Review: The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish

Synopsis
A usurped prince prepares to take up the mantel of a deadly assassin and reclaim his kingdom, his people, and his slain gods in this epic fantasy from a USA Today bestselling author.

Cyrus was only twelve years old when his gods were slain, his country invaded, and his parents—the king and queen—beheaded in front of him. Held prisoner in the invader’s court for years, Cyrus is suddenly given a chance to escape and claim his revenge when a mysterious group of revolutionaries comes looking for a figurehead. They need a hero to strike fear into the hearts of the imperial and to inspire and unite the people. They need someone to take up the skull mask and swords and to become the legendary “Vagrant”—an unparalleled hero and assassin of otherworldly skill.

But all is not as it seems. Creating the illusion of a hero is the work of many, and Cyrus will soon discover the true price of his vengeance.

What I thought
Thank you Orbit Books and Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy of this book for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings expressed are my own.

This is the first book that I have read by this author, and I can definitely say it won’t be the last.  The descriptions, characters, and everything was done really well.  I shouldn’t have to point this out, but I feel the need to say that the female characters in this book were written very well.  They were real characters in the story and not just side-filler characters.  One day, this will be the norm, but I will keep pointing it out until then.  I debated hard on whether or not I wanted to read this book.  I was really afraid it was going to be another chosen one story.  There is nothing wrong with them, there just seems to be a lot of them out there.  I am so glad that I took that leap and gave this one a chance, this is easily one of my favorite books of the year.

The beginning of this story really packed a punch, then you get into a lot of world-building, and it slows down until you hit around the 40% mark.  Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t bad and with this series, there is a lot that you need to learn, but after that beginning, it was really noticeable, or maybe it felt so slow due to the intense beginning.  Either way, once you get around 40% the story really takes off, to the point that I did not want to put it down. Simply, I was hooked, and I loved these characters.

First, we have Cyrus, honestly, I can’t even imagine being in his shoes. The trauma that this poor boy has had to deal with at a young age is just horrible.  I have to say my absolute favorite thing about Cyrus is that even though he is driven by revenge, he still has a moral compass.  No matter what or how much training he has been through, he still keeps a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong.  I loved watching his character evolve.

I absolutely loved Stasia the Ax of Lahareed and Mari a God Whisper. These women are amazing.  I loved them both for very different reasons, and I am really interested to see what happens in the next book after the way things ended in this first one.

I am not a fan of cliffhangers, but this ending has me wanting so much more.  I can not wait to get my hands on the next installment of this series, because I need to know what happens next.

My Rating: /5

Have you read this book? If so what did you think? Tell me in the comments below.