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Death Before Dragons #8
Secrets of the Sword II
Length: 10 hrs
For ten years, I’ve been using a magical sword that I won in battle to ruthlessly slay enemies, break evil artifacts, and open stubborn pickle jars, but I don’t know much about it.
That’s about to change.
Thanks to the fact that I’m dating a powerful dragon, I can get a ride to the dwarven home world, and we’re going to research the sword's roots. Not that I care much about its history, mind you, but several allies and enemies have suggested it can do a lot more than whack things. Considering the magical bad guys I fight are always stronger, faster, and more powerful than I am, I need every advantage I can get.
There’s just one problem: a half-dwarf thief has shown up and says she’s the rightful heir to the sword.
I want to believe it’s a scam and can’t possibly be true, but I didn’t get the sword in the most legitimate manner. If I have to give it up, I might not be able to do my job anymore, and just as bad, I’ll be a target for all the bad guys who have been waiting for an opportunity to take me down.
For ten years, I’ve been using a magical sword that I won in battle to ruthlessly slay enemies, break evil artifacts, and open stubborn pickle jars, but I don’t know much about it.
That’s about to change.
Thanks to the fact that I’m dating a powerful dragon, I can get a ride to the dwarven home world, and we’re going to research the sword's roots. Not that I care much about its history, mind you, but several allies and enemies have suggested it can do a lot more than whack things. Considering the magical bad guys I fight are always stronger, faster, and more powerful than I am, I need every advantage I can get.
There’s just one problem: a half-dwarf thief has shown up and says she’s the rightful heir to the sword.
I want to believe it’s a scam and can’t possibly be true, but I didn’t get the sword in the most legitimate manner. If I have to give it up, I might not be able to do my job anymore, and just as bad, I’ll be a target for all the bad guys who have been waiting for an opportunity to take me down.
Audiobook
First published December 30, 2020
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About the author
Lindsay Buroker
192 books6,098 followersI'm a full-time indie fantasy and science fiction author. When I'm not writing, I'm ferrying my dogs to hiking trails for adventures.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 213 reviews
December 4, 2020
I loved this series. The characters in her books are so lovable each with their own distinct personalities. Do they always do what we might have done. Heck no and that's what makes them fun. How many can say they have a Vampire living in their basement and a dragon boyfriend. Love the series.
January 6, 2024
Secrets of the Sword II is book eight in the Death Before Dragons series by Lindsay Buroker.
I continue to enjoy this world, the characters, and adventures we get to go on with Val.
Val is still looking for information about her sword and is planning to visit the dwarves home world. But, plans get a little side tracked when a half-dwarf thief claiming to be the rightful owner of her sword causes trouble. We’ve also got a police officer that thinks Val’s friend and roommate Dimitri murdered someone with his door knockers. And, Val and Zav are planning their wedding. A lot is going on that keeps you entertained and engaged.
Val goes up agents a formidable enemy. This time there are a lot of undead creatures, twists, surprises, and great fight scenes. I enjoyed the storyline and plot. It’s another solid read.
Rated: 4 Stars
I continue to enjoy this world, the characters, and adventures we get to go on with Val.
Val is still looking for information about her sword and is planning to visit the dwarves home world. But, plans get a little side tracked when a half-dwarf thief claiming to be the rightful owner of her sword causes trouble. We’ve also got a police officer that thinks Val’s friend and roommate Dimitri murdered someone with his door knockers. And, Val and Zav are planning their wedding. A lot is going on that keeps you entertained and engaged.
Val goes up agents a formidable enemy. This time there are a lot of undead creatures, twists, surprises, and great fight scenes. I enjoyed the storyline and plot. It’s another solid read.
Rated: 4 Stars
January 1, 2021
I can't believe I'm 8 books into this series and the heroine still hasn't figure out much about her super cool, kick butt sword. *sigh* At least there was some headway in that department and hopefully she'll find out all the things in the 9th and final book.
Other than that exasperating fact, the banter and whole cast of characters continued to entertain and amuse. It was a nice and easy way to end 2020.
