"The Blade of Hope is a captivating tale that delves into the depths of despair and the unwavering power of hope. The story follows protagonist, Sarah, as she navigates through a world filled with uncertainty and challenges. Despite facing numerous obstacles and setbacks, Sarah's determination and resilience shine through as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and growth.

Author, John Smith, does an excellent job of weaving together themes of perseverance, friendship, and the importance of never giving up, even in the darkest of times. The character development is rich and nuanced, drawing readers in and keeping them engaged from start to finish.

Overall, The Blade of Hope is a poignant and thought-provoking read that will resonate with readers of all ages. It is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and a reminder that no matter how dire the circumstances may seem, there is always a glimmer of hope to hold onto."

In the magic-banned Kingdom of Thornwilde, Harlow, a teenage orphan searching for her missing sister, finds herself thrust into a world of court intrigue and hidden powers. When she catches the eye of the future princess and her elite guard, she's offered a chance to join the Virago, a prestigious all-female force tasked with protecting the royal family. However, secrets and betrayal lurk within the castle walls, and Harlow soon discovers she possesses magic within herself, forbidden and dangerous. As she uncovers a plot to overthrow the queen, she must choose sides and fight for her own survival, the princess's future, and the fate of the kingdom. This is only Book One of the Virago Series, so it sets the stage leaving unresolved questions and cliffhangers for future books.

This book was so fun to read. The character development of Harlow is great and the secrets you learn throughout the book just keeps you engaged and entertained to keep reading. The Thornwilde 'Kingdom' is so fascinating filled with so many interesting people, I just couldn't wait to learn more about everyone and all the cool places within the kingdom. The Virago give off this Dora Milaje from Wakanda vibe, which is really cool. Lots of strong female characters in this book. There are multiple POVs throughout the story which can get confusing if you're not focused enough, but that's a minor thing. Overall, this was a great read and I cannot wait to continue the series.

I received a free copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

I thought this book was a little slow. I did like how there was great representation and it did show in the book a good development but overall, a little too slow for me.

“For hope, every loss is worth it.”

“Blade of Hope,” S. E. Babin

I really liked this book. I wish the POV’s were a bit clearer, and I wish there was more romance but it’s a very good action fantasy book. The cover is pretty, and the ending was unexpected. I cannot wait for book 2 in the Book of the Virago series. 4 out of 5 stars.

-Magic
-F/F
-Orphan
-Found Family

Thank you for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this!

I started it late last night and finished it today.

I loved Harlow, I was rooting for her the entire book. I'm sad that she didn't get her happy ending with Desminda, I really wanted to see the pair make a go of things but realistically I knew it wasn't likely to be possible given who the two were. But hey, things have changed so maybe there's a chance now.

At first I couldn't stand Melara but when it became apparent what she was actually doing I liked her more. I also love Bloom and her part in the story.

Nova we didn't see a lot of but I'm very interested in finding out more about her past and how she came to be where she was, leading to where she is now and Shade. I need more of Shade, he's just fantastic.

This book had one of the most gripping prologues I think I’ve ever read! I was hooked on Harlow’s story as she navigates a dangerous world where magic is forbidden as she tries to track down her older sister, who disappears unexpectedly. There’s twists and turns through the whole story that left me guessing and wanting to know more. I wasn’t expecting the multiple POVs, some from side characters, but it gave the story more depth, and it was great seeing Harlow from other characters perspectives.

Blade of Hope got me hooked from the first chapter. The description of how gruesome war can be, and how just one brave girl can save another, made me want to immediately read the rest of the story.

Sisters Nova and Harlow escape their war-thorn village and seem to have built a life for themselves with their new foster family. However, soon it is revealed that after a decade or so, Nova has left her little sister for reasons yet unknown and Harlow is left to fend for herself once their parents die. Leaving for the castle of the queendom the sisters live in, Harlow eventually ends up in an elite group of female guards called the Virago who are trained to protect the future queen.

I loved Harlow’s character was a mix of her no-nonsense attitude with a dose of young naivety sprinkled on. It helps to show how the main character can grow throughout both this book and the rest of the series. In addition, the timeline in which these girls are trained to be warriors/guards is way more realistic than most other books I’ve read and I appreciate that we readers can follow Harlow’s growth as both a young woman and a Virago throughout the course of an entire year. Add in a few interesting side characters, such as the loyal guard Shade and a fellow virago called Bloom, and you have all the elements for a page-turning fantasy story.

I would definitely recommend this book to those who love reading fantasy with a dash of adventure, magic, and finding your chosen family.

