Mental Health in Fantasy: Blade of Secrets by Tricia Levenseller

GENRE: YA Fantasy

LENGTH: 322 pages

 

PLOT

Ziva is a bladesmith who can make magical weapons. She receives a commission from a warlord and makes a sword capable of revealing the secrets of those it cuts. When Ziva learns the warlord seeks to use it to take over the world she, her sister, their hired mercenary, and a scholar of magic go on the run.

 

CHARACTERS

Ziva is a character who has social anxiety. As someone who lives with an anxiety disorder whose favorite genre is YA fantasy I was so touched to be able to read a book like this. I was also extra nervous going in because mental health is not always depicted well. Thankfully, those worries were unfounded. I related a lot to Ziva as I am sure many others like myself will. I actually wrote down quite a few quotes from the book where I felt her anxiety was really well depicted. I do want to note that I believe based on what’s in the book that she also suffers from agoraphobia.

This book has romance but it’s sisterhood that is at its heart. Temra is Ziva’s sister and she is a huge support for Ziva in her struggles with anxiety. I do worry they lean a tad too into codependency, but I can’t say I didn’t love seeing two sisters who look out for each other.

Kellyn is the mercenary and Ziva’s love interest. At first I wasn’t too fond of him but as I got to know him and see how genuine he was he grew on me. I also loved him as a love interest for Ziva because he believed in her and encouraged her. The scholar’s name is Petrik and he’s quiet and shy. He is Temra’s love interest and they are definitely an opposites attract pair.

Something that was great to see was that though Kellyn was Ziva’s love interest he also had a separate friendship with Temra. The same was true for Ziva and Petrik becoming friends. I love that it wasn’t just two couples but had more of a found family dynamic It made them feel like a more cohesive group.

 

WRITING

The novel is told from Ziva’s point of view. As I already mentioned, I commend Levenseller for her ability to write a character with anxiety. Also, though none of our core four are seemingly LGBT+ I was happy to see there were side characters who were. This is a world in which it seems being LGBT+ is completely accepted – yay!

The world building had its strengths and weaknesses. It was strong in terms of giving us a real sense of place. The land is divided into 6 territories all ruled by the king’s children. We learn that there is some sibling rivalry still going on. We also establish the dominant religion – that of the sister goddesses – and how and why they are worshiped. The downside is the magic’s explanation. Without a doubt this is one of the most unique concepts for a magical power I’ve read, but it seemed like even Ziva herself didn’t have a true grasp on how it worked. I wish that Levenseller had put a little more thought into the mechanics of her world’s magic.

This novel is too short. It introduces a lot of places and characters that I wanted to know better. In a way, I suppose the rushed pacing matches with how the characters are on the run. Still, there is definitely some missed potential because Levenseller was so eager to move onto the next location.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

This wasn’t my first Levenseller book but it’s probably my second favorite. If you have anxiety like me and are a fantasy reader then I wholly recommend you pick this up! It’s an incredible feeling to feel seen in a genre you love. Other than that, my favorite part of the novel was the characters’ relationships with each other. I definitely plan on reading the second (and final) book in this series.

 

FINAL RATING: 3.75⭐️