Listen, give me a list of T. kingfisher groceries and imma read it. I love this authors style and how the words are twisted to come at you. Sinking into her worlds where she takes something familiar and gives it edges I didn’t know it needed. Oof. Watch out.

The theme of this engaging fantasy is: 'A beleaguered magical sword saddled with an inept wielder'.

It all starts when wealthy Great-Uncle Silas expires and unexpectedly leaves his all to Halla. Her aunts lock her in her room, planning to have her quickly 'married or buried'. Deciding to kill herself, she unsheathes an ancient sword gathering dust on the wall - and a man appears.

Immortal warrior Sarkis has been trapped in the sword for generations, sworn to protect its wielder. He kicks the locked door down and takes Halla out of there. The engaging dialogue between Halla and Sarkis (driven by her never-ending stream of questions) draws the reader through the plot.

Sarkis protects kind and trusting Halla through all kinds of adventures. The ending hints at a sequel and I can't wait!

You know how they say you can’t judge a book by it’s cover? In this case, you can! You absolutely can! Swordheart by T. Kingfisher is absolutely as delicious as this cover. BTW, this is a re-release with a new, well-deserved (and absolutely yummy) cover.

Widow Halla has been staying with her late husband’s uncle after the death of her husband, running his household, and mostly feeling quite fortunate to have a roof over her head and ample food. Unexpectedly, the uncle dies and leaves her everything, much to the disgust of his relatives who decide that this just can’t be. They will do everything to take the inheritance from Halla. Try to force her to marry? Yes. Lock her in her room until she comes around to their point-of-view? Yes. While locked in her room, she unsheathes one of her uncle’s ancient swords. A man appears from the unsheathed sword calling himself Sarkis and that he is sworn to protect the bearer of the sword: Swordheart by T. Kingfisher.

Swordheart epitomizes why I love T. Kingfisher’s books. The characters are delightfully quirky with the main female character typically having a dry humor that adds a welcoming element to even the darkest of books. In this case, it’s Halla, who I love as I do Sarkis, the not-reluctant but perhaps guilt-stricken hero who emerges from the sword. As they attempt to find a way for Halla to obtain her inheritance, they encounter obstacles, some human and some decidedly not, that keep the pages turning. They approach their mission with deadpan humor while learning each other’s stories and slowly falling in love.

As I’ve probably mentioned ad nauseam, I am not typically a reader of fantasy but . . . it’s novels like Swordheart that continue to change my mind. The ultimate reality, of course, is that any books with interesting characters and a good plot/story is desirable despite its genre. But if you aren’t a fan of the genre, it’s very hard to find the gems with it.

So. Yep, definitely loved this one and am eagerly looking forward to more from T. Kingfisher.

Many thanks to Bramble for sending me a copy. (Now I may just have to purchase one with that stunning cover.)

Oh, this was a delight. I'm so glad it's going to be a trilogy, because if the next two are anything like this one, they'll hopefully be as fun.

This was one of the coziest and most heartwarming fantasy novels that I have ever read, and I am so thankful for T Kingfisher for creating some of the most intricate and unique characters, as well as a charming universe.

I liked that the story touched on parts of the general world of the White Rat but still felt like an intimate stand-alone story. This was my first introduction to the world, and I am already so deeply invested. I will absolutely be returning to this universe to dive deeper into it. Overall, the plot was very super cozy, but still had a healthy dose of adventure and magic which was charming in its own right.

I absolutely loved the cast of characters in this book. Both the primary and secondary characters were fantastically written, and I felt extremely connected to them (the good ones of course). I especially felt a kinship to Halla, as her character was one of the most unique and original characters that I have ever had the pleasure of following. The romance was so incredibly charming and funny. It’s on the cleaner side but I still loved every interaction between the two of them!

This story was so much fun!! Seriously you have a story of an unlikely group (found family) together on their journey and all of the things they go through along the way combined with so much hilarity that I actually laughed out loud so many times throughout this book, all put together to make one of my favorite reads of 2025! You will absolutely adore this story and it will easily become one of your favorite comfort reads!!

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher is a delightful fantasy romance with a heaping helping of adventure.

