What a fun addition to a Romantasy series. A heroine with a mouth that won't stop when she's scared, a hero stuck in a sword, and lots of action meld into this clever fantasy. Toss in lots of action, a bit of romance and you have a story that can't be put down. Halla is a fun character and her interactions with her trusty man (who was imprisoned in a sword) were entertaining. I can always count on strong characters and funny dialogue from T. Kingfisher.

A lovely romance with a fairy tale feel set in the same world as Kingfisher's Clocktaur War and Saint of Steel series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for allowing me to read a copy of Swordheart by T. Kingfisher in exchange for an honest review.

When Halla agreed to care for her husband's great uncle after his passing, she didn't expected the cooky old man to leave it all to her when death came for him. While not ungrateful, she understands what it means to be an unmarried widow with wealth. Especially when there are other family members who had plans for their assumed inheritance. That is exactly how Halla finds herself bolted in her room contemplating the end of her life. The last thing she could have prepared for when drawing a sword was a whole man to emerge. Sarkis, having been trapped in the sword for centuries, anticipated stepping into a battle or stopping an assailant... not a half naked woman figuring out how to fall on a sword. Halla and Sarkis begin their journey to rightfully claim Halla's inheritance and uncover information that could free Sarkis from his iron prison. But secrets make for bad travel companions and they can be more painful than the cut of a sword.

I have grown fond of T. Kingfisher's writing the last few years so I was overjoyed and grateful to be contacted again about reviewing a book. Swordheart is a very wholesome cozy read. The story building is not too complex - they travel to one town through another and back again. I love a good dual POV and I felt present in each narrator. Another part of this book that I really enjoyed is that the characters are older than what is the current norm for fantasy tales. Halla is in her late 30s and Sarkis is (chronically) in his early 40s. They have both lived a lot of life and I think that is important sometimes when bringing depth to characters. Can't wait to read more Kingfisher in the future!

I LOVE T. Kingfisher's World of the White Rat books; this one is no exception. This is a cozy adventure fantasy with lovable characters and a rich world. Fans of Travis Baldree should read this next. It works as a standalone but readers will get a little more if they've read other books in this world.

🗡️ ❤️ ARC REVIEW ❤️🗡️

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
5/5 ⭐
Rerelease date 🇺🇸: Feb 25, 2025

This author is an automatic read for me, and it's because of books like this. I loved this book, it was a cozy fantasy and just the thing I needed!

The book starts with a woman trapped by her family, trying to figure out how to extricate herself from the situation. She draws a sword, which releases a warrior trapped and bound to the sword. And they have an adventure!

Please read if you like the following:

❤️ Cozy fantasies filled with good, decent people
❤️ Grumpy x sunshine trope
❤️ Main characters that can't seem to get themselves out of trouble
❤️ Amazing banter

Thank you to NetGalley and Bramble for the review copy!

🏷️ #netgalley #romancebooks #fantasybooks #bookstagram #books #booklover #book #bookworm #bookstagrammer #reading #bookish #bookaddict #booknerd #bibliophile #readersofinstagram #booksofinstagram #booksbooksbooks #bookreview #instabook #bookrecommendations #read #bookcommunity #bookphotography #bookshelf #bookaholic #bookblogger #booklovers #booklove

Halla and Sarkis - the banter, the longing, the sloooooooooow burn…. oh, hello there, excuse me, lost my train of thought for a minute.

The cover, the mention of The Princess Bride, and a “cozy fantasy romance” sold me immediately on this. I was fortunate enough to receive an early copy and, pulled in by the opening on the first page, I read this happily and absolutely loved it ❤️ A purely fun and utterly enjoyable story.

This was my second time reading the author’s work and it’s safe to say that I’m officially a fan now and will absolutely be reading more of her work.



Thank you to Bramble and NetGalley for the DRC

Really 2.75. I liked the characters of this book a lot, especially Zale. The humor T. Kingfisher infuses in her novels is always delightful. However the stakes for this one were so low that I just felt like not much happened. I do think romantasy fans will like this book, especially for the characters if not so much the plot. I much prefer Kingfisher's horror novels or other fantasy like Nettle & Bone. Also, for being previously released, the Kindle edition of this book is a mess. There is a ton of missing punctuation.

I love T. Kingfisher and hadn't read anything of the books from the World of the White Rat series yet but after reading this one it has made me want to continue. I enjoyed the characters and their dynamics the most, however the world building was great and is what made me want to read more from this universe. It's a cozy fantasy with romance, murder, and magic but at it's core is kind of a coming of age story, if the protagonist was a middle aged woman. It may not be for everyone but I really enjoyed it and would absolutely recommend it.

I have never met a T. Kingfisher book that let me down. True, this one was a bit longer than I wanted it to be. But, also true, I stayed up late two nights in a row reading it.

The previously self-pubbed novel is being re-released by Tor to capitalize on the current romantasy trend (~*sprayed edges*~), and oh, is it pretty. I love me a quirky (probably neurospicy) Kingfisher protagonist, and this didn't disappoint. I was less interested in the romance than the quest, but the romance delivered with a mature (though not overly explicit) few scenes. Both Sarkis and Halla were endearing in their grumpy/sunshine ways. While perhaps I would have benefited from having read the Clockwork Boys prior to this one, it didn't suffer in my mind from being read as a standalone.

A note on the audio version: I did a few passes of this on audiobook because I was so engrossed in the story that I didn't want to give it up on my commute. Do not recommend. I'm sure Jesse Vilinsky is a completely competent narrator, but I found her interpretation of Halla to be more in line with an overdramatic, slightly flaky YA heroine than a respectable 36 year old widow. This may have been an effect of picking up the audio at a point where the on page voices had been firmly established in my head, but I felt like much of T. Kingfisher's wry wit as Halla was lost in the narration.