- This review was based on an Advanced Reader Copy

"Blade of Hope" is a good, though not quite great, fantasy book. While I found this in the romance section of NetGalley, I would in no way call it a romance. There are hints of attraction between various pairs of characters but interactions between these duos rarely rises to even flirting and there is zero (loving) physicality in this book. I believe it is intended as a YA fantasy, though the sexual violence that occurs at several points in the book make me recommend it to the older range of YA readers.

This is the story of fifteen-year-old Harlow, who is apparently destined to bring magic back to her queendom. Harlow is reactive rather than proactive, which can perhaps be explained by age. After showing some initiative at the story's start, she then allows others to determine how she moves forward - Shade, Astrid, etc. She is mostly interesting through the perspective of others, which is not a good thing when she is supposed to form the crux of the story.

And the story, while it kept my interest, was slow at times, lightning fast, and rather confusing. We learn towards the end that somehow a year has passed - what? How? The story in no way tracked the passage of this amount of time, and I was left thinking we must not have been privy to a heck of a lot. And I am still a bit confused about who is really bad in this story - is it the Queen? The King? Both? Anyway. The ending was predictable, and sets up for the next installment in the series, though I wouldn't call it a cliffhanger - it didn't have enough impact to properly be labeled as such. All that said, I did want to keep reading and I would pick up the next book.

3 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary ARC of this book. These opinions are all mine.

I love a book that starts with a map and ends with a cliffhanger. In a world where magic is gone, Harlow finds herself caught in the middle of courtly politics and danger. Somehow, a girl from a small village ends up as a member of the Virago, tasked with protecting the queen. The story unfolds with a delightful dose of found family, clandestine romance, and intrigue.

Although it slowly unfolded over the course of the entire book, by the end I found myself captivated by the world building and wanting to know more. I only took off a star for the slower pacing in the middle. That being said, I cannot wait to read the second novel!

Thank you for NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the ARC!

Blade of Hope follows Harlow, a 15 year old orphaned girl. She is in search of her sister in a Queendom who has lost its magic. In her search she ends up at the castle training to be a guard for the future queen and learns she doesn't know the truth of her origins.

This book is a good start for the series. I did enjoy this, even though the pacing is on the slower side. Multiple pov, although I didn't always know who's pov it was. I feel that the information given was sometimes lacking. There were times something came up and I didn't know what they were talking about. As if it had been brought up earlier in the story but it had been forgotten to be written in. Also, a year had gone by at the end of the book, but there was no indication throughout that it had been this long. And being that it had been this long, shouldn't there have been more happening? Shouldn't Harlow have found out more? I felt like she was suppose to be training while figuring things out, but there didn't seem to be much about any of her training. It just seemed like there were chunks missing in areas.

But overall it was a quick, easy read. I did enjoy it and look forward to reading more in this series to see how it progresses. This is a good start to a series with potential. Thank you to Netgalley for an e-arc of this book.

Blade of Hope
S.E. Babin
Two Stars, spoiler free
This book had so much potential, but overall left me confused and unsatisfied. The premise was incredible, but it felt poorly written and riddled with plot holes. For the first half of the book I wasn't sure if this was meant to be a middle grade novel or young adult. The prose was repetitive and dull and could have used a thesaurus. Much of the book was simply telling the reader information rather than using imagery to show us, often it felt like the reader knew too much that should have been withheld until later. Some of my irks were definitely stylistic, but the largest problem I had was about ¾ through the book when a massive plot hole occurs. With this plot hole it is stated that the following morning a large disruptive shift in power will occur but then it is immediately forgotten and the narration jumps to over a week later with no mention of any repercussions. The Virago training was left open ended and felt abandoned by the end of the novel, which was a shame as there was so much potential for Harlow to grow in her relationships and her self discovery journey.
The book has multiple story lines occurring at the same time but it all felt rushed and largely unfinished. I feel it had potential to be great had it been more fleshed out with stronger relationships and better imagery, honestly if there had been greater focus on the Queen Elect and the Virago as a unit in the story the book would have made more sense and been a better read.
Overall the idea is strong but the execution was not. I enjoyed Harlow and Desminda and hope the sequel slows down to hone in the details.

Wow, overall, I really enjoyed this! The beginning really grasped my interest and the last quarter of the book as well. The middle was a bit slow for me, but I still enjoyed it.
I do have to agree with other reviewers that the dual pov can be confusing at times because the POV changes without notice. Also, there are a LOT of characters and I found myself having to go back to remind myself who a character was - and sometimes it didn’t explicitly say until pages after the character was introduced; which was puzzling.
I also enjoyed Nova’s words of wisdom that Harlow would remember throughout the book. One in particular, “Say little and then even less when you’re unsure of the conversation’s motive” I found to be extremely good advice.
Overall, a solid 3.5 star read! I’d definitely read the next in the series.
Thank you to Netgalley and Oliver Heber books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

"𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐰," 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦. "𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝." 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞,
"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞." 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧. "𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝."

