The world building was excellent in this one. It was incorporated meaningfully in the dialogue and exposition throughout the book, creating an immersive and strong world. The characters were also strongly written in general. There were several secondary characters that quickly became favorites of mine. I also appreciated how often/well the author incorporated women throughout the book, something that is often lacking in more traditional fantasy written by men. While the plot was somewhat linear in the first half, the political intrigue quickly picked up and made for a strong ending.

Over the course of the book, I became a little frustrated by a couple of things. The first was that Lukan’s character development devolved into essentially just being belligerent and drunk. While it wasn’t an issue at first, it almost became like he couldn’t have an adult conversation without temper issues, which did become old. The second thing was how Lukan got out of everything, No matter how dire the circumstances, no matter the odds, there was always some coincidence or lucky thing that happened that left Lukan triumphant and unscathed. I know that sometimes these things must happen, especially when the characters are involved in such dangerous situations, but for every encounter in a long book to go this way became unsatisfying.

If you’re interested in fantasy that focuses on political intrigue with strong worldbuilding, then this one is worth checking out. The narrator was also excellent and added much to the experience. This was a wonderful debut that set up for a strong book two, and I look forward to reading more by this author. My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Centered around Lukas Gardova, The Silverblood Promise follows the main character on a journey across an ocean in pursuit of answers after his estranged father's death. Lukas himself, a failed academy student, generally successful card player, reasonably good swordsman, has been wandering through life without direction up until this point. But a his father's final note, written in his dying blood, send him to Saphrona to try to find out why his father died.
A little bit murder mystery, a fantasy setting, an absolutely amazing cast of characters... I'm not sure I could have loved this book more. There was adventure, friendship, betrayal, the creepy Faceless, unlikely heroes
And of course the amazing child thief Flea!
While it, thankfully, did not end on a cliffhanger, it set up the next book beautifully, and I cannot wait to enjoy it.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒊𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆 (𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑳𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒄𝒚, #1) 𝒃𝒚 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝑳𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒏

Release Date: May 7, 2024

5⭐️0🌶

I cannot believe that this is the debut novel for James Logan! This book is truly a masterwork. It's complex world building and cheeky characters left me wanting more! The politics and characters reminded me of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, but if Mistborn was a murder mystery revenge story.

Lukan has been estranged from his father for quite sometime. When he learns of his fathers death, he feels cheated of his opportunity to reunite with him. His father was brutally murdered and left a one word message. The message could mean anything. It could be his father's killer or a friend meant to help him figure out why his father was murder. Either way, Lukan goes on a great journey through a massive and strange city to find out who killed his father.

Along the way he meets Flea, who is a scrappy 11 year old girl who never takes "no" as an answer. Her witty come backs and ability to put Lukan in his place made her my favorite character by far.

I would definitely recommend this series for all Brandon Sanderson or Epic Fantasy fans.

The Silverblood Promise is James Logan’s impressive debut and hopefully marks only the start to a new voice in Epic Fantasy. The Silverblood Promise tells the story of Lukan Gardova. Due to an incident that occurred when he was studying at the academy he dropped out and ended up estranged from his father. Now he’s a cardsharp and when we first meet him he’s at the tables playing. It’s a great intro, allowing us to get to a feel for his character. When word reaches him with news of his father’s death, his murder to be more accurate, Lukan is left with a cryptic note his father managed to scrawl in his final moments. And it’s this note that sends him upon his new path. I enjoyed the heck out of this adventure. Lukan himself is a great character, but then so are many of the others we meet along the way, especially Flea. I enjoyed the world building. Logan paints a fascinating world without getting too bogged down, revealing new aspects of the world here and there rather than all at once. The story is multi-layered, with intrigue woven throughout. Mystery, action, politics, and plenty of deception. Brenock O’Connor’s narration is excellent, he truly breathes life into the entire cast of characters. This is a stellar debut and I look forward to reading more from James Logan for years to come. I’d like to thank Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an review an advanced copy of the audio version of The Silverblood Promise.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2FIZSA9XX17U0/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Thank you so much to James Logan, Tor Books, MacMillan Audio, and Netgalley for my advanced copies of this book! All opinions are my own.

I was really hoping to receive this book/really excited to read it because I saw a friend here had marked it as Uncharted meets The Lies of Locke Lamora, and I was really hoping I would love it too.

I DID.

I thought this was a really great story, and I enjoyed how everything flowed. I loved that we were on a quest to find out who killed Lukan's father, and along the way we discovered an entire plot to overthrow the government with sorcerer beings only heard from in children's tales. I loved that women were held in such high esteem in this story, often holding places of so much power or rank that men cowered in their presence - you just don't see that much in epic fantasy and it was a breath of fresh air for me. I did think there were a lot of repetitions, particularly with Lukan's backstory, some of the main plot points, and the phrases, "I can see that," and "ladies blood," but it wasn't so bad that I didn't ultimately not enjoy the overall story.

I am so glad that we have teamed up at the end and I cannot wait to see where this team goes in the next story. Overall rating 4.5 stars

Thanks to #netgalley for this audio version.

