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An Edge Sharp Enough #1
An Edge Sharp Enough
Not yet published
Expected 16 Mar 27In a brilliant departure from the novels that made Jesse Q. Sutanto a USA Today bestselling author—including Dial A for Aunties—comes the first book in a debut dark fantasy duology, following an assassin, a scholar, a con man, and a guard in a race to rediscover powerful lost magic and save their world...
Mara has no memory of life before her assassin training behind the fortress-like walls of Tchu-Morrokhai, which has been her world since she was five. Practicing discipline and strategy, sacrifice and solitude, she has dedicated herself to resisting the Divine Empress’s plans of eradicating the all-but-forgotten magic. She longs for a world once again filled with magic—and freedom and love. And she’ll do whatever it takes to find those things.
In the faraway city of Velingard, Livya is the privileged daughter of the revered scientist whose invention of an indestructible new metal was the catalyst for a great revolution. Yet Livya’s bored of suitors and balls, more interested in philosophical debates. But when an invite to a secret salon leads to a kidnapping attempt, Livya is suddenly on the run—with the unlikely aid of charming con man Kaian, a once dear childhood friend inexplicably turned frosty stranger.
Captain Fonde has served Velingard faithfully in the twenty years since the revolution, and all has been peaceful... until now, when he’s informed that their “indestructible” metal is inexplicably starting to crumble. Ships, bridges, buildings, statues—their entire post-revolution world is literally about to come apart. Could it be that the metal—and therefore the revolution—was flawed all along? Or is there something darker—evil, ancient, inhuman—at play?
With stunning world-building, Jesse Q. Sutanto weaves an epic tale of characters whose lives irrevocably intertwine—and unravel—as paths collide across continents, racing toward an explosive twist that will forever change all of their fates...
Mara has no memory of life before her assassin training behind the fortress-like walls of Tchu-Morrokhai, which has been her world since she was five. Practicing discipline and strategy, sacrifice and solitude, she has dedicated herself to resisting the Divine Empress’s plans of eradicating the all-but-forgotten magic. She longs for a world once again filled with magic—and freedom and love. And she’ll do whatever it takes to find those things.
In the faraway city of Velingard, Livya is the privileged daughter of the revered scientist whose invention of an indestructible new metal was the catalyst for a great revolution. Yet Livya’s bored of suitors and balls, more interested in philosophical debates. But when an invite to a secret salon leads to a kidnapping attempt, Livya is suddenly on the run—with the unlikely aid of charming con man Kaian, a once dear childhood friend inexplicably turned frosty stranger.
Captain Fonde has served Velingard faithfully in the twenty years since the revolution, and all has been peaceful... until now, when he’s informed that their “indestructible” metal is inexplicably starting to crumble. Ships, bridges, buildings, statues—their entire post-revolution world is literally about to come apart. Could it be that the metal—and therefore the revolution—was flawed all along? Or is there something darker—evil, ancient, inhuman—at play?
With stunning world-building, Jesse Q. Sutanto weaves an epic tale of characters whose lives irrevocably intertwine—and unravel—as paths collide across continents, racing toward an explosive twist that will forever change all of their fates...
368 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication August 11, 2026
3 people are currently reading
646 people want to read
About the author
Jesse Q. Sutanto
27 books9,322 followersJesse Q Sutanto grew up shuttling back and forth between Jakarta and Singapore and sees both cities as her homes. She has a Masters degree from Oxford University, though she has yet to figure out a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. She is currently living back in Jakarta on the same street as her parents and about seven hundred meddlesome aunties. When she's not tearing out her hair over her latest WIP, she spends her time baking and playing FPS games. Oh, and also being a mom to her two kids.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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January 5, 2026Releases Aug 2026
I was very fortunate to receive an e-ARC super early. I won’t rate because honestly I’m still wrapping my head around the whole thing. Props to the author for the beautiful writing style and wording - just made it flow so effortlessly.
A fantasy story filled with a lot of political intrigue. This land/continent is on the brink of collapse. The elemental magic in their land (referred to as “Art”) is gone, an empress is waging war and taking over territories one by one and more plots are underway. On one side of the continent we have Tchu - our main character here is Mara. Mara is in training at the institute to become an emissary (a soldier), taken at the age of 5 to enter training, she is the runt, physically weak - but her mind and affinity for magic are strong. What keeps her going is her forbidden love/crush on her fellow trainee Lia. On the other side, we have Velingard - a more civilized society on the other side of a shaky revolution. The main characters here are Livya, Cerra, Kaian and Commander Fonde. A scholar/socialite, her lady’s maid/adopted sister, a low class thief/magic wielder and a soldier. All four are interconnected when murders, a political plots and odd magical occurrences start to ramp up. There is a complicated mix of beliefs (gods and demons), metallurgy and an elemental magic system. And I won’t get into the details because it won’t be brief. This story was filled with twists and turns, and honestly a plot twist I never saw coming. I think I went into this thinking romantasy - and I don’t think it’s quite that - I think this is more fantasy/science fiction, there is romance/love, but it’s not the focus. (At least I didn’t think so)
I was very fortunate to receive an e-ARC super early. I won’t rate because honestly I’m still wrapping my head around the whole thing. Props to the author for the beautiful writing style and wording - just made it flow so effortlessly.
