Scan barcode
A review by marshwood
The Flowered Blade by Taylor Hubbard
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I was provided with an ARC of The Flowered Blade by the author in exchange for an honest review. The book will be released in June 2024.
The Flowered Blade is an achingly tender story. I was immediately invested in the protagonists - especially Silvyr, who I really related to around the themes of family expectations, searching for belonging, staying soft in the face of cruelty and adversity, and carving out a place for yourself in the world.
As the title suggests, the characters bloom and heal together, finding ways to grow that balance fighting for what you believe in while remaining gentle and guided by love.
Hubbard's prose is beautiful. The imagery of wildflower fields and sunshiney countryside, juxtaposed against starry nights and cozy fires was really atmospheric and perfectly emphasized the feelings of safety, peace, and growth that are woven throughout the novel.
So many of my favourite elements and tropes were included! Plenty of spice, hurt/comfort/healing, captor x captive, queer/trans rep, orcs, elves, nature, and herbal medicine to name a few.
A couple things I could have used more of was a little more detail in world building - I wanted to know more about the history/relationship between the orcs and elves. I am so curious about how their cultures got to be how they are. I was also intrigued by the side characters and would've liked to see and understand more of their motivations and development, too.
All that said, I am definitely going to reread this once it is officially released! Planning to check out other works by this author, too. I highly recommend this book if anything said above resonates with you!
The Flowered Blade is an achingly tender story. I was immediately invested in the protagonists - especially Silvyr, who I really related to around the themes of family expectations, searching for belonging, staying soft in the face of cruelty and adversity, and carving out a place for yourself in the world.
As the title suggests, the characters bloom and heal together, finding ways to grow that balance fighting for what you believe in while remaining gentle and guided by love.
Hubbard's prose is beautiful. The imagery of wildflower fields and sunshiney countryside, juxtaposed against starry nights and cozy fires was really atmospheric and perfectly emphasized the feelings of safety, peace, and growth that are woven throughout the novel.
So many of my favourite elements and tropes were included! Plenty of spice, hurt/comfort/healing, captor x captive, queer/trans rep, orcs, elves, nature, and herbal medicine to name a few.
A couple things I could have used more of was a little more detail in world building - I wanted to know more about the history/relationship between the orcs and elves. I am so curious about how their cultures got to be how they are. I was also intrigued by the side characters and would've liked to see and understand more of their motivations and development, too.
All that said, I am definitely going to reread this once it is officially released! Planning to check out other works by this author, too. I highly recommend this book if anything said above resonates with you!