The Book Wench

The gods sent monsters to the five kingdoms to remind mortals they must kneel.

I’ve spent my life kneeling—to their will and to my father’s. As a princess, my only duty is to wear the crown and obey the king.

I was never meant to rule. Never meant to fight. And I was never supposed to be the daughter who sealed an ancient treaty with her own blood.

But that changed the fateful day I stepped into my father’s throne room. The day a legendary monster hunter sailed to our shores. The day a prince ruined my life.

Now I’m crossing treacherous lands beside a warrior who despises me as much as I despise him—bound to a future I didn’t choose and a husband I barely know.

Everyone wants me to be something I’m not—a queen, a spy, a sacrifice.

But what if I refused the role chosen for me? What if I made my own rules? What if there’s power in being underestimated?

And what if—for the first time—I reached for it?

I had hear so many wonderful things about the Shield of Sparrows series (two of three books are currently published). I was so excited to try it. As soon as I could I jumped into it and haven’t looked back.

I thoroughly enjoyed the series although I wouldn’t call it a true Enemies-to-Lovers. While The Guardian was certainly Odessa’s enemy, he did not seem to view her as a true enemy, even at the beginning. While, yes, she was technically an enemy, he seemed to view her as a puzzle whereas her sister Mae was definitely an enemy to him. Either way, it was still a great story, albeit some parts were a little predictable, but that is not unusual when you have read a lot of a variety of books. You tend to be able to recognize the foreshadowing for what it is early on. I digress.

I really enjoyed Odessa’s character. She was far from perfect and felt like a real person and I really appreciated how down-to-earth and human she felt. She was definitely not a Mary Sue and for that I am grateful. I was worried when she began physical training that she would be insta-perfect at it but thankfully she was as bad as I probably would have been. I was very happy to see her come into her own as a character. It felt natural and real. Alternately, The Guardian was very Gary-Stuesque, however, I think that is the point of the story (you’ll understand when you read the book and learn things that are revealed). He was almost perfect and it was somewhat off-putting, but once I remembered his stubbornness and cockiness were flaws, I felt a little better. He was a great character – just almost too great, if that makes sense. Still, I really enjoyed his interactions with Odessa as their relationship progressed.

I really thought the world that Perry created was an intriguing one and I’m certainly excited to learn more about it, especially Turah and the other kingdoms. Quentis felt almost like a generic kingdom at first and it was nice to find out that there was a lot more to it than met the eye but it still could use with a bit more fleshing out. All-in-all, Perry created an excellent world and I’m dying to learn more about it – especially the whys behind the big Migration. That is probably what I am looking forward to most of all – except for the big reveal at the end (no spoilers I promise).

I will say there were some predictable bits but they didn’t detract from the story enough to make me stop reading at all. Instead, I just chose to see it as me just being able to connect with Perry’s mind a little too well (I chalk that up to the fact that my maiden name is Perry so therefore we have a mental kinship – haha).

I really feel like Perry did an excellent job writing the book and I am excited to move on to the next one as soon as Hispanic Heritage Month is over (I’m finishing up a few books for that at the moment and then will dive headfirst into Rites of the Starling). If you like romantasy books and female characters who feel real and down-to-earth then I think you will like Shield of Sparrows. I don’t know that it lived up to the hype 100% but it was pretty close – plus I hear the second book is even better and really is the one that enthralls you. We shall see.