I really enjoyed this experience. The narrator does voices well as long as you can tolerate or enjoy voice actors that do fantasy. The drama is high. But, it works well in this version. The characters are fun and new. The problems the character finds himself facing are unexpected and almost like if horror and high fantasy combined which was refreshing. The intrigue also lends another level of interest. Overall, this was a very satisfying read. The 4 starts instead of 5 stars is much more likely to my reading too much fantasy and maybe being too much of a "mood reader." Also, I think I prefer my fantasy in tangible book rather than audio.

I love a good high-fantasy series and this one fits the bill! It is twisty and turny and full of world building and fun characters. While some parts of the story were predictable for any tried and true fantasy reader, there was a lot of it that was fresh and new.

This has it all, it is fantasy mixed with a murder mystery. There is magic and the occasional pun that made me audibly giggle. This story is fueled by our MC, Lukan, basically going on a quest to find out what happened to his father. It's low-key giving Indiana Jones but with magic and portals and monsters.

Once I started it, I immediately knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else until I reached the end. I love that this one is part of a series and I cant want to get my hands on the next installment. I'll be thinking of Lukan and his story for a long while now… solid debut, James Logan!

The Silverblood Promise by James Logan is a murder mystery set in a fantasy world with plenty of action and adventure. I'd say it would appeal to older teens and young adults.
The story follows Lucan Gardova. He is a sarcastic young man with a past he's bitter about. He's been spending his days drinking too much and gambling when he gets news of his father's murder. His father's last message to him sends him on an adventure in the foreign country of Saphrona.
I enjoyed the episodic feel of this story.
One adventure leads into another to an overarching story. There were times when I wished for more in certain areas with certain characters. Especially with characters like the Twice Crowned King and the faceless. I'm hoping sequels will have more of these.
Lucan as a character tends to run his mouth when he's under stress. Everything he goes through shapes him to be a better person than he starts out as. He steps up to help others and even when he doesn't have to
His relationship with Flea was really cute. He steps into a parental role with her and becomes very protective
I like the narrator. This audiobook especially the action sequences. It reminded me of listening to a sports broadcast.
I look forward to reading more of this series.
Thank you to Netgalley and McMillan Audio for this arc. This review was written voluntarily.

Swords, Sorcery, and Science

“Defeat the villain.
Save the city.
Free the prince.”

Thoughts💡
This was a fast paced and exciting adventure to solve a mysterious crime, I loved the story even if it took me a minute to appreciate Lukan. The side characters though, those ladies were epic, especially Flea and The Shadow Queen. And they all helped Lukan develop into an endearing character that I was rooting for by the end.
The plot was filled with magic, was fast paced, and loaded with a lot of the setbacks that the characters had to navigate. The city and its monsters gave me Stargate vibes (the OG movie); and the rich world building brought it alive. It made all the challenges and setbacks the characters faced exciting and tense.
The audio was a lot of fun to listen to because Brenock has a very deep voice with clear pronunciations and a fast pace. All of it combined to make some epic storytelling that I want more of.

Why It’s Fun
⚜️ Endearing Characters
⚜️ Epic Plot Twists & Challenges
⚜️ Very Cool Ancient Civilization
⚜️ Magic is Science and Science is Magic
⚜️ Badass, Accomplished Women Getting Shit Done, (and one very cool dude leading the charge)

✨Note:✨This is book one in the series, but comes to a nice conclusion that sets up the next book.

⚠️Content Warning⚠️
loss of a parent,violence, murder, blood, gore,🍺,🚬,💊, imprisonment, torture

Stats📊
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ ❌🌶️ (no romance)
Characters: 💙💙💙💙💙
Audio & Narrator: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧
Sci-fi Fantasy: swords & sorcery, mysterious crime, exiled son, chasing a legacy, wild adventure, rag tag team, ancient civilization, aliens and magic, monsters, political machinations, corruption
Third Person, Past Tense, Multi POV
(but mostly just the MC’s POV)

Wow! What a fantastic epic fantasy! If this is James Logan's debut novel, then sign me up for everything that he writes in the future!

In this book you are following Lukan, who makes a Silverblood Promise, that takes him on a journey to a far away city to complete his quest and satisfy his promise.

This book has everything I look for in a fantasy novel. It has an epic adventure, pirates, shady taverns, odd executions where a prisoner could survive, gambling dens, found family, clever characters, and of course, the writing is fantastic!

I thought this was very good 😄
I was fascinated with the ongoing mysteries and all the effort and questioning and sometimes action it took for the MC to figure out who was framing an innocent woman!🫨
Turned out, there was more to it than just her case and it ran deeper than he thought.
Love the dynamic between Lukan and his companion too! Their growing friendship was fun to read 😊
The book was slow at the beginning, but once the investigation starts rolling, it get more and more interesting! It reads very much like a historical fiction novel; one that takes place around the Papal Rome dark ages era. I happen to like historical fiction so I didn't mind haha
Overall, pretty good worldbuilding, characters I found myself rooting for, and interesting enough mystery and plot twists 👍👍

WOW. What a whirlwind. Upon reading this, I actually looked into the author, certain that he was a well accomplished, highly acclaimed, awarded, YADA YADA, individual. Only to find this to be his first book. I’m sorry… WHAT!?