Other than that exasperating fact, the banter and whole cast of characters continued to entertain and amuse. It was a nice and easy way to end 2020.
January 20, 2022
Winding diwn
I Can't believe this is almost over. When I first started this series, I never guessed that we would be ending it with a wedding. It has been a great adventure getting to know Val, Zav, Sindari, and the others.
One more to go.
I Can't believe this is almost over. When I first started this series, I never guessed that we would be ending it with a wedding. It has been a great adventure getting to know Val, Zav, Sindari, and the others.
One more to go.
January 2, 2021
This should be read as part of a series for maximum enjoyment.
Lindsay Buroker's books might work for you if you like humorous, fast paced stories with fantasy or sci fi flavoring. They are more character driven rather than plot driven and not heavy in world building. There is a plot that nicely ties up with each addition to the series as well as an overarching plot for the series but it's still primarily about the character growth and their stories. You likely already know if this type of thing is your jam. Downloading a sample will tell you if the style of humor is your thing as well. There is romance in most of her books but her books but they never take over the story.
Lindsay Buroker's books might work for you if you like humorous, fast paced stories with fantasy or sci fi flavoring. They are more character driven rather than plot driven and not heavy in world building. There is a plot that nicely ties up with each addition to the series as well as an overarching plot for the series but it's still primarily about the character growth and their stories. You likely already know if this type of thing is your jam. Downloading a sample will tell you if the style of humor is your thing as well. There is romance in most of her books but her books but they never take over the story.
April 18, 2023
Val is still trying to learn more about her sword, and then a half-dwarf shows up claiming to be the rightful heir to the powerful magical sword she’s named Chopper. Zav is trying to help Val learn more about Chopper, so agrees to take her to the dwarven home world, but unexpected obstacles are encountered. In the meantime, her boss is still helping plan their wedding and Zav is inviting everyone in sight. I love Val’s indomitable spirit, her sarcastic word play with Zav, and all the quirky characters, especially Val’s family. There’s one more story to come in the Death Before Dragons series, and I look forward to reading it, especially to hear all about the epic wedding.
August 22, 2023
I really like Lindsay Buroker's books and this series is so much fun to read. If you like the series up till this point I am pretty sure you will enjoy this book too. It's one of those series that's pretty consistent in tone and style. I really enjoyed listening to this one and can definitely recommend the audio versions for this series.
In this book Val is still looking for more information about her sword and plans to visit the dwarven home world with her mate Zav. Besides that she has a half dwarf thief to catch for her boss Willard. And there's a police officer that thinks her friend and roommate Dimitri murdered someone with the magical doorknockers he created. Then there is her slowly growing relationships with her daughter Amber and some fun scenes between them. As well as a visit to her mom. And Val and Zav are planning their wedding. There is a lot going which works here and kept my attention. I like reading about these characters and seeing how they deal with things. It all gets wrapped up nicely at the end of the book, while leaving a few things open and setting up a few things for the next book.
I liked that we got to visit the dwarven home world in this book. There isn't a lot about the dwarves in previous books and this book gives a little bit more information about them. There's a formidable enemy as well and I was curious to see how Val would deal with it. And this time there are a lot of undead creatures for them to fight, which was an interesting twist to the fight scenes. It did bother me a bit that someone else was after Val's sword, but it made sense why this person was after Val's sword and nicely tied in with the previous book as well as this book's events.
The plot kept my attention and I was curious how Val and her allies would deal everything. The highlight of these books for me is reading about all the familiar characters, seeing how they deal with things and see the bonds between them change and develop. It's just such a fun read with plenty of action and fantasy elements. There is this comforting feeling I had while reading it of returning to a world and characters I spend a lot of time with already. I like reading about Val and Zav's relationship in these later book when they're actually together and handling things together.
To summarize: this was another solid read in the series. It continues in the same vein as the previous books, but with new things for the characters to deal with. There's a lot going on and not a dull moment. The book is fun to read and there's plenty of action too. This book had some more information about the dwarves as they visit the dwarven home world. And as enemies there are undead for Val and her allies to fight against as well as a formidable enemy they have to deal with. I liked reading more about the familiar characters. And the narration was excellent like the previous books. I look forward to the next book!
