Sean

I was first gifted The Blade Itself about five years ago, but hadn’t picked it up until last week. Boy was I missing out. I can’t remember the last book that grabbed hold of me this quickly. This book has the most eclectic cast of characters. Each of them is extremely flawed, with colorful backgrounds that are revealed piece by piece through the book, and yet by the end of the book I couldn’t help but root for(or vehemently against) every one of them.

I only gave it 4.5⭐️ because this book, ultimately, felt like a long prologue without a true payoff. A lot of my favorite series also start that way, and the groundwork laid in The Blade Itself was spectacular, so I can’t wait to say Abercrombies second act.

Tress is a whimsical and lighthearted, joy of a read. There was nothing groundbreaking in here, and that’s ok. Sometimes it’s nice to read a story about (mostly) good people going on a quest and learning more about who they are.

Bonus: I love a good cosmere connection and this one had plenty of fun ones.