I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. The pacing of it is a bit slow but still managed to have me hooked and unable to put it down. Excited to see where the plot goes as where the sample ended it felt like the characters and setting were still being established. Although it's a high fantasy book, I didn't feel confused by the world-building at any point. The characters are all likeable and distinct so it's easy to distinguish them. The book switches between the POVs of Lin and Ken and usually when there's more than one POV in book I prefer one more, but here I was equally excited to read both. The only worry I have is that the ending may end up feeling rushed as the sample was more than half the book and the climax still hadn't been reached but so far it was very good.

(was given a sample of chapters 1-11)

I didn't realise this was a sampler of the first 11 chapters of the book, but now I do it makes a lot of things clearer. The sample had a lot of world building and was very descriptive about the settings, aspects of the world and of each and every character we came across (apart from the ragpicker king which is a shame because he is very intriguing). My only concern is that very little plot actually happens, I became concerned when I got to about 75-80% of the book and the 2 MC's hadn't even met each other yet. Now I know this is only a portion of the book this makes a lot more sense and I am looking forward to reading the rest of this when it is released.

Very difficult to give this a review yet as I have only read a sample for it and I prefer to give feedback when I have completed a book as there is so much that can make or break a novel. So far I'm enjoying this, I like the characters and the world building and I'm enjoying the elusive figures that make up the cities criminal underworld. I'll definitely be finishing the book when it is published.

This just solidifies why Cassandra Clare is one of my favourite authors. I can't get enough, I need more!

AHHHH. I cannot wait for release day, so I can read the rest of this!! I’ve been obsessed with Clare’s work for years and I can’t wait to see her move into the adult fiction realm. An auto-buy author for sure.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan for providing me with a 11 chapter taster ARC of Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare via Netgalley.

This was a pretty hefty taster and I feel like it ended just as it got really good and I finally got invested in the character’s stories. To be honest, I was hooked to Kel’s and Conor’s story from the start but with Lin it really took me a while to warm up to it. Only when their fates seemed to finally intertwine is when I thought the novel picked up steam and I got more invested and intrigued to continue on.

I’m not the biggest Cassandra Clare reader and I haven’t yet been able to finish and get through all of her previous works, mainly since I am not the biggest fan of her writing style but in this case it worked for me and I did enjoy the world and character building and the scenes the book played in.

I am glad I read the taster, which I think laid great groundwork and created amazing potential to the story that may yet develop out of the first 11 chapters - but as it is just that, a taster I can’t really realistically give it any final rating. I do think the further development and conflict between the characters matters a lot and it can still go either way in how I enjoy this book. That being said, I have already pre-ordered this for when it comes out and can’t wait to get my hands on the final copy.

>> Review also posted on Goodreads

This is Cassandra Clare's first foray out of the Shadowhunter world, and it is an exciting one!
The world that Clare builds in Sword Catcher is just as vibrant and real as her previous books. It is gritty and thrilling, and I am very keen to see where the rest of the book takes the characters.
This was a 200 page sample, and the rating could rise with a great ending!

As someone who absolutely adores Cassandra Clare and her writing I was honestly ecstatic to be approved for an ARC of a sample of her upcoming book Sword Catcher. Something about Clare’s writing and world building in The Shadowhunter Chronicles feels like home to me and Sword Catcher is no different. As I was only sent a sample, this review is not entirely complete, but based on the sample I read I can expect incredible storytelling from the full novel and I cannot wait to read it in its full glory in October later this year.

Spoiler: Cassandra Clare did it again.