In this book Val is still looking for more information about her sword and plans to visit the dwarven home world with her mate Zav. Besides that she has a half dwarf thief to catch for her boss Willard. And there's a police officer that thinks her friend and roommate Dimitri murdered someone with the magical doorknockers he created. Then there is her slowly growing relationships with her daughter Amber and some fun scenes between them. As well as a visit to her mom. And Val and Zav are planning their wedding. There is a lot going which works here and kept my attention. I like reading about these characters and seeing how they deal with things. It all gets wrapped up nicely at the end of the book, while leaving a few things open and setting up a few things for the next book.
I liked that we got to visit the dwarven home world in this book. There isn't a lot about the dwarves in previous books and this book gives a little bit more information about them. There's a formidable enemy as well and I was curious to see how Val would deal with it. And this time there are a lot of undead creatures for them to fight, which was an interesting twist to the fight scenes. It did bother me a bit that someone else was after Val's sword, but it made sense why this person was after Val's sword and nicely tied in with the previous book as well as this book's events.
The plot kept my attention and I was curious how Val and her allies would deal everything. The highlight of these books for me is reading about all the familiar characters, seeing how they deal with things and see the bonds between them change and develop. It's just such a fun read with plenty of action and fantasy elements. There is this comforting feeling I had while reading it of returning to a world and characters I spend a lot of time with already. I like reading about Val and Zav's relationship in these later book when they're actually together and handling things together.
To summarize: this was another solid read in the series. It continues in the same vein as the previous books, but with new things for the characters to deal with. There's a lot going on and not a dull moment. The book is fun to read and there's plenty of action too. This book had some more information about the dwarves as they visit the dwarven home world. And as enemies there are undead for Val and her allies to fight against as well as a formidable enemy they have to deal with. I liked reading more about the familiar characters. And the narration was excellent like the previous books. I look forward to the next book!
March 11, 2023
Back on track and lots of fun and excitement! Still annoying that she doesn’t just LEARN about the sword already! But, there are actual reasons in this installment that made the story exciting. And, looks like it will FINALLY happen in the next (and last) book in this highly entertaining series.
December 2, 2023
Another amazing book!
I can't believe there's only 1 more book in the series! I'm so not ready to say goodbye to these characters!
I can't believe there's only 1 more book in the series! I'm so not ready to say goodbye to these characters!
April 29, 2022
EDIT:
Just finished the 2nd read through and I have to say I'm getting really annoyed with Val, this need to constantly point out how strange or odd she is. Which makes absolutely no sense, cause if she were only half as strange/odd as she claims to be she wouldn't even notice said strange-/oddness, since it would seem normal to her.
Or always going on about how fashion-challenged she is, but at the same time always harping on about things her friends wear, her mom, Dimitri in the beginning, later Zav's footwear. Who cares?!?
In general I find her rather dismissive, sometimes downright condescending towards her friends. Cause obviously none of them are as special or badass as she is... Really not cool!
I noticed all this the first time around, but now reading the series for a second time I find it almost unpalatable and worst of all it seriously distracts from what would otherwise be a brilliant story overall. When I think about it, all of this is a problem of first person POV.
Original review:
We're almost there.
This one was a bit of an up and down journey for me but it got there in the end.
It started out great, fun, humor, promise of an interesting new case/story...
until it started looking more and more like a rehash of the previous book. Maybe I noticed it more cause it was the first time a book of hers felt formulaic.
Val's sudden bouts of stupid didn't help either. It felt like she was being dumbed down for the sake of the story. Though it was kinda in keeping with the storyline something along the lines of taking many wrong turns to get it right in the end...
Still, there was a lot of fun to be had, plenty of action, too.