A fantasy story filled with a lot of political intrigue. This land/continent is on the brink of collapse. The elemental magic in their land (referred to as “Art”) is gone, an empress is waging war and taking over territories one by one and more plots are underway. On one side of the continent we have Tchu - our main character here is Mara. Mara is in training at the institute to become an emissary (a soldier), taken at the age of 5 to enter training, she is the runt, physically weak - but her mind and affinity for magic are strong. What keeps her going is her forbidden love/crush on her fellow trainee Lia. On the other side, we have Velingard - a more civilized society on the other side of a shaky revolution. The main characters here are Livya, Cerra, Kaian and Commander Fonde. A scholar/socialite, her lady’s maid/adopted sister, a low class thief/magic wielder and a soldier. All four are interconnected when murders, a political plots and odd magical occurrences start to ramp up. There is a complicated mix of beliefs (gods and demons), metallurgy and an elemental magic system. And I won’t get into the details because it won’t be brief. This story was filled with twists and turns, and honestly a plot twist I never saw coming. I think I went into this thinking romantasy - and I don’t think it’s quite that - I think this is more fantasy/science fiction, there is romance/love, but it’s not the focus. (At least I didn’t think so)
Read
March 7, 2026*early work perk read*
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early review copy.
When I started reading this book, it was slated for an August 2026 publication, but after I finished, I see a publication date of March 2027 is now listed. So I don't know when it will be published!
world-building: solid
POV: four - I wished there were not as many POVs (although I can't pick one that I would get rid of, either)
characters: a bit frustrating, some of them were very stupid.
pacing: slow - I often lost my focus and set the book down, I wished for a tighter plot. This is my biggest complaint about the book: it just did not hold my attention.
magic-system: interesting, but confusing, "Art" is like a chi, a spirit that is present in everything (people, animals, plants, stars, shadows, rocks, even "the space between air"), and can be drawn out and woven into spells; it used to be abundant and commonly used, but in the last century is has mysteriously dried up. And from this "Art" are also dark demons from another dimension. Maybe.
Things I liked:
I thought I had this all figured out, but I missed one key detail, and that's all due to Sutanto's cleverness. Well done!
Things I didn't like:
Things took too long to get started.
Read alikes:
This is high fantasy, set in a world where magic has inexplicably disappeared. Some of the characters are very young, and at times this reads like YA. This might appeal to fans of Robert Jackson Bennett.
Is this a series? Maybe! The ending seems to set things up for a sequel.
This is one of those straight-up fantasy-world fantasies, complete with place names, jobs, weapons, abilities, religions, cultures, continents, and histories that I had to quickly learn to keep track of. It's ... a lot at first. Once published, there will be a map (and hopefully a glossary) to help new readers, but I read an arc so I was on my own! Each chapter is from a different POV, and at first the connections between characters was unknown, so I found myself getting attached to one character and then poof! dumped into a completely different world with different characters. I had a hard time staying engaged.
Mara, in Tchu-Morrokhai, was taken as a baby and raised in The Institute, a school of “Emissaries” (aka assassins), trained by the Elders, and forbidden to make friends with any classmates (and they seem to be encouraged to attack and even kill each other - I'm not sure how THAT fosters national pride, but what do I know about training to be an Emissary). Kaian, across the ocean, is a Kazgarthian orphan now living in Velingard, and surviving on his wits and the money he makes as a tavern worker and a petty thief. Livya Bellevue, also in Velingard, is an elite rich girl, the child of two famed scientists, and formerly Kaian's childhood friend; Livya is so elite that she lives with a paid companion, aka Sectator, Cerra. (I struggled with the fact that a "Sectator" felt a lot like a slave). Commander Fonde, the only adult in the mix, is captain of the police (aka Vigils) in Velingard.
Some of the characters do act a bit too "YA" and this made the tone of the book feel a little confusing at times. Mara is absolutely obsessed with her classmate, Lia, to the point where this is her complete personality. (I confess I kept getting the names “Mara” and “Lia” confused, and I wish Sutanto had chosen more dissimilar names so I could keep them straight - it doesn't help that there's also a Livya in the book. All the names in the universe, and we get Mara, Lia, Cerra, and Livya to contend with.) Lia returns the feelings, but unfortunately for both of them, friendship and romance is absolutely forbidden in their school, on pain of death by stoning. This seemed extreme, but I was willing to accept it, since, ya know, "fantasy world rules" and all that.
