Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry – Review

Published: May 6, 2025

Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books

Series: Shield of Sparrows #1

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Pages: 666 (Kindle)

My Rating: 5 Stars

Synopsis:
Shield of Sparrows is a slow-burn, high-stakes romantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros—where enemies become lovers, monsters stalk a cursed realm, and a forgotten princess finds the strength to tear off her crown and become the warrior she was never meant to be.

The gods sent monsters to the five kingdoms to remind mortals they must kneel.

I’ve spent my life kneeling—to their will and to my father’s. As a princess, my only duty is to wear the crown and obey the king.

I was never meant to rule. Never meant to fight. And I was never supposed to be the daughter who sealed an ancient treaty with her own blood.

But that changed the fateful day I stepped into my father’s throne room. The day a legendary monster hunter sailed to our shores. The day a prince ruined my life.

Now I’m crossing treacherous lands beside a warrior who despises me as much as I despise him—bound to a future I didn’t choose and a husband I barely know.

Everyone wants me to be something I’m not—a queen, a spy, a sacrifice.

But what if I refused the role chosen for me? What if I made my own rules? What if there’s power in being underestimated?

And what if—for the first time—I reached for it?

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Holy moly ya’ll. I picked Shield of Sparrows up on a whim because I had seen a bit of buzz and it was on Kindle Unlimited and I absolutely did not expect to love this book. Shield of Sparrows is a fantasy romance set in a world where monstrous beasts are the norm and infrastructure is built to withstand the migration of giant birds called the crux that will pick people off the streets and even rip up the earth if people didn’t dig their shelters deeply enough. I was pleasantly surprised to find that while there’s plenty of romantic elements, the world building and the plot are equally well-developed.

Shield of Sparrows follows Princess Odessa of the kingdom of Quentis as her future abruptly gets turned on its head when she’s married off to the handsome and deadly Prince Zavier of Turah thanks to a long forgotten tradition called the Chain of Sevens. Her younger sister, Mae, has been trained her entire life as warrior and spy to fulfill the role of bride to the Turan Prince and Odessa has been largely forgotten and left to her own devices except to secure the loyalty of her father’s general through an engagement. Odessa isn’t trained for spycraft but she must try to uncover the location of the hidden Turan capital of Allesaria, which her father insists contains the key to survival during the upcoming crux migration and somehow kill the Guardian. 

From the very beginning of Odessa’s journey from Quentis to Turah, she’s plagued by the handsome yet deadly Turan man known only as the Guardian, with his silver eyes and inhuman skills. Her husband pays her little attention, but the Guardian… he pays her more attention than seems appropriate, sneaking into her locked room to leave clothes, teaching her the blade, and getting far too close. If you like yearning, well this is definitely going to be the book for you. 

Aside from the obvious appeal of the romantic aspect, Shield of Sparrows has plenty of worldbuilding and plot going for it AND a host of delightful secondary characters. The monsters that stalk the land are plagued by an unusual illness that makes them more aggressive than usual. Settlements are attacked, people are killed, and the disease is spreading rapidly from beast to beast when they are bitten (like fantasy rabies). The longer Odessa spends in Turah, the more she feels her father’s assignment isn’t in the best interest of anyone except himself. She grows closer to some of the Turans, especially a little girl named Evie, and she feels less and less desire to betray these people and their hidden city. If she could find it – no one will even speak of it with her. 

Odessa is a very likable character – somewhat of a misfit even amongst her own family and she doesn’t start out as a hotheaded warrior type like so many female main characters in romantasy books. She likes to read and swim and she makes a terrible spy. She learns fighting skills, but slowly and through sheer stubbornness and doesn’t miraculously master something that takes everyone else a lifetime to hone. The banter between her and the Guardian is top tier and feels very natural in the flow of the story rather than forced and super scripted. This is also a blessedly well-paced romance that grows with time and feels delightfully forbidden. The Guardian himself is a bundle of mystery as well – his eyes change color, he disappears for days on end, and he has unusual abilities that baffle Odessa at every turn. He’s also hailed as a hero by every single Turan that recognizes him because he’s saved countless people from the deadly beasts preying on them. 

Overall, Shield of Sparrows is a top-tier fantasy romance and I would pay good money to be able to get the sequel in my hands now rather than wait. Alas, I haven’t even seen a release date yet. While this isn’t anything groundbreaking it’s executed beautifully and has some of the most unexpected twists and turns. I guessed one, but others left me quite surprised! Shield of Sparrows will definitely be on my Best Books of 2025 list at the end of the year!