I'm glad for Val that she gets to spend more time with Amber and to see a touch of humanity in Amber, cause I gotta say she's absolutely horrible for the most part and I'm not talking about the teenage attitude. (yet another thing where I'm reminded of Kate Daniels and her adopted daughter Julie in this case)
Not to forget smoking cave-side hideouts. Nin, Dimitri and Gondo's gizmo tinkering... Willard and Zav's wedding planning (love how excited he is)... And Zav and Xilneth had me laughing so hard, I think I pulled something.
It's also endearing to see that Zav's as much a misfit among his people as Val is among hers.
Just finished the 2nd read through and I have to say I'm getting really annoyed with Val, this need to constantly point out how strange or odd she is. Which makes absolutely no sense, cause if she were only half as strange/odd as she claims to be she wouldn't even notice said strange-/oddness, since it would seem normal to her.
Or always going on about how fashion-challenged she is, but at the same time always harping on about things her friends wear, her mom, Dimitri in the beginning, later Zav's footwear. Who cares?!?
In general I find her rather dismissive, sometimes downright condescending towards her friends. Cause obviously none of them are as special or badass as she is... Really not cool!
I noticed all this the first time around, but now reading the series for a second time I find it almost unpalatable and worst of all it seriously distracts from what would otherwise be a brilliant story overall. When I think about it, all of this is a problem of first person POV.
Original review:
We're almost there.
This one was a bit of an up and down journey for me but it got there in the end.
It started out great, fun, humor, promise of an interesting new case/story...
until it started looking more and more like a rehash of the previous book. Maybe I noticed it more cause it was the first time a book of hers felt formulaic.
Val's sudden bouts of stupid didn't help either. It felt like she was being dumbed down for the sake of the story. Though it was kinda in keeping with the storyline something along the lines of taking many wrong turns to get it right in the end...
Still, there was a lot of fun to be had, plenty of action, too.
I'm glad for Val that she gets to spend more time with Amber and to see a touch of humanity in Amber, cause I gotta say she's absolutely horrible for the most part and I'm not talking about the teenage attitude. (yet another thing where I'm reminded of Kate Daniels and her adopted daughter Julie in this case)
Not to forget smoking cave-side hideouts. Nin, Dimitri and Gondo's gizmo tinkering... Willard and Zav's wedding planning (love how excited he is)... And Zav and Xilneth had me laughing so hard, I think I pulled something.
It's also endearing to see that Zav's as much a misfit among his people as Val is among hers.
March 6, 2022
After listening to the audio of the previous 7 books, I could distinctly hear each character’s unique voice while reading this one...and I loved it 😆 Once again the author knows how to deliver an awesome story with an amazing plot, characters, banters, dialogues and let’s not forget a healthy dose of sarcasm.
It is still a bit exasperating that Val hasn’t learnt anything new about her sword yet but it didn’t really take away from the overall awesomeness of this book. I still love Zav & Val. They still have explosive chemistry and a great relationship with open & honest communication. I have neglected to mention this in previous reviews but I love Val’s extensive vocabulary. She’s a triple threat…Beauty, Brawn and Brains.
Looking forward to seeing how things are wrapped up and super excited for the upcoming wedding.
CONTENT
Romance: One explicit scene (very brief & not very detailed)
Violence: Moderate
Language: Mild
It is still a bit exasperating that Val hasn’t learnt anything new about her sword yet but it didn’t really take away from the overall awesomeness of this book. I still love Zav & Val. They still have explosive chemistry and a great relationship with open & honest communication. I have neglected to mention this in previous reviews but I love Val’s extensive vocabulary. She’s a triple threat…Beauty, Brawn and Brains.
Looking forward to seeing how things are wrapped up and super excited for the upcoming wedding.
CONTENT
Romance: One explicit scene (very brief & not very detailed)
Violence: Moderate
Language: Mild
June 24, 2021
You know a book is mysteriously good when you try to explain it to a friend, and have to explain goblins making a ill-made hot tub, and a dragon wearing yellow crocs. As with all books I have read by Lindsay Buroker, the characters are absolutely delightful. I will never stop loving the middle aged warrior women with relationship issues and pro-therapy mentalities. Getting to see grown women learn to be better daughters, parents, and partners while battling evil and doing home repairs in my new favorite kind of fantasy.
