A Broken Blade (The Halfling Saga)
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-12-12 04:19:07
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Anonymous
- ISBN：1777927803
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Reviews
Readingwithmare
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I want to start out with saying this review will be addressing alcoholism if that’s a trigger for you please don’t read this review。So at first I was really excited for this book as I was seeing the hype on booktok and figured I would give it a shot。 The more I read the more I got frustrated that the author who ever they maybe had a protection agains responsibility at least until they revel who they are。 I was very unhappy with the way Keera’s addiction to alcohol was described。 To sum it up Kee I want to start out with saying this review will be addressing alcoholism if that’s a trigger for you please don’t read this review。So at first I was really excited for this book as I was seeing the hype on booktok and figured I would give it a shot。 The more I read the more I got frustrated that the author who ever they maybe had a protection agains responsibility at least until they revel who they are。 I was very unhappy with the way Keera’s addiction to alcohol was described。 To sum it up Keera is an alcoholic and has been for many years。 When she shows up to a duel against the shadow and almost loses because she’s drunk she decides to just stop drinking。 Which would be great if addiction was really that easy。 She starts using this berry substance to help deal with the craving。 Which this reads to me switching one addictive substance to another but okay。 We kinda of Yad yad over her struggle with becoming sober until after a hard moment she drinks herself silly。 When she comes too it’s not really addressed and is yet again just kinda skipped over。 Until 17 pages til the end of the book when she’s offered wine and turns it down because she doesn’t trust herself ， which is great other than the fact there was no growth to get to this point of realization at least not with dealing with her addiction。 I was honestly shocked how flippantly this was all handled if I’m being honest。The book itself barring everything I just talked about was fine maybe even good。 But it didn’t feel like anything I hadn’t read a hundred times before。 I truly think if this big marketing with the anonymous author hadn’t been there this book wouldn’t be doing as well as it is。 。。。more
Jasmin
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I was thinking back and forth if I should give it a third star but。。。 It doesn't hold up with my other three star reads。 The hype got me on this one。 If it had been published a while ago， if the hype had died down a bit， if。。。。 So many ifs。So - where do I start？ A big point why I was looking forward to this book was that it was marketed as being full of queer and BIPOC representation， however this didn't show much。 Hints were sprinkled in and then it was just assumed。 And oftentimes those hints I was thinking back and forth if I should give it a third star but。。。 It doesn't hold up with my other three star reads。 The hype got me on this one。 If it had been published a while ago， if the hype had died down a bit， if。。。。 So many ifs。So - where do I start？ A big point why I was looking forward to this book was that it was marketed as being full of queer and BIPOC representation， however this didn't show much。 Hints were sprinkled in and then it was just assumed。 And oftentimes those hints were so small that they didn't stand out at all。 The only reason I had to know/assimebthe characters were neither white nor heterosexual was because it was said so in the marketing。 The few explicitly queer characters were eighter dead or only hinted at their queernes very subtly。The world building had nothing new to it。 I am aware that intertext is unavoidable but it reminded me heavily of Throne of Glass （and yes again I am aware that ToG is not the only assassin YA series）。 I felt like I was thrown into the middle of a half developed world; I didn't get much information on the historical background of the world， the why and the how and so on。 The villainous king had no visible motivation for letting his people starve and surpress the Halflings， it was a "just because" situation。 Almost none of the twists were surprising， I even almost guessed the big twist in the end。 I suspected Killian of having to do with the Shadow， though I thought it would be him。 However， the moment the mysterious broody tall man showed up it was clear that it would be him。 The other twists were even easier to predict。The book is so full of tropes that it feels forced， and the writing is not far from the mid-2010s style。 This makes sense with booktok digging many of these up and gibing them a second life alongside the newer releases， but the voice just doesn't compare to other recent debuts。A short note on the love interest， I will expand on this later。 Booktok is eating up the first kiss between them but WHERE WAS THE CONSENT？ I could go on and maybe I will expand when I am on my Laptop， but for now I'll leave it at that - it's not worth the hype。 At all。 。。。more
Chloe
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Loved it！！ Absolutely devoured this book and am dying for a sequel immediately after that ending！ Finished this in under a day after buying it on Kindle and immediately going back to re read it。 Enemies to lovers Morally grey characters Assassins and spies Fae and elves The whole damn thing！！！ thanks anonymous。 Can’t wait to find out who you really are
Lisab_reads
