Mostly Murders

Halla of Rutger’s Howe had just inherited a great deal of money and was therefore spending her evening trying to figure out how to kill herself.

Book 1 in the Swordheart series. Halla is a woman with a big inheritance and a greedy family. Sarkis is a man who is bound to a sword and to the wielder of said sword. Chance brings the two of them together, and the result is an absolutely hilarious romantasy as Halla and Sarkis embark on a perilous journey fraught with insecurity, apprehension, combat, embarrassment and longing.

Swordheart is one of those books that are much better if you don’t know too much beforehand, as the surprises of the plot are far more amusing if they come as a surprise. What I can say without spoiling anything, is that this book relies a lot on the reader liking the main characters, as this is a quite character focused story. Halla is endlessly curious, somewhat naive, constantly overthinking and continuously oversharing and baffling everyone around her. Sarkis is brooding and cynical, hardened by a life of battle and hundreds of years of being magically bound to a sword.

The sense of humour in this book is self-deprecating and sharp. The banter is witty and perceptive, and the sexual tension is delectable with a little bit of spice thrown in later in the book. A lot of the fun comes from the interactions between Halla and Sarkis, who have to learn to navigate various cultural differences, with Sarkis seeing Halla and her region as weak and decadent, and Halla finding Sarkis’ attitudes to problem solving aggressive and antiquated.

If you enjoy stories with good-natured but somewhat socially inept characters, absurd humour and awkward romantic complications, I highly recommend Swordheart. I loved it and I will definitely be reading more T. Kingfisher in the future.

Romantasy – Cozy fantasy