This takes place in the same universe, and around the same time, as the Paladin's Grace series, but intoduces a separate trio with a separate mystery to solve. Minor characters from the original series make appearances, but it's ok to read this book in any order.

This universe-- and the writing style-- feel more and more like the Discworld. Suggest this series+friends to Terry Pratchett fans. A unique storyline in a world generic enough to feel familiar. The only think I didn't like is how often it's repeated that the heroine is old, so old, frequently described as "middle aged." She's 36. For real.

First, I will say that while this is an ARC, there is A LOT of editing mistakes and it was hard at times to figure out that ellipses were missing, or something like that. I hope they get fixed. Again, it IS an ARC, but I typically don't see that in ARCs. Also, "err" should never me used, in my opinion. It's very awkward.

Now on to the story. Halla inherited her eccentric uncle's estate and her relatives are NOT happy about it. She gets locked in her room by those relatives until she "comes to her senses." Halla decides to nope out of this, and grabs a sword. As soon as it's unsheathed, a hot warrior appears. He helps her bust out and hijinks ensue.

The characters are good. I especially liked Brindle and Zale. Sarkis is ok - he's attracted to Halla, and is very "touch her and die," both because he has to be, because of the sword, and because he's into her. He's constantly exasperated but warms up over time and appreciates the sword wielder actually treating him like a human for once.

Halla...I don't know. I liked her ok in the first part of the book, but she gets VERY tiresome. She is unflaggingly cheerful, no matter what happens, which is one of the reasons Sarkis likes her. I feel like this reflects how women are supposed to be in everyday life - cheerful, no complaints, keep everyone's spirits up! I mean, she gets attacked, more than once, and is still cheerful. She asks questions ALL THE TIME, and I think this is supposed to make her endearing, but again, it gets tiresome. I don't give her props for treating Sarkis like a person - that should be a baseline for anyone because Sarkis, when outside of the sword, is a human. She "acts stupid" at times to fluster men and get away with things, but it's honestly hard to tell when she's playing dumb and when she's not because it all sounds similar. Sarkis admires her for not complaining, and then just gets into her boobs. There's a real shift there. He is obsessed with her breasts. He thinks she's beautiful, but should wear things that are more form-fitting and in different colors. She thinks of herself as a "respectable widow," who doesn't really care what she looks like. She can't understand why she can't go to the market in what seems to be knee socks, a short, see-through night shirt, and a thin robe. I wouldn't do that in the current time, let alone whatever time this is. She's extremely gullible and weirdly naive. I don't now if we find out how her husband died; I may have missed it. It would appear that her husband was asexual, but they just talk about how "weak" he is and insinuate he's not a "real man" because he didn't want to have sex with her, and that is a trash move.

Overall, I gave it a 3 because it's light and there's no MAJOR conflict - the conflicts are told in a light-hearted manner and aren't very complicated. For the most part, people are who they appear to be, so it's an easy read, though I ended up skimming through some of it because it just dragged. I got interrupted towards the end, and literally forgot to go back to it because it didn't matter. I knew how it would turn out. It's not a bad book. It's cute and an easy read. It just wasn't my favorite.

I love T Kingfisher's work and Swordheart is no exception! She continues to create female characters that are weirdly relatable considering the fantasy/faux-historical settings. Any book that allows me to visit the world of the white rat will be a winner to me, and I love her ability to write a romance that is also a full-fledged fantasy. I really hope Kingfisher writes the stories of the other sword warriors.

Such an amazing entry into the fantasy space that is saturated with teenage heroes and heroines (although my 29 year old heart hurts at 36 being referred to as middle aged!). Our heroine, Hala, is capable, strong, and yet soft and innocent and is an amazing character to read. Suitable for anyone 18+ and of special interest to those of us that are at an age where we are beginning to see fewer heroines with which we can identify..

"Swordheart" was a gentle romance taking place in a somewhat-generic fantasy world. Our lead is unusual - Halla, a widow, is in her mid-30s and recently came into money. In an act of desperation, Halla accidentally triggers a magical sword that spits out a man to save her from the gross machinations of her family. This is a fantasy version of "The Bodyguard" in a lot of ways, with two older leads and a cozy vibe. I didn't mesh with Halla's naive outlook, and some of the humor didn't land, but I overall enjoyed my time with this book.

This copy was kindly to me by Netgalley and the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! One of my favorite booktubers, this is a favorite of hers so I was beyond excited to see that it was being republished with this stunning new cover. If you are a fan of "cozy fantasy" vibes, here's another one to add to your tbr! Swordheart is a fun, low-stakes fantasy with adventure and a great found family of characters.

I really enjoyed this as a fantasy romance novel, it had a great world going on and enjoyed the overall element to this world. The characters were everything that I was looking for and enjoyed getting to go on this journey with them. T. Kingfisher always does a fantastic job in writing this and was glad I got to read this. It had that writing style and world-building that I've come to expect from T. Kingfisher.

4 stars

Another fantastic book by Kingfisher. Though it had more romance than I prefer, the world building and the adventure was phenomenal. Another wonderful book to escape into.

What a fun, inventive read!! Fantasy is such a growing genre, and with that, comes a lot of repetition. This one, I'm happy to say, was quite original.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book.

4.25/5.0

A thoroughly enjoyable romp for any reader looking for a nice low-stakes fantasy adventure with mature protagonists.

One of my favourite Kingfisher books purely based on the specific level of fantasy that is written in this genre. I enjoy the written prose and fantastic characters. Though it is my favourite book of hers, I feel is it slightly underrated compared to the rest of her catalogue, therefore I recommend it to readers of Kingfisher for the first time and if you want a brilliantly crafted fantasy story.