The realm is now on the brink of war. Lord Shin has declared war on the blades forcing the blades to be on the run. Asa is left wondering what to do with her life now that her mission is complete. Koji wants to save Minori and his fellow blades but isn't sure how. Mari needs to save the people of the Kingdom and will use every resource available to her.

This is a great sequel to Nightblade's Vengeance. The plot had a great blend of action, warfare planning and stealth. There were a few slower parts where I wished more fighting and less talking occurred. The characters were phenomenal. Each character had a unique personality that slowly changed and grew based on the circumstances they experienced. Mari was my favorite, especially at the end when she learned tolerance towards her sworn enemy. The description was well written, whether it be a village or the mountains, the reader felt like they were transported to that location.

In conclusion, this is a great fantasy noel that reminds me of feudal Japan. I would recommend it to all fantasy lovers out there. Thank you to 47North and Netgalley for this ARC.

Nightblade's Honor is the second installment in author Ryan Kirk's Blades of the Fallen series. Per the publisher, Blades of the Fallen is actually the prequel to the author's Nightblade series which I have not read, nor do I feel it necessary to do so in order to enjoy the first two novels in this series. Set in a world that I've compared to being feudal Japan, powerful Nightblade's (who I've been calling Samurai), and Lords (who I've been calling Daimyo) play a dangerous game to see who will reign supreme and lead the Kingdom.

The series, mostly, focuses on a group known as Nightblades. Nightblades can feel what others can't see. We won't call it the force folks. The author calls it Sense. Nightblades tend to be able to sense events at a distance, or they can predict an opponent's next movement, or they can walk into a village without being seen. Blades are almost mystic in their status. Nightblades are supposed to keep the peace, but history has a tendency of repeating itself over and over again because humans never learn from their mistakes.

The story is actually told through the eyes of three very distinct characters. One of the three main characters is Asa, a fierce, young nightblade warrior who spent a decade in pursuit of the enigmatic general who killed her father in a violent revolt in a place called Two Falls. Having found the man responsible, Asa's life has taken a whole new twist. She wanders through the wilderness not knowing what she will do next. What does she do now, especially with a Kingdom in chaos, and a new leader who loathes Nightblade's?

The second meaningful character is Koji who readers met in the first book. Koji is one of the youngest Nightblades and is a powerful character who has the infinity for combat not shown by any other Nightblades. He is really in a league all his own having already satisfied his own personal vendetta in the previous installment. With Nightblades being blamed for the destruction of the Haven, Koji is a wanted man. Because of his actions, Blades are being hunted relentlessly. Now that everyone appears to hate Blades, what will he do now?

The final character is the most interesting. Mari is a noblewoman from House Kita whose brother Juro who was killed by a Nightblade. With the rise of a King who has no real claim on the crown, Mari knows all too well that a violent and deadly civil war is close at hand. She knows that the only hope for the Kingdom are the men and women known as Nightblades and Dayblades. She hopes that by going directly to the source, she can put together her own army to stand for the innocents who will be killed in any war. However, Blades being killed, and being blamed for the Kingdom's problems, her search for peace may lie with two very different Blades who are searching for their own paths.

I have seen reviews where this is apparently the sequel to the series which really doesn't make me happy. Why, you ask? Because there's so much left do do. There's no way I am going to be happy with an open ended ending when I have plenty of questions as to the next step for these characters. Especially Asa and Koji. I have seen others that have hoped that there will be a sequel. Well, I am among those who believes Kirk should write a legitimate sequel. Just like he did to the Nightblade series.

4 stars

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great sequel to the first book in the series Nightblade's Vengeance. The book starts off with a bang and doesn't slow down. With the kingdom in chaos and on the brink of civil war, the nightblades must choose a side. After the events of the last book, the nightblades are out of favor with the citizens in the Kingdom. Nightblades are considered the enemies of the kingdom, are hunted by the lords and must go into hiding.

