With a fully detailed sex scene, I cannot recommend this novel. This is disappointing to me as I have really enjoyed Kashina's previous works.

An action packed lost heir story with a refreshing focus on autonomy and consent.

Another Tuesday in 2019 means another book with a lady with a sword on the cover. In the case of Anna Kashina's new novel, two swords! Winning a place in my heart over the "just a knife on its own (or maybe a snake)" cover trend, the promise of a lady with a sword, especially one striding so impactfully towards the reader, is one that's hard to resist even for an action-agnostic reader like me. Who is this lady in comfortable footwear and a practical haircut (and subtle but unmistakeable decorative boobplate, but let's gloss over that for a minute)? She's holding at least one of her swords like I would hold the one supermarket bag I'd accidentally put all the heavy tins into, but despite that she seems to know what she's doing, and I want to know what that is too.

This, we soon learn, is Naia. Naia has been training to be a member of the Jaihet, a stratified order of elite warriors who are drawn from orphans and other children pledged to them at a young age, and trained from birth in various martial and mystical arts. Naia is great with a blade, but has apparently made a lot of enemies in the lower camp where she's been trained, and is on the verge of being kicked out for a mysterious insubordination incident: she's attacked an instructor and has curiously little defence for herself. Luckily, fate intervenes, as the head of the Daljeer, scholarly order shows up looking for a young woman at just the right age to impersonate a mythical princess from the murdered Challimar dynasty. After a few tests demonstrate that Naia's natural abilities significantly surpass the training she's been given so far, she's given a second chance in the upper camp with the Jai, and put on a path to engage in political machinations which, we note in an aside, she might actually be born to do...

Naia's training and her mission to impersonate Princess Xarimet divide Shadowblade neatly into two halves. The first half, in which Naia goes from near-outcast to prodigy of the upper camp, sets out an interesting and refreshing take on the concepts it is dealing with. Although Naia is set up as the only person who can set out on the particular mission she is being trained for, and that she could be more than the impersonator which the Jaihar officially want her to be, Shadowblade returns again and again to Naia's agency and her own desire to learn and train with the Jai. The Har section of the camp where she has come from is defined, at least in the limited views we get of it, by brutality and bad eggs, with the incident that almost led to Naia's expulsion soon revealed to involve her stepping in to protect a servant almost being beaten to death. The Jai, the elite warriors, instead come across as being defined by respect for each other and for their students. It's fascinating to watch Naia go from being beaten down and undervalued to training with people (mostly men - unfortunately this is a pretty dude-heavy story, with only two living women of particular note) who respect her, encourage her to reflect on her performance and identify her own weaknesses. There's a constant prioritisation of consent in Naia's narrative which could so easily be absent from a story like this, especially once the romantic tension with Jai master Karrim starts.

Naia's training goes by in a series of montage-like chapters which take us through multiple years of weapons training, understanding her own weaknesses, and learning more about her Chall heritage from Mehtab, a mysterious woman from the Daljeer order who quickly becomes one of Naia's most trusted tutors. She also introduces her to the magical in-universe reasons for decorative boobplate, which involve iron-calling properties that throw off everyone wielding conventional weapons, and... that bit is fine, I guess. The building up of trust and agency in the first half of the book plays right through into the political action of the second, where a fully trained Naia is sent off on her mission to challenge for the Empire's throne in the wake of the old Emperor's death, removing the unpredictable son who has seized it in favour of a more pliable - though uninspiring - candidate favoured by the Daljeer. The deeper threat to Naia comes from a slightly different angle and builds up into a climax which really pays off the themes of consent, autonomy and learning to trust one's own judgement and surround oneself with people who respect it. There's not much that's surprising about how this plays out - the twists are well signposted in the narrative and the general thrust of what's going to happen was fairly easy to see unfolding - but this is a narrative that's more about the "how" than the "what", and the unfolding of Naia's victory not just within the terms of her mission but against those in the background who are setting her up to be a pawn.

