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abinthebooks 's review for:
Blade of Secrets
by Tricia Levenseller
4.5 stars
Trisha Levenseller has slowly become one of my favorite authors over the past 4 years. She was one of the first young adult authors I read back in 2019, with Daughter of a Pirate King (which was one of my favorites books I read that year), and Daughter of a Siren Queen. After that, I read The Shadows Between Us which I initially rated 4 stars, but I now consider one of my favorite books of all time. And finally, I finished Warrior of the Wild which I also adored and still think back on almost a year later (I believe I rated that book 4 stars as well, but it was definitely a 5-star read). Blade of Secrets was one of my most anticipated books of last year. However, I was in a huge reading slump the entire year and did not get around to reading it.
However, I'm very happy more than I am upset for waiting to read this book; the anticipation of waiting for this sequel would have killed me. I really loved everything about this story. I loved our main character, who I could very much relate to in the anxiety representation. This rep was done very well in my opinion, and I very much felt represented by Ziva's inner struggles. I loved the sisterly bond between our main character Ziva and her younger sister Temra and I adored their dynamic. It distinctively reminded me of my sister and I. Especially reading from Ziva's POV, because she is the older sister and so I am. Temra very much reminded me of my sister; maybe not in terms of being boy obsessed, but the bold and unapologetic way they both walk strikes me as very similar. I was very happy I could most relate to these two things. I feel like I can never find good anxiety representation in fantasy, and I can never find a good sisterly bond without one of the sisters betraying the other, or one of them being an insufferable asshole.
The romance was also very sweet and fun to read. I adored our love interest, Kellyn who reminded me a lot of a... more self-aware version of Thor from the MCU. Like a version of Thor who understood Earth? Does that make sense? I have absolutely no idea. Kellyn also reminded me a bit of Steve Trevors from the Wonder Woman movies (I loved how I'm just referencing superheroes in a book that involves nothing in semblance to superheroes. I will take any time to be a chaotic nerd). He has that same spirit of reluctant hero, and he kind of has the personality of Thor. Or maybe it was just because he was described in a way that reminded me of first MCU movie Thor/Chris Hemsworth (maybe a bit on the younger side however). I don't know what I'm talking about. What I do know is that he was a very fun character to become attached to. He had such a bold & fun personality, which definitely hindered the way Ziva saw the world. Kellyn was also very attentive to the way Ziva felt, and he always paid extra attention to her. Their romance was genuinely the sweetest.
I loved every character in here; even Petrik who I have yet to mention above. Levenseller writes building interactions between each of the characters, and meaningful, witty banter that keeps you turning the pages as fast as you can. These characters were all so different; one of the best parts about this book. And while they did clash, that was the best part about their friendships. Learning to trust each other despite their oddities and coming together to create a fun-to-read found-family dynamic.
I was never bored, and the plot was super engaging. There was not a dull part about Blade of Secrets. Adventure after adventure happens for these characters, and nothing is ever slow or not happening. The story is the perfect length (maybe even a bit short to be honest), and I flew through this in about 4 hours (which is insane for even me)
Overall, I really loved this addition to Tricia Levenseller's works. She is one of those author's that I will forever dearly love, and obviously an auto-read author for me. This was no exception for my entertainment, and I absolutely adored everything about this. The only it's not a full 5 stars due to my enjoyment not being that full 5 stars (what can I say, I'm stingy with my 5-star ratings), but nevertheless, I really loved every second of this.
Trisha Levenseller has slowly become one of my favorite authors over the past 4 years. She was one of the first young adult authors I read back in 2019, with Daughter of a Pirate King (which was one of my favorites books I read that year), and Daughter of a Siren Queen. After that, I read The Shadows Between Us which I initially rated 4 stars, but I now consider one of my favorite books of all time. And finally, I finished Warrior of the Wild which I also adored and still think back on almost a year later (I believe I rated that book 4 stars as well, but it was definitely a 5-star read). Blade of Secrets was one of my most anticipated books of last year. However, I was in a huge reading slump the entire year and did not get around to reading it.
However, I'm very happy more than I am upset for waiting to read this book; the anticipation of waiting for this sequel would have killed me. I really loved everything about this story. I loved our main character, who I could very much relate to in the anxiety representation. This rep was done very well in my opinion, and I very much felt represented by Ziva's inner struggles. I loved the sisterly bond between our main character Ziva and her younger sister Temra and I adored their dynamic. It distinctively reminded me of my sister and I. Especially reading from Ziva's POV, because she is the older sister and so I am. Temra very much reminded me of my sister; maybe not in terms of being boy obsessed, but the bold and unapologetic way they both walk strikes me as very similar. I was very happy I could most relate to these two things. I feel like I can never find good anxiety representation in fantasy, and I can never find a good sisterly bond without one of the sisters betraying the other, or one of them being an insufferable asshole.
The romance was also very sweet and fun to read. I adored our love interest, Kellyn who reminded me a lot of a... more self-aware version of Thor from the MCU. Like a version of Thor who understood Earth? Does that make sense? I have absolutely no idea. Kellyn also reminded me a bit of Steve Trevors from the Wonder Woman movies (I loved how I'm just referencing superheroes in a book that involves nothing in semblance to superheroes. I will take any time to be a chaotic nerd). He has that same spirit of reluctant hero, and he kind of has the personality of Thor. Or maybe it was just because he was described in a way that reminded me of first MCU movie Thor/Chris Hemsworth (maybe a bit on the younger side however). I don't know what I'm talking about. What I do know is that he was a very fun character to become attached to. He had such a bold & fun personality, which definitely hindered the way Ziva saw the world. Kellyn was also very attentive to the way Ziva felt, and he always paid extra attention to her. Their romance was genuinely the sweetest.
I loved every character in here; even Petrik who I have yet to mention above. Levenseller writes building interactions between each of the characters, and meaningful, witty banter that keeps you turning the pages as fast as you can. These characters were all so different; one of the best parts about this book. And while they did clash, that was the best part about their friendships. Learning to trust each other despite their oddities and coming together to create a fun-to-read found-family dynamic.
I was never bored, and the plot was super engaging. There was not a dull part about Blade of Secrets. Adventure after adventure happens for these characters, and nothing is ever slow or not happening. The story is the perfect length (maybe even a bit short to be honest), and I flew through this in about 4 hours (which is insane for even me)
Overall, I really loved this addition to Tricia Levenseller's works. She is one of those author's that I will forever dearly love, and obviously an auto-read author for me. This was no exception for my entertainment, and I absolutely adored everything about this. The only it's not a full 5 stars due to my enjoyment not being that full 5 stars (what can I say, I'm stingy with my 5-star ratings), but nevertheless, I really loved every second of this.