you want a romantasy without assassin teenagers or evil ones to overthrow? Would you prefer older main characters and constant humor? Kingfisher has got a story for you!

This may be the best romantasy I have read to date- developed characters, hilarious inner monologues, an easy meandering plot- that somehow still felt high stakes even though they were just dealing with matters of a will. Halla and Sarkis are so cute it makes me want to scream.

I found the world building so easy to understand (no info dumps!) and I want to venture into the Paladin’s series now as well. Kingfisher’s characters and stories have always been a win for me but I really enjoyed the lack of horror for once- glad that I have already purchased the new edition of this rerelease!

📖 Book Review: Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
⭐️ 4.25 Stars | 📚 Book 39/100 | 🎧. Audiobook/eBook

Thank you to T. Kingfisher and Tor Publishing Group for the review copy of this title.

Swordheart is a delightful mix of humor, adventure, and romance with T. Kingfisher’s signature wit and charm. This book took me on an unexpected journey filled with sarcastic banter, quirky characters, and a magical sword with an attitude. If you love fantasy with a strong dose of humor, you’ll enjoy this one!

Tropes:
Grumpy/Sunshine
Guardian/Protector Romance
Found Family
Sentient Weapon
Road Trip Adventure

Trigger Warnings:
Violence
Captivity/Imprisonment
Discussions of Death & Suicide

What I Loved:
Halla is such a relatable, no-nonsense FMC who refuses to let fate push her around.
Sarkis, the grumpy-yet-loyal warrior trapped in the sword, has some of the best dry humor I’ve read.
The worldbuilding and unique magic system are refreshing without being overwhelming.
The romance is slow-burn, full of tension, and absolutely worth it!

What Didn’t Work for Me:
The pacing lagged a bit in the middle, with some sections feeling slower than necessary.
Some side characters weren’t as developed as I’d hoped.

Overall, Swordheart is a fun, engaging read that blends fantasy and romance effortlessly. If you enjoy T. Kingfisher’s mix of humor and heart, this is a must-read!

Over the last few years, I’ve read more than a couple of Kingfisher novels, and have loved each one of them. Many of her books are standalone, while others are part of series that I haven’t delved into. I didn’t realize that this was part of a series until I was already into the book, but I haven’t found a Kingfisher book that I haven’t loved yet, and had my standards set very high for this story.

I know this review is being posted on the day after the book was published, but this one took me a surprisingly long time to make my way through. This was one of the rare cases that I didn’t mind it taking me so much longer to get through, because I truly loved the story. My effort to have this book read and reviewed before the publication date didn’t work out very well, as you can see. There really was very little that I didn’t like about the book, but I had a really weird issue with reading it—I’d put the book down and then have to push myself to pick it back up, even though I loved reading it and quickly became captivated by the story each time. Once publication day had passed, I tried switching to the audiobook version I got from the library, and discovered that I preferred this book in audiobook format.

The audiobook is narrated by Jesse Vilinsky, and I loved her portrayal of each of the characters (that I listened to in the second half of the book). Despite the story taking place in an entirely different fantasy world, for some reason she gave Sarkis a strong Scottish brogue, and I adored listening to every minute of the story. Vilinsky made it so easy to differentiate between the characters, voicing different timbres, accent, and range of characters along the spectrum of gender identity and the equivalent sound of the voices of male, female, and non-binary characters.

Speaking of which, I’m really glad that they had a range of gender identity between the major characters who form a found family. Halla is a widow, and was married to a man who was significantly older and it wasn’t a romantic marriage, instead seeming to be one of convenience. Sarkis is, well, he’s an immortal warrior who is cursed to be trapped in a sword and be at the mercy of the wielder. There is another character who features prominently in the story who is non-binary, and in Kingfisher’s signature style, non-binary characters are just a normal part of the world. However, the character does mention in an oblique way that they received similar questions as non-binary or trans people get in our world. Personally, I wish our society was more accepting of others in the LGBTQIA+ community the way this world was.