This story was exquisitely written, beautifully realized. There is not a false note anywhere.

The main characters are compelling, and the only thing more enticing than this, may be the very real world that Logan has brought for us, out of the depths of his creativity. I’ve always felt that in some cases, an author is given a story that already exists, to put down on paper. This is one of those times. A+++++.

On the audiobook portion of this - audiobooks can be quite difficult to get into, let alone stay caught up with. Not the case here! I was excited the whole way through.

I was provided with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to the publishers and all involved in providing this!

One part murder mystery, one part epic fantasy, leads to a fun book. The story follows Lukan as he works his way through problems and meets interesting people along the way…without giving away too much.

I really enjoyed the world that was built and the twist and the turns of the story.

The audiobook was well read and the characters easy to identify, which is not always the case. I really enjoyed the narrator. The book starts a little slow, but the audiobook keeps you engaged.

I really enjoyed A Silverblood Promise. It was a nice change of pace for a high fantasy. There is not a romance plot to this book, and I loved that. I loved that the story stayed with Lukan and his trial to uncover his father's murder. Flea was my favorite character though. She is an honest, take no shit kind of kid. I am very interested to see where these characters take us but I am not happy I will have to wait forever for the second book.

This is a good fantasy book. Although the beginning was a little slow I warmed up to the characters and very much enjoyed Flea and Lukan's relationship.
The narrator did great with the voices, I loved the different accents and he made the book more enjoyable.
I had a hard time really digging into this book because it was a drunken males perspective in the beginning, which was a little difficult to enjoy. He soon proved himself on his hero adventure with his trusty, yet unexpected sidekick. The ending has a great set up for book two.
I would be interested in reading book 2 at this point. The ending was good and left me wanting more.
Thank you to the author and Macmillan Audio for the Access to this title for a review.

Unfortunately this was a dnf at 20%. I had really really high hopes for this and can see the authors potential but the main character was infuriating. Every single time he had to enact a plan or go talk to someone he would waffle back and forth and nearly chicken out entirely just for the plan to work exactly like he needed it.

The narrator was excellent however and I didnt have any trouble listening along and understanding what happened. I would love to listen to any other books narrated by them!

I think this could still be a very good book for most people and I think this author will do really well it's just not for me.

It started out a bit slow but after the premise is established, the story rolls out in a beautifully structured way; our protagonist's simple quest becomes a series of problems to be solved in order to achieve his own goal. The characters are well-drawn and, while there's nothing revolutionary, the world-building is solid. Overall, a delightful and entertaining fantasy. The audiobook narration was okay but would have benefited from more character voices.

This book suffered from too many side quests.

The idea for the story is fun and had so much potential. A young man, disgraced by a single moment of his entire life, finds his father was murdered. A cryptic note, written by his dying father in his own blood, starts a quest to find out why. The "why" is in a box in a vault no one can open except a condemned pirate in an inescapable prison.

I'm going to stop there and just say I'm already not liking this story. People don't do this. If his father had left a will with "Tell my son this when I die", fine, that's fine. If Dad had a letter in his desk with the son's name on it, ok, acceptable. But if something is THAT DAMN IMPORTANT, you don't keep it a secret and hope you don't have a stroke in your sleep. The drama is already annoyingly close to a soap opera.

So we're off to a stupid start, whatever. Next is an excellent scene that shows how well Logan can worldbuild. Our main character has a conversation with a deaf "mute" girl, and she hasn't been introduced. She's just in the mix and we roll with it, the pirate is believable, the threats of violence are scaled right and believable, honestly, just an excellent scene that shows the potential Logan brings to this story.

The book then proceeds to piss in my Cheerios by having our intrepid young swashbuckler run into every side quest like a D&D golden retriever chasing squirrels. I understand you have to set up a plot and then change something to build drama, but this is like a Spinal Tap of bait and switch, everything is cranked to 11.

The book is still well-written, Flea is an excellent character, most of the others are weak but whatever, the story is moving, it's fine, until the end. Logan, no, bad author. Really, the dying wish was for his son to open the box and find something so stupid it hurt my feelings? I'm trying to not spoil anything, but really?!?!

I want to read the sequel just to see how Logan evolves as a writer. And this book has so much potential, I hope he brings the 11 down to a 9 and I bet I love that book.

Guys, guys, guys!! This book was everything that I could have asked for and more! If Sherlock Holmes, Locke Lamora, and Sebastien de Castell’s stories all came together it would be this. Ancient forgotten civilizations, murder, magic, a young man out for justice, and found family. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

"You want to talk with me"....so good!!! This is a fantastic first book of a hopefully great series! Highly recommend this gem