Fun and enjoyable romantic adventure. I knew going into this book that it was a duet so I wasn’t expecting a conclusion, yet I didn’t get the highly anticipated epic battle with the namesake blade. The plot was much more romance than fantasy world-building or action, which is fine, but it seemed as if I was being told how the characters felt rather than really experiencing their emotions and bonding with them. I liked the story but didn’t connect strongly with the characters. I’m still excited for book 2.

I have never understood a character more than the main character. The plot was engaging, fast pace, and entertaining. The characters were relatable. I cannot wait for the sequel to arrive.

Loved the idea of Ziva being able to spell metals in a way that even she was unsure what would happen. As their little group travel we get to see their personalities bit by bit. Enjoying the slow burn romance of Ziva finding someone that is perfect for her. Story is steady paced and has some twists.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

Like the other books I've read by Tricia Levenseller, this one hits the mark for a fun, action packed adventure. One of the things I love about her books are the character interactions. Several times I laughed out loud because of the dialog. Also, her betrayal of social anxiety in Ziva is so disturbingly accurate it made me uncomfortable reading it. Looking forward to book two.

Another great book from Tricia Levenseller! I loved that the main character has anxiety and you really get to see firsthand the struggle it causes in dealing with just the simplest tasks. Great story!

I’ve only read one other book by Levenseller and I loved it, so of course I really enjoyed this book!

There’s something about Tricia Levenseller’s stories that I love and Blade of Secrets is no different.

<b>CHARACTERS</b>
Our main character Ziva is interesting and fun to follow. She was likable, relatable, and so strong in her own way. She deals with crippling social anxiety that makes her think she’s weak compared to her vivacious younger sister. But her honor, passion, and fierce love for her family is what makes her strong. The rest of the crew from the magic scholar, her younger sister, and the mercenary are fun characters. All their personalities were distinct from one another and created a perfect balance in this squad.

WORLD-BUILDING & MAGIC
I loved the magic in this story. I’m beginning to realize I like magical weapons. This is my second fantasy book that featured a magical weapon. And while Secret Keeper isn’t sentient, it is full of powerful magic. However, there is very little world-building. The magic system is non-existent as Ziva is the only person who has magic in this book. It’s never explained how her magic works because she doesn’t understand it herself. I have an inkling the world and magic system will be explained more but it’s pretty nonexistent in this first book.

PLOT
The plot is simple. Evil warlord is hunting Ziva to get the sword she commissioned from Ziva and to force her to make weapons for her army. A classic villain who wants to take over the world. Almost the entire story is the group traveling in the woods and moving from town to town. I personally love fantasy stories where the characters travel or go on a long journey, but it might feel repetitive to those who aren’t a fan of this type of plot. Since the plot revolves around dangerous weapons with magical abilities, there are several action scenes. And these were so well written! I could clearly see the fight happening and it was fun to see what this or that weapon could do.

ROMANCE
There is a budding romance but I think the best part of the romance is finally seeing Ziva learning to trust another person other than her sister with her heart. The build was slow and there isn’t a whole lot of tension. It’s more of Ziva slowly understanding her love interest’s character. There is one makeout scene with the characters kissing. Events transpire that put a wedge between the two lovers right when they’re romance is forming so I’m not sure how the romance will play out in the sequel. So far they aren’t OTP status for me but I like the emotional development happening between them.

Overall, Blade of Secrets was a fun fantasy story with great characters and interesting plot. My one major complaint? This ends in a cliffhanger. Like whyyy?! I absolutely detest cliffhangers. Ugh at least it gave some clue that book 2 is going to be much more dynamic and complex.

Eighteen-year-old Ziva prefers metal to people. She spends her days tucked away in her forge, safe from society and the anxiety it causes her, using her magical gift to craft unique weapons imbued with power. Then Ziva receives a commission from a powerful warlord, and the result is a sword capable of stealing its victims' secrets. A sword that can cut far deeper than the length of its blade. A sword with the strength to topple kingdoms. When Ziva learns of the warlord’s intentions to use the weapon to enslave all the world under her rule, she takes her sister and flees. Joined by a distractingly handsome mercenary and a young scholar with extensive knowledge of the world's known magics, Ziva and her sister set out on a quest to keep the sword safe until they can find a worthy wielder or a way to destroy it entirely.