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The mystery of the author’s identity was what initially pushed me to download this book！ I ordered the physical book as well to support the author。 What a clever marketing strategy。 In terms of genre and plot， this was like Throne of Glass meets ACOTAR meets Robin Hood while being conscious of inclusion and current problems。 It is quickly paced， flows seamlessly， edited and revised to perfection and an engaging story！ Any author that can keep me reading until past my bedtime and then look forwar The mystery of the author’s identity was what initially pushed me to download this book！ I ordered the physical book as well to support the author。 What a clever marketing strategy。 In terms of genre and plot， this was like Throne of Glass meets ACOTAR meets Robin Hood while being conscious of inclusion and current problems。 It is quickly paced， flows seamlessly， edited and revised to perfection and an engaging story！ Any author that can keep me reading until past my bedtime and then look forward to picking up the story again， gets 5 stars。 If you like fantasy， this is for you！ There are some trigger warnings for violence， self harm， colonialism， addiction …。 But there was nothing graphic or insensitively written。 Highly recommend。 。。。more
Margaret Mergelove
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This book was simply fantastic ☺️ I loved how I thought it was going to be predictable but totally went the opposite way I was thinking。 Definitely kept me wanted to know more and didn’t want to put the book down。 Highly recommend
Nakayvia Saunders
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This book was fun and I really liked keera as a character the end was a little predictable to me but I’m excited to see where the rest of the story goes because riven has me in a chokehold ！！
Hannah Gordon
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Yes， I read the mysterious Booktok book。 And I have thoughts™Let’s start with the “meh。” The beginning was sloooooow。 Like， too slow。 I get why the author plotted it out like they did， but the pacing was way off。 It took awhile to actually get into this。 I’m still confused about some aspects of the world， and that’s because we don’t get a lot of description。 Like the whole distinction between Fae/Elves/Halflings？ Why are Fae ok but Elves aren’t？ I need some clarity， please。 Same with the Arsenal Yes， I read the mysterious Booktok book。 And I have thoughts™Let’s start with the “meh。” The beginning was sloooooow。 Like， too slow。 I get why the author plotted it out like they did， but the pacing was way off。 It took awhile to actually get into this。 I’m still confused about some aspects of the world， and that’s because we don’t get a lot of description。 Like the whole distinction between Fae/Elves/Halflings？ Why are Fae ok but Elves aren’t？ I need some clarity， please。 Same with the Arsenal and the training for becoming a Shade。 The history of this world should’ve been explored more， I think。 Maybe it will in future books。 I also think， instead of using dreams to explore Keera’s past traumas， the book would’ve benefited from flashbacks。 This would’ve built out Keera’s arc as well as her relaxation with Brenna。 When the Brenna details were dropped， it was sad， sure， but I didn’t feel super connected to it， because the dreams were sparse。But hey， that’s just my opinion。 Never really liked dream sequences。 Some stuff got a bit repetitive。 A few words/phrases would be repeated， like， multiple times on a page。 It could’ve used another round of edits。 A bit distracting？ Yes， but I powered through。And I’m glad I did。The story really picks up when Keera arrives in Faeland。 At first it was a little meandering， but once she got roped in with the Shadow and his crew， I was in！ The characters are endearing （Nikolai！ The author knows Booktok loves a sardonic flirt）， and I loved the LGBTQ （emphasis on the B！） rep。 Duh。 The tension was all right… I have a feeling there’s going to be some fated mates trope in book 2 （I’m all in）。 The ending was a little lackluster， tbh。 I was expecting something… bigger？ Def expecting the Dagger to be a bigger nuisance。 That whole plot line felt wasted。The twist was obvious， too。 （I’m not sure you could even call it a twist。）Killer last line of dialogue， though。 。。。more
taylor
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the second star is my fear of booktok
Madi Knop
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I could not put the book down， I enjoyed the writing style and really liked the character development so far。 I did feel like it had a lot of similarities to the concept of throne of glass though it has enough differences to still keep a reader interested。 The twist at end was a little bit predictable though it still left me wishing there was a second book to continue the story。 There were a couple words that were misspelled but with the mystery of the author I couldn't decide if it was a clue o I could not put the book down， I enjoyed the writing style and really liked the character development so far。 I did feel like it had a lot of similarities to the concept of throne of glass though it has enough differences to still keep a reader interested。 The twist at end was a little bit predictable though it still left me wishing there was a second book to continue the story。 There were a couple words that were misspelled but with the mystery of the author I couldn't decide if it was a clue or got looked over in editing。 Overall it was a captivating read and I am excited to see what happens next。 。。。more
Taylor Heston
