Book Review: A Knife and a Blade

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

'The world doesn't fix itself just because someone points out its inherent unfairness.'

An enemies-to-lovers MM fantasy romance with Captive Prince vibes, this first in the Riehse Eshan series is a promising debut that will appeal to all those in search of a dark story with emphasis on relationship and feelings.



The premise is great and the world is intriguing, while the themes delved into are the kind we should all keep in mind.

Two men from completely different cultures.

Mat - a hostage mistakenly taken from a kingdom that encourages equality for women but downright despises same sex relationships

and his captor - Ren - prince of a kingdom where the sex of a person is of no importance in any relationship and all love is accepted, but in which women are seen as 'things to be owned' by their men.

A kidnapping as means of political leverage for a treaty on which quite a bit more than foreign occupation for a kingdom may hang in the balance.

And unexpected feelings between captive and captor, that clash not only against prejudice and indoctrination but also against the wish of seemingly everyone else.

Add to that a couple of perfectly despicable villains and a side cast to absolutely root for, throw in a good mistaken identity mystery alongside a few gory visions and intriguing magical abilities, and there you go... The perfect recipe for a wonderful read.

I loved the side characters in this tale, especially a certain future princess and a healer. And unravelling the mistaken identity mystery was one of the best parts of the tale.
Unfortunately however, the rest fell a little short.

The worldbuilding is promising and yet, not quite as developed to really work for me.
From political intrigue to court life and general overall atmosphere, I would have wanted more. Now I admit I am a bit of a court intrigue geek and delight in good tales setting that to the forefront. The kind like Daughter of the Empire , Reign & Ruin and Captive Prince . I just LOVE those little gestures that mean so much, the hidden meaning you have to uncover from a seemingly unimportant word told at just the right moment, that look that may say so many things depending on a context. I want them all in spades. And even though this book here delivers them, they were by far not enough.

This could be due to the fact that the tale concentrates more on the development of the relationship between Mat and Ren, which is, in a way, detrimental to the development of everything else. But then again, this is just a personal opinion and not something every single reader out there will grumble about.

The character development was another aspect that didn't quite work for me. While Ren and Mat both were written in accordance to the beliefs of their culture and had perfectly contrasting character traits, I couldn't really get invested in either of them. Because their reactions and feelings didn't seem to flow quite naturally at times and the shift from one thought/emotion to another felt jarring to the point of pulling me out of the tale. From one extreme to another way too abrupt for comfort, especially as Mat was concerned.

I loved Mat's stubbornness and integrity, his regard for others and selfless bravery, but little things like his heart splintering for 'the beautiful, bright prince with such pain in his voice' while he was being tied up and belted by said beautiful prince just didn't work for me. Because I was expecting a whole range of emotions before that broken heart. I was expecting the rage at being treated that way or belted for the first time ever. I was expecting the self-reproach for his own fuck up to be followed by a broken heart for the woman who might not be ok because of that. Because that's what we generally expect from men with integrity and a steadfast conscience. If the heartbreak for the prince had come after all that, now that's what I call a memorable scene.

As for Ren, I am not actually sure if he just didn't work for me or the author hit the nail on the head with his build up. Because I found him quite despicable. An entitled prissy prick who takes what he wants when he wants it and cares for those who are close to him while not giving a shit for anyone else.
'and I am trying really hard not to be disrespectful right now and not refer to him as a slimy fucking potato so I'll be nice and call him a muculent fucking spud instead.'
The perfect description if you ask me, delivered in Ren's own words. Meant for someone else of course but a perfect fit for him too if you ask me.

Taking into account the fact this is the first book in a trilogy, Ren's character still has a lot of time to grow and the despicable vibe might be intentional, in which case his character might just turn out to be quite remarkable.

All in all, A Knife and a Blade is a daring debut that might just mark the start of an MM romance of the Captive Prince calibre. If the sequels hold up to the expectations set by the end of this one here.
It may not flow quite as well for lovers of old school fantasy because the narrative makes use of a more modern way of speech and expressions in the medieval setting, but that shouldn't be a problem for modern fantasy fans. As a side note, I personally found the use of Spanish and Russian words quite charming, though I admit I would have wished they came alongside a few occasional phrases too.

If you're a fan of slow-burn enemies-to-lovers dark fantasy M/M romance, give this series a try and who knows... it might just become another favourite.

Check out this book and more of Adelaide Blaike here.