Review: The Sharpest Blade by Sandy Williams

The Sharpest Blade

Shadow Reader #3

Sandy Williams

Release Date: December 31, 2013

4.5/5.0 stars

It’s always hard for me to review the final book in a series.  We invest so much time in these series leading up to the big payoff finale that to say anything feels like I’m stealing some of that magic away from you. What I can say, without any hesitation, is that this was a fantastic ending to a much-loved trilogy.

The Sharpest Blade picks up a few weeks after the ending of the last book. Mackenzie has been leading a surprisingly normal life- living in a small apartment and working at the local library.  The Fae have stuck to their word and left her alone completely.  There is still the matter of her connection to Kyol (which she has no idea how to control) and Sosch, the kimki, isn’t exactly a normal roommate (sidenote: can I pleeeease have one?) but for the most part it’s as mundane and human a life as she could ever have.  This is what she’s always wanted so she should be happy- should being the keyword.  When she feels through their bond that Kyol is badly hurt she wastes no time rushing to his side in Faery and is caught up in their problems once again.

All the books in this series have been high action but this one is NON-STOP.  You get a nice peaceful moment in the very beginning then spend the rest of the book being tossed around like a ragdoll.  This is not a complaint. The pace was so breakneck and the action so vivid that I devoured this book page after page unable to pull myself away. 

There were plenty of twists and twists on twists that I never saw coming.  This book would build me up to these wondrous highs and then drop me to crushing lows in the span of a few pages.  I laughed, I cried, I even chanted “no-no-no-no-no-no” a few times.  The consequences in this book for all involved are enormous and some of the characters make huge sacrifices that just rip you to shreds.

I love these characters, each and every one of them.  They feel like old friends and saying goodbye to them was so bittersweet.  Is it too early to start begging for a spinoff series? Whatever Sandy Williams writes next will definitely be going on my reading list.