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AMAZINGAhhhhhh！ This books is sooo good！ I loved every bit of it。 I can't wait for the next one！Also I have no clue who anonymous is but can't wait to find out！ AMAZINGAhhhhhh！ This books is sooo good！ I loved every bit of it。 I can't wait for the next one！Also I have no clue who anonymous is but can't wait to find out！ 。。。more
LJ Saxton
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Spice level of 1 out of 5 as there was a very， very small amount。Like many that either have read this or will， I was drawn in by the genius TikTok marketing。 This was such a great way to launch a book， and I'm excited to see the conclusion。 In fact， I would have normally rated this book a 4/5 but bumped it up a notch for the marketing plan。Yes， this book leans heavily on a lot of tropes of the genre， but they're ones that I love， so I was very into it。 I really enjoyed the main character's devel Spice level of 1 out of 5 as there was a very， very small amount。Like many that either have read this or will， I was drawn in by the genius TikTok marketing。 This was such a great way to launch a book， and I'm excited to see the conclusion。 In fact， I would have normally rated this book a 4/5 but bumped it up a notch for the marketing plan。Yes， this book leans heavily on a lot of tropes of the genre， but they're ones that I love， so I was very into it。 I really enjoyed the main character's development over the course of the book， especially the bits and pieces of her backstory that we got as it developed。I really enjoyed the lore of the world， especially the power players involved。 It's rare that a book with only two real factions in play would have so many unique characters with different motivations， from Kings to Princes to peripheral characters。 The political dynamics is one of my favorite parts， and I think there will be some interesting developments on this front in the second book， given the ending。There's a really big cliffhanger ending， and I usually detest those， especially when I can't jump into the next book right away。 I actually enjoyed this one because it leaves the future so open-ended but grounded in a way that I think is really intriguing。 Especially given a few scenes earlier in the book， I have some interesting theories about where things are heading。My biggest frustration was tied to the reveal of （view spoiler）[her bisexuality。 They had a weird conversation about her preferences that felt forced to me， and as a bisexual woman myself， if a potential partner had handled it that way， I would have been put off。 （hide spoiler）] That being said， I really liked the reason for it， so it wasn't a big deterrent。I'm am really ready for the sequel， and I'm disappointed that it'll take so long to get into my hands。 If the mystery author eventually happens to need some early feedback or wants to send me an ARC， I would be very happy。 。。。more
Graciella Delgado
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4。5⭐️ （rounded up）In a quick-paced high fantasy story centering a morally gray and sarcastic main character navigating a magic-filled Faerie society with a deep-rooted desire to rid her home of the Crown entirely， we can see the author's love for popular BookTok series within the same series。 This book exists as a love letter to BookTok and it's very clear （in the best way）。 First of all， I have an emotional attachment to Keera。 In this world that breaks various groups of mortals and non-mortals 4。5⭐️ （rounded up）In a quick-paced high fantasy story centering a morally gray and sarcastic main character navigating a magic-filled Faerie society with a deep-rooted desire to rid her home of the Crown entirely， we can see the author's love for popular BookTok series within the same series。 This book exists as a love letter to BookTok and it's very clear （in the best way）。 First of all， I have an emotional attachment to Keera。 In this world that breaks various groups of mortals and non-mortals alike into classes， we see effects of a strict colonial hierarchy put in place and how it impacts those at the bottom of the societal food chain- the Halflings。 We are introduced to language variations meant to dehumanize and examples of physical alterations made to better assimilate for survival for the Halflings， and seeing Keera carry the burden of guilt of performing as an assassin for the King that oppresses her own kind as an alternative to forced sex work or death was a heavy story to take in。 In this story， we follow a character filled with frustration， remorse， and anger。 We follow her journey of alcohol dependence and addiction and how she tackles recovery。 We see her become empowered enough to finally make a bold stand against the king and we see her open herself up to connection and community after distancing herself for so long。 I have a lot of love for the sad characters overwhelmed with guilt。 Keera is high on the list of fictional characters in desperate need of a hug。 I cannot speak to the accuracy of the representation of addiction and recovery so I will speak simply to the， at times， repetitive nature of descriptions surrounding Keera's drinking。 There came a certain point early on， before Keera's journey of recovery， where it seemed that at least once each chapter， we began with a sentence mentioning Keera's grabbing or drinking wine。 We also got many descriptions of her annebreated and/or hungover state on top of those mentions of drinking so the presence of both felt to be extraneous at times。 I think the story could be improved by a bit of editing in that department。 In contrast to the frequent descriptions of Keera's drinking， though， I think we got too little of certain physical descriptions。 