I've been meaning to read this book for a long time, and once Tor announced they were going to publish a beautiful hardcover edition with an amazing cover, I knew I needed to buy it. So I ordered it from bookshop.org to help support my local Friends of the Library! I'm glad I did; it ended up becoming a new favorite for me.

I listened to the audiobook which I borrowed from my library. I really enjoyed listening to the narrator, Jesse Vilinsky! They did a great job really making Kingfisher's prose and sense of humor really shine.

T. Kingfisher always does a fabulous job with world-building, and this book is no different. I truly want to see this adapted for television or film; it would be SO FUN.

Hella a housekeeper to her great-uncle (by marriage), and after his death she inherits his entire estate... and the rest of his horrible family. When said horrible family intends to imprison her in the home and force her to marry the son of the matriarch, she decides to un-alive herself. Luckily for her, she sword she pulls off the wall to do the deed is actually Sarkis, an immortal swordsman trapped in a prison of his own made of enchanted steel.

They have a great slow-burn romance set against the backdrop of a road trip to help Hela take back her inheritance. Both main characters are older (Hella is middle-aged and Sarkis is several hundreds of years old) and they have phenomenal banter. Hella is absolutely written to be neurodivergent, though it's never spelled out as such. She really made me feel seen; I have ADHD and saw a lot of my habits in her characterization, especially when she said she does well with routines.

Sarkis is very dark and brooding, and I love that in a MMC. I really appreciated that Sarkis didn't actually try to change his relationship with Hella until they were on more equal footing. What could have been an issue of power dynamics between them was easily sorted out that way. Various characters say it throughout the book and I wholeheartedly agree: he is such a good pairing for Hella.

There's some great non-binary representation in the lawyer-priest Zale. It was lovely to see in the author's note that Kingfisher had sensitivity readers double-check the representation, too. You love to see it!

The whole concept of the Temple of the White Rat is so interesting to me. It houses an order of god-touched social workers, healers, and public defenders. I can't wait to read more in this world!

Tropes in this book include: older protagonists, neurodivergent representation, nonbinary representation, road trip, slow burn

CW: violence, death, confinement

This book was an unbelievable joy to read! I love the dynamic between our two main characters. I honestly thought this book was laugh out loud funny.

Fans of cozy fantasy, this one's a must-read! *This book* follows Halla, who discovers an immortal warrior named Sarkis trapped inside her sword, and together they journey across the country to reclaim an inheritance her late husband's family is trying to steal. With a mix of romance, adventure, and found family, the slow-burn romance between Halla and Sarkis is filled with great banter and grumpy-sunshine dynamics, making this an absolute favorite!

Swordheart, aptly, has so much heart that I felt warm and fuzzy the entire time I was reading it!

Halla has just inherited her uncle by marriage's house, in part because she cared for him during his last years of life. But her aunt isn't happy with that, and plan to make her marry her son. She locks her in her room. Halla pulls a sword off of the wall to defend herself, and find that the sword is like a genie bottle, with a brave warrior inside. Sheath the sword, and he disappears and heals. Pull it out, and he is back immediately and ready to defend her.

Sarkis has been a warrior of the blade for hundreds of years, but never had he had a wielder who asked so many questions. He is hers for as long as she has the blade, and is happy to defend her from her crazy in-laws, and accompany her to a larger town, where she can receive help from the Rat Temple, who are lawyers. He discovers her intelligence, her curiosity, and her willingness to look at the bright side of things are almost as appealing as her body.

Of course, things go awry, with mythical lands, bandits, priests for other gods, greedy family and so-called friends all too interested in her inheritance and her sword. But through it all, the book made me laugh with incredible dialogue and great characters. The "experiments" with bodily fluids while they are on the road was one of the funniest parts of the book.

If you are looking for a great cozy fantasy, Swordheart is for you. Best of all, it is the first of a trilogy, so I get to look forward to more sword warrior stories!

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

✒️📖ARC REVIEW📖🖋️

3.5 rounded up

This book was a slow paced, but an interesting take on cozy fantasy, legal thriller, and girly your family sucks. We follow a housekeeper who cared for her elderly uncle (by marriage) after being widowed as she is fleeing with a magical sword-man to seek out one of the churches to help sort out her inheritance.