Kaian is also feeling pretty obsessed with rich socialite Livya, and that was a whole lot of teenaged obsession to be carried in a non-YA novel. Luckily, the fifth character, Fonde, does not have googly eyes for anyone. In fact, his character was so different that I sometimes wondered why he was there. I think he provided backstory for how the revolution happened and how it affected the country, since he lived through that.
Livya is kind of stupid. I lost count of the number of tines Kaian cautioned her to hang back, and she darted past him insisting she had to do whatever. Once, I can see. Twice, maybe. But why didn't she learn her lesson? Her stupid headstrong insistence got people killed. How many people have to die before you catch a clue, Livya?
Metallurgy is important to the plot. A deified former emperor, Eziri, discovered that dracerium was effective in repelling “demons,” so he gathered a lot of that. Lyvia’s mother, Dr. Yohana Bellevue, invented adther, (created by putting adtherium on dracerium), which is now used everywhere, since it was believed to be indestructible. This is a key plot element, and it didn't completely make sense. If a metal is indestructible, how do you form it and carve it? That’s never explained. And why would it be cheap, if it's not plentiful? And who builds houses out of metal??
In the Author's Notes, Sutanto explains that this was actually her very first book, it was based on the many hours she spent playing World of Warcraft, but it was never accepted by a publisher back then so she shelved it. Until now! I never played WoW so I missed any easter eggs she hid in the book. I'm sure that will be fun for any fans.
When I started reading this book, it was slated for an August 2026 publication, but after I finished, I see a publication date of March 2027 is now listed. So I don't know when it will be published!
world-building: solid
POV: four - I wished there were not as many POVs (although I can't pick one that I would get rid of, either)
characters: a bit frustrating, some of them were very stupid.
pacing: slow - I often lost my focus and set the book down, I wished for a tighter plot. This is my biggest complaint about the book: it just did not hold my attention.
magic-system: interesting, but confusing, "Art" is like a chi, a spirit that is present in everything (people, animals, plants, stars, shadows, rocks, even "the space between air"), and can be drawn out and woven into spells; it used to be abundant and commonly used, but in the last century is has mysteriously dried up. And from this "Art" are also dark demons from another dimension. Maybe.
Things I liked:
I thought I had this all figured out, but I missed one key detail, and that's all due to Sutanto's cleverness. Well done!
Things I didn't like:
Things took too long to get started.
Read alikes:
This is high fantasy, set in a world where magic has inexplicably disappeared. Some of the characters are very young, and at times this reads like YA. This might appeal to fans of Robert Jackson Bennett.
Is this a series? Maybe! The ending seems to set things up for a sequel.
This is one of those straight-up fantasy-world fantasies, complete with place names, jobs, weapons, abilities, religions, cultures, continents, and histories that I had to quickly learn to keep track of. It's ... a lot at first. Once published, there will be a map (and hopefully a glossary) to help new readers, but I read an arc so I was on my own! Each chapter is from a different POV, and at first the connections between characters was unknown, so I found myself getting attached to one character and then poof! dumped into a completely different world with different characters. I had a hard time staying engaged.
Mara, in Tchu-Morrokhai, was taken as a baby and raised in The Institute, a school of “Emissaries” (aka assassins), trained by the Elders, and forbidden to make friends with any classmates (and they seem to be encouraged to attack and even kill each other - I'm not sure how THAT fosters national pride, but what do I know about training to be an Emissary). Kaian, across the ocean, is a Kazgarthian orphan now living in Velingard, and surviving on his wits and the money he makes as a tavern worker and a petty thief. Livya Bellevue, also in Velingard, is an elite rich girl, the child of two famed scientists, and formerly Kaian's childhood friend; Livya is so elite that she lives with a paid companion, aka Sectator, Cerra. (I struggled with the fact that a "Sectator" felt a lot like a slave). Commander Fonde, the only adult in the mix, is captain of the police (aka Vigils) in Velingard.
Some of the characters do act a bit too "YA" and this made the tone of the book feel a little confusing at times. Mara is absolutely obsessed with her classmate, Lia, to the point where this is her complete personality. (I confess I kept getting the names “Mara” and “Lia” confused, and I wish Sutanto had chosen more dissimilar names so I could keep them straight - it doesn't help that there's also a Livya in the book. All the names in the universe, and we get Mara, Lia, Cerra, and Livya to contend with.) Lia returns the feelings, but unfortunately for both of them, friendship and romance is absolutely forbidden in their school, on pain of death by stoning. This seemed extreme, but I was willing to accept it, since, ya know, "fantasy world rules" and all that.
Kaian is also feeling pretty obsessed with rich socialite Livya, and that was a whole lot of teenaged obsession to be carried in a non-YA novel. Luckily, the fifth character, Fonde, does not have googly eyes for anyone. In fact, his character was so different that I sometimes wondered why he was there. I think he provided backstory for how the revolution happened and how it affected the country, since he lived through that.
