Blade of Hope by S.E. BabinMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
📘Book Info
Treachery rots the Kingdom of Thornwilde from within. A teenage girl may hold the key to its salvation.
Harlow grew up without magic, banned in the kingdom when she was only a child. Spoken of in hushed whispers by her sister, Nova, she knows it exists and knows having it is a death sentence.
When Nova abandons her and her foster parents die of fever, Harlow finds a strange stone and a brief note directing her to find work in the castle. When she arrives, Harlow is thrust into a world of glittering court politics and ruthless machinations.
After unwittingly catching the eye of the future princess, Desminda, and her lethal but loyal guard, Shade, Harlow is invited to train for the Virago—an elite all-female guard tasked with protecting the royal family. She agrees only as a path to find Nova, her only goal to reunite their family.
But things aren’t easy for Harlow. Betrayal and secrets abound, and as she struggles to fit in, a foreign, dangerous power awakes within her. When she meets a strange bard in the market, Harlow’s life is thrown into chaos. She finds out everything she knew about her life might be a lie, and everyone she ever loved might have betrayed her.
When she and Shade uncover a plot to overthrow the queen, they must work together to save the princess and smuggle her from her homeland, leaving the kingdom in the hands of a vicious despot, one who wants to restore magic only to control it.
As they struggle to bring the last royal heir to safety, secrets will unravel, leading Harlow to realize who she really is and what exactly is sleeping in her veins.
Found family, romance, magic, and betrayal collide as she fights her way back to her sister, intent on reclaiming her life. But when the truth is finally revealed, Harlow’s world will never be the same.
💭Our Thoughts
“For hope, every loss is worth it.”
This was an action-packed twisty-turny YA Fantasy
Heavy on the action-adventure.
There is a bit of light romantic attraction between certain characters which I believe will play a big part in the future of the series, and no I am not spoiling. It is secondary but I think just from the clues that it will be the catalyst to a major event
"the dirt she now stood on might be flat, but the long road in front of her was no longer so balanced."
There are so many little plot twists and surprises in this first book. I was constantly going down the rabbit hole with each new revelation.
The stone - Nova's disappearance - The things she taught Harlow - Who appears in the fog - I can keep going
"Flowers withered from their stems, but thorns were forever."
The story progresses quickly using flashbacks to explain and familiarize the reader with the how's and why's. The author blended this almost seamlessly without taking me out of the story
The world-building is quite fantastical, and the cast?
You will find a bit of everything with them.
Some you will instantly loathe only to find a bit later you are a little less sure of that choice - Lots of misguidance and false breadcrumb trails
Others will draw you in and you'll find can't help but cheer them on
Then there are those you will not be able to categorize as heroes/heroines or villains.
They seem to be sitting on a fence themselves
If you enjoy fantasy, magic, strong heroines, betrayal, surprises, and action then I recommend giving this a whirl
I do wish the chapters were labeled as there were times it took me a moment to figure out who was speaking. But that could be a me thing
Authors Website➱ https://sebabin.com/
BookBub➱ https://www.bookbub.com/books/blade-of-hope-book-of-the-virago-1-by-s-e-babin?source=link_share
#bladeofhope #bookofthevirago #comingofage #ya #fantasy #kindleunlimited #sebabin #bookrecommendation
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