Mikee (ReadWithMikee)'s Reviews > The Bird and the Sword

❝I have loved you every moment of every day, and I will love you until I cease to be. Bird, man, or king, I love you, and I will always love you.❞

Okay let me just take second to say thank you to Milana from A Couple Reads because she's amazing and she's the one who got me to pick up this book. And let me just say, I was blown away by how much I actually enjoyed The Bird and the Sword. I haven't wrote a proper review in a long time but I just have to write one for this book because I strongly believe that more people should give The Bird and the Sword a try!

At first, I was a bit hesitant about this book. I was familiar with Amy Harmon but I've actually never read any of her books. I knew her as an NA contemporary romance author rather than a fantasy author so I wasn't sure what to expect. Do I go in warily knowing that Amy Harmon isn't exactly a fantasy author like Sarah J. Maas or Leigh Bardugo, or any other author that writes only and primarily fantasy? Or do I give her the benefit of the doubt and give her and this book a chance? I chose the latter because it's not everyday an author steps out of their usual genre to try and tackle one that's completely on the opposite side of their spectrum. And let me tell you, I MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE.

Although The Bird and the Sword is set in a fantasy world, I found that it was very light fantasy. I'm a huge high fantasy reader. I love complex characters and worldbuilding. But sometimes those types of books get super dense and we need to take a break from heavy books every once in awhile while staying within our preferred genres, and I believe that The Bird and the Sword is perfect for someone looking for a light, quick, fantasy read. The worldbuilding wasn't complex and was easy to follow. It was simple and you didn't need to pick it apart and put the pieces together just to understand what's going on. There was a simple hierarchy of the different gifts and that's all you really need to know.

As for the main characters in the story, Lark was a decent heroine. She wasn't really anything special from the typical female character but I did love her gifted abilities! The character that did steal the show was definitely Tiras. I LOVE TIRAS. My heart broke so many times throughout this book because of him and I know I wouldn't have loved this book as much as I do if it wasn't for Tiras. His storyline reminded me so much of Beauty and the Beast. Instead of the Beast turning back into a man, it's man turning into Beast.

In terms of romance, I didn't love the relationship between Lark and Tiras as much as I wanted to. To be honest, I actually didn't really buy into their romance but as the story progressed my heart still ached for the both of them and what they had to endure together and individually. I didn't really feel sparks flying but I was satisfied with how their relationship developed.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with how The Bird and the Sword played out. I wasn't expecting anything higher than a 3-Star read but I was definitely hooked. There were some slow parts here and there but the last hundred pages or so really made up for it. My heart wouldn't stop falling apart and putting itself back together so many times towards the end. Amy Harmon really blew me away with this one and I would really love to see more fantasy books from her!