Review: The Bird and the Sword

by Amy Harmon

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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 heav’n or hell. You will learn and you will thrive. Silence, Daughter. Stay alive.

 

 

This was so beautiful and unexpected. I’ve had other romance books from this author on my To-Read list for awhile now and hadn’t felt really compelled to read them yet. Then this book came along. I’ve been on a YA Fantasy kick, so when I saw a romance author had written a Standalone Epic Fantasy, I was curious.

It was absolutely delightful. I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting.

This book starts out like a classic Old School Fairy Tale. I felt like I was with Princess Aurora in her tucked away cabin with her three fairy godmothers (no, this book is not a retelling of that story, but it felt so whimsical and charming, and gave me a that same feeling I get from that story!)
“I brushed my fingertips against the rough bark and felt an answering greeting, though it was more a feeling than a word. The world was sleeping. The forest was sleeping too, though not as deeply. There was a world coming awake here, and I leaned against the tree that felt like a friend and let the peace wash over me.”
The romance is still there and it still has a bit of New Adult feel to it, but the world building and descriptiveness that is so necessary for fantasy was spot on.

“Suddenly yearning had a flavor. It tasted like a king, a beautiful, frightening, infuriating man who flew into my life and began to free my words. He pulled at my hair again, tugging me back from his lips as if he needed to impart something of great importance.”

I’m not going to go into any further details about this book. I feel like this is a book that you need to go into without any clues or ideas and really just immerse yourself in the story as it moves along. It’s much more enjoyable that way, I promise you!

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