Swordheart by T. Kingfisher is an absolute delight from start to finish! This fast-paced and witty fantasy novel blends humor, heart, and adventure in the most refreshing way. The characters, especially the protagonist, Halla, are wonderfully fleshed out, and the chemistry between her and the magical sword (which just so happens to have a very interesting personality) is both hilarious and endearing. Kingfisher's trademark charm shines through in the dialogue and the way she effortlessly combines fantasy tropes with her unique sense of humor.

The world-building is rich and immersive without ever feeling overwhelming, and the pacing keeps you hooked throughout. It's a perfect mix of action, fantasy, and clever wit, with just the right amount of romance and emotional depth. Fans of T. Kingfisher’s work will not be disappointed, and readers new to her books are in for a delightful treat. Swordheart is a charming, fast-paced story with just enough of everything to make it an unforgettable read. Highly recommended for anyone who loves a great adventure with a lot of heart!

I really loved this book. T. Kingfisher never lets me down. Halla and Sarkis are absolutely magnificent. These characters are funny, smart, and brave. The story is original, and the found family aspect is just so cozy and wonderful. I loved this adventure as much as Kingfisher's other works. She is a master of cozy fantasy!

I loved this book. This was my first five star read of the year. I love when I get to follow an older character. There was adventure, a little romance and quirky characters that had me laughing. I love this author and I will read anything they write.

This is a fun romance between a sensible widow and her enchanted sword. After an unexpected inheritance, she has to escape from her greedy relatives with the help of the warrior spirit she found inside a magic sword, embark on a quest for legal aid, and avoid creepy forests and menacing priests, all while falling in love. It's a good adventure - with bandits, creepy monsters, and rescues and escapes - but also a very touching love story between two people who have been hurt before and are uncertain why anyone would want them. (Pretty sexy, too, without being graphic about it.) It's an engaging story, the characters are great, funny and sensible, and you can really see how well they complement each other. I'd recommend this to anyone, especially if you want a fantasy that isn't about saving the world.

More cozy fantasy involving road trips and sarcastic, quirky buddies. As always with T. Kingfisher, this hit my sweet spot — funny with heart — and can I tell you what I really appreciated? Halla’s incessant questioning of how Sarkis’s curse worked. You better believe that if I met a man trapped in a sword, I’d be running all kinds of tests, especially if I found myself falling for him. The miscommunications around their relationship did annoy me a little bit, but I am of course willing to put that aside because everything else was so delightful. And I freaking love this new cover. AND I was even more excited to finish and find out that there would be more adventures to come.

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher 4⭐️

I am so happy and surprised that the main female lead Halla was a woman in her late 30’s. Not only was she funny but she is kindhearted. Plus I love how she rambles on when she’s kinda nervous or trying to avoid being killed. LOL This was a refreshing read and i was rooting for Halla and Sarkis the whole time.

The story follows Halla and her magical sword (Sarkis). Halla inherits her uncle (in-law) house and everything he owns. Shes pretty much force to fight his family for the will and it’s an interesting adventure.

Sarkis is a man stuck in a sword and is probably over 500 years old. So there’s technically a huge age gap but he’s technically a magical sword… kinda? LOL

Anyway it was a fun read and I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc! I’m going to pick up the deluxe edition so it can live on my shelf forever. Enchanted sword who protects you? Sign me up please 💙🥰

Thank you, Kingfisher, NetGalley, and Tor publishing for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first book I've read by Kingfisher, and it did not disappoint!
The world building was exceptional, and the characters were so well written. As an over thinker, and an answer seeker, I've never related to a character more than I relate to Halla. She is hilarious. I also appreciated reading a story where the main characters were not in their teens. Halla is an average 36 year old woman.
As a reader who imagines myself as the main character, I was easily able to picture myself on her journey. Books with parapets and life or death trials also hold space in my heart, but I enjoyed how the adventure in Swordheart simply stemmed from Halla avoiding marrying her cousin. It made it a lighthearted, comfy and cozy, fun read.

4.5 stars rounded up and my thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the eARC!

I loved this story so much! Kingfisher writes horror really really well, so I'm not at all surprised that her fantasy/romance books are just as amazing.

Halla is trapped by her in-laws after the death of both her husband and his elderly uncle whom she was caring for. Trapped both metaphorically and physically, she's about to be forced to marry her late husbands cousin and locked in her bedroom until she agrees to such. When she finds a sword, she unsheathes it in preparation to kill herself, only to have a handsome knight suddenly appear and swear fealty to her.

Halla and Sarkis had such a fun relationship throughout the whole book. Halla trying to survive and Sarkis trying his best to prevent her from causing trouble. I loved the banter between the two of them, especially near the beginning when they were first learning each other.

The only thing keeping it from the full 5 stars was the length of the book. I think it probably could have been cut maybe 50 pages or so here and there. There was a part of the novel that seemed like it was going to set something up with Sarkis and finding out more about him, but then it went nowhere and meant really nothing to this story.

This special edition of T Kingfisher’s 2018 Romantasy Swordheart was released this week. There is nothing like the way Kingfisher gives her characters such a sarcastic and yet endearing voice that is hilarious and cozy. I have mostly read her horrorish novels in the past so I was a little unsure about a romantasy, but Swordheart was everything I wanted it to be and more.