It is hard not to love Halla, perhaps impossible. She is one of those people that is amazing to have as a friend or family member, being willing to practically give the proverbial shirt off her back to anyone in need. And people with good hearts always assume the best in others, so it becomes clear very early on that she has been taken advantage of by the people around her, especially as soon as they learned about the inheritance her husband had left to her alone. Her in-laws are furious and lock her in her bedroom, and she happens to discover the sword with Sarkis, which kicks off the most adventurous adventure Halla has ever been on.

Halla is the most charming combination of brilliant and naïveté. She’s a widow but has absolutely no idea about intimacy, and having only lived on a farm and in her husband’s house, she’s extra gullible. But she’s also very smart in some ways, and I would have thought this combination of clueless and brilliant wasn’t realistic except for the fact that I have a best friend who is exactly like this. And Halla is really funny. She’s the kind of stiff upper-lip woman full of plucky courage and heartwarming charm. It takes a bit to get to know Sarkis and Zale, but once their personalities come out and I had no choice but to love them as well. The three of them team up with a gnole (creatures that speak) who drives the ox that pulls the cart everyone is riding in.

While Halla has very little family, and the only people surrounding her in the house are her in-laws that are determined to keep the house ‘in the family,’ and they treat her deplorably. However, Sarkis helps her escape the house that her in-laws have locked her into until she agrees to marry a cousin-in-law, which she has no desire to do. They enlist the help of a priest from the House of the White Rat, and are then accompanied by Zale, the priest, to navigate the complexities of estate law and find out what is really going on.

The four of them and a slow-moving ox take to the road in an attempt to pull any records kept on the estate. While there is a lot of character interaction and development in the story, the center part of the story was differently paced from the start and finish, although there are some scattered bits of action along the journey, especially once someone they encounter knows about the sword. However, while they are in constant danger from priests of another god, brigands on the road, and dangerous creatures.

Sarkis grew on me pretty quickly. He’s fierce and severe, but he’s actually a cinnamon roll with an extra tough outer shell. The interactions between Halla, Sarkis, and Zale were written in a way that had me laughing, empathizing with the characters, and sitting on the edge of my seat for the parts with action. Once I switched to the audiobook, it was a lot more enjoyable to read this story, and didn’t struggle to pick up a book I enjoyed so thoroughly.

Overall, this is exactly what I’d expect from T. Kingfisher, who constantly writes her own form of multi genre books—cozy horror, and now a cozy romantasy. The stakes aren’t very high in this story, but the characters are really what made this book shine—they each charmed me and won my heart over. The only thing that stopped me from rating this a full 5 stars is that the story got a bit meandering in the middle, with a really slow pace. However, it did allow readers to watch the believable romance build between Sarkis and Halla, as well as the many humorous exchanges between our major characters as they develop a found family bond. But I loved the story, the characters, and even the beautifully rendered world building. All in all, Kingfisher is an author I know I can’t go wrong with reading, and I’m going to have to keep slowly working my way through her backlist.

Halla inherits her uncle's estate, unfortunately her greedy relatives want it all for themselves. Her family decides to force her into a marriage so they can access the estate. Locked in her room, Halla draws a sword to end her life, only to release Sarkis, an immortal warrior sworn to protect her. Halla and Sarkis escape her uncle's estate and set off on an adventure to claim her inheritance and avoid the arranged marriage.

This was a cozy, feel good, romantasy book I didn't know I needed. I loved the banter between the characters, esp. the inner dialogue of Halla and Sarkis. It was laugh out loud funny.

Thank you NetGalley and Bramble for this ARC Copy!

I am forever and always a fan of T Kingfisher and I will read anything and everything they write. I was so excited to start this book and to be honest, I had a really hard time staying interested in the beginning of the story. I wish I had read this on audio, I think that would have made it smoother for me. I will say, though there was a pretty slow start and it took me a while to really connect with the characters, I knew that I had to persist because I could not give up that easily. I am so glad that I didn't give up. I just took a few days off and picked it right back up and had a much easier go of it. The characters were so cute, the MMC is so grumpy, and the FMC is literally a ray of sunshine with most likely ADHD and a veracious appetite for knowledge. Literally any knowledge too, just never shuts up ;) which makes for such a cute dynamic.