Wow, okay. I have finished the sampler for this book, and I am now even more excited for it to come out.
This new universe is intriguing and it has a lot of potential for an amazing story. The characters are all from different backgrounds, so their perspectives are nothing alike. As I was reading, I was so eager to learn more about each of them, about their thought process and how they see the world.
I think Lin is my favourite so far: strong, independent, willing to break the gender norms and succeed in a job previously only done by men. She is selfless and kind, willing to do everything for the people who matter to her, but also hungry for knowledge. Also can we talk about her and Conor for a second? Soth strong-headed and rooted in their beliefs, it was great seeing them come to blows.
The Kel-Conor dynamic took me by surprise. Kel is loyal to the bone, his Prince comes first. But how does he feel about his Sword Catcher? He obviously cares for him, but, but?? I NEED MORE.
Do you know what else I need more on? The Ragpicker King. He is such a compelling character and I am sure there is more to him than meets the eye.
I will admit, it was a bit hard to get into. The worldbuilding was very heavy, with lots of details that I had to go back and check a few times. I feel like the whole time I was waiting for more of Cassie's famous character interactions, the ones that show the chemistry and build relationships between the characters, wheth they are love, hate, or both. I would have liked some more of them.
Still, the plot seems very well built and I am so excited for some political intrigue. A very promising start to this new series.

I want to start thanking Netgalley and Tor UK for the sample of this book in exchange for an honest review. I would like to highlight that my opinions and expectations lf this book are all based of this excerpt and so once I read the full book, I might change my review.
I love the different tone that Clare has taken with this new series, and it was something I felt very skeptical about. You do feel the shift of her prose towards a more adult and mature voice, and it feels refreshing and something very different from the Shadowhunter series.
I am starting to like a lot the different characters, who have very different wants and needs. However, I felt like the pace was very slow but the plot has lot of potential. I have found that I particularly like Conor and I would love to know more about him and his story since I think there's more to it. Kel and Lin will make quite the pair.

I don’t know why I was doubting CC this book was amazing. I loved the world building and the whole set up it was so beautiful. I do think the book was a bit slower in some places but that’s okay because it’s only the first book in the series.
Although this is a dual POV it has many different characters who play significant roles relevant to the plot. My absolute favourite is the Ragpicker King and Lin, they’re both so fascinating. honestly can’t wait for book 2.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for providing me with and ARC.

Thankyou Netgalley for giving me a sample of this book.

To say I was looking forward to Sword Catcher would be an understatement. I loved the Shadowhunter world Clare created so thought this would be no different however I was wrong.

The sample I read was 11 chapters so maybe it does get better however I just couldn't connect with the characters or storyline at all it seemed to be lacking and trying too hard at the same time if that's possible.

The story follows Kel as he becomes Prince Conors Sword Catcher, I liked that there was a prologue where we got to see how the two met before the 13 year time jump where the story takes place.
Then it jumps to another character Lin and her POV and her friend Mariam.
It did get a little confusing when the POV would switch as there wasn't anything to indicate it changing.

There was alot of world building and history within these chapters which was good as it helped introduce us to this new world. I hope there is a map included in the final version as it would be great to see the world layout and make it easier to visualise as there is ALOT to try and keep track of

Unfortunately I don't think this is a story or a world I would go back to, I may borrow the book from the library to see if it gets better but it's not something I would prioritise reading.

Some of the reasons why I gave 2 stars.

•Confusing POV changes
• Very slow storyline with little going on
•Main Characters which just seemed to be there that I couldn't feel connected to and didn't really care about.
•Alot of characters introduced but kept switching up which names they are referred by making it difficult to remember them.
• Petrov from Nyenschantz who had a line that went something like ' Where I'm from the doctors advice would be to go out and punch a bear you'll either feel better or be dead' I assume this was supposed to be funny moment/joke for the reader but it just made me roll my eyes.
•Ji-an from Geumjoseon saying Shibal - Clearly this character is Korean but if you're not going to name the country Korea why use a Korean word surely you'd just make one up like you did the country name to sound vaguely the same?

I don't know maybe I'm just being too critical/B*tchy. Perhaps I went into this story expecting too much.

I hope anyone who reads this enjoys it more than I did.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this, but sadly DNF at 53%

The plot never really took off, the characters were shallow and boring. The only interesting person was the criminal king, who got a carriage ride's worth of story so far. I can see where the plot is going to go (Cas possibly making a comeback as someone who has been mentioned..?)

