Soft DNF because I realized after starting this that this is part of a series that I have yet to start! Very excited to dive into the world of the Clockword Boys! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC {of the new republished version} :)

Swordheart is pure joy from start to finish. It’s funny, heartfelt, and refreshingly original, with characters you can’t help but love. Halla is resourceful and endearing, while Sarkis, the grumpy sword-guardian, is both hilarious and surprisingly sweet. I also love the band of side characters, which really didn't feel like side characters at all. The story balances quirky humor with genuine emotion and plenty of adventure, making it one of those books you can’t put down. It’s the kind of fantasy that sticks with you in the best way.

Cozy fantasy readers, this one is for you!

1. Kingfisher is an auto read for me, absolutely never disappoints
2. I love love LOVE this world
3. the banter & pining is TOP NOTCH

loved it, will absolutely recommend

I am so glad that Swordheart by T. Kingfisher is getting a resurgence in love and a brand new beautiful cover. It's well deserved. Kingfisher is one of my favorite authors, I'm not sure anything she does could disappoint. My love is more for the darker works (Nettle and Bone!), but Swordheart still has the dry, witty writing that sings to my soul. A cozy adventure fantasy with a little romance that makes for an ideal curled under a blanket winter read.

T. Kingfisher is excellent with characters and character development. I always enjoy her way of telling a story with flawed characters. This one reminded me of Nettle and Bone, an equally good fantasy book. If you enjoy bodyguard romances with light spice this one is for you.

Absolutely adored Swordheart! I've never read anything by T. Kingfisher but they've been recommended to me continously because of my love of fantasy. I should have read it sooner! The banter between all of the characters was so good. It had me laughing out loud multiple times. I really enjoyed the world building as well. I can't wait to read more by this author!!

The heart of this story was as strong as a sword — I adored Halla as a main character, and her ability to ask ridiculous questions to get out of dire situations was highly amusing. Sarkis is a loveable and charming love interest and character in his own right, and I also loved all the side characters, especially Zale and Brindle. While a few parts dragged or seemed a bit contrived to move the plot forward, I was highly entertained by this one and have yet to meet a T Kingfisher novel I didn't like.

Such a happy and exciting book! Romance and adventure and long rambling stories to distract annoying relatives and priests. When Halla inherits the estate of her dead husband’s great-uncle, the rest of the annoying family shows up and locks her up. This amazingly leads her to contemplate death and discover an immortal warrior trapped in a sword. Left me smiling for hours.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for this DRC.
#Swordheart #NetGalley

I was not aware that this a rerelease for a book that came out in 2018. I rated this 5 stars back then and the bonus content made it that much better, however since it is a special edition, I feel like an actual physical copy should have been provided since the selling point is for sprayed edges, special end papers, redesigned covered, etc.

Swordheart

Halla is a widow who has inherited not only a wealthy uncles estate, but some greedy family who are trying to marry her off to a cousin so they can take the inheritance for themselves. After being locked in her room for days, Halla finds an ancient sword. As she unsheathes it, a man appears. His name is Sarkis, and he is an immortal warrior who is required to protect the welder of the sword. Sarkis helps Halla escape from her family, and the two embark on an exciting adventure to free her from the family and gain her inheritance.

This story is like Princess Bride and Airplane wit wrapped into a hilarious, exciting,
Cozy book. Crazy adventures, characters you can’t help but love, and hilarious dialogue that’ll have you laughing out loud. This book is a hidden gem and brings the cozy fantasy vibes you didn’t know you needed!

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing for a copy of the digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

My first Netgalley read! TOR never seems to disappoint when it comes to publishing incredible fantasy novels!

Swordheart is a journey between two, one who is human and one who is... not human? A desperate attempt for freedom leads the two all across the kingdoms, scouring for materials, fighting off enemies, and slowly falling for each other?

Halla takes us on a marvelous journey filled with adventure, love, excitement, heartbreak, grief but most of all her trust in sarkis - even if he isn’t telling her the truth about everything.

