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372 pages, Hardcover
Published September 17, 2021
“As long as rivers run and moon shines, as long as the earth has bones and death has claws, as long as the ages pass and fail – that long shall I be husband to you.”
He was saying our Wittenbrand wedding vows again. He was making promises even as he fought for me. Promises that our bond would not be broken. Promises that he would find a way forward. And what had I to give to him in return?
... And then I realized what I could give. I could give my vow in return. And my heart soared as I forced myself up on my elbows and said in my mind as clearly as I could through the fog of pain and fear.
“Flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone you will be. Spirit of my spirit, heart of my own heart, fall what may, we shall be one,” I said in my mind.
And his eyes shuttered closed for just a beat, a tiny smile of absolute satisfaction on his face and when he breathed out, I felt almost as if he were right here, as if I could feel that very breath on my face.
Overall: 3/5
Plot and themes: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing style: 3/5
Attention-grabbing: 2/5
Dance with the Sword is the second book in the Bluebeard's Secret series, books that revolve around Bluebeard and his wife Izolda. It's a combination of the tale of Bluebeard and maybe Howl's Moving Castle? Along with a bunch of other really random and quirky references throughout the story.
I unfortunately liked the first book in this series a lot more than I liked this one. Where it was interesting in book one, it was overdone in book two. I was really pushing myself to get to the end and it felt a lot lengthier than the 300 pages that it was. It might have had to do with the pacing, we were building up so much the whole time with so much happening that even the significance of the ending just felt like another dramatic event in a long series of them. I did appreciate the romantic progression but I also feel like we haven't seen much development on that front. I hate betrayal plot lines because it's like they're turning their back on something that's important but it kind of feels justified here? There's not a lot of teamwork and while a lot of things are being said, I'm not really seeing them in action.
So it was decent, I might read another book but honestly I'm more bored at this point than anything else. It's not great pacing and it's not holding my interest to the point that I think 300 more pages would be interesting.