I changed this first sentence several times, because what I really wanted to post makes this story sound bad and I actually liked it a lot. If I used emojis in my reviews and if I didn’t care about misleading readers looking for recommendations, there would be a horrified one here. I can’t wait for the next audiobook to come out, this absolutely cannot be the end. I had surmised from the acknowledgements at the start of the story that the ending would be controversial, but although I was prepared, I didn’t see it coming.

I haven’t read J.C. Rycroft’s books yet and I didn’t check whether this novella was published first or if it’s a prequel before I started listening. I like going into books knowing as little as possible for maximum effect. I know now that it is, in fact, a prequel, but if, like me, it’s your entry into J.C. Rycroft’s Everlands Cycle universe, it sets the scene and the world in which the series takes place. The world building is probably my favourite thing about this pretty fast-paced novella. I like that the setting is reminiscent of actual Australian scenery while the story happens in a different dimension or timeline or whatever, and is very obviously fantasy. As an urban fantasy lover, I delight in the mix of familiar and unknown, but I’m not used to it outside of cities and other industrial locations. I also enjoyed the writing very much, and how well I felt I got to know the characters even though A Hired Blade is so short. The narration complement the words in the best possible way. The audiobook of book 1, The Blood-Born Dragon, will be out next week and I’m very excited to find out more about travelling sellsword Des Mildue and what happens to her next.

Experience A Hired Blade:

Bookshop.org (paperback)

Libro.fm (audiobook)

Kobo (audiobook – ebook)

Amazon (audiobook – ebook)

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