I really enjoyed this read! I found myself reading it every night and staying up until 2am because i just had to know what the next chapter had to offer! It was so easy for me to fall in love with halla and sarkis’ characters! I love how we also got to see halla’s character develop from a somewhat scared, submissive girl to this brave and determined woman. She’s not your typical gal either! we get a funny, curvy, sassy-mouthed woman

An EXTREMLY cozy fantasy, adventure read! Funny and compassionate, Somewhat gruesome scenes but in a laughable context, oh and closed door romance!! VERY enjoyable read and also my first T. Kingfisher!! Excellent writing!! Excited to see what else comes in this series!

I had a great time reading this book, with one major caveat. What in the world is the deal with the punctuation? Some of it could potentially read like a stylistic choice but 9/10 times it reads like a lack of copy editing. There are missing periods and commas. The run-on sentences without punctuation that occur during the dialogue are definitely a choice...but one that was distracting and took me out of the story. I'd say it was just the eARC but this book came out in 2018!

Plot and character-wise, this was great fun. The third act break-up wasn't done well, though. I'm going to find this hard to recommend just because the syntax and grammar could be really off-putting.

I was picturing Sarkis as Pedro Pascal so this was good for me.

I definitely love T. Kingfisher's books and this is no exception. It follows a woman named Halla, who picks up a sword only to find out there is an immortal warrior named Sarkis trapped inside it who is now bound to protect her. The book takes us on the journey of Halla and Sarkis and many things that they encounter while trying to reclaim Halla's inheritance that her late husband's family is trying to gain. I loved the relationship that Halla and Sarkis engage in including their banter and a trope of grump/sunshine. This was a cozy fantasy that was super fun!

I liked this cozy fantasy by T Kingfisher. It did remind me of The Princess Bride with some light shadows of The Wheel of Time or even some slight Tolkien moments when the wagon veered off path. The two main characters saved this from getting too silly and off the rails- the sword itself was a great dramatic and comedic device.

Wow. What a story. I have to say a bit to take in at the beginning but overall this story is compelling, short, but innovative in its origin. I liked it and think any fantasy reader will enjoy this one.

This book had to potential to be really good. I love the story and it had some cute rom com moments, but I felt it straddled the line of fantasy and romance without ever committing to one or the other. Essential I wanted MORE of some thing. Hella and Sarkis had moments, but their romance felt rushed as there were very few big moments between unfamiliarity and love. I liked it enough, but definitely not my favorite T. Kingfisher novel.

I loved this cozy little fantasy! Halla was a charming main character and I loved the world T. Kingfisher created. I can’t wait to read more.

T. Kingfisher writes some of the most sympathetic characters in fantasy, and in Swordheart she managed to make me love a nervous, pathologically curious housekeeper whom I initially found exceptionally irritating. At the beginning of the novel, Halla, the housekeeper, comes into an inheritance and is subsequently trapped by her in-laws, who want to secure the fortune for herself. She manages to escape with help from Sarkis, a gruff, put-upon warrior magically trapped in a sword who finds himself at Halla’s service. I found the beginning of the novel slow going, with lots of confusion from Halla and frustrated sighing from Sarkis. Once Zale, a nonbinary priest, and Brindle, a talking badger, entered the picture, though, I was hooked. The group have the banter of a practiced DnD crew, and I read the final half of Swordheart in one delighted afternoon. Kingfisher leaves the end open for a sequel, but as far as I know, nothing is in the works yet. If one does get published, I’ll be first in line to read it!

This is my first book by the author and the writing style was very different than what I’m used to, but it was fun. Very cozy and lots of dark humor. I liked the characters and their journey together. A fun slow burn!

Halla has had a rough life and when her father-in-law, whom she was taking care of and living with in his house, passes away things get even worse for the young widow. Because, despite inheriting the estate, she also has to contend with his greedy relatives. Fortunately, she stumbles upon a magical artifact in the house, a sword which has trapped inside a Warrior sworn to protect the wielder, which may be the leverage she needs to save her and her nieces from destitution.

This slow- burn romance had all my favorite tropes in it but the plot was too long and really rough in a lot of areas. You can tell the author is world building for a series with the set-up of important side characters and the HFN ending is your other clue there will be more books.

Do not skip the content and trigger warnings for this book because the author has dark humor regarding a few sensitive topics, like suicide.