When a new character was introduced， we got a brief description of skin color left at either "pale"， "light brown"， or "dark brown" before getting their eye color， hair color， and （maybe） how their hair was styled。 We would then get frequent repeating descriptions of certain characters' hair and eyes but rarely anything else and I think a bit more detail could be given for a more rounded out image。 I think what we got was a solid bare minimum that could be pushed a bit more- luckily this is the first in a series and the author has plenty of opportunity to adjust （if they want to）。 As for character development and growth， I'm really impressed with this debut。 Something I loved so much about this story was the relationships between our main group on their mission to overthrow the government and cause social disruption。 These relationships thrive not only one how deeply they are committed to protecting each other， but in how easily they're able to hold one another accountable and critique clashing perspectives。 These characters are quick to acknowledge when someone isn't pulling their weight or speaking from a place of hypocrisy。 They're unafraid to poke fun at one another and the history we're told is there feels real and believable。 I think this book functions as a great jumping-off point and I'm excited to see how our anonymous author develops the story further now that we have the bulk of the world-building out of the way。 We've been given such an expansive world of vigilantes and casually queer characters navigating perspective clashes and flaws that make for the most interesting alliances and dynamics。 I'm most curious to see how the themes surrounding colonization and the survival of an oppressed people carries on because the pieces we get hold so many layers。 TLDR: I have a crush of half the cast of characters and I'm desperate to get any future updates for later installments。 I am unwell in the best way。 CW: Addiction + substance abuse， murder， death， self harm， violence， brief explicit sexual content， recurring themes of colonialism + systemic violence， torture， references to sexual assault， depression， brief moment of suicidal ideation 。。。more
Sam Cameron
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Just bought this because I REALLY wanna join in on the escape room type stuff going on here
Brianna
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I signed up for a mystery and I got a new favorite book？？？ I certainly was not expecting that！（Also if you're interested in helping solve the mystery， there is a Google Doc available with clues here: https://drive。google。com/drive/folder。。。）This is a new adult fantasy perfect for fans of Six of Crows。 It follows Keera， who is the lead assassin and spy for the King。 When a mysterious person called The Shadow starts making moves that seem to threaten the Crown， Keera is called to find， unmask， and I signed up for a mystery and I got a new favorite book？？？ I certainly was not expecting that！（Also if you're interested in helping solve the mystery， there is a Google Doc available with clues here: https://drive。google。com/drive/folder。。。）This is a new adult fantasy perfect for fans of Six of Crows。 It follows Keera， who is the lead assassin and spy for the King。 When a mysterious person called The Shadow starts making moves that seem to threaten the Crown， Keera is called to find， unmask， and stop them。 This book is fast-paced and action-packed， balanced out with a delectable enemies to lovers， a comforting found family， and a sprinkle of spice。 It is SO addicting， and I literally finished it in just over 24 hours - with a break for sleep， of course - and though it was partly in order to solve the mystery， it was also because this book is genuinely that good and I never wanted to set it down。 Genius marketing ploy aside， the writing is pure brilliance。The thing I feel like I need to gush about the most in this book is the representation。 Essentially all the characters of this world are queer until proven straight。 The MC is canonically queer and POC （and the absolute LOML） and all of the characters， aside from a few， are POC as well。 There is a side character that is disabled and though her on-page presence is brief， it is powerful。 She is described as a wheelchair user and the thought that has gone into the way that she would move， function， and even dress was incredible thoughout。 And moreover， her disability never gets in the way of her success， as a valuable member of the Crown。 It is obvious that the author cares deeply about positive and diverse representation， and it greatly elevates the material。 In fact， I found an anti-semitic character description in this book and upon messaging the author about it， they thanked me and we discussed some ways to change it so that it can be fixed in future printings。 THAT's how you listen， folks。Now， I can't talk about this book without mentioning the romance。 The main romance in this book is a m/f enemies to lovers and OH MY GOD I think this rivals the enemies to lovers plotline in The Wolf and The Woodsman， which y'all should know I LOVE。 （view spoiler）[ I mean he literally kisses her MID-FIGHT and then she moans while she stabs him in the chest （hide spoiler）] And the thing I greatly appreciate about the romance is despite the fact that it is m/f， it feels very queer （which is good， because the characters are queer！）。 What I mean by this is that what makes their relationship feel so brilliant doesn't correlate to gender or gender roles at all。 The things that they find sexy and attractive about the other are things like strength and beauty and kindness， not based around the concepts of masculine and feminine。 