E.L. Deards

The Lavender Blade presents an inventive premise and leans heavily into character-driven storytelling. The novel blends humor, tension, and darker speculative elements while exploring trust, identity, and survival within a sharply divided society.
The relationship at the center of the story develops gradually and adds emotional depth, grounding the supernatural aspects in something personal and human. The supporting cast is memorable and helps balance the heavier moments with warmth and show more levity.
This is a genre-blending read that takes creative risks and won’t appeal equally to all readers, but those who enjoy queer speculative fiction with strong character dynamics and a willingness to push tonal boundaries will find a lot to appreciate here. show less

2.5 stars rounded to 3

"The Lavender Blade" is an example of a book with an interesting premise, a start that promises it might live up to the premise, only to be disappointed by the lack of meaningful development that ensues. The pacing is a bit too frenetic in the relationship between the main characters, and the world and humor itself seems a bit half-hearted.

That is not to say that there wasn't anything of value, or that the book was a complete waste of time. It's just that, much like show more our male lead's relationship with his pet pig, the emotions are a bit lackluster and filled with half-baked potential. show less

I have to say, the first half of this had me gripped, it's a really entertaining romantasy with some interesting worldbuilding as part of the premise. The characters are excellent, well fleshed out, and their banter is top notch. But I'll admit this was a DNF for me, despite my best efforts. The pacing of the second half just wasn't as engaging as the first half, and while I loved the light-hearted and humorous aspects of the writing, they didn't gel well with some of the darker content like show more Lucian's kidnapping, which felt like an about face turn tonal shift. The blend of genres is really interesting, but perhaps just wasn't for me - other romantasy fans may love it! show less

TLDR, this book is sweet without being saccharine and compelling, with enough thrill and stakes to keep you engaged without being stressful. Also, I forgot on my initial review so as an update the narrator was fantastic and I loved how they distinguished characters without doing over the top voices.
I loved the characters (or loved to hate them) and wanted to stay with them and know more of each of their stories. The worldbuilding was good without being too expositional and I think there’s show more room for more stories with these characters and in this world that I hope the author will explore, including characters mentioned but not seen in this story (someone’s mom, for example, hypothetically…) and an entire district just glossed over.
There were occasional spots where the pacing was a tad slow for my taste, but overall I honestly can’t think of any real complaints or feedback and would recommend the book to those who enjoy fantasy, particularly urban fantasy that’s not quite modern (think maybe Regency/Victorian era vibes).
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. show less