The Bird & The Blade Review

Ebook, 432 pages
YA/ Fantasy/ Historical fiction
By: Megan Bannen

“God does not judge you according to your appearance and your wealth, but He looks at your heart and looks into your deeds”

🌟 So I haven’t heard a lot about this book, I thought for a moment that it wasn’t even out because it does not get the hype it deserves. I saw Becky talking about this many times in her posts which I am thankful for. I considered this a recommendation and went into it not knowing much.

🌟 Then I saw that this has riddles (it got me there), fantasy elements and the Mongol empire which I never read anything about. I go into this and a few pages later the author used the above quote which is from Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and then the writing style is just so good and I read the whole thing in 2 days.

🌟 It started a bit slow for me, but it was interesting nonetheless and the good thing is that it kept improving till the last page. From the last riddle onward, I was going full on Hermione mode while reading this, I wanted to know what happened and fast.

🌟 So another thing that I really liked is that the author apparently did an extensive research for all parts for the story, she took some liberties which she explained at the end but it was accurate, she quoted Rumi and Ibn ElHaitham and other Arab important figures, she talked about Islam in a very good representation. I was so fascinated by this aspect of the story which I salute the author for. There was a part where a character did something wrong and I thought it was a bad rep for Islam but then it later said that it was “Haram” which is Taboo and that is cool because Muslims are humans and they sin too!

🌟 The interesting parts for me are the riddles, and I proudly solved 2 out of the 3 riddles so that gave me a happy boost while reading it. I found the book pacing good and not slow as I expected at first.

🌟 The characters in the books are not extensive, But it was more about the quality than the quantity, it is kind of a character driven book. Because it starts from the end and then we get to the beginning only to learn more about the characters and to appreciate them more. I was a fan of all 3 MC at the end.

🌟 For the plot, I haven’t heard of the opera Turandot before which by the way is not needed to read and understand/ enjoy this. So I went into this not knowing exactly what to expect and I didn’t care what happens until the end and I thought what if B happens Instead of A, it would be more suitable and a cooler ending. And we did actually get ending B which was so good.

“Cruelty is easy to repay, my lord. Kindness is another matter.”

🌟 So overall I gave this 4 out of 5 stars.

🌟 Prescription: For those who are looking for a great historical fiction, for the curious about the Mongols and Islam. And I guess for fans of the Turandot Opera.