I had very high hopes for this book. I really did. The premise sounded interesting but it just fell short for me.

I had high hopes going into this, because something about the synopsis just caught my eye! Unfortunately, I very quickly realized this book wasn't for me. I think this was largely due to the writing style, and it felt too stiff to me. It felt oddly overly formal, almost monotonic at points, but then also felt extremely young at other moments, as if the book were speaking to a young kid. It was not a good combination, and it felt like the writing was trying to mimic too many things at once. I also found the characters uninteresting, and while I liked some of the dialogue between them in the beginning, it felt like the characters quickly turned into stereotypes. The 'not-like-other girls' princess who hates the constraints put on her, the evil prince who seems extremely evil but somehow gets a redemption arc, and we forget about everything he did in the past, the misunderstood assassin... it all just felt like watered down versions of characters I've read dozens of times before.

I gave this book a far shot, reading about half of it before deciding it wasn't for me. There wasn't anything there for me to be excited, nothing compelling me to continue. I didn't like the writing or characters, and the plot felt so linear and predictable, that in the end, nothing really captured my attention.

This copy was kindly gifted to me from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (submitted on Instagram)

The time period? Beyond interesting. The concept of this Muslim assassin, Christian princess, Christian prince/knight trio? I need. Adventure and travel? Colour me intrigued. The execution? ...ehhhh.

I worked hard to push through this but the characters did not feel like they were real. In fact, they seemed more stuck in their tropes and made the story less believable. Some of the history seemed off and inaccurate, and for me, this just didn't work.

When I first came across this book, I was so excited about the premise. A Christian princess, a Muslim assassin, and a knight on some grand adventure sounded like a promising concoction of diversity to bring about a tension-filled plot. While the book certainly began strongly, I felt like the plot transformed into something very different than I expected. I did like this book. It, however, didn’t quite meet the excitement my mind had initially fabricated.

This book just didn't resonate with me. I tried many times to get into the narrative and just couldn't. I haven't read enough to give it a fair review, but I will direct those with tastes for such books in its direction.

A thrilling pace, an intriguing revision of history, and great and witty characters kept me hooked from the beginning! Loved the pacing, setting, and idiosyncrasies!

This one was just okay for me. I didn't really enjoy it as much as some did. It sounded interesting and I love the cover! But the execution of the story left something to be desired.

This book was not for me. I did not particularly like it and ended up DNFing it thus won't be able to provide a detailed review.

The Sword and the Dagger by Robert Cochran is all about a quest between a Princess, a Knight and an assassin which was action packed and thrilling until the very end.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

I LOVED this story. The story held my attention the entire time. The characters were well written and well paced.

While this covered and interesting time period that isn't often featured in YA releases, I struggled to engage with the style at all. The writing felt juvenile at times, before turning to a droning monotone. The characters seemed to "accidentally" stumble across every important historical event of the era happening (wow, so...lucky) and they had no discernible character arcs to speak of. Except for Conrad, who went from an abusive misogynist monster...to a "nice guy" for no discernible reason than that he learned brown people are people and women are people. I'm glad he came to this ground-breaking conclusion, but I'm missing the part where I'm supposed to congratulate him for doing the bare minimum.

The plot features quite a lot of travel, but they get kidnapped or sold into slavery a lot to spice things up. I appreciate the effort, but I just needed the writing to engage me. Not just tell me what happened. They even dropped a "you're not like the other girls" line, when Conrad assured Elaine she was beautiful and brave and "nothing like those other women" who marry mindlessly. It's like, Conrad, I view you as a worm already. No need to go the extra mile.

Overall, an intriguing premise with a prince, a princess and a Muslim assassin teaming up to cross the deserts, but a poor execution.

If you want a YA book with movie-like, swashbuckling adventure, this book with lots of killing and a bit of romance is for you. If you want any depth of character or insight into life in the Middle East during the time of the Crusader states and the westward advances of Ghengis Khan, look elsewhere. The portrayals of characters are stereotypical; the setting seems to be based on surface research. And after living in this part of the world, I find myself overly critical of descriptions that don't strike me as realistic. I wish Cochran had chosen a fantasy-setting; it would have served his story better.

The synopsis was promising, but this book fell flat and uninteresting for me. The character conflict was repetitive, started to feel unrealistic somewhere along the way (even for a fantasy book), and the plot itself just fell flat. The author didn't push the plot anywhere unexpected, which was disappointing.

This book was fast paced, based upon a historical event. Which had me extremely intrigued. It was very good and the writing was great, but some spots needed to be slowed down and given more detail.

Was accepted to review this title just days before release and was unable to read in a timely manner due to that. Will eventually read but did not have time due to bnb other review books I was given proper time before release to read.

The concept of this book intrigued me from the very moment I read the blurb. The plot was good but it was easy for me to guess. It has a potential, unfortunately it wasn't as great as my first impression thought it'd be.

Roll up, roll up for some good old-fashioned historical fun! We’re going all the way back to the Middle East during the time of the Crusades, for an adventure to the court of Genghis Khan…
This book had all the makings of a historical epic. What it turned out to be instead was something a little different. Hammering the point home on diversity and the importance of tolerance, we are drawn into an adventure involving a knight, a princess and an assassin as they attempt to reconcile their differences and save their homeland.
The premise was great, but in my opinion, it fell a little short. All three characters were strongly drawn- I particularly liked spending time with Elaine, who was definitely a Strong Independent Woman, and Hassan, who probably had the most rewarding character arc of all (Conrad, as far as I’m concerned, was a bit of a non-entity). However, the book itself dragged.
I loved seeing Conrad, Hassan and Elaine get to know each other better, but there were moments where I found myself skipping through the passages, desperate for something more interesting to happen. The gang don’t meet Genghis Khan until over halfway through! Cochran also has a rather oblique writing style (I actually thought the book was written in the 1950s until I double-checked) which makes slogging through the passages a bit of a struggle.
When we do get to meet the great man himself, the book does perk up. Cochran has clearly done a lot of research into his chosen time period, and it really shines through: the setting sings with detail, and you feel like you’re there, trekking over inhospitable mountains or (in one case) being sold into slavery. The historical note also goes into detail about the time period at the end of the book, which I found so interesting. You don’t really see many books written in this time period and reading it felt almost like an education as well as a story.
By the end, though, I felt like I’d run a marathon. The story itself was compelling, but the way it was told make it hard to read; in addition, I definitely have something to say about a character arc in which the strong independent princess who refuses to marry ends up marrying the prince anyway. That stuck in my gullet a little bit. If you want to do anything, at least have the princess fall in love with the assassin!
All in all? Intriguing, but I think this wasn’t for me.