I really enjoyed Blade of Secrets by Tricia Levenseller! We get an MC with severe anxiety, a really solid sibling relationship, and a squad with fun dynamics in this one. I liked that Ziva isn't our typical overly-competent YA heroine who always knows what needs to be done and how to do it, and I loved that her anxiety wasn't played down or "overcome." Her sister Temra is a fantastic character and I adored that this book focused most on their relationship. There's still a romantic plot in there, but the sibling dynamics really shone. This book ends with a big old cliffhanger, so be aware of that! I'd recommend this one if you're looking for a good fantasy or a book with anxiety rep!

This book felt a little surface and I wanted more details. I felt like I wanted to get to know the characters but never got the chance to really connect with them.

While this isn't my favorite of the authors books, I did enjoy it. It has a lot of adventure, likeable main characters, really quick to read, and an interesting plot. I liked how the main character had anxiety and the author did such a good job writing about it.

I think book two will be an easy 5 star read for me, I did like this book and when it ended I did want more. I wanted to keep reading because I am invested. I just think in my head I was comparing it to her other books and I set my hopes really high.

A great start to a new fantasy series!

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was another great novel by Leavenseller but probably my least favorite of what she has written. And the ending, please tell me there will be another book that finishes the story of our sister, the mercenary, and scholar, as well as the warlord!!! I loved the sisters and how close they were but still bickered like real sisters would do. Excellent writing and character development as always. Just please give me another book!

BLADE OF SECRETS was super fun story about a socially-anxious blacksmith who can enchant weapons and finds herself holding the fate of the world in her fingers when a warlord comes to call. I have a lot of good things to say about this book. I deeply appreciated the social anxiety rep with Ziva as well as constructive ways that loved ones can support and respect people who struggle with it. I could identify with Ziva in lots of ways because I too have social anxiety. I really enjoyed the fact that Ziva's loved ones gave her space to accept her anxiety and didn't ostracize her for it. I love the comradery in this book among Ziva, Temra, Kellyn and Petrik as this unlikely group finds themselves tasked with keeping a dangerous weapon out of the hands of a warlord determined to take over the world. They had me laughing with all their banter. I also thought the romance and slowburn between Ziva and Kellyn was really well done and depicted an accurate picture of how both generalized and social anxiety can impact how people like us approach relationships. Good mental health representation and all the different facets of anxiety issues are so vital to YA lit. I would have, and still do, see a lot of myself in Ziva, which makes me feel seen as someone who deals with generalized and social anxiety on a daily basis. This book has a fast pace and I didn't feel like it lagged at any point, which is a feat. Impressive worldbuilding and really interesting magic systems really round this out to be a very solid fantasy romance read. BLADE OF SECRETS is a story about the secret struggles and fears we all face, and how we can accept them and find a way to live life with them.

One of my favorite reads of 2020 was "The Shadows Between Us"—which was my first time reading a Tricia Levenseller book—so I was very excited when I heard about "Blade of Secrets"! And this book "did not" disappoint!

Listen, I don’t know how Levenseller does it, but her ability to fit in so much in such short books is wildly impressive. While "Blade of Secrets" is the first in a duology, it surprised me how much character development and action Levenseller managed to squeeze into the first book alone. With "Blade of Secrets", I especially enjoyed seeing how Ziva changed as a person, but also how the dynamic between Ziva and her sister Temra changed over time. When the book starts, Ziva is both wildly co-dependent of Temra, but also steadfastly protective of her, which in and of itself is an interesting dynamic to navigate. Temra, while equally protective and loving toward her sister, very evidently wants to branch out and find her own place in the world that isn’t necessarily by Ziva’s side, and this creates conflict between the two as it becomes more apparent to Ziva that what she wants isn’t what Temra wants. Watching these sisters clash over their conflicting interests throughout the book, and seeing them learn to respect each other’s wishes and grow into themselves—Ziva especially—was such a realistic and gradual evolution, and I’m in awe of how well Levenseller made it work, especially for how short the book was.

So, yes, I loved Ziva and Temra and exploring their relationship, but we can’t forget about Kellyn and Petrik. I don’t want to spoil too much about these guys, but I have to give Levenseller kudos, once again, for writing such perfectly imperfect male leads! On top of that, the banter between our four main characters was just too fun at times, and I found myself laughing out loud while reading.