Now that Asa has satisfied her need for vengeance, she finds herself directionless and on the run from the people she swore to protect. She teams up with an enemy from her past and finds a new purpose. Mari is desperate to piece the kingdom back together and strongly feels it can't be done without the nightblades. But can she convince her brother that her choice is the best?

The second book in this series does not disappoint. It is fast paced, has plenty of action and the character's storylines develop in thoughtful and fulfilling ways. I can't wait to see how this series ends!

I received a free copy of this for review from NetGalley **

Solid 4 star. While the first book peaked my interest this book really sold the series for me. I found Marie's introduction into the book a really pleasant surprise. I went into the book wanting more from Asa and for her to be the sole storyline of the book but I was quickly convinced otherwise. I'm so invested in Asa, Koji & Marie. I will definitely be continuing on with the series

I'm always eager to read anything he writes and have yet to be disappointed. The characters and very well developed and have actual depth to them.

Sorry but I couldn't get into the book at all. I tried though, I'm so sorry for my ADD brain. Also part of a series... and can't get the books before!

One of my biggest ongoing quests as a reader is a book whereby the revenge arc is fulfilled…and then the next book explores what happens next. Which is why Nightblade’s Honour ticked all my boxes. Asa finding her place in the world when her motivation had been removed, albeit by completion of her quest, was a beautiful thing to see. She is such a great character – dynamic, questioning, intelligent, all without falling into the usual ‘strong female character’ tropes that are so tired and cliché. There is plenty to interest the reader from the cast of supporting characters too, who follow their own arcs, enhancing the story along the way. This is a breath of fresh air when so many secondary and tertiary characters are set up to be appendages to the MC, having no agency of their own. All in all this was a rich and satisfying fantasy novel. A necessary episode rather than fluff to keep us going before the final book delivers the conclusion. Definitely a series to reread.

As with the first book in this series, my main problem is how stilted the writing feels. What could take a line or two of description instead takes pages and pages? It makes the whole book feel very robotic and slows the pace down considerably. Interestingly, the parts where I would have welcomed a bit more description seem to have been skimmed over. Perhaps the author and I just have different ideas of what was important in this story?

I will applaud some of the female characters in this story, Asa is a lot more tolerable in the sequel, I felt as though she grew somewhat between the two novels, she certainly didn’t miss any massively obvious plot points as she had done in the first book! Then we have the addition of Mari who is everything I like in a female leader, she is wise, she has her priorities in order and she never gives up. I would have liked to have seen more of her deliberations and her ways of working through problems as that is what interests me. Mari was certainly the strongest character throughout this story, which was interesting as she was a new addition.

A huge portion of this book is given over to politics and the issues that arise from the events of the first book. If you like politics, that might be wonderful for you. It isn’t quite to my tastes, particularly since the worldbuilding isn’t strong enough that you can fully comprehend what is going on. I think stronger worldbuilding would have rendered a lot of the explanations of political relationships moot, thus making the book more concise and a lot stronger.

This book is also far too long, I’m not opposed to a lengthy book, Name of the Wind is one of my favourites, but Name of the Wind is also a book that has a huge amount of variation so you don’t get bored. In Nightblade’s Honour there are changes but broadly speaking the book goes from battle to travel to battle to travel and so on. There is a very slow build-up to the final chapters but after a while, I got very fed up with reading about people hitting each other with swords in different locations.

The concept of the Blade’s powers felt very underplayed in this sequel, I’m not sure whether this was to not make the Blades seem overpowered or some other reason, but to downplay the strongest element of the first book, these interesting magical powers, felt like the wrong choice to me. I would have liked to learn even more about these powers and the way they could be used in a world where people are turning against the blades.

In part this book just wasn’t to my tastes, I’m sure some people will very much enjoy this series more than I did, but I do think there are some elements that needed more editing and cutting down while others needed more work done to build them up.

My rating: 2/5 stars

I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.