T. Kingfisher adds another cozy fantasy romance to her world of the White Rat, and I couldn't be happier! As someone who has only read a couple of the books set in this universe, I am delighted that I can pick up a standalone novel like Swordheart and enjoy it without needing to read everything else first.

Kingfisher is remarkably talented at writing older characters simply existing and trying to find small happinesses in their normal lives, even if world-altering events are happening elsewhere. Halla is a widow who finds herself embroiled in dangerous, small-town family drama that she doesn't care to entertain. Sarkis may be bound to a magical sword, but he's also a middle-aged mercenary who's got baggage on baggage. Their personalities endear them to the reader immediately, so much so that even though this story was 80% road trip I wasn't bored for a single moment. The supporting cast of Zale, Brindle, and the iconic Prettyfoot round out the group for banter and some skills our main duo can't cover all by themselves. Zale in particular was so exciting to see in the spotlight after several mentions and cameos in other works.

The possibility of "sequels" is there, albeit from the perspective of characters only mentioned in Swordheart, but I want them!! I want those stories! For anyone who enjoys Kingfisher's Saint of Steel books or other cozy, small scale fantasy adventures, you will like this book

Everything a cozy fantasy should be. Great low-stakes plot, well structured characters, captivating writing style. T Kingfisher is a master in this genre. I never expected to fall in love for a sword, but here we are!

Every time I review a T. Kingfisher book, I find myself wanting to say: if you like her work, you'll like this work. That is not a particularly helpful if you *don't* know her work, but Kingfisher is in that exclusive club of authors whose voice is unique and immediately identifiable.

So, Swordheart takes place in the same D&D-ish world as many of her other books and is roughly equal parts snarky humor and sincere, emotional love story. Highly recommend.

This is a HYSTERICAL, utterly delightful, glitteringly-heartwarming romantic fantasy! As usual, Kingfisher has created incredible, not-very-genre-typical main characters - Halla, a 'respectable widow' who asks lots of questions, is wonderfully practical, and is on the run from the kind of *mundanely* evil relatives who need to be dropped in a volcano; and Sarkis, an ancient warrior bound to the sword Halla tries to kill herself with. (It all makes sense in context, I promise.)

Sarkis' ancient code of honourable behaviour had me SHRIEKING with laughter - see, not wanting to interfere with Halla's niece coming to rescue her! - but as I'm used to with Kingfisher's love interests, he is far too world-wise not to realise how wonderful Halla is. The moment early on, when he realises that she's babbling in order to distract herself from how physically miserable she is...GAH. Instant heart-eyes from me! Kingfisher's heroes are never shallow, and I love that about all of them. But Sarkis might hold a special place in my heart, less for his tragic backstory (and it is quite tragic) than for the way he helps Halla realise how worthy she is.

And Halla!!! Hi, I love her!!! I feel quite strongly that we would be excellent friends. (ATTACK SHEEP. Hysterical!)

It's amazing how much Kingfisher can make you hate her villains; they're never comically, over-the-top evil, but realistically so - I suspect most readers recognise something in most of her villains, and that's definitely the case here. I had to keep putting the book down to take a break from grinding my teeth at these UTTER ASSHATS!

Swordheart is immensely satisfying in every respect - it even works pretty well as a standalone, although it's the start of a trilogy! - and it's CATAPULTED to the top of my favourites list. Recommended MOST STRONGLY!

What a unique premise! This on the cozier side romantasy hit the right spots for me. While it took some suspension of disbelief initially to accept he’s a man and also an enchanted swords once I wrapped my brain around it I sank into it

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher follows Halla, who has been imprisoned in her room by her family following her inheritance of a great fortune. The only escape for her is death by sword, which is lucky for Halla considering she has one hanging above her bed. Unfortunately, the being that lives inside the sword, a warrior named Sarkis, won’t allow Halla to die. With the help of Sarkis, Halla escapes from her house arrest and the two go on a great adventure.

