Blades of Magic (Crown Service, #1)

by Terah Edun

[kalventure]

3.5 stars, solid first installment to a new fantasy series featuring magic and intrigue.

Blades of Magic follows Sara Fairchild, daughter of disgraced former gladiator and Commander for the Empress Vincent Fairchild. It's been months since her father was labeled a deserter and executed, but Sara and her mother never really were told why. After uncovering the mystery surrounding her father's death extends beyond the military's willingness to disclose the circumstances, she joins the mercenaries and goes to the frontlines of battle in the hopes of answers... but of course finds more than she bargained for.

Sara is the epitome of a strong female character, although her pride certainly gets in the way. I really like that (at least in this installment, I haven't read the second book in the series) there isn't a love interest... at all. It is sadly refreshing.

The reason that I rated the book 3.5 stars instead of four stars is solely due to the structure of the story. This is a fast read, but there are a few points in the book where I lost interest and skimmed for a couple of pages until my interest was regained. But my main issue with the book is that the world-building and exposition was left to the last 20% of the book and it felt rather unbalanced. I wish that there had been more world-building throughout (for example, not waiting until page 260 to finally explain what was going on with the civil war that had been mentioned multiple times throughout the book). I love character driven books, but I am equally interested in an understanding of the world that those characters inhabit - the politics, the war - especially when those things are crucial to the overall plot of the series.

Those that have read Edun's Courtlight series will notice a drastic improvement in the writing and editing of this book comparatively. This book is technically well written and edited well and has the air of a professionally written and edited book. Edun has the creativity to weave an interesting tale, and she is starting to come into her own as she continues to develop as a writer.

I'd recommend this book to those interested in strong female characters, battles, magic, and the intrigue of uncovering a family secret. This book is the first in a series but does not end in a cliffhanger. It is currently on sale for free on Amazon kindle.