Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Review on Blades of Magic

Have you ever been looked down on because of your family? Like your older brother was a slacker in school so your teachers thought you would be too? Or your family is poor and others looked down on you even though it wasn't your fault? And what if your father, an imperial commander, disgraced your entire family because he deserted his army? Well, that probably never happened to you, but you get what I'm saying, right?
I read... Blades of Magic by Terah Edun

Blades of Magic

Format: E-book
Pub. Date: March 31st, 2014
Summary:
It is not a peaceful time in the Algardis Empire. War is raging between the mages and seventeen-year-old Sara Fairchild will be right in the middle of it.

She just doesn't know it yet.

Sara is the daughter of a disgraced imperial commander, executed for desertion. Sara is also the best duelist and hand-to-hand combatant in Sandrin. She lives quietly with her family’s shame but when challenged about her family’s honor, her opponent inevitably loses.

On the night she finds out her father’s true last actions, she takes the Mercenary Guilds’ vows to serve in the emperor’s army. Using her quick wits and fierce fighting skills, she earns a spot in the first division.

There she discovers secrets the mages on both sides would prefer stay hidden. Dark enemies hunt her and soon it's not just Sara questioning the motivation behind this war.

While fighting mages, blackmailing merchants and discovering new friends, Sara comes across something she’s never had before - passion. The question is - can she fight for her empress against a mage who might unwittingly claim her heart?

This is year one of the Initiate Wars. Sara is hoping it doesn't become the year she dies.

My rating: 4 out of 5 blades!
My recommendation: Anyone who likes action and magic.
My review:
My copy was provided by Netgalley.
Sara is the daughter of a disgraced imperial commander, but it's not like it's her fault. She loves her father, but she didn't force him to desert his army. Yet that's the way people see her family and so she shall forever be looked upon in disgust. Sara is a battle mage, but she can't find a job to help her family because no one will hire her. No one trusts her, but Sara needs to make some money to help support her mother.
When Sara is offered the chance to join the emeror's army, she finally gets her chance to learn more about her father's death and why he deserted his army. She can finally take away the black shadow shrouding her family. Yet Sara learns all is not what they seem to be when she has to fight enemies from both sides of the war and she begins to questions the motives of her "friends" and herself as well.
This book took you immediately into the action. There was no backstory or descriptions. This book transported you directly into the story. There was no time to catch up which made the story exciting, but it was also confusing during the beginning because you had no idea what was going on.
I love how real Sara felt. She wasn't perfect even though she had these amazing powers. Every day, she felt the fear that she would lose control, that she would become the thing she hates and fears the most. She kept this fear bottled inside her and I felt so sorry for Sara. Everyone is so afraid of her that they don't realize Sara is afraid of herself as well.
I also loved Ezekiel. He was so funny and he seems like he's a bit dim-witted, but there is so much going on with him that it feels as if he's two different people. At first, he's this clumsy curator, but you learn that he had this whole secret life in the past and he has all these secrets, dangerous ones. I can't wait to learn more about him and I would love it if he showed up even more in the second book.
There was never a dull moment in this book. There's a lot of violence in this book and Edun doesn't skimp out on any of the details.
At times, I found it difficult to really connect to Sara. It might be because she's killed people and I've (obviously) never done that, but with the troubles she faced, I couldn't connect to her through them.
This book was awesome and absolutely filled with action. I can't wait to read the second book and learn even more about Ezekiel and all the secrets he keeps.

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