Also I hope the final book includes a map of all the random places/people that the author constantly name drops - with zero context. I gave up trying to remember all of them, and just skim read whenever a new name, place or term for something was mentioned because likelihood is they'll never be brought up again.

I really need it to be October so u can get my hands on the completed novel Sword Catcher. Cassandra Clare can do no wrong in my opinion.

This sampler is E V E R Y T H I N G!

Don't just think that this sampler is small its a chunky 11 chapters! That's 285 pages!!! It left me wanting so so much more, I am very thankful and grateful that I was invited to the black crow Cassandra Clare event and that I was lucky enough to be gifted the hardback arc for this book so I will defiantly be continuing this read and posting a full review for the full book over on good reads and my other socials.

This is Cassandra's adult debut book that is so far outside of the shadow hunters realms but the writing style is so familiar and yet so different. The world building & the characters are all so beautifully written so far and I'm excited to continue. Kel needs a hug, I love him already

Thank you so much to netgalley and to Black crow for this sampler e-arc

I've been reading Cassandra Clare books for over 10 years now and I have to say this was a refreshing take on your epic fantasy novel. I was nervous at first but once I got into it I was seriously impressed. There is a lot of world building in this book that really set up the series, and I'm very intrigued to continue.I also had the pleasure of receiving a physical hardback ARC from the Black Crow event, which made this book 10x more special to me. I can't wait for other people to read it!

Thank you so much NetGalley for this sample!
I was obsessed with the Shadowhunters series so was really excited to see CC has done another book!
It did not disappoint and I’m so excited to carry on reading
The world building is beautiful and the writing is the easy to read style we are all used to!

Thank you Cassandra Clare!

A beautiful adult fantasy debut by Cassandra Clare. Simply put, I loved it

Having grown up reading Cassandra's books, I was looking forward to this adult series.

Cassandra did not disappoint! This is a completely new high fantasy story outside of the Shadow Hunter world; with new characters, language, and politics. The writing felt familiar and you can definitely recognise Cassandra's style. It reminded me of The Infernal Devices trilogy in its pace, description, complexity, and compelling characters.

My favourite character so far is Kel, I just love his attitude to life!

The prologue was stuffed with a lot of world-building and I was completely immersed in this new world so intensely, I didn't realise it was so long until I saw 'chapter 1' after 37 pages! The sampler is around 285 pages and it left me wanting more.

Thank you to Netgalley and PanMacmillan for approving me to reading this sample, I can't wait to read the second half in October!

As an avid lover of Cassandra Clare's well-known YA series, The Mortal Instruments, I am equally thrilled to dive into her new Adult-debut series which begins with Sword Catcher. This is a sampler excerpt from the full-book which covers around the first 11 chapters, which read quite long and took me approximately four hours to complete. I cannot give a full in-depth review as I have not read the book in full, however this sampler gave me the push I needed to purchase this book on pre-order upon its release date of 10 October 2023.

Whilst this series reads more adult as it is marketed, there was still some "younger" elements to the writing that didn't deter me from reading. I found myself very much immersed into the new world that Clare' has created, and I look forward to learning more about this world and its fantasy elements.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan, Tor for access to this DRC sampler in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully written adult debut, full of stunning world building, delicious characters and a wonderfully paced plot.

Cassandra Clare is one of my all time favourite authors but I was unsure what to expect from her adult debut, especially as it is set in a completely different world from her Shadowhunters series. I needn't have worried as it was truly a fantastic read in which her writing style really shone. Something I think she does particularly well in both her YA books and Sword Catcher is build relationships between characters through dialogue. Within just a few conversations I really felt as though I had a clear idea who each of the main characters were, which can be hard when introducing a complicated high fantasy setting.

I cannot wait to finish reading this book as this was just a sampler arc and continue with the series. If i could give it six stars I would!