S. J. Hartland

His duty is to die young, but fate has something far more lethal in mind. If Kaell breaks, the kingdom breaks with him. And prophecy says the 19th Bladesman will break ... Duty and love collide in this powerful epic fantasy about shattering loss, betrayal and the price of power that will enthral fans of Game of Thrones and the Mistborn trilogy.

Shadow Sword

The 19th Bladesman

Imzy

Recieved an ARC for an honest review.



  Words hold power. Songs. Poetry. They all weave magic of one sort or another.


I was really excited to read this because the book's premise was so intriguing. With kings, priestesses, magic and swordmen- I devoured this book. (There were some Game of Thrones vibes at the start of the book).

There's alot of depth to the plot and setting which was explained so perfectly. The writing style is so smooth and decadent and works so well with the story. One thing I need in books is character development and this book definitely gave some powerful growth in Kaell's character who just wants the love and acceptance from his guardian.


  "Even beneath the joy, beneath those times when you laugh together, there's always fear," he whispered. "Because you know maybe not that day, maybe not the next, but one day you'll mourn that child. I can't do this. Love. Mourn. Not with Kaell, not with Philip."


One thing that bothered me was the size of the book. I don't mind long books but when there are chapters wasted on just trying to drag out the book I get really annoyed. Each chapter was in the POV of a character (there were around 5 different POVs). There were many chapters at the start and middle of the book that were completely useless to the plot such as a few of Heath and Aric chapters.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this book if you like historically set books. And if you liked Game of Thrones you might like this.

The 19th Bladesman Shadow Sword

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