I loved the first book in this series for its adventure. A rag-tag team on a mission is one of my favourite tropes, so ‘Blade of Secrets’ more than delivers on the entertainment front. And even though I don't love this sequel as much as the first installment, it's still a pretty great conclusion to the duology.

The reason I didn't enjoy this as much is because of the plot focus. The adventure is done and over with and now the focus is on war and kingdom politics. It's not quite my cup of tea personally and bit slower in pace, but I will admit that it's a logical direction for the story to go and makes sense based on how the story was building in the first book.

And I found the story to make up for my lack of plot enjoyment in other ways. The world-building is pretty spot-on, the characters are just as amazing to read about, there's some good mental health representation, and the writing itself has an easy, binge-readable quality to it.

So all in all, this book is a nicely wrapped-up ending to a fun and unique series! Can't wait to see what TL comes up with next!

Tricia is one of my favorite writers and this series has been especially special to me. Having a MC that struggles from anxiety is something I have been wanting more of and especially in fantasy. Ziva really struggles and especially around new people and big crowds. She has a talent that others want to control. She may have anxiety but Ziva true to all of Tricia's female leads is strong in her own way. I love her bond and protective nature over her sister. She has started to develop feelings for Kellyn and I really enjoyed getting into Ziva's head on the anxiety of making yourself vulnerable and what goes through your mind when you might be rejected. As a blacksmith that imbues power and gifts into the weapons' she creates Ziva will discover her ability can be more than she ever dreamed and does not have to be used for destruction and death. A satisfying conclusion to a needed fantasy duology!

I love the characters in this series so much; Ziva, Temra, Kellyn and Petrik are my favorite group! I loved picking up where the last book left off and immediately diving into all the suspense! The beginning and end of the this book are really strong in my opinion. However, the middle was a little repetitive and long. This portion of the book felt dedicated to working out character's emotions and not much else. I saw what purpose it served to drag out this part of the story, but I still would have preferred having the relationship building be gradually mixed in with more story advancing plot. But again, I LOVED the beginning and end of the book so much that in the end it was exactly what I was hoping for! This is an all time favorite series for me with all time favorite characters!