Traitor's Blade

This is the kind of book that I wish I could give a five star review to, but something about it fell short for me.

I picked it up for the action and adventure since that is a genre that seems difficult for me to find in books and it delivered. It was exciting and full of fights and flights and drama. But something about it also felt artificial, like the author was catering to the publisher more than the readers.

It also fell short in its treatment of women. While having a decent amount of women characters, they seemed to all fall within the well-worn stereotypes (e.g. prostitute with a heart of gold, crazy old hag, evil witch, beautiful and naive virgin, victim wife). This may have also added to why it felt artificial. Many of the female characters served a purpose to the story but lacked nuance.

Then there was that (approved by the author) nonconsensual sex scene. The very idea that forcing someone into sex could heal them of deep emotional wounds riled me. Gender does not matter, if someone says “stop” over and over again, you stop. You do not tie them up, force them to comply, then claim you did them a favor.

Add in the animal cruelty (not approved by the author, but still very disturbing) and I finished off reading a well-written book feeling a tad disappointed. Still, I may read the second one.