Shadowblade is a book which seems to know exactly what it's doing and what it wants to prioritise, and how to make the other elements of the story work towards that goal. The focus is on delivering an action-packed story true to its blade-twirling hero, and that means the political plot, the empire's history with the Chall and the betrayal of a generation before which led to Naia's coming into the Jaihar are all just fleshed out enough to carry her story. There are vaguely Asian, desert-culture trappings to Chall and Zeg which aren't really fleshed out, but there's honestly not much recognisable "culture" in Naia's sheltered corner of the world - we could be anywhere, and I'm fine with that. The lack of women in Naia's world outside Mehtab is odd and frustrating despite the narrative attempts to wave it away, but there's a core of central characters who, with the exception of a few interchangeable seniors, are all distinct and interesting with believable quirks and motivations. Shadowblade leaves itself open, though not in need of, a sequel and it will be interesting to see whether some of these worldbuilding aspect get explored further in future instalments.

Action-driven novels are hit and miss for me but this one was satisfying on a level that I wasn't expecting it to be. While Naia's world is not the deepest or most fleshed out you're likely to visit this year, this entertaining, driven story does what it sets out to do while centring consent in a way which most narratives of this trope have no time or space to do. If the confident, blade wielding woman on the cover of Shadowblade is calling to you, I recommend you pick up her story and give it a try - it does what it says on the tin, in ways that I'd like to see a lot more of in future. Just, maybe we can go with plot relevant full body armour next time, please?

I genuinely liked it but the Naia is simply too perfect.The ending is disappointing as the villain is not fully fleshed out and the plot is explained in villain monologues. It is a decent YA book.

Quite an enjoyable fantasy novel with a sexy heroine. I finished it in two sittings. It has action, intrigue, politicking, and a subtle amount of magic. I enjoyed the middle-eastern setting. The book has a YA feel to it on account of the romance strewn into the story, but, it is not central to the story. The linear narrative with short chapters makes up for the good pacing, and keeps up the tension in regard to the plot. The writing is elegant and easy to follow, has wit and humour, but, it lacks convincing dialogues to make it more snarky.

The story begins with a rather suspenseful scene, a child delivered in a package escaping from an assemblage of royal assassins. The story then shifts to 17 years later prior to the incident. As in the trope, there is an elite military school, and a orphan girl training hard to become one of the topmost elite warriors called 'Shadowblade' in rank. The worldbuilding isn't much, but we are given glimpses of it through the lessons imparted to our heroine, regarding to the kingdom of Chalimar and the Jaihar warriors. I liked the idea of warriors able to sense iron, and enhance their fighting prowess and techniques.

The characterization was pretty simple on part of the main protagonist, Naia. She has an innate proficiency in weapons, and she breezes through the tests with less efforts. The author tried to make Naia stand as a feminist heroine in the midst of the males of the Jaihar warriors. Initially, she is a pawn in a greater game, but ultimately she stands on her own radiating power and authority. She is a badass warrior, but, she lacks complexity which I like in a character. On the other hand, the character of Mehtab is shaded in greyness, and there are layers to her character. I would definitely like to read more of her. She is intelligent, fierce, brutal, and manipulative, while acting as a mentor to our heroine. I hope Anna Kashina writes a novella about Mehtab. The only male character that stands out in my opinion is Dal Gassan, as he plays the game through Naia.

The action isn't much, but we get to see it in the training fights. It is done pretty well. The two Complaints I have against the novel is the element of adolescent romance which was saccharine at best. I wanted depth and nuance in the relationship between Naia and Karrim, but, sadly the relationship didn't feel real to me. And, the second, is the lack of character complexity in Naia. I wanted depth, inner conflict, motivations, but, those are lacking. Naia follows and bests everything just because she can. Readers looking for lighthearted excitement with action and romance can pick this up. I'll definitely be waiting for the sequel and see where Kashina takes the story.