Livya is kind of stupid. I lost count of the number of tines Kaian cautioned her to hang back, and she darted past him insisting she had to do whatever. Once, I can see. Twice, maybe. But why didn't she learn her lesson? Her stupid headstrong insistence got people killed. How many people have to die before you catch a clue, Livya?
Metallurgy is important to the plot. A deified former emperor, Eziri, discovered that dracerium was effective in repelling “demons,” so he gathered a lot of that. Lyvia’s mother, Dr. Yohana Bellevue, invented adther, (created by putting adtherium on dracerium), which is now used everywhere, since it was believed to be indestructible. This is a key plot element, and it didn't completely make sense. If a metal is indestructible, how do you form it and carve it? That’s never explained. And why would it be cheap, if it's not plentiful? And who builds houses out of metal??
In the Author's Notes, Sutanto explains that this was actually her very first book, it was based on the many hours she spent playing World of Warcraft, but it was never accepted by a publisher back then so she shelved it. Until now! I never played WoW so I missed any easter eggs she hid in the book. I'm sure that will be fun for any fans.
Did not finish
March 10, 2026DNF at 20%
I know this author writes primarily contemporary books, so I was expecting the world-building to be a bit clunky, but unfortunately there just isn't any element of this that is working for me.
The writing style reads on the much younger side of YA, in a way that can sometimes work in adult contemporary books, but is very disorienting in an adult fantasy. The dialogue is clunky, like the author knew exactly what she wants the reader to get out of each interaction, but not how to write it in a way that sounds like an actual human conversation. The exposition comes in awkwardly timed rambles. The characters read as too eloquent when they're children and frustratingly juvenile when they're young adults — the latter of which wouldn't be as much of a problem if their characterizations weren't also extremely flat.
It was honestly a struggle just to reach the 20% mark. I'm sure this will work for some people, but I'm not one of them.
I know this author writes primarily contemporary books, so I was expecting the world-building to be a bit clunky, but unfortunately there just isn't any element of this that is working for me.
The writing style reads on the much younger side of YA, in a way that can sometimes work in adult contemporary books, but is very disorienting in an adult fantasy. The dialogue is clunky, like the author knew exactly what she wants the reader to get out of each interaction, but not how to write it in a way that sounds like an actual human conversation. The exposition comes in awkwardly timed rambles. The characters read as too eloquent when they're children and frustratingly juvenile when they're young adults — the latter of which wouldn't be as much of a problem if their characterizations weren't also extremely flat.
It was honestly a struggle just to reach the 20% mark. I'm sure this will work for some people, but I'm not one of them.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Lyrical and interesting fantasy with a superb sense of the characters, carrying forth Sutanto's strengths from her previous works. We have two perspectives, Mara being trained to be an assassin inside a fortress and Livya, far away, the daughter of a brilliant scientist who altered the world. These two seem to have little to do with each other, but as the indestructible metal Livya's mother invented suddenly starts breaking, things shift rapidly.
The characters are superb, as expected from Sutanto. Each character, even the most miniscule ones, feel quite real. But, and I was surprised to see this, Sutanto's worldbuilding is incredible as well. At first, it may seem a bit confusing, considering the differences between Livya's and Mara's worlds. But this works incredibly well as the reveal hits and suddenly it all clicks into place. Plus, great sequel hook. Thanks to Avon and Netgalley for the E-ARC.
The characters are superb, as expected from Sutanto. Each character, even the most miniscule ones, feel quite real. But, and I was surprised to see this, Sutanto's worldbuilding is incredible as well. At first, it may seem a bit confusing, considering the differences between Livya's and Mara's worlds. But this works incredibly well as the reveal hits and suddenly it all clicks into place. Plus, great sequel hook. Thanks to Avon and Netgalley for the E-ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4/5 ✨
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy.
An edge sharp enough follows four protagonists as they get to the bottom of the decline of magic. The story features political intrigue, mystery, and several plot twists.
Some of the twists were predictable and I felt that Kaian and Fonde’s POVs got a bit in the way of the main story. I appreciated the political elements and the world building was well done. Mara’s story at the end dragged a bit, but overall this was a solid read that set up book 2 for success.
I definitely want to see what this cast gets up to in the next installment!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy.
An edge sharp enough follows four protagonists as they get to the bottom of the decline of magic. The story features political intrigue, mystery, and several plot twists.
Some of the twists were predictable and I felt that Kaian and Fonde’s POVs got a bit in the way of the main story. I appreciated the political elements and the world building was well done. Mara’s story at the end dragged a bit, but overall this was a solid read that set up book 2 for success.
I definitely want to see what this cast gets up to in the next installment!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews