Review by Booklist Review
Keera is the King's Blade, a fearsome spy and assassin. The King, successful in his genocide against magical people, has made all Halflings (those who have both mortal and Elvish or Fae blood) slaves of the Crown. Keera herself is a Halfling, and she leads the Shade, an elite force of female Halflings who have trained since childhood to be spies and assassins. Keera is literally and figuratively scarred from this work and deals with this pain by drinking. Her newest mission is to stop "The Shadow," who is causing havoc across the kingdom. When a duel with the Shadow ends with him kissing Keera instead of killing her, Keera is thrown for a loop and begins to see that she is not alone in her hatred of the king. She aligns herself with the Shadow to take down the king. Tiktok/BookTok sensation Blair first self-published this book anonymously and the book (and the scavenger hunt to find the author) went viral. Blair creates a rich fantasy world full of magic, romance, danger, and intrigue. The BookTok publicity will (rightfully) push this great start to a new fantasy series to the top of those best-seller lists.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Blair's bumpy debut tackles addiction in a world where elves are abominations and fae are barely tolerated. Cruel King Aemon has killed off all Light Fae, subjects all Halflings (humans with elvish blood) to his service, and maintains a tenuous peace with the Dark Fae, whom he failed to vanquish completely. Orphan Halfling Keera Kingsown has been a charge of the king for as long as she can remember, trained from childhood to hunt criminals and enemies of the crown. As the King's Blade, none is her equal in combat, but she chafes under the crown's oppressive rule and drowns her demons with alcohol. Investigating the Shadow, the leader of a growing resistance to the king's tyranny, turns into reluctantly joining the resistance in hopes of overthrowing the crown. Blair's worldbuilding is murky, and the attempt at a fresh take on fae and elvish attributes doesn't quite land, as neither group particularly stands out. Keera is a well-shaded protagonist, but her development comes at the expense of the rest of the cast, who remain two-dimensional. Readers will be disappointed. (Aug.)
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