Published: March 23, 2021
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Series: The World of the White Rat
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 14 hours 32 minutes
My Rating: 4.5/5.0
Synopsis:
Return to the world of Clockwork Boys in this all-new novel from T. Kingfisher!
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….
This book has me officially hooked on T. Kingfisher! Swordheart is a charming, awkward, and somewhat hilarious tale of a widowed woman who accidentally unleashes an immortal swordsman from the sword he’s trapped in while she’s trying to kill herself. It sounds quite dark, I admit, but it’s really not!
You see, Halla received an inheritance from her deceased husband’s uncle who she had been caring for until his death. He had enough of the rest of his awful family and left a considerable inheritance to Halla, but then the awful family locked her in a bedroom to force her to marry. She couldn’t think of a way out of the ordeal except to put a sword through her own heart (anything to escape the clammy-handed Cousin Alver). She unsheathes the sword… AND OUT POPS SARKIS! Who is utterly appalled to see a woman in such a state of undress, who is also trying to stab herself with a rather large sword. No innuendos intended.
Thus begins pages and pages of a fun, heartfelt story full of misadventure. Sarkis guards and escorts Halla to a nearby city where she can enlist the help of the Temple of the White Rat’s legal priests who should be able to get Halla’s inheritance issues safely settled.
Halla is a clever woman who hides behind the guise of a stupid, chatty woman. It’s a brilliant defense mechanism for someone who has no combat skills – as she says, people don’t think much of stupid women and mostly leave them alone. So she chatters at people who might threaten her until they can’t stand it any longer and leave. Sarkis on the other hand, being an immortal warrior, is quite skilled in swordplay and must often be dissuaded from rushing in with blade drawn. Though he certainly gets plenty of opportunities to stab people. The relationship between Sarkis and Halla is delightful to follow – clearly they have a thing for one another but it takes SOOO LONG for them to admit it!
I loved the small scale of the story, the lovely blend of romance in a fantasy world, and the overall wholesomeness of the story. If you can consider murdering a priest and dumping the body in a frozen pond wholesome… Anyway. I loved it, despite occasionally wishing Halla would just shut up already and regularly wishing that she and Sarkis would share their feelings for one another and just kiss already. I’m wholly converted and will be reading the other books from this author as time allows!
**I listened to the audiobook version of this and thought the narration was excellent! Would highly recommend!
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