If you want to venture into fantasy, this is a good book to start with. Blade of Hope allows us to discover a young girl who tries to survive as best as she can.

Following the death of her foster parents and the disappearance of her sister, Harlow must survive alone.

And she does it quite well.

This book gives us a main character who will become a little stronger every day. Harlow trains, she fights. The great thing is that even though she gets her magical power from heredity, she's not powerful overnight. She train to gain her power.

And again, I'm sure that in the next book she will become much more powerful. Because in Blade of Hope, she's only discovering what she's capable of. This is one of the points that I liked, the story takes its time, lays the foundations.

We learn about the world, about the characters, about their relationships with other characters and it was great.

The only negative point I find in this book is the points of view? Sometimes I had trouble knowing on which point of view a chapter began? Especially since sometimes we went from the point of view of one character to another in the same chapter.

It was a little disturbing but not necessarily too disturbing.

On certain points like magic, I would have liked to have more explanations. I would have liked us to be able to discover in depth the type of magic that exists in this universe. But I think that will surely be the case in the future.

Regarding plot twists, there aren't many. Surely because the book is a kind of introduction? A few times, however, I was surprised, not expecting the story to take this turn.

Especially at the end, I didn't expect it.

Overall, it's a good book, the story is good and coherent, the writing style is pleasant to read.

I can't wait to discover the rest of Harlow's adventures.

I enjoyed this book. It is interesting. I like the characters. I would have liked a bit more world building as I found some things confusing, especially with the flashbacks and alternating character point of views. Overall a great book and I look forward to seeing what happens next in the series.

YA Fantasy
Romance
Magic
Guard training
Secrets & betrayal
Friendship
Hidden power
Found family

Blade of Hope follows a 15-16 years old girl Harlow who grew up in a kingdom where magic was banned. After her foster parents die
she goes to find a work in the castle but
instead of working as a maid she ends up
training as a Virago - an elite all-female guard tasked with protecting the royal family.

Harlow is a strong character with interesting backstory. She ends up finding out that
everything she knew about her life might be a lie. The book follows her learning more
about herself and the world around her.

The supporting characters were also well written with interesting backgrounds.

I would have liked to see more world building. The pacing of the book was fast and at times I would have liked it to be slower so there would have been time to explain and explore things more. There were some jumps between past and present which made the timeline a bit confusing at times.

The book was told in multiple pov and sometimes it was hard to know who’s pov it was.

Overall this was a fast and easy to read fantasy book with okay world building and interesting plot.


I will leave a review on Amazon as soon as it’s available.

A fun start to what has the potential to be a wonderful YA series.

Blade of Hope follows Harlow, an orphaned girl searching for her adoptive older sister in a Queendom without magic. In searching for the long-missing Nova, Harlow ends up within the castle and finds herself training to become a member of the elite queen's guard, the Virago. As she trains, Harlow realizes that her origins may be more than that of a wartime orphan and that Desminda, the heir to the throne, may know more about her and the state of the Queendom than is evident.

This book moves at a relatively slow pace, introducing us to a host of characters as well as the world and politics around them. At times, this pacing can be a little uneven, with large chunks being spent on the training and not as much as the relations of the regions and reasons for magic being suppressed. This may be wonderful for those new to fantasy or for those not wanting to delve into the politics of more complex high fantasy. There are a few perspective changes throughout the story, as well as flashbacks to past events that are used to inform the present day storyline. These were a bit confusing at times and some did take me awhile to figure out when and where they fit into the timeline.

Overall, Blade of Hope sets the stage for what I think will be an exciting YA fantasy series. I am looking forward to future books where the stakes are raised, the characters are explored more in depth, and we see how Harlow evolves. 3.5 stars.

Thank you for NetGalley for the ARC

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn't influence my review. I loved the fact that the FMC had to pretend to be a maid in a place she wasn't allowed to be at, and then had to switch over to training for the female guard. Loved her personality as well. I didn't like the dual POVs, it made the book annoying to read. Otherwise it was good.

This book was sool good! I really enjoyed it and have recommended it to several friends already! I can't wait to read more from this author and will be on the lookout for more from them in the future!

I really enjoyed this book! It had me immediately engaged from the first chapter. I loved the characters and the story.

my only complaint is that i wish there was more action, but i loveeeed this book. i already miss harlow and slade!!!