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A review by kjharrowick
Balanced on the Blade's Edge by Lindsay Buroker
5.0
Why I picked up this book:
On a night when I was feeling undone in both writing and personal life, I scoured kindle reads for a free book or novella. Holy crap did Lindsay Buroker deliver. Right away I dove into the first book in the series and fell in love with both main characters. Buroker brings together the perfect blend of adult situations, action, emotion, world-building and sensuality. At the time of writing this review, I’ve only read the first in the Dragon Blood series, and can’t wait to read more.
This review may contain spoilers.
What I loved:
Ridgewalker is my new book boyfriend. There, I said it. Everyone else can go home now. Ridge leapt off the page and grabbed me by the throat. He’s the perfect blend of middle age stubbornness, youthful sass, and determined fanatic. Every movement and line of dialogue bled out his hardened personality so well that there was no doubt he was a stunning hero that walks the dark and the light to get shit done.
Sardelle was an amazing female character, a perfect blend of smarts, determination and sass. I find many book females come off either fluffy and eyelash batty or so strong they’re almost aggressive. This woman has such a light touch and yet brings a depth of complexity, especially during her conversations with soulblade Jaxi.
The side characters were perfect. Each one had a strong personality that made them unique. The interactions were fantastic, and the world building and pacing were stellar. I was always grounded and never bored. Everything about this story kept me putting aside real life to get back to the Ice Blades and find out what happens next.
Areas needing a touch of refinement:
The finale for Sardelle against the other sorcerer. All of this absolutely gorgeous tension was built all the way to the end, then boom, maybe two vague lines to the effect ‘oh yeah, here’s how it ended.’ I really wanted this bit to draw out for another page or two, gimme the action happening, the blood spilling, the shocked look in his eyes, maybe a vague word from the sorcerer about where she could find the others. But definitely it needed a lot more pizazz.
General Nax’s finale. This character came on so strong right away that his power bled into everything. But at the end, he was only given a line or two of ‘oh yeah, this happened.’ I would have loved to see a lot more done with this character.
Overall:
Holy crap did this book deliver. It packed such a punch that it will always have a permanent place on my bookshelf. I can’t wait to dive into the next two books in the series.
If I had to wish for one thing out of this story though, it would be to make it longer. To spend more time on Nax and Vespa, Tace and Rolff, and all the beautiful characters so we can see every arc play out to the finale.
On a night when I was feeling undone in both writing and personal life, I scoured kindle reads for a free book or novella. Holy crap did Lindsay Buroker deliver. Right away I dove into the first book in the series and fell in love with both main characters. Buroker brings together the perfect blend of adult situations, action, emotion, world-building and sensuality. At the time of writing this review, I’ve only read the first in the Dragon Blood series, and can’t wait to read more.
This review may contain spoilers.
What I loved:
Ridgewalker is my new book boyfriend. There, I said it. Everyone else can go home now. Ridge leapt off the page and grabbed me by the throat. He’s the perfect blend of middle age stubbornness, youthful sass, and determined fanatic. Every movement and line of dialogue bled out his hardened personality so well that there was no doubt he was a stunning hero that walks the dark and the light to get shit done.
Sardelle was an amazing female character, a perfect blend of smarts, determination and sass. I find many book females come off either fluffy and eyelash batty or so strong they’re almost aggressive. This woman has such a light touch and yet brings a depth of complexity, especially during her conversations with soulblade Jaxi.
The side characters were perfect. Each one had a strong personality that made them unique. The interactions were fantastic, and the world building and pacing were stellar. I was always grounded and never bored. Everything about this story kept me putting aside real life to get back to the Ice Blades and find out what happens next.
Areas needing a touch of refinement:
The finale for Sardelle against the other sorcerer. All of this absolutely gorgeous tension was built all the way to the end, then boom, maybe two vague lines to the effect ‘oh yeah, here’s how it ended.’ I really wanted this bit to draw out for another page or two, gimme the action happening, the blood spilling, the shocked look in his eyes, maybe a vague word from the sorcerer about where she could find the others. But definitely it needed a lot more pizazz.
General Nax’s finale. This character came on so strong right away that his power bled into everything. But at the end, he was only given a line or two of ‘oh yeah, this happened.’ I would have loved to see a lot more done with this character.
Overall:
Holy crap did this book deliver. It packed such a punch that it will always have a permanent place on my bookshelf. I can’t wait to dive into the next two books in the series.
If I had to wish for one thing out of this story though, it would be to make it longer. To spend more time on Nax and Vespa, Tace and Rolff, and all the beautiful characters so we can see every arc play out to the finale.