Forrest Weldon's Reviews > Blade of Memories

Blade of Memories is a book that looks to rekindle your YA Fantasy nostalgia, but without the eye-rolling cringe that you'll have to endure in many other books of it's type, and I couldn't be happier for it.

In so much YA Fantasy, you usually have to endure the worst kind of character: The Power Fantasy Insert. Lynn, while still competent and resourceful fortunately lacks the most annoying trait of these characters: a lack of challenge. Lynn has everything stacked up against her from the start, and plays catch up while trying to prevent further disaster, and makes watching to see how she unravels it all the more enjoyable.

The main cast are dynamic, endearing, and carry most of the novel, something that is also usually lacking in similar stories. While the secondary cast suffers a bit more, and maybe could have used a little bit of compressing, there's enough there that nobody feels unneeded narratively.

Overall, this all speaks to book's main hook to me: tight storytelling. Nothing feels out of place, pointless, or like filler and the smooth pace made this book hard for me to put down.

Is this a book that is going to knock your socks off with a huge message or themes? Nah. To me, this isn't a book made to be pondered over a book club, but a fun read to blow through when you're looking to relive some YA Fantasy nostalgia with more coherent design in world and characters. I enjoyed my time with it, and I look forward to more.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5