Now, we really need to spotlight the anxiety rep in this book because it is "phenomenal", in my opinion. I don’t know really anything about Levenseller and whether or not she herself experiences anxiety, nor is it my business to speculate whether that is the case, but if she doesn’t, I cannot applaud her enough on how accurately she depicts Ziva’s social anxiety, down to the smallest mannerisms. At first, I even found it a bit difficult to fall into a steady pace with reading "Blade of Secrets" because being inside Ziva’s head was rather overwhelming with the rapidity of her thoughts and sensory overload she was constantly facing. But truly, Levenseller did such a fantastic job at making Ziva’s anxiety feel real and consistent, and not just like a tacked-on personality trait for the sake of mental health representation, nor like a caricature depiction of anxiety. Additionally, I cannot say enough how much I appreciated the fact that Levenseller was so careful about making sure Ziva’s love interest didn’t carry on the role of trying to “fix her”, and that he, rather, worked with her to understand her anxiety and help her in what ways he could while allowing her the space to figure things out for herself. When it comes to mental health, it seems to be such an easy trap for authors to fall into where they want one character to “fix” the other character, and that is just so damaging and disappointing to see in portrayals of mental health.

Even though "Blade of Secrets" was only my second experience with a Tricia Levenseller book, I’m now, more than ever, thoroughly convinced I need to read more from her, and I’ll definitely be back for "Master of Iron" when that is eventually published!


**Thank you to Fierce Reads for an eARC of this book!**

I’ll admit, in the first couple of chapters, I thought Ziva’s anxiety was going to take away from the focus of the story. I’m happy to have been worried for nothing. Her anxiety is what makes her so powerful actually. Without it I doubt she’d be able to do the things she does with weapons.

I am so happy to have been able to read an ARC of this. Going in with no preconceived ideas, and no crazy hype, made this all the more fun.

I look forward to reading the next book and seeing in what direction it heads towards.

I loved reading a book with someone who has anxiety (being a person with anxiety myself). It was refreshing to see a character just like me.

I loved this book and can't wait for more. What an evil way to leave us all hanging! I finished this book in a day and couldn't put it down. I can't wait to share it with the Teens at my library!

A blacksmith, her sister, a scholar, and a mercenary run off in the middle of the night with a sword that could bring down nations to keep it out of the hands of the most powerful warlord. There are only a few left known to have magical abilities and Ziva is one of them. She is a blacksmith with social anxiety. She relies on her sister to help her through conversations so she may spend more time in the smithy safely alone. The most known warlord in the land shows up to her doorstep with a request. Ziva accepts the job for the money alone will be able to keep her and her sister comfortable for the rest of their lives. Obviously, something very wrong happens and they must go on the run to keep the world from being destroyed.

The writing took some getting used to, but overall I enjoyed the story and how she portrayed Ziva's character. I loved the sisterhood, the banter between the 4 runaways, and the adventure! I look forward to the second book! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This action-packed adventure is full of danger, magic, and a first-love romance that is as complicated as it is swoon-worthy. Our protagonist, 18-year-old Ziva, deals with social anxiety, which is portrayed extremely well and gives some much-needed representation in that area. As someone who deals with anxiety like this, I appreciated the inclusion of this struggle and also how it was not written as a flaw that the hero needed to overcome. This story proves that one can have this struggle and still be brave and courageous. The sister relationship between Ziva and her younger sister is also written excellently. The sisters' relationship is complex and realistic. The story is well-paced and never gets boring or slow, and the climax is so exciting and has a twist I did not see coming.
Well done, Tricia! I can’t wait for book two.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was so much fun! Tricia Levenseller is the queen of banter in YA fantasy. The characters in this book were so fleshed put and reading about them felt like hanging out with friends.

I loved the anxiety rep in this book and how supportive the other characters were to our MC. It was truly well done.

The plot twists in this had my mind reeling (especially the one involving Petrik 🤯), and I never once felt bored reading this.

That ending has me excited for more and I can't wait to read book 2 when it releases

This author has become an automatic purchase for my personal library and for the school library. This book was no let down. It has fabulous characters but best of all is the author’s writing style and voice. A must read for all YA fantasy readers!