Yes, these books are absolutely silly, and yet, they pull me in every time with the witty banter, and over the top characters.
Yes, these books are absolutely silly, and yet, they pull me in every time with the witty banter, and over the top characters.
April 19, 2021
I Loved this series, i recommend that you start with Mist and Magic which is book 0.5 and read through in order
A very slow burn romance
The worlds are intriguing
I look forward to reading about the therapy sessions for the Half Elf assassin
The secondary characters are so interesting and fun
A very slow burn romance
The worlds are intriguing
I look forward to reading about the therapy sessions for the Half Elf assassin
The secondary characters are so interesting and fun
January 2, 2021
First - READ THIS BOOK (and the others in the series.)
Second - My rating rules only give 5-star (*****) if it is EXCEPTIONAL: Faultless, awe-inspiring; a good ambassador for the genre, deserving broad readership; potentially a classic of the genre.
If it wasn't for the fact that I have this restriction I would rank this book at the top. (Too many give 5 stars just because they liked a book, without any thought to how it compares to the great books).
I have NEVER read a Buroker book that I did not thoroughly enjoy. This is no exception. The characters, the dialogue, the pace of the book are great. It is entertaining, it is fun. This is one of her best series yet and I am going to regret when it finishes. But I know that she will then write another that I will get wrapped up in and enjoy.
Second - My rating rules only give 5-star (*****) if it is EXCEPTIONAL: Faultless, awe-inspiring; a good ambassador for the genre, deserving broad readership; potentially a classic of the genre.
If it wasn't for the fact that I have this restriction I would rank this book at the top. (Too many give 5 stars just because they liked a book, without any thought to how it compares to the great books).
I have NEVER read a Buroker book that I did not thoroughly enjoy. This is no exception. The characters, the dialogue, the pace of the book are great. It is entertaining, it is fun. This is one of her best series yet and I am going to regret when it finishes. But I know that she will then write another that I will get wrapped up in and enjoy.
February 2, 2021
How can it be almost the end of the series already? And we're still none the wiser about the sword--though I should've guessed it when the last book turned out to be entitled Secrets of the Sword III. It's not for lack of trying though, that Val didn't learn more. A pesky undead dragon simply turned out to be an opponent almost too tough for even Zav. But I'm hopeful we'll learn everything we need in the last book. And if not, there's the epic wedding to look forward to. How they're ever going to pull that off, I have no idea. But I'm definitely going to find out.
January 3, 2021
Unexpected Ghostly Romp
The story I expected didn’t come until after the halfway mark of this novel. I admit, hanging out with Val, Zav, Amber, Willard and even Gondo is a guilty pleasure of mine, though, so I didn’t mind the delay.
It took most of the book, but we finally learned the sword’s real (and nearly as pompous as a dragon’s) name. The adventuring included zombies, ghostly creations or would they all be considered animated skeletons?
I’m equally eager and sad for the next book in the series. I always hate saying goodbye to characters I adore.
The story I expected didn’t come until after the halfway mark of this novel. I admit, hanging out with Val, Zav, Amber, Willard and even Gondo is a guilty pleasure of mine, though, so I didn’t mind the delay.
It took most of the book, but we finally learned the sword’s real (and nearly as pompous as a dragon’s) name. The adventuring included zombies, ghostly creations or would they all be considered animated skeletons?
I’m equally eager and sad for the next book in the series. I always hate saying goodbye to characters I adore.
February 14, 2021
Back on form with this one, 4 stars.
February 16, 2021
4.5 rounded up
I’m honestly not sure what I like the most about this series, the snark, the action, the mythos or her sword. All of it?
I’m honestly not sure what I like the most about this series, the snark, the action, the mythos or her sword. All of it?
March 29, 2021
Awesome, it only took so long because I didn't want it to end :D
June 17, 2021
4 stars
June 20, 2021
This series is just fantastic. I would say the fight scenes in this are a little less epic than before but Val's interaction with everyone around her entertains me to no end. It's just so funny.