My personal thoughts: I’ve loved every T. Kingfisher book I’ve read, this one included. The writing is immersive and entrancing, and the plot moves quickly enough to keep you hooked. This book has its share of romance, but it isn’t the entire focus which I appreciate. Halla and Starkis both felt fleshed out, which I also appreciate as a reader. A glorious fantasy filled with all the romance my little heart could ask for. Another great from T. Kingfisher!


I would recommend this book to lovers of cozy fantasy and lovers of Travis Baldree and Rebecca Thorne. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Tor Publishing group for allowing me to read this e-arc!

After inheriting a great fortune, widow Halla has been imprisoned in her own room by her greedy relations. The only escape? Death by the sword. Luckily she has one hanging over her bed. Unluckily, said sword happens to be a magic one and the being that lives inside it will not allow her death. Sarkis, the warrior spellbound inside the sword, helps Hall escape house arrest and the two go on the run. Priests, paladins, gnoles, great-uncles-in-law and more help and hinder them on their quest.
Swordheart is a lighthearted fantasy that will appeal to readers of Travis Baldree.

Swordheart stole my entire heart. I did not expect it to, but wow, it did. I mean of course I thought I'd enjoy it, it's T. Kingfisher after all, but I did not expect to absolutely adore it as much as I did- so much so, in fact, that I had to pre-order it. It's driving itself to my house as we speak type. This is basically the definition of romantasy, before romantasy even called itself that. (Shoutout to Bramble for re-releasing it, for 2018 Shannon would have never noticed it, while 2025 Shannon devoured it.)

What's there to say? It's definitely on the cozier end of the spectrum, and the romance is a big focus (though not the whole focus, which I appreciated). I adored Halla, and felt a real connection to her, and the side characters were the best. The snark and banter was 1000% on point, as always. Sarkis is a wonderful love interest too, and I enjoyed his backstory. And look, the book is perhaps a wee bit longer than it needed to be, but I was having so much fun that it hardly mattered. It is charming, and so downright funny, I could not put it down!

Bottom Line: Amazing characters, a great story, a ton of fun. What more can you ask for?

A truly fun low-stakes fantasy filled with romance and adventure and a dash of humor. I did feel like there were a few slow moments, but overall a good read.

Swordheart was a thoroughly enjoyable romantasy read. T. Kingfisher infuses the story with tons of humor, a fun fantasy world, and charming older characters. I usually stay away from the more 'cozy' fantasy books but this managed to keep me invested in the stakes.

And those stakes are very real! Halla is a widow who is threatened with being married off after she inherits a sizeable estate. It's grounded, not epic-fantasy-world-ending, but terrifying for her.

Halla is clever and curious but has had to live a life others chose for her, and at first she cannot see anything else for her future. She finds ways to weaponize other's impressions of her however, and never feels helpless, which I appreciated since often softer characters are damsels without their own strengths. Not Halla! And Sarkis, oh Sarkis. The immortal warrior bound to the sword Halla finds is a little hard around the edges after centuries of being a weapon. I loved watching him soften over the course of their journey, though his humor never does (still chuckling at him skinning his enemies, the dastardly potatoes).

The romance is slow but not glacial, and the characters have believable reasons to take it as slowly as they do. The chemistry is there, but they've got other things to worry about, and Halla is a respectable widow! She can't jump into bed with the hot sword she just met even if she would very much like to.

The third act break-up felt a little off, but I feel that way about those generally. It wasn't entirely immersion breaking, and the other things going on in the plot at that point were enough to smooth it over.

Overall, the book was enjoyable and the things I could point at as flaws were few and far between. I very much enjoyed the ending, it was exactly what I needed for a heart warming romance with raunchy humor.

*Thank you to TOR for providing an ARC of the special edition in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor/Bramble, and T. Kingfisher for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

Ironically enough I have read several books this month purporting to be Princess Bride-inspired and THIS one was my favorite, by far, of them all. Plotwise it isn't necessarily the same, but the same jaunty tongue-in-cheekness was there and the characters, OMG, absolute perfection.

