Master of Iron by Tricia Levenseller (Bladesmith #2)

Reviewed by Sam!

Review for Book 1

What I drank prior: so it’s kickball night so I’ve had a bunch to drink. We also lost the championship game and that sucks… but that means i drank more.

Goodreads Overview:

In Master of Iron, the conclusion to Tricia Levenseller’s exciting Bladesmith YA fantasy duology, a magically gifted blacksmith with social anxiety must race against the clock to save her beloved sister and stop a devastating war. 

Eighteen-year-old Ziva may have defeated a deadly warlord, but the price was almost too much. Ziva is forced into a breakneck race to a nearby city with the handsome mercenary, Kellyn, and the young scholar, Petrik, to find a powerful magical healer who can save her sister’s life.

When the events that follow lead to Ziva and Kellyn’s capture by an ambitious prince, Ziva is forced into the very situation she’s been dreading: magicking dangerous weapons meant for world domination.

The forge has always been Ziva’s safe space, a place to avoid society and the anxiety it causes her, but now it is her prison, and she’s not sure just how much of herself she’ll have to sacrifice to save Kellyn and take center stage in the very war she’s been trying to stop.

Drunk Overview: so this is the second and final book in this duology so if you don’t want to be spoiled then you should probably go… but you don’t have to i guess, I’m not you mom as Minda would say.

So Ziva is a magic metal worker and she made a magic sword that can tell the truth and like… idk what else to say except, while defeating the bad guy, she got her sister seriously injured and didn’t really get rid of the major threat of ya know… politics. Oh there’s also the babe Kellyn and Ziva’s sister’s bae Pat. You know they matter too.

Spoiler-free Thoughts: i will read whatever this woman writes ever. This series is so good i can’t.

Characters: so. There are 4 mains and like the villain. So We’ve got the sister, who while is the voice of reason for Ziva, she’s also sort of the worst. She doesn’t serve any other purpose but to be a motivation for others, but she’s funny? Idk. Sh spends a lot of the time injured in this book… And then there’s her “friend” Patrick, and he’s actually great. He’s a bastard kid but well respected and doesn’t want power and i flippin love it. Next is Kellyn who is just idk, the sweetest cinnamon roll that could kill you. I really love how he just gets Ziva and will do whatever to make sure she’s both save and comfortable. Just the best. I also love his relationship with Ziva. She clearly doesn’t think she is capable of arelatopnshop and he just doesn’t care. I love Zica too. She’s just so relateable and i don’t think that that’s just me, an anxiety ridden high performer. I think many readers can relate to her and her insecurities. The villain… is a lot, but I don’t think that they’re very compelling since it’s just about power and nothing else. Idk just me.

Plot: so there’s not much that is surprising to me when it comes to the plot, other than the specifics of what happens. Like, i knew there’d be a stupid sacrifice, i knew there’s be both a small and big boss, but i didn’t care. I loved every second of this story and I can’t wait to hear more from this author.

Writing Style: nothing really here

World Building: can’t be much more here since it’s the finale but i still really love this world. Not everyone has magic and those who do only have things that are benign at best unless they’re weaponized. Most people don’t want that os i get it. It’s just really cool.

What to pair it with: this is your favorite beer. like a nice smooth lager that you know what its gonna be but you still love it…

Rating: 4/5 shots

Until next time, we remain forever drunkenly yours,
Sam