvester getting married a lot earlier in the book and a lot more pining and jealousy on Silvester's side.
I loved Stella and her kitten. Wish I could bring my cat to social events. I liked Silvester, but wish we had more of his POV, especially during his time away from London and his change of heart.
I'm obsessed with this book. My copy is so full of tabs you can barely see the pages. It starts a bit slowly but really gains momentum.
Edit: Now that I think of it, I would like to add that I got injured when I was reading this book, but I was so engrossed I only noticed when some blood got on the page. Thankfully I was able to clean it using cold water and hydrogen peroxide 3% (in case this ever happens to any of you, quickly grab a cotton ball, dab the stain delicately with water first and then with peroxide. You're welcome). I'm still not sure where the blood came from, tho.
10/10 would bleed from unknown injury again.
The theme of me having no idea what's going on continues, except now the vibes are slightly less immaculate to me, but that's because a lot of this book has a dystopian YA feel and I personally don't like YA. Vibes got back to immaculate once we got off planet and now I'm waiting for the next book like my life depends on it.
Upon re-reading the vibes are immaculate front to back and sideways. I love Nona's family and the gang.
Dnf po dos??ownie dw??ch stronach.
Malin?? poznajemy kiedy wraca z wybitnie nieudanej randki. Nie wiemy co dok??adnie si?? sta??o, ale wiemy, ??e
1. Jej ch??opakowi “co?? odbi??o”
2. Malina obwinia swoj?? kr??tk?? sukienk??, obcasy, makija??
3. Malina s??dzi, ??e jej ch??opak musia?? my??le??, ??e ona mia??a na to, cokolwiek “to” jest, ochot??.
Brzmi znajomo? Brzmi jak obwinianie za przemoc seksualn?? nie jej sprawcy, ale ofiary, bo przecie?? “dawa??a sygna??y, mia??a kr??tk?? sukienk??, wydawa??o si??, ??e ma na to ochot??”.
A wi??c, czy ta sekwencja przedstawia niestety cz??sto spotykan?? reakcj?? kogo??, kogo spotka??a przemoc seksualn???
SPOILER
Ot???? nie. Kilka stron dalej okazuje si??, ??e ch??opak si?? o??wiadczy??, a autorka celowo napisa??a te dwie pierwsze strony w spos??b kt??ry sugeruje przemoc seksualn??, bo przecie?? to takie zabawne. ??miej si??!
Kr??tkie powt??rka z bycia porz??dnym cz??owiekiem:
1. Win?? za przemoc seksualn?? (i jak??kolwiek inn??) ponosi sprawca, nie osoba kt??ra jej do??wiadczy??a.
2. ??arty z przemocy seksualnej nie s?? zabawne. Je??li uwa??asz inaczej, nie jeste?? porz??dnym cz??owiekiem.
Overall a fun story but several times there were such leaps where the characters changed their minds without any explanation about motivations they clearly showed just a few pages earlier that made it a confusing read, especially towards the end.
