Series: Five Broken Blades #1
Release date: May 7 2024
Publisher: Zaffre Books
Pages: 474
Find it: Goodreads Waterstones
Source: I bought a copy of this from Waterstones
Rating: 4/5 stars
Synopsis
The king of Yusan must die.
The five most dangerous liars in the land have been mysteriously summoned to work together for a single objective: to kill the God King Joon.
He has it coming. Under his merciless immortal hand, the nobles flourish, while the poor and innocent are imprisoned, ruined…or sold.
And now each of the five blades will come for him. Each has tasted bitterness―from the hired hitman seeking atonement, a lovely assassin who seeks freedom, or even the prince banished for his cruel crimes. None can resist the sweet, icy lure of vengeance.
They can agree on murder.
They can agree on treachery.
But for these five killers―each versed in deception, lies, and betrayal―it’s not enough to forge an alliance. To survive, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other…but only one can take the crown.
Let the best liar win.
Review
Five Broken Blades is the first in a fantasy series that follows a group of five people as they band together in an attempt to kill the King of Yusan. But how do you kill a God King? Each of the five killers have secrets and their own agendas to fulfill, but will they be able to trust each other long enough to succeed in their task?
This was such a fun, entertaining read and I really enjoyed reading this one. It was fast paced and addictive and I cannot wait to see what Corland has in store for book two. The world building was great and Corland’s writing style was easy to get sucked into. The story has plenty of twists and turns that had be on the edge of my seat and overall the ending wrapped up nicely but still left me very much excited to see where the story is going to go next.
I really love a heist story and I thought it was really well executed in this story. Each of our five characters have their own motivations and agendas. I was particularly fascinated with all the scheming as they attempt to work together or double cross each other. There were secrets revealed that I absolutely did not expect and each character had a pretty distinct narrative voice. This book is marketed as adult fantasy but to me it felt more like YA. My one gripe with this book was the romance aspect as it felt a bit over the top for all of the characters to pair off. I don’t mind a bit of romance but it did feel as though the various romances were taking away from the main heist plotline a bit.
Overall this an entertaining and compelling fantasy story. If you’re looking a fan of heist stories with the found family trope or you’re looking for a fast paced fantasy tale with tons of action, you won’t want to miss Five Broken Blades.
To Cage a God is the first in a new fantasy duology from Elizabeth May, author of The Falconer. The story follows sisters Sera and Galina as they attempt to infiltrate the place and overthrow the tyrant queen. Sera must team up with her estranged husband and Galina finds friendship in the most unlikely of places – with the royal princess. Will the two be able to free themselves from the tyranny of the empire or will they be its next victims?
Through Fire and Shadow is the second installment in R M Schultz’s The Forged and the Fallen series an epic fantasy series full of action, adventure and dragons. Following on from the events of book one, we follow Cyran, Sirra, Jaslin and Pravon as the kingdoms are gearing up for war. Will Belvenguard or Murgare be victorious and at what cost to the people who live there?
When Among Crows is the newest release from Divergent author Veronica Roth and boy does this novella pack a punch! At just under two hundred pages, I completely devoured this book because it was so captivating.
Sanctuary of the Shadow is a fast paced tale that follows a young woman working at a magical circus. Harrow is the last of her clan and the circus is the perfect place to hide her abilities and who she truly is. When a newcomer comes to the circus with no memory of who he is, Harrow finds herself drawn to him and must unravel the mystery of who he is.
The Court of Miracles caught my eye because I saw it described as ‘Les Misérables meets Six of Crows.’ The story follows Nina, a young girl who has a talent for burglary and is a member of the thieves guild. When Nina’s adopted sister Ettie catches the eye of the Tiger (the lord of the Guild of Flesh) Nina must do everything she can to keep Ettie safe. Doing so will take her into the dark underworld of the guilds as well as the lavish court of Louis XVII. Will Nina be able to save her sister from the Tiger and at what cost?
Grieving Gold, the first in an all new fantasy series from Daniel McDaniel, centres on five protagonists who live in Luminocity. Laxerion Tama has returned home as his father is gravely ill, but after years of being disowned, Laxerion finds the noble family house is not what it once was. His brother Val-Gustus Tama is doing what he can to uphold the mantle his father leaves behind and must do what he can to protect the city from war. Ilumi is a young scientist newly arrived in Luminocity, but is way more than meets the eye. Aiana is desperate to become a huntress and will do anything to make that dream happen. Finally Dawb is an orphan who spends his days running cons in the streets and seeks revenge for the loss of his best friend.
Empress of All Seasons is a fast paced YA fantasy tale that follows Mari, a young yōkai who has been trained all her life to take part in a deadly competition to choose the next Empress of Honoku. To succeed she must survive all the rooms, however, yōkai are forbidden from entering and so she must hide who she truly is. If she succeeds she can steal the Emperor’s fortune and return to her village a hero. Meanwhile Prince Taro wants nothing to do with the competition that will choose who his wife will be, instead preferring to spend time with his mechanical creations. When he has a chance encounter with Mari things begin to change and Taro begins to fight for what he believes in.
The Judas Blossom is the first installment in an all new series from Stephen Aryan which reimagines the invasion of Persia by the Mongolian Empire. We follow four main characters: Hulagu, grandson of Genghis Khan, is determined to see his grandfather’s vision of the Mongol Empire come to life, at any cost. Temujin Khan, Hulagu’s youngest son, has always been a disappointment to his father, but when he discovers a power he never imagined possible, he could become his father’s secret weapon. Kokochin is the last of her tribe and is forced into marriage with Hulagu. Determined to find a purpose for herself, she finds a path to power she did not think possible. And finally Kaivon, a Persian rebel whose only thought is revenge for his people. When he saves Hulagu’s life and becomes a General in his army, he knows the best way to destroy the empire is from inside.
The third installment in T L Huchu’s thrilling Edinburgh Nights series follows ghost talker Ropa Moyo as she’s sent to help out at a magic convention at Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye. Hoping she’ll get the chance to rub shoulders with the magical elite, Ropa finds herself in the midst of a dark mystery when a magical scroll is stolen and a librarian murdered. Can she uncover who’s behind it all in time to recover the scroll and help her mentor before its too late?
The Bibliophile Chronicles 