BOOKS | Review: Swordheart by T. Kingfisher

Name: Swordheart (Swordheart #1, The World of the White Rat)

Author: T. Kingfisher

Publisher: Orbit

Date published: First published November 2018, this edition June 2025

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance

Pages: 448

Rating: 5/5

Halla is a housekeeper who has suddenly inherited her great-uncle's estate... and, unfortunately, his relatives. Sarkis is an immortal swordsman trapped in a prison of enchanted steel. When Halla draws the sword that imprisons him, Sarkis finds himself attempting to defend his new wielder against everything from bandits and roving inquisitors to her own in-laws... and the sword itself may prove to be the greatest threat of all.

- From Goodreads. 

I have really enjoyed starting to read T. Kingfisher in the past year and this book was certainly no exception. It was another brilliant story with excellent humour, a fascinating word and a really wonderful romance.

The concept of a warrior trapped in a sword, enchanted to serve whoever wields it, made for a very fun and adventurous plot, with some delightful hijinks throughout, and Halla and Sarkin were both such compelling characters to follow along for that plot. Both of them were very endearing and it was lovely to see them come to admire and trust each other so much.

There were some very brilliant side characters too, especially Brindle and Zade, who it was wonderful to see again as they have both appeared before in books set in the same world, and I would be happy to see them both again as they added a lot of enjoyable moments to the story. 

All of the books I have read so far from T. Kingfisher have been amazing and this one has just made me even more excited to pick up another one. 

BOOKS | Review: Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

Name: Empire of Sand (The Books of Ambha #1)

Author: Tasha Suri

Publisher: Orbit

Date published: November 2018

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance

Pages: 432

Rating: 5/5

Mehr is a girl trapped between two cultures. Her father comes from the ruling classes of the empire, but her mother’s people were outcasts, Amrithi nomads who worshipped the spirits of the sands.
Caught one night performing these forbidden rites, Mehr is brought to the attention of the Emperor’s most feared mystics, who try to force her into their service by way of an arranged marriage. If she fails in their bidding, the gods themselves may awaken and seek vengeance...

- From Goodreads. 

This was a very intricately detailed story, with a lot of thought put into the world-building, and wonderfully well-written characters. 

It definitely hooked me in and made me worried for both Mehr and Aman, I really felt emotionally invested in their journey and hoped they found a way to escape the horrible situation they were in together.

It felt like a very complex world with a lot of different stories to explore within it, so I'm glad there's another book where we can see more of the world and what the consequences of what happened in this book will be.

I think if you love fantasy with in-depth world building, well-rounded and complicated characters and a lovely romance where two characters find hope and comfort in each other despite the darkness surrounding them, then I can definitely recommend this book to you. I will certainly be going on to read more of Tasha Suri's work after this. 

BOOKS | Review: Paladin's Hope by T. Kingfisher

Name: Paladin's Hope (The Saint of Steel #3, The World of the White Rat)

Author: T. Kingfisher

Publisher: Orbit

Date published: April 2025

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance, mystery

Pages: 288

Rating: 5/5

 

Piper is a lich-doctor, a physician who works among the dead, determining causes of death for the city guard's investigations. It's a peaceful, if solitary profession... until the day when he's called to the river to examine the latest in a series of mysterious bodies, mangled by some unknown force.
Galen is a paladin of a dead god, lost to holiness and no longer entirely sane. He has long since given up on any hope of love. But when the two men and a brave gnole constable are drawn into the web of the mysterious killer, it's Galen's job to protect Piper from the traps that await them.
He's just not sure if he can protect Piper from the most dangerous threat of all...

- From Goodreads. 

This was another wonderful book in the Saint of Steel series, it still had the brilliant humorous writing style and intriguing mystery in the plot, along with a very compelling romance. I do like that, although each book has had a mystery in its plot, the structure of the plot has been different in each one, and I've always been surprised by how each mystery unfolds.

I loved the characters that we followed in this book, both Galen and Piper had their problems to work through, and it was good seeing them have to face their own demons and overcome them through the course of the book. I loved that their romance was quite sweet with how much they cared about each other and how much comfort they found in each other and I thought that was balanced well with their physical attraction to each other.

Earstripe was another great character, who was very funny at times but also had great depth and fit in well with the other two characters.

I'm intrigued by the overarching plot of the series, I like how it goes on in the background of each book and each book adds bits and pieces to the mystery, but none of them have completed the full picture yet. I'm definitely curious to see what will happen in the next book and how things will conclude when the series finishes.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this series, all the books so far have been a lot of fun and I haven't found anything to fault in any of them!