The Lavender Blade: An Exorcist's Chronicle

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 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 show more here. 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 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!

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 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 show more 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

Most excellent indeed - romance w/ the gross bits, a logical plotline, a great story, and puns/bad jokes! I also appreciated that there is no insta-foregiveness/accepting that his partner is no longer possessed by a demon, it was far more believable than most fiction in this area.

There were a few things I was a bit uncertain on - like how did the Prime Minister go from ordering a complete destruction of the Iron District and it's peoples to rebuilding it (and a full 180° on other policies) without being ousted? (Granted it's politics so it wouldn't make sense either way.)

The only other thing I wished the book explored more was Colton's tattoos and exorcist "bloodline"/"tribe" - I feel like it was kind of glossed over/just background show more information. And while that made sense in the plot - it seemed like a big piece of background knowledge we never quite learned about.

Also - fully admire the staff just going along with everything like nothing out of the ordinary is happening - the staff gossip must be fantastic. And this story from their point of view would be quite amusing... show less

This book surprised me — not in its premise, but in how it unfolded. I genuinely enjoyed the connection between the characters, and the imaginative world had real potential. But the pacing felt uneven, and around the three-quarter mark, I found myself drifting. It wasn’t the author’s imagination that lost me — it was the storytelling. I love when a book lets me step fully into its world, but here, the writing style kept me at a distance. I felt more like an observer than a participant, and that disconnect made it harder to stay immersed.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC via a Librarything giveaway.

The Lavender Blade is a book with great promise and a few things going right for it. Sadly, it is let down in part by either formatting and/or marketing.
The primary problem that the book has is that it isn’t quite what the blurb on the back suggests. Yes, it does involve a gay couple who do fake exorcisms. But much of the book, roughly half, is about the two interesting young men becoming a couple. That would have been fine, except the blurb makes it sound like they are an established couple, which when the book opens, they are not. When the book opens, they don’t even know each other. This makes half the book feel like a set up for the second half.
It would have worked show more better if the book was divided, at the very least, in two sections. Honesty, I think two short novellas would work better. But the sections would work, and make the time jump stronger- because it doesn’t feel like much of a time jump. But the upshot is that the laying of the ground work makes the book feel bloated, and the reader getting increasingly annoyed that the plot on the back of the book hasn’t started yet.
In fairness that undoubtedly more of a marketing or publisher problem. Though, I have to admit, I think starting the book with Colton and Lucien already as a couple would have worked far better and would have lent itself to be better pacing. It felt like there were almost too many side quests and that important events, like Lucian and Colton falling deeply in love, happened off page.
The bloated feeling of the book is a shame because there are glimmers of the start of a really good series here. The main couple, when actually shown to be interacting with each other are attractive and fun to hang out with. (Though the whole relationship being frowned upon doesn’t really raise to any real level in the book either). There are some truly great hints at world building. The supporting characters are well drawn, and there is a slight sense of Jane Austen plotting around the whole thing which at times is charming. I wouldn’t mind visiting the world again.
In short, the book has a good idea but it needs a bit more workshopping. show less

Plot:
Colton comes from a long line of exorcists, but he doubts that demons are actually real. That doesn't keep him from earning his meager living with what he learned. Things change when Lucian, Lord Beaumont, clocks him. Instead of turning him in for fraud, Lucian suggests that they work together and bring Colton's skills to a much richer audience. Things go well and the two become closer. But neither their work, nor their relationship are well-regarded by everyone, especially not Lucian's ruthless father.

The Lavender Blade had me hooked, so I finished it in only a few days. Despite some weaknesses in the plotting and the narrative structure, I enjoyed it for the characters, its sense of humor and the good chemistry between the show more central pair.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2026/01/04/the-lavender-blade-e-l-deards/ show less