Review: Blood And Steel By Helen Scheuerer

If you’ve been reading my previous posts, you know I’ve been wading through some pretty dense prose and hit-or-miss sequels that left me feeling a bit burnt out. I was desperately craving something that would just click, and that’s exactly why I picked up Blood and Steel. That and it’s my next buddy read, of course! This was my first time diving into Helen Scheuerer’s work, and I’m happy to say I’m so glad I took the plunge.

**Please note: This review contains minor spoilers**

Plot Summary

With her death foretold, Althea Zoltaire only has three years to become what she’s always dreamed of being: a warrior legend.

Women are forbidden to wield blades, so she has trained in secret her entire life. Now racing against the clock, she fights to secure her place in the elite guild charged with the protection of the five kingdoms.

The sparring and hazing of the new trainees border on deadly, but even more dangerous is her growing attraction to Wilder Hawthorne, her unwilling warrior chaperone.

All around them, schemes are afoot and darkness looms.

Will Althea pass the perilous initiation test and take her place as a champion of Thezmarr – or will the invading evil snatch away her dream before it starts?

(Via Goodreads)

Quality of Writing

Rating: 5/5

The writing in Blood and Steel was such a breath of fresh air, especially after coming off of the poetic prose in Wild Reverence. Helen’s style is super easy to get into and consume, which was exactly the kind of reprieve I needed. Even though the tone stays serious when it needs to be, there’s this great humorous undertone coming through the narration that made the whole experience a really delightful read.

Plot Development

Rating: 5/5

Love, love, love the slow burn plot with an actual end destination. Blood and Steel definitely gives off “origin story” vibes, so you’re going to get a lot of world building, but there is still plenty of action in the mix thanks to the war college-like setting. I promise, you just need to let this one cook!

Characters

Rating: 5/5

Wilder definitely does things to me in Blood and Steel, which isn’t a shocker since I’m a sucker for a dark and brooding beefcake. If you’re into the aesthetic of Cassian but prefer the personality of Nesta, Wilder is 100% for you. It took me a minute to warm up to Thea because of her self absorption early on, but she eventually becomes a self aware queen, and we love that kind of character growth around here.

I also want to get an extra special shoutout to the side characters – especially Kipp and his obsession with The Laughing Fox Inn. His commentary literally had me laughing out loud.

Ease of Reading

Rating: 5/5

Blood and Steel was such an easy read that it honestly felt more like 350 pages rather than 550. Although there is a good amount of world building to sink into, it’s all super interesting and moves along quickly. There’s always enough action happening to keep you totally engaged without the pacing ever feeling like a slog.

Ending

Rating: 5/5

It’s a rare occurrence when I don’t totally see an ending coming, and Blood and Steel actually managed to catch me off guard! I’m already super invested in the development of Thea’s powers and what that will reveal of her heritage – though I definitely have my suspicions!

I definitely still have a ton of questions about the Vale, but since this is a four book series, it feels justified to have those unanswered threads dangling. I am 100% left wanting more and ready to see what happens in the next book.

Would I Recommend This Book

I would 100% recommend Blood and Steel! This was such a refreshing change of page from my other recent reads, and I honestly had a great time with it. If you’re a fan of the mentor/mentee trope, this one is definitely going to hit the spot for you.

Overall Rating

Blood and Steel is a well written and engaging story that manages to balance serious stakes with a really great humorous undertone. I am a huge fan of the entire cast of characters, and while I’m still buzzing with unanswered questions about the Vale and Thea’s powers, this just makes me more excited to dig into the rest of the series.

Book Rating: 5/5

Spice Rating: 2/5

Curious about how I rate my reads? Check out my Rating System Blog Post for more!