The book was accurately described as Princess Bride inspired The lead female is just a bit older, but equally charming and smart. I would also say it reminds me of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. There are lots of comedic relief scenes, talking around themselves, and characters that come from vastly different backgrounds.

Would recommend to anyone who is looking for something different in the cozy fantasy/adventure fantasy (they are basically on a ox wagon roadtrip or on foot for 90% of the book) genres. The characters and plot line are very well done. That being said I would have liked a map!! And maybe a picture of the group…would have been a lovely hodgepodge of a D&D party.

I was provided a free advanced reader copy courtesy of TOR Publishing Group and T. Kingfisher via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

#arc #advancedreadercopy #NetGalley #SwordHeart #T.Kingfisher #TORPublishing

I recommend this to anyone who is already a T. Kingfisher fan, and if you’re still on the fence about it, this book certainly will pull you in. Kingfisher has a way of making their prose flow so smoothly throughout the duration of their story telling and this book is a prime example. This book captivates you from the very first chapter and has you longing for more after the very last.

Swordheart is delightful and cozy and everything I hoped for! Highly recommend to read on a rainy weekend inside with a cup of tea.

This exciting and romantic fantasy novel will sweep you away! As a big fan of T Kingfisher, Swoardheart absolutely delivered! This book has great characters, good humor, and all of the trappings of a fun story about two awkward people finding each other! I really enjoyed it!

T. Kingfisher once again gives us the world of swashbuckling, complicated storytelling, and soul searching, heroic, at times inept, protagonists. This is a good addition to her World of the White Rat series.

Funny, lovable characters. Interesting world and plot. Fun adventure. Happy ending…also set up for another book in this world…what more could I want!?I’m

I received an advanced reader copy of SwordHeart through NetGalley, and while the premise intrigued me, I ultimately found myself struggling to engage with the story. The plot follows the journey of a young woman who inherits everything from her great uncle, only for her family to attempt to take it from her. Things take a magical turn when she opens a sword left behind by her uncle, releasing a magical protector bound to her. Together, they embark on a journey to reclaim her inheritance.

At first, I had a difficult time getting into the book—it took me several days to get through just 15%. While I was intrigued by the idea of a magical protector and the premise of reclaiming the inheritance, the pacing felt chaotic, and I found the dialogue—both internal and external—manic. The characters often spoke with similar voices, and the frequent POV shifts within chapters made it challenging to follow who was saying what. This lack of clarity in character voices contributed to the overall disorienting feel of the narrative.

Another challenge was the stakes. Despite the fantastical elements, the plot felt relatively low stakes, given that the central conflict revolved around a character trying to retrieve her inheritance. This made it hard to fully invest in the journey.

That said, around 15% in, the book did begin to capture my attention more. As the story progressed, I became more curious about the outcome, and my desire to finish the book grew. I also appreciate that the author brought in humor and lightheartedness, which provided some balance to the heavier moments.

While SwordHeart ultimately didn't fully resonate with me, I can see how others may enjoy its unique blend of magic and adventure, especially if they enjoy chaotic, fast-paced narratives. This book wasn't the right fit for me, but I am glad I stuck with it to see how the story unfolded.

In my opinion, T. Kingfisher can do no wrong. This book was everything I wanted it to be and more! The banter and hilarious inner monologue had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions. I feel like these characters are all very relatable, which in turn makes it very easy to connect with them and their story. The sexual tension between Halla and Sarkis was so thick through the majority of the book that you could cut it with a knife. It was DELICIOUS! This book has wound its way into my heart and will not leave. I finished it and immediately wanted to go back for seconds. This was my first book in this particular world by T. Kingfisher, but I will be reading the rest. I highly recommend to anyone who loves low-stake romance, fantasy, brooding MMCs, he falls first, and second chance romance.

This was such a lovely addition to this universe that Kingfisher has created. I love the humour and lightheartedness of these somewhat dark worlds with dark stories that can really get you down. In dark times in this very real world of ours, I love to read this author because it always lifts my spirits.

I love T.Kingfisher! One of the of the most versatile writers and she's covered a lot of genres, this romantasy delivered! The romantic interest was brooding and it worked in contrast with the kind but sassy heroine! You were rooting for these two the whole book!