This was a pretty good read. Good, strong characters that were well written so that it felt like I got to know them with a very good plot. The writing almost felt a little YA, but that wasn't a particularly bad thing. One of the things I always like with fantasy is world-building and this was very well done in this book. The ending seemed a bit of a surprise, it would make sense if this was the beginning of a series, if not, it seems unfinished.

This is an amazing read, Anastasia retelling and I love it so much. Fast paced, full of action. Keeps you guessing all the time with lots f twists and turns. Great characters and chemistry. A highly recommended read

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Pr review Shadowblade
Shadowblade by Anna Kashina
NB- I received this book on Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of this book is amazing—Anastasia reimagined as a disgraced student ninja who has to impersonate a mythical princess to redeem herself. The reality is pretty different.
It was difficult to tell what genre this book was. It read as standard YA, but included full blown sex scenes, leading to some pretty confusing moments. The plot was introduced early, but the high tension of the opening scene is only matched in the ultimate climax of the novel. Leaving the feeling for the majority of the book that you’re waiting for things to get interesting again. Naia’s blade skills were oddly irrelevant in the novel, which seemed like a missed opportunity for some badass fight scenes.
Naia as a main character was a bit of a letdown. She was presented as a skilled warrior with a natural affinity for weapons, and that’s about all we ever learned about her. Her personality was weak, and despite her (almost overhyped) abilities, she had to get saved a bunch of times from situations that seemed included only to make her feel indebted. Ultimately—Naia was bland, which made her hard to relate to. Despite her position as a main character, she never seemed fully developed.
Naia also had a bad case of Main Character Disease. Everyone risked themselves for her, helped her, saved her or adored her for no reason, unless they were a Bad GuyTM, in which case they hated her or tried to manipulate her immediately, for just as little reason. This lack of depth to supporting character’s reactions to Naia only emphasised the blandness of her personality.
Jai Karrim as a character was interesting, but despite his fairly central role in the novel, the novel ended with the reader knowing very little about him that wasn’t mentioned the first time his name was. Dai Gassan likewise seemed like a missed opportunity. The villain had slightly more backstory and character motivation introduced, but only to retroactively justify their seemingly out-of-character actions. This made most of the major plot points seem overly-convenient and unsatisfying.
The conclusion included several villain monologues to explain what was going on, and quite a few moments of decades long plans being fooled by needless subtlety in some areas, when the villain had already exposed themselves.
The world Shadowblade is set in could also have been far better developed. Even the rankings among the Jaihar (Warrior Guild) weren’t properly explained, and the political situation that the plot should have been based on was only sketched in where absolutely necessary to allow the plot to happen. The time jumps in this book were also a bit jarring as there’s no chapter heading or section break (eg. Book I—Ninja School) to indicate years have passed, which was momentarily confusing.
None of the relationships between characters in Shadowblade had much depth, with one exception—and both parties involved in that keep mentioning that they shouldn’t like the other person. Lust and surface-level similarities were seemingly the only thing tying them together for most of the book, a couple of near-death experiences happened and suddenly they were irrevocably in love. It rang false. The characters in this book just didn’t change, the plot all seemed connected by only the barest of threads, and even the world and political situation doesn’t get explored in enough depth to really sell the story.
The premise was great, and right up until the first sex scene Shadowblade read as a fairly standard hero’s journey in the style of The Magician’s Guild by Trudi Canavan, The Way of Shadows by Brent weeks or even The Poppy War by RF Kuang; the inclusion of a romance sub plot and the general haziness of the plot and muddied tension from that point on made Shadowblade a more unique story, but one that seemed less impactful—especially when it came to world-building and character development.
This book would be best suited for those who want a light read, with an interesting premise and setting. If you like classic fantasy and enjoy reading about elite warriors and fairytale retellings, you might like Anna Kashina’s Shadowblade.

