Thank you to NetGalley and Raven Lyden for providing me with an advance review copy of this amazing book! As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

This book had amazing worldbuilding with a deep mythological system that was also easy to follow, and strong action scenes that were immersive and captivating.

Firstly, the reader is introduced to the complex backstory of the world in the prologue, which was an experience akin to reading "D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths". The writing for that section was slightly different from the rest of the book, and it felt less like lore dumping and more like reading a fable. This was a uniquely effective in introducing the world and antagonists. The author also assumes that the reader will not remember every single detail of information shared during the first section. She gently recaps at crucial moments, using dialogue between characters or another subtle way that keeps the flow of the story moving along.

Also, the action scenes are amazing! Oftentimes in other fantasy books, especially ones that utilize magical powers in battle, the exact details are skimped over until the most climatic moments. However, Raven Lyden unleashes her creativity and illustrates detailed and imaginative scenes with meticulous attention to the smallest moments that tip the scale. The varied amount of strategies and tactics used throughout the many fight scenes in the book is very impressive and also quite fun to read. The visionary cleverness demonstrated in this book is unlike any other I have yet read.

The characters are entertaining enough, and while I wouldn’t say they were the most developed yet, they were sufficient. Not flat, but not quite all in three dimensions yet. Of all of them, Ivy was probably the most rounded yet, especially because her inner thinking is often used during battles because of her mental struggles. I’m excited to see other characters developed like this in later books!

So, if you like immersive fantasy novels with plenty of excitement (think a world building like "Raybearer" mixed with manga-like action scenes), then you would probably enjoy "Bladewielders" very much!