The Bird and the Sword (The Bird and the Sword Chronicles, #1)

by Amy Harmon

Swallow, daughter, pull them in, those words that sit upon your lips. Lock them deep inside your soul, hide them ‘til they’ve time to grow. Close your mouth upon the power, curse not, cure not, ‘til the hour. You won’t speak and you won’t tell, you won’t call on heaven or hell. You will learn and you will thrive. Silence, daughter. Stay alive.

The day my mother was killed, she told my father I wouldn’t speak again, and she told him if I died, he would die too. Then she predicted the king would sell his soul and lose his son to the sky.

My father has a claim to the throne, and he is waiting in the shadows for all of my mother’s words to come to pass. He wants desperately to be king, and I just want to be free.

But freedom will require escape, and I’m a prisoner of my mother’s curse and my father’s greed. I can’t speak or make a sound, and I can’t wield a sword or beguile a king. In a land purged of enchantment, love might be the only magic left, and who could ever love . . . a bird?

• ISBN10: 1533134138
• ISBN13: 9781533134134
• Publish Date: 6 May 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 338
• Language: English

Reviews

[Leigha]

A cursed young woman finds love in a warring kingdom in this new adult romance.

While I’ve owned this book for several months, the synopsis never really grabbed my attention. It fell into my “someday” pile rather than my “right now” pile of books. Someday finally arrived! This book fit perfectly into my fantasy romance kick this summer.

The story revolves around Lark, a woman unable to talk due to the curse placed on her. Her eagerness to communicate with others is heart warming, especially her desire to learn new words despite her disability. Her romance with Tiras is built steadily with attraction, friendship, and sweet romance. The other characters all provide a wonderful foil to her and Tiras.

While the setting is well constructed, the plot seems overly convoluted. Many fantasy elements are used to move the plot forward, but some elements work better than others. Despite the occasional jarring moment, it’s a fun, well-written fantasy romance. I’ll certainly be checking out the author’s other books.

tl;dr A strong heroine, sweet romance, and interesting setting make this a fun read.

[sstaley]

I loved being pulled into a new fantastical world of magic, romance and adventure. The Bird and the Sword creates it's own magic from the beginning as the power of words are shown to be uplifting, but also deadly. The characters at first are hard to get to know until suddenly you are wrapped up in them and their problems. It was wonderful to watch as main character Lark opened up to find her hidden gifts. The creativity of the "Gifted" people was very interesting and well written. The overall story flowed well and kept you enthralled as young King Tiras fights for his kingdom and his life against the merciless and deadly bird men, The Volgar.
The world building is woven so well you are enveloped quickly into the kingdom of Jeru. Lark's journey is the heart of this story and truly the most fulfilling aspect of this novel.

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

5 ★ Audiobook⎮From start to finish, The Bird and the Sword was the perfect Fantasy novel. With poetic writing and strong character development, Harmon left me in awe. This novel had a strong sense of direction throughout. Instead of employing cheap tropes and other overused literary tactics to falsely enamor the reader, Harmon let her uniquely lyrical writing style carry the story.

To say that this audiobook was a joy to hear what would be a severe understatement. The Fantasy genre has a tendency to become unnecessarily complex. Authors frequently feel that they have to conduct purposeful world building, which can feel forced. Harmon’s world developed through her characters, not around them. They weren’t just in the world, but also of it. The Bird and the Sword was beautiful in its simplicity.

Lark, the protagonist, proved that heroines can be heroes and heroes can be weak. A story’s hero isn’t always the loudest voice in the room, the physically strongest, or “the chosen one”. Sometimes the hero of a story is someone who said the wrong thing at the wrong time and set the wheels of fate in motion.

Forgive me for waxing poetic, but The Bird and the Sword is quite possibly the most beautiful story I’ve heard all year. Lark will forever be one of my most beloved characters. This was one of the few times I can definitively say that I am 100% satisfied as a reader. Harmon tied everything up so neatly, eloquently connecting all loose strands, and the ending left me speechless.

There is no question in my mind as to how or why The Bird and the Sword is so highly rated on Goodreads. Even from the very beginning, I knew I was listening to something magnificent. Unbelievably, that magnificence never wavered. If you’re in search of a breathtaking Fantasy, look no further than The Bird and the Sword.

Narration review: The Bird and the Sword partially owes Trina Nishimura for its powerful impact. Nishimura delivered a performance perfectly-suited for Amy Harmon’s work. Her narration elegantly complemented the musicality of Harmon’s writing. Furthermore, her voice had a hushed reverence throughout the entire audiobook which held my attention like a sacred prayer. Nishimura deserves much commendation for this performance. ♣︎

➜ This audiobook was graciously gifted to me by its publisher, Audiobooks.com Publishing, in exchange for a review containing my honest thoughts and opinions. Thanks, Audiobooks.com!

[stacey_is_sassy]

To live by the word or the sword…

Wow…The Bird and the Sword was EPIC. I have a very active imagination and reading this story written with such skill and ability, enabled me to see everything like it was a movie playing out inside my head. When I saw Tiras, it was Legolas I was picturing. I pictured Daenerys as Lark. Boojohni was definitely Gimli from Lord of the Rings and for some reason, I kept picturing Rihanna for Firi. This gave me the ability to see these characters come alive…fly off the pages…whisper the words in my ears…and command me to pay attention. This book was an experience that I will never be able to recreate. I am a fan of historical romance, fantasy and paranormal. In some ways The Bird and the Sword are all three. We have men who lead and protect the women and children. There are rulers who make decisions solely to gain for themselves. The story is filled with healers, shifters, magicians, witches, and psychics – all of them come together to fight evil and find peace for their people. Oh…and if you have one of these “gifts”, you better keep it a secret. It’s off with your heads if you’re brought before the rulers.

I’m not going to do my usual review where I give you a rundown of the main characters, how they meet and what will keep them together or away from each other. This is a story that MUST be experienced fresh. If you are not a fan of historical, fantasy or paranormal, you will make an exception for this one. This tale has been extraordinarily crafted and is one of the best I’ve ever read. Now, that is a HUMONGOUS statement considering this one is a fade to black…behind closed doors…kissing is the most action we see – type of book. I don’t generally read clean books because I need to see and feel the connection. In The Bird and the Sword you honestly don’t need it. I knew exactly the passion this couple was feeling, I didn’t question how they really felt and I was convinced that there was no-one else for either of them.

It’s plain to see that I am a HUGE fan of this book. The main characters and some of the side characters were lovable while the evil ones were hidden for most of the book. At times, I thought I knew who was behind the treachery and then found that things didn’t exactly fall the way I thought they would. This book gave me happy buzzes. I shed a tear or two, grinned a smile or two and gritted my teeth a time or two. I felt it all and loved it all. The Bird and the Sword was bloody good.

To purchase The Bird and the Sword from Amazon - http://amzn.to/22zOnPf

I’m an Aussie chick who loves to read and review romance, drink coffee, be a Style Setter and stalk David Gandy. To see more of my reviews, fashion, food and pervathons -