Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher

TL;DR: Delightfully fun with a unique side character.
Source: NetGalley, so many thanks to the publisher!

Plot: Edmund accidentally pulls a sword out and an ‘angel’ saves him – ha.
Characters: I know the quirky characters Kingfisher writes are not always people’s favorites but I adore them.
Setting: For Kingfisher fans, this is familiar land but it’s a diverse and interesting place for new readers as well.
Fantasy/Romance: The romance in here was sweet as usual, and the fantasy is solid.

Summary:

Learned Edmund, a disillusioned scholar, is transporting yet another precious relic from one stuffy temple to a different stuffy temple. Another great adventure for the ages…

But when Edmund is set upon by bandits, in desperation, he breaks the cardinal rule and grabs for the relic, an ancient sword. To his surprise, instead of unsheathing a rusty, ancient weapon, an alarmingly handsome man appears, wielding daggers of blue steel and cutting the thieves down.

This man is the Dervish, an immortal warrior who’s been trapped for centuries in a sword of enchanted steel, and is angry as hell about it. He hates the curse that put him there, and he wants to hate Edmund, just as he has hated every wielder before him.

But the damned scholar is just so sweet and clever and kind. And while the Dervish may be able to protect Edmund from bandits, cultists, dragons, and strange inhuman diplomats, he may find it much harder to protect his own heart.

Thoughts:

T. Kingfisher is the most reliable author I know. It doesn’t matter what she writes, the chances that I’ll read it and enjoy are incredibly high. So I have to say, this is probably a biased review. Daggerbound was a lot of fun. This one is the sequel to Swordheart, something like 5 years in the making. As always, it was a delight.

The Dervish, our cursed and sword bound MC, is a deadly but pretty boy type character that cracked me up. He’s angry he’s stuck in the sword, he’s deeply traumatized, but he’s also fun. Edmund however is his complete opposite. The little skinny scholar would rather save books and a grouchy mule then worry about his own skin. The two make for a fun back and forth, and don’t even get me started on the absolute joy of the side characters.

Sometimes I do wonder, if T. Kingfisher were to write an epic fantasy without romance how it would read. Her side characters are always incredibly creative and diverse and my favorite parts of the books. I think perhaps that’s why I love her shorter works and horror works a bit more than her fantasy. Large Frances and Dog Violet here are the characters that truly carried this story for me, as much as I did really like Dervish and Edmund.

Overall, as usual, I will recommend Kingfisher. It’s not a full 5 stars, but damn close and I will be adding this one to my physical collection as well.