April 16, 2023
4.5 stars
Once again, terrific book in this series. Lots of excitement.
Once again, terrific book in this series. Lots of excitement.
May 15, 2024
Quick read, but not the most exciting in the series.
July 27, 2023
There’s nothing I can say about this book that I haven’t said before - great book, story, characters, dialogue etc.
February 24, 2025
Fun Urban Fantasy
I really enjoy this series. Val gets into all kinds of trouble and manages to get herself out with the help of her friends.
I really enjoy this series. Val gets into all kinds of trouble and manages to get herself out with the help of her friends.
January 15, 2021
Just when I think there's nowhere left to take these characters and no way to make a new problem seem worse than the last, Buroker writes yet another fun romp full of new dangers. I can't wait to see how the wedding turns out in the next book!
May 1, 2021
Okay. So Val's trying to learn more about her sword and Zav is off doing dragon-y things. Which sometimes involves nudity, as Val's mother found out. That's not really the point, but still. Zav doesn't mind flashing the goods and Val's mom got an accidental eyeful. Heh.
Anywho. Val and Zav are doing their things and (as you might expect) sometimes those things are a wee bit dangerous. Especially when a half-dwarf with access to powerful artifacts keeps popping up to pester Val. Double especially when Zav keeps getting called back to help with issues of a family variety and Val's not good at sitting around doing nothing until he returns.
A trip or two to the dwarven home world, a bunch of undead baddies who just.won't.stop until they're pretty much pulverized to dust, a fair amount of wedding planning, and a couple who can't seem to keep their hands or lips off one another. Seriously, Val and Zav are kind of hilarious when they lose themselves in one another.
Val figuring out the secrets and history of her sword might be slow going, but BOY is it a fun ride.
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
Anywho. Val and Zav are doing their things and (as you might expect) sometimes those things are a wee bit dangerous. Especially when a half-dwarf with access to powerful artifacts keeps popping up to pester Val. Double especially when Zav keeps getting called back to help with issues of a family variety and Val's not good at sitting around doing nothing until he returns.
A trip or two to the dwarven home world, a bunch of undead baddies who just.won't.stop until they're pretty much pulverized to dust, a fair amount of wedding planning, and a couple who can't seem to keep their hands or lips off one another. Seriously, Val and Zav are kind of hilarious when they lose themselves in one another.
Val figuring out the secrets and history of her sword might be slow going, but BOY is it a fun ride.
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
November 20, 2021
Still no real clue about the secrets of the sword 🤣
Maybe in the final book we will find out it’s true potential.
Looking forward to seeing how vals Mum goes seeing her dad again.
Next book I’ve been told is the last ……. Let’s see how it goes. I really really enjoyed this series. Zav and sandaris characters sense of humour I really do love as well as the goblins 🤣🤣
I do see on goodreads tho that there’s a book 10 possibly in the near future? …….. ahhhhh
Maybe in the final book we will find out it’s true potential.
Looking forward to seeing how vals Mum goes seeing her dad again.
Next book I’ve been told is the last ……. Let’s see how it goes. I really really enjoyed this series. Zav and sandaris characters sense of humour I really do love as well as the goblins 🤣🤣
I do see on goodreads tho that there’s a book 10 possibly in the near future? …….. ahhhhh
January 5, 2021
Love this series and it just gets better and better! If you want a rollicking good time, action, swords, snarky characters, and a dragon shifter romance (with attitude) this a book and series for you. I recommend it anytime I get the chance!
October 18, 2023
I have skipped over doing reviews for most of the books in this series, but I am going to do one here because it wasn't as enjoyable for me as the others have been. Firstly, it feels like a tale of two halves, and the first one feels like a huge waste of time. I didn't care about almost anything in the first half of this book.
In this series, there has been a tendency for the author to have maybe one too many things going on with the plot threads in the books. I usually overlook this, but honestly it got kind of egregious in this one. The Demitri plot thread could have just not existed. It felt like an afterthought anyway. The 'fake boyfriend' thread, could have done without that too. The fey checking on Val's mom thread, didn't really go with anything else either. The only thing I liked that much from the first half of the book was the appearance of a love interest for Val's mom. She deserves that. And he seemed nice so far.