A 30 something widowed housekeeper finds herself the soul inheritor of her great uncle’s property and fortune. His hideous family is not happy and plots to force her into a marriage with her cousin so they can get the money. But when Halla unsheathes a sword she discovers, an immortal man appears and announces he is sworn to her service.

For most of the story Halla and Sarkis travel together to call on an order of priests to help her receive her inheritance, but along the way we find some great side characters and some adventures. But the real jewel is how the journey allows time for us to get to know Sarkis and Halla, and surprise surprise, see them fall in love. Given that Sarkis has his own backstory, and his inability to not serve the sword-bearer, things get pretty complicated.

This was a fun read and I’m in love with these characters. It’s not Kingfishers best novel, but that bar is pretty darn high at this point.

If you like a fairy tale vibe with grown ass characters with an attitude, I would highly recommended this adorable romantasy.

A funny and fantastic adventure story from one of my favorite authors! Such a good revamp of her earlier work!

This was a solid read, I just wasn’t in the mood for it. I think I prefer T Kingfisher’s dark and twisty works to the more lighthearted ones. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I really struggled with this book. The plot felt like it really dragged. While I enjoyed many of T Kingfishers books, this just didn’t hit the spot for me.

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher was a breath of fresh air.
Kingfisher shines by writing a light, pithy story while simultaneously detailing the woes of women in society. The way Halla felt she had to “dumb herself down” was enraging, AND YET, through Kishfisher’s writing, is undeniably hilarious.
The story's premise is refreshingly unique: a widowed housekeeper mistakenly draws an enchanted sword, forever tying herself to an immortal warrior bound by magic to protect her from harm. The peculiar cast of characters collected along the way quickly endeared themselves with wit and charm. And the world-building was not once overwhelming.
I will say that Swordheart is not a high-speed, high-stakes (or, in general, anything fast) read. It is a funny, low-stakes, cozy fantasy I looked forward to cuddling beside my fireplace to read each night.
Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank Bramble for allowing me to read the advanced copy of this rerelease!

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher is probably my favorite book written by T. Kingfisher.
The writing is genuinely stunning and incredibly emotional, genuinely it's such a rush to read.
I couldn't put this down and I would highly recommend it to anyone!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Swordheart had all the makings of a book that I truly thought I would enjoy. And believe me, I tried my darndest to enjoy this book.

I made it to chapter 10 when I realized that I was not enjoying reading it and could not force myself to keep going. The pacing was quite slow for me, it felt like for 9 chapters almost nothing happened. I felt like I was frozen in time. And while the characters seemed promising, the writing style was not one I enjoyed reading. I know that T. Kingfisher is a widely loved author and I was hoping to join that group.

I think this is one of those cases where it’s not you, it’s me.

UPDATE 3/1/25: I ended up going back to the book and giving it another shot. I did end up finishing most of it, though I admit to skimming portions of the story…unfortunately, my thoughts are still relatively the same. The pacing remained very slow for me and it was very difficult to enjoy. I’m giving it 2 stars because the characters had a lot of promise and the idea of the story was okay.

I really enjoyed this story. A cute, cozy fantasy perfect for a rainy or snowy day with strong elements of found family and redemption. Reminiscent of older princess tales with rotten-to-the-core families who treat the FMC like dirt and a hero who comes to her rescue from the unlikeliest of places. I found myself laughing more than I thought I would at their back and forth banter, witty quips, and Halla's incessant questioning. High recommend the audio version of this book as well!

This was SO cute!! I loved all the characters, but especially Zale - more Zale please!

I still haven't read a Kingfisher book I haven't loved - this one is no different. With a light-hearted, Princess Bride kind of vibe and a delightfully real feeling middle aged woman MC, this was a joy. I can't wait to read the rest of the books in this universe.

So I’m here from reading multiple books by T. Kingfisher. I enjoy the writing style and how the plot unfolds. The characters are interesting and the world building well written. This is an easy read. I always add this author to the TBR.

Thank you to Bramble and the author for a gifted copy of this book.

I enjoyed this book so much. I’m so happy I got to read it for the release. This book was heartwarming and heartbreaking. It had laughing at loud. The characters were lovable all around, the villians were truly hate worthy. There was romance and adventure. This has it all!

If I were in charge of coming up with the title for this book, I'd call it "There and Back Again" (but not really because Tolkein already claimed that one) since most of it takes place as she journeys back and forth the same road. It sounds quite dull and was mostly predictable, but this book was a great time and it will make you truly laugh out loud.

While the dialogue in parts had a few too many filler words for my liking, I found my favorite part of the book was the banter between Halla and the many minor characters. From the moment she meets Sarkis, their opposite personalities create tense moments and minor conflicts that lead to frustrated communication and eventual flirtation. Halla's feigned ignorance to get out of trouble leads to some hilariously random idle chit chat. The relationship between Halla and Zale with their similarly rational brains led to some brilliant, yet inappropriately-timed debates, but some scenes that I want to see visually portrayed for their brilliance. And don't get me started on Brindle, my favorite character. I'd read an entire book about Brindle. I would take a sword through the heart for Brindle. Brindle is perfect.

While I found the plot to be a bit predictable until some specific moments at the end, I had a great time reading this. With a less represented protagonist (36 year old widow with a curvy figure), a cast of characters who all need their own spinoffs, and an adorable enemies to lovers romance, I think many romantasy lovers will find something to like in this one. I'm hopeful that with this republished edition, Kingfisher has plans to release more books in this series as it does end with a nod toward a sequel!