After all, a gnole knows what is best for a gnole. IYKYK

I LOVED Halla, Sarkis was absolutely spot-on, I really all the various priests and priesthoods and Zale was absolutely terrific, gnoles in general were great and Brindle was my fav character in the entire book. I realize this review is less of a review and more of a written fangirl squeeeeeeee! but rarely ever has T. Kingfisher steered me wrong and THIS is the best of of the bunch. I really really hope that the "World of the White Rat" tagline GR has posted above the title is a real thing and that there will be more books set in this world.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I think one of my favorite parts about this story was that the romantasy aspect was with a heroine who was older and who wasn't the hottest, tiniest, longest-haired, biggest-eyed, curviest, etc. person in the entire fantasy world. Don't get me wrong, I love tons of romantasy that contains all of that--but this was just such a refreshing read and my brain very much enjoyed it. I think that the relationship building for the romance was very masterfully done, it was very real and believable. I just loved this. I thought the set up was great, the characters were compelling, and the romance was great. I had a lot of fun with this one, and I cannot wait to get our physical copies in at the branch!

Swordheart is exactly the mix of fantasy and romance that I love to read. Kingfisher has built a world full of competing faiths, fantastic creatures, and absolutely terrible relatives. Halla is set to inherit her great-uncle-in-law's estate when he dies, but her other in-laws have some big feelings about that. When they try to imprison Halla in her own home, she discovers the sword above her bed is more than an eccentric knick-knack. It houses an immortal - and very hot - warrior who will protect her with his life. Together they flee the home in search of friends and aid on a journey full of many twists and unique characters. Middle-aged, neglected Halla made for a very compelling FMC. I especially appreciated seeing her grow into her own woman after a lifetime of keeping her head down and doing as she was told. Sarkis of the Weeping Lands, the man in the sword, offered a gruff and grumpy counterpoint with his own tragic backstory. This was a perfect read up until the third-act break (inevitable in a romance), which I felt like was rather abrupt and out of character for Halla. Ultimately it leads to a great conclusion, but for a few chapters there I was taken aback by the turn of events. Overall a wonderful story, and I hope we get more as Kingfisher mentions in the acknowledgements!

This book was so much fun! I loved Halla and I loved reading a Romantasy with an older heroine who wasn’t amazing at being in a fantasy novel and wasn’t overly special. She did inherit a sword that was special, but it was a breath of fresh air to have her be quite useless at combat and be so funny. Sarkis was also fun and I loved that he didn’t just immediately have heart eyes for Halla, but genuinely got to know and love her and also admit she had her quirks and flaws, such as her incessant talking, which turned out to be useful in many situations.
This book was just perfection! I absolutely loved it, highly recommend it, and can’t wait to see more books set in this world. There was fun, adventure, high stakes, romance, and a ton of laughs along the way.

A woman who is left a large inheritance by a wealthy uncle finds herself being trapped by family members hellbent on getting the money from her and the only way to escape is with the help of the mysterious immortal warrior trapped in the sword that her uncle owned. Romance, adventure, and magic await! Halla was never really attached to her husband so when he died his uncle took her in... and when he died he left Halla all his fortune... his considerable fortune that the rest of his family means to take from her, whether by forcing her to marry a man she wants nothing to do with or to kill her for it.... they've locked her in her room and put guards making her only true option to escape is to end her own life.... except the sword she picks up to do it with suddenly has a man appearing in her room! Said man is named Sarkis and he is an immortal warrior trapped inside the sword and he is forced to be the bodyguard of anyone who wields the sword. Sarkis is used to fighting off dragons, wars, deadly assassins... but he never expects to be doing is helping a woman escape her in-laws and going against bandits! Halla and Sarkis find themselves journeying together as they escape trouble and find a soft romance brewing between them... but can a romance between a wealthy widow and an immortal warrior really work out or are they just too different? This was such a fun cozy fantasy romance. I loved the soft romance between Halla and Sarkis and I enjoyed the ending they got. It's a cute read and the story itself felt fun to read, I immediately liked Halla and had so much fun with her adventure. I've always been a huge fan of T. Kingfisher's writing and seeing this story get a whole new deluxe edition was a pleasant surprise!

Release Date: February 25, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group | Bramble for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*