The second half of this book was more interesting and felt more like a book worth reading. But, it did something that irritated me enough that I took notes. There are times in other books in this series where minor inconsistencies show up, but I usually overlook them because they are so minor. So I also don't normally comment on them. This one had one that really irked me, but know that reading about it, there is an unavoidable spoiler:
The thief character and Val end up traveling together, trying to hide from large groups of creatures that are much more powerful than they are. The thief character no longer has her stealth charm. And TWICE Val uses her stealth charm on herself and wills Chopper to hide the thief character from their pursuers. It clearly works both times. Then, after the thief character steals Chopper from Val, they are separated (by the thief running away while Val is unconscious), but both still pursued. And Val talks about how "I grimaced, realizing Li would have a harder time hiding now. Unless she knew better than I how to use Chopper and could summon some magical camouflage from it." Val... honey... you just did it on behalf of a person several feet from yourself, twice. What do you mean she has to know how to use it better than you to be able to camouflage HERSELF with it...?
Beyond all that, we don't learn anything new about the sword in this book beyond it's real name. LEARNING THE SECRETS OF THE SWORD WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE POINT OF THIS BOOK! Look at the name of this book!!!! This is "Secrets of the Sword II"!!! This book was mostly a waste of time when it felt like it was supposed to be something else. All of that has me ding it down to a 3 star review. I mean, I didn't really want to read this book because it wasn't about anything I cared about and it wasn't giving me the story it was billed as either. It took me several days to read this one because I kept putting it down. I will still check out the final book in this series, since it is the highest reviewed one, and supposedly she finally learns about her sword. I also imagine the wedding is fully contained within it as well, as there is only the one remaining book, so it should live up to it's billing at least about what it's ABOUT.
In this series, there has been a tendency for the author to have maybe one too many things going on with the plot threads in the books. I usually overlook this, but honestly it got kind of egregious in this one. The Demitri plot thread could have just not existed. It felt like an afterthought anyway. The 'fake boyfriend' thread, could have done without that too. The fey checking on Val's mom thread, didn't really go with anything else either. The only thing I liked that much from the first half of the book was the appearance of a love interest for Val's mom. She deserves that. And he seemed nice so far.
The second half of this book was more interesting and felt more like a book worth reading. But, it did something that irritated me enough that I took notes. There are times in other books in this series where minor inconsistencies show up, but I usually overlook them because they are so minor. So I also don't normally comment on them. This one had one that really irked me, but know that reading about it, there is an unavoidable spoiler:
The thief character and Val end up traveling together, trying to hide from large groups of creatures that are much more powerful than they are. The thief character no longer has her stealth charm. And TWICE Val uses her stealth charm on herself and wills Chopper to hide the thief character from their pursuers. It clearly works both times. Then, after the thief character steals Chopper from Val, they are separated (by the thief running away while Val is unconscious), but both still pursued. And Val talks about how "I grimaced, realizing Li would have a harder time hiding now. Unless she knew better than I how to use Chopper and could summon some magical camouflage from it." Val... honey... you just did it on behalf of a person several feet from yourself, twice. What do you mean she has to know how to use it better than you to be able to camouflage HERSELF with it...?
Beyond all that, we don't learn anything new about the sword in this book beyond it's real name. LEARNING THE SECRETS OF THE SWORD WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE POINT OF THIS BOOK! Look at the name of this book!!!! This is "Secrets of the Sword II"!!! This book was mostly a waste of time when it felt like it was supposed to be something else. All of that has me ding it down to a 3 star review. I mean, I didn't really want to read this book because it wasn't about anything I cared about and it wasn't giving me the story it was billed as either. It took me several days to read this one because I kept putting it down. I will still check out the final book in this series, since it is the highest reviewed one, and supposedly she finally learns about her sword. I also imagine the wedding is fully contained within it as well, as there is only the one remaining book, so it should live up to it's billing at least about what it's ABOUT.
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