The massacre of the entire royal line. Or so it's believed. An orphaned child raised in a warrior training ground when she shows an affinity for weapons. When her first assignment brings her to impersonate the long lost child that can contest the succession of the emperors line that killed the only ones that could claim the throne, the twisty's are big. And bold. And made for a great ending. Great book for YA on up. I enjoyed it. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC form Netgalley.

This is an excellent read. It is fast-paced and very smooth. In fact, I was surprised to come to the end, as I did not feel that I have been reading nearly long enough. The story takes some interesting twists and turns, some more unexpected than others, and made sense every step on the way. The characters were fun to get to know and showed appropriate growth. All in all, I absolutely recommend this title. Oh, and the best part is that it is a stand-alone book. There could be other books set in this world, but the story here is complete.

Thank you to Angry Robot and NetGalley for the eARC of Shadowblade by Anna Kashina! Received in exchange for an honest review - all opinions are my own.

From the Goodreads blurb:
"A young sword prodigy must impersonate a lost princess and throw her life into a deadly political game, in this kinetic epic fantasy novel by the author of the award-winning Majat Code series"

This book had me completely addicted from start to finish. I read it in two sittings and just couldn't get the next answer fast enough. That said, the story itself is awesome and the chapters are the perfect length. There are so many betrayals and twists and a ton of action packed into a stand alone book.

This is where my impression went a little flat. I could have read about weapons training and life in the Jaihar all day, and was so bummed when 3 years skipped by and we missed all the Jai training. I would love to chop this into three books and make a trilogy out of the training, takeover, and subsequent rule? The action was so rushed after Naia hit the upper level of training. and then the ending felt soft.

Or do I just want more Karrim? I assumed their steel whispering blood brought them a natural closeness, but the relationship didn't have time to flush itself out enough for me to ship it. Naia was my perfect female character as well as she grew and developed. She was not quite reduced to a love interest but I wanted to see more of the pair outside of the bed room. I liked his manner and personality SO much.

The world, in general, as well didnt have all the time to flush out. I was imagining like a desert or arab state, and the orders explained themselves briefly as the book went on,

So long story short: action packed, strong female lead, and entirely addicting book - that ended up leaving me wanting more. I give it a very strong 3* and recommend to anyone that is a fan of the genre!

Decent fantasy tale. The plot of the secretly special child stashed away in obscurity and trained for a life of greatness is pretty predictable at this point, but the style was unencumbered and the story developed fairly fast with a couple of good twists at the end. Not very gory or violent despite the premise, and the sexual content was not explicit, good for YA readers.

While there were some elements I liked of this book, overall I just wasn't invested in the characters or story. The main issue I had with this book was the insta-love. The romance develops so quickly and I just couldn't get behind it. Overall this one didn't work for me, but it's still worth checking out if you like the sound of the synopsis.

I want to say first off, that I really liked the premise, and the plot for the most part. With that being said, I felt unsastisfied when I finished reading- it felt incomplete. Is this slated to be a series or a stand alone? The end didn’t feel finite enough for a stand-alone but didn’t feel like enough was set up for a second book. I also felt you did a disservice to Naia’s character when you left her as a pawn in the end after making her learn and grow so much. I felt that the ambiguity around her birth could have been handled better, or given a cleaner wrap up- as it was, she refers to her as someone she could truly call her mother, but Garsaan could be seen as being patronizing regarding the documents and claims her parentage, but it’s heavily implied that she’s really just an inconsequential bastard who happens to be convenient. I liked the way she maneuvered the Jaihat, Daljeer, and the Sages- and the interplay could lead to a strong drama for a second book, but I felt like she was still left lacking in political strength as well as some personal strength which could have helped the ending. I liked how the twist came in regarding the stones and the princess, but I would have liked more backstory on her sooner so it didn’t feel so separated From the rest of the story. The Chall rebels felt off until the end, but the new ironbloods felt as if it was an afterthought rather than the actual threat it could have been.