His choices will save the land… or destroy it.Ryuu is a boy orphaned by violence at a young age. Found by a wandering warrior, he learns he may have more strength than he ever imagined possible.A quiet child, Moriko is forced into a monastic system she despises. Torn from her family and the forest she grew up in, she must fight to learn the skills she’ll need to survive her tutelage under the … survive her tutelage under the realm’s most dangerous assassin.
Young, beautiful, and broke, Takako is sold to pay for her father’s debts. Thrust into a world she doesn’t understand and battles she didn’t ask for, she must decide where her loyalties lie.
When their lives crash together in a Kingdom on the brink of war, the decisions they make will change both their lives and their Kingdom forever.
If they can stay alive.
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Good book- recommended for those who enjoy Asian inspired fantasy, darker fantasy, weaponry, and like genres.
Another good book by Ryan! I haven’t been disappointed yet with his books. He has a way of telling the story that makes his books unique. One thing you should know about his writing style- it is a slow, deliberate build (I have no doubt this is intentional as I’ve stated in other reviews), so if this is not your cup of tea, don’t bother. However if you enjoy character development with multiple characters (strong female characters), Asian inspired fantasy, and something that will make you feel, this is for you.
My understanding this is his first series and you can tell the difference between this book and his new series (Blades of the Fallen). I started with the Blades of the Fallen first, I’d would recommend those first so you can see how his writing is currently vs. how it was (though I imagine this book has been edited since the first publication and first reviews came out). I still enjoyed this book and will continue the remainder of this series, then venture off to his other books while I wait for Blades of the Fallen #3.
What to expect: nightblades who have the “sense” (an ability that allows them to know their enemies moves before they make it during fighting), honor, weaponry, this book contains torture/prostitution and adult themes, evil generals, death, love, conflicts that will have you trying to figure out what side you would stand on (and it’s not so easy to choose), and more. Also want to note, in Ryan’s books, there are male and females fighting side by side/training together- I appreciate seeing strong female characters.
This book is a bit more heavy in adult themes than the Blades of the Fallen series- see warning below. If you like darker fantasy, this would be for you.
I disagree with reviews that state the characters make strange decisions, they are about honor, love, and more, which in turn makes the decisions rational (or perhaps a bit irrational especially when it comes to love) and often the author will go through why the decisions were made by each character. It certainly doesn’t leave you wondering why they did what they did…
The reason I gave it four stars was the slightly rough/slower start (took me about four chapters to start getting into it- yes some might say “four? Why bother?!”, but stick with it and you won’t be disappointed). Once I got past the rough/slower start, I had a difficult time putting the book away even when I should have been doing something else. Beware the audio book narrator sounded a bit too much like a computer reading in the first couple chapters off and on- not sure if this was a problem with the recording, his first audio book narration, or what the heck was going on, but it did get better as the book went on.
Parental advisory/trigger warning: This book contains adult themes- prostitution, murder, fighting, torture of a younger girl (teenager), and sex.
I was pleasantly surprised by this fantasy novel although it follows the formula of other books in the genre, I found it well written, plausible, with interesting charectars with many twists and turns. I’m looking forward to the 2nd book in the series