Honestly， the compliments they gave to each other and the way that they trusted each others' independence and skill and the way they listened to each other was what made the relationship so incredible for me。 It felt as though they were people to each other first， and their gender didn't matter to either of them。Another thing that I felt was handled very well was the MC's alcoholism。 The character's struggle is intense and honest and raw， and the topic itself is handled with such grace and care。 Alcoholism is usually portrayed quite poorly in other fantasy worlds， and it was really nice to see the way it was approached in this book。Lastly， I feel as though I should mention that the biggest over-arching theme of this book is the negative effects of colonization both on a large scale and an individual scale。 It specifically shows the way that individuals live within a colonized society: the different types of coping mechanisms that are used for the sake of survival both mental and physical， and the forced assimilation of marginalized communities within that society。 It discusses how it feels to be reduced down to an identity， the boxes individuals must live within in order to survive within their assigned identity， and how it feels to feel powerless against the system that put them there。 It held wonderful conversation about how those that have been colonized often don't have the privilege of acting under their own moral compasses; how they have to do what they can to keep themselves and others alive and safe and should not be judged for the actions they take to survive， regardless of the consequences。 （No ethical consumption under capitalism， for example。）I truly can not speak of this book highly enough， and am pleasantly surprised to have found a new world of characters to love out of what was initially just a bit to me。 If you were on the fence about this book， thinking it might just be a mediocre book hiding under a large marketing campaign， I can assure you that that is far from the truth。 The marketing campaign is a well-planned treasure map to the absolute gem that is this book。 I can not WAIT to read the rest of this series。P。S。 Good soup。TW: （view spoiler）[alcoholism， sexual content （on-page）， colonialism， depression， systemic violence， violence， suicidal ideation （brief）， self-harm， grief， assault， vomit （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Kaitlin
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I have no words， where is book 2？！
Cabria ShaNae
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What Even 😭I will update once I can process and stop screaming with the way this ended。 😭 I just need a few more moments。
Sarah
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I'm DNF-ing at 45%。 I did not have a great time trying to read this。 There are no likable characters and the worldbuilding is convoluted and makes no sense。 Really feels like it would have benefited from a lot more rounds of editing。 There's something here， but not enough of something original。 The list of similarities to Throne of Glass alone is not short。 Also， the more I think about the anonymous author mystery， the more uncomfortable I get about it。 A bunch of booktokers get sent these cool I'm DNF-ing at 45%。 I did not have a great time trying to read this。 There are no likable characters and the worldbuilding is convoluted and makes no sense。 Really feels like it would have benefited from a lot more rounds of editing。 There's something here， but not enough of something original。 The list of similarities to Throne of Glass alone is not short。 Also， the more I think about the anonymous author mystery， the more uncomfortable I get about it。 A bunch of booktokers get sent these cool PR packages with this book and sweet personalized notes saying "I'm also a booktoker， use the clues to guess who I am！" I doubt they were trying to do anything other than create a fun puzzle for their community and sell some books in the process， but what happens if （realistically， when） someone who was sent one of these packages reads it and thinks it's bad？ Are any of them going to give their honest opinions and risk upsetting the person who wrote it， who is apparently someone they know and might even be close friends with？ I don't know！ Anyway， I am just a random non-booktok person giving my opinion on the 45% of the book I managed to read before I gave up。 Maybe from 46% on it's a masterpiece， I don't know。 Writing a book is hard and it's really cool that this mysterious person did that and came up with a creative way to release it。 And I genuinely hope the people for whom this is written enjoy it。 ¯\_（ツ）_/¯ 。。。more
Pura
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I read this in one sitting。 Amazing。 I want the next one。 Please please please give this a chance。 It won't disappoint。 I read this in one sitting。 Amazing。 I want the next one。 Please please please give this a chance。 It won't disappoint。 。。。more
Amivi
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READ THIS BOOK NOW！！
Casey
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Honestly I don’t know what to say other than that this book wasn’t for me。 I usually don’t read this kind of fantasy novel honestly but the author mystery got me。 Of course I literally don’t know any BookTokers so I couldn’t even begin to guess who the author was but I figured I’d read it anyway。 Unfortunately that wasn’t enough to keep me invested in the story。 But I will say for the author that a） their marketing was genius and b） the writing was very smooth！
Morgan Robichaud
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