Swordheart by T. Kingfisher: A Whimsical, Heartwarming Fantasy You Won’t Want to Put Down

Quirky characters, a grumpy immortal warrior, and a clever widow make this cozy fantasy adventure unforgettable.

Synopsis

Halla is a housekeeper who has suddenly inherited her great-uncle’s estate… and, unfortunately, his relatives. Sarkis is an immortal swordsman trapped in a prison of enchanted steel. When Halla draws the sword that imprisons him, Sarkis finds himself attempting to defend his new wielder against everything from bandits and roving inquisitors to her own in-laws… and the sword itself may prove to be the greatest threat of all.

Review

Rating: 5 stars

That book was an absolute delight!

With an odd group of quirky characters, the story weaves a captivating tale of adventure, magic, quests, and a touch of love. It effortlessly captured my heart and made me forget  the outside world for a few hours.

Let me tell you about the story.

Halla, a penniless widow living with her late husband’s relatives, finds her life turned upside down when she inherits a wealthy uncle’s fortune. However, this inheritance soon makes her the target of her odious in-law family’s machinations. Trapped in her room, with the threat of being forced to marry an awful cousin looming over her, Halla makes a daring escape thanks to the appearance of an immortal warrior materializing at the draw of an old sword.

Sarkis, this warrior, has been imprisoned for centuries within the sword. He is sworn to obey its wielder, said wielder now being Halla.

Together, Halla and Sarkis embark on a journey to find the Rat God order, hoping to settle the dispute and protect the widow.

But their path is fraught with challenges. They face threats from the bloody Motherhood order, cursed lands filled with deadly creatures, and more. In the company of Zala, a rat priest and an odd creature leading their ox, our main characters will learn to trust each other. If other feelings arise… oh well…

However, the question remains: what could an immortal warrior offer to a respectable widow? And how could a naive widow possibly have anything to offer to an illustrious man?

I absolutely adored the humor in the book. The characters felt like cogs in a well-oiled machine, each with their own unique traits and flaws. Despite their differences, they all fit together seamlessly, making the read an absolute delight.

I particularly loved Halla and her fake dumbness. In a crisis situation, she would babbling nonsense to confuse her enemies. As she famously said, “Nobody kills stupid women; they just kick them out of the way.” It was such a clever and unassuming yet resourceful character that T Kingfisher wrote. It showcased that intelligence often trumps brute force.

With her rather optimistic and no-nonsense attitude, Halla was the sunshine to Sarkis’s grumpiness.

She believed the best in people, while he believed the worst in them. That’s why their duo worked so seamlessly!

Reading Sarkis’ inner monologue was also incredibly entertaining. I was fascinated by how his opinion on Halla changed, and I couldn’t help but try to guess what he was so ashamed of.

With its perfect pace, hidden villains, betrayals, new friends, a quest, and several twists, Swordheart was an excellent fantasy novel that kept me engaged and smiling from the very beginning.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to Orbit Books for providing me with a finished copy. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it to any cozy fantasy enthusiasts.

Thanks for reading.

Sophie