Thank you to net galley for supplying me with an ARC of this book to read!
At the beginning of this book, it was a bit hrs to follow, although after the first 2 chapters, it was easy to follow the book, the world building wasn’t as complicated as many other books and was easy to follow, especially when new characters were introduced.
The plot line was not like anything I’ve seen before, there were reveals in the book that made me shocked to read it and excited to read on! It’s one of the most amazing fantasy books I’ve read this year! It stood out from any others, with little twists that make you excited to look out for more ideas on what’s to come next!
Overall I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Cassandra Clare!

I don’t think I will ever not love a cc book

Orphan boy
Crown prince
Give me this book now

Am I shipping the, already? Yep

I read my first Cassandra Clare book when I was 13 and was instantly utterly hooked, reading the majority of her releases over the years. I was beyond excited to hear that she was writing an adult fantasy that was wholly unrelated to the Shadowhunter world and super happy when I got this arc.

Starting this book I could instantly tell that this was something really different. Even though the prose is familiar, everything else is not: a new high fantasy setting, new world building, new characters, new politics and a whole new vocabulary. All this, at first, was really fun but also really, really dense. It took me quite a while to get the hang of all the names and places, the ranks and the relationships.

That being said, the character dynamics were definitely interesting and I'm intrigued by all of the major players. That isn't at all surprising though, as I've always thought of CC as an excellent character crafter. The story definitely picked up pace towards the end of this excerpt and I'm really excited to get my hands on the full book when it comes out!

swordcatcher is cassandra clares foray into adult fantasy novels - and while im not sure I would characterise it as an adult novel, what I was given was a well written and thought out story.
This was a sampler only (not noticed when I applied for it but that's my own fault) so finishes about halfway through the novel; and seemingly just as the stakes begin to rise. this book follows Kel, a swordcatcher or body double for the prince; and how his secure life within the palace behind to dissolve as he comes into contact with the criminal known as the Ragpicker King who offers him money to report back about the goings on within the palace.

I did like this book and was invested in the characters and plot line while I was reading; but won't be rushing to preorder it to see what happens next. I'll definitely pick it up once it's out as a paperback though!

Technically proficient but something is just missing.

As an author established and recognised for Shadowhunters, Sword Catcher sets Clare apart completely. While this fantasy is completely new, it feels inspired by Shades of Magic, but something about the plot, or characters, or even writing style just doesn't stick.

It has a detailed and serious tone, and creates relationships where sex is not the sole gratification. The story is easy to follow, but lacks heart. I found the most enjoyable chapter to be the Prologue, and I lost connections to the characters as it went on.

The politics, while complex, are very dry, lacking that typical fantasy spark you'd see in Fourth Wing, A Song of Ice and Fire, or even The Mirror Visitor series. There are snippets of magic, but not enough to satisfy. I felt no urgency of action.

The book’s tags: “forbidden love,” not yet. “Dangerous magic,” not yet. “A secret that could break a kingdom,” not yet. The most interesting things happen in the last 100 pages. As if this was one very large prologue and all those things will be in book 2.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me an eARC for an unbiased review.

First of all I want to praise Cassandra Clare for her seamless transition into high fantasy, the writing was exciting and ceaselessly stirred and roused curiosity in me.
It left me so excited for the rest of the book, especially as the part my arc finishes at seems to really be picking up plot wise, and I cannot wait to see where the characters journeys go.

The characters themself were super fun and interesting, and what really drew me in to this new fantasy world.

Kel is a really intriguing and likeable character, and at many moments I wanted to dive into the book and tell him he deserves better. I hope we explore kel and the idea of his own freedom further throughout the rest of this book.

Another character I liked, and my personal favourite-Antonetta! Wow, she is my princess but it's so fun to see the hints and clues at something darker and more cunning about her. Whenever she was on my page i was soooo excited to see where her storyline was going to go and I must admit that I'm also excited to see the development of her relationship with a certain character!

Lin and Conor were both characters I was presently surprised by, I wasn't expecting to be sooooo interested by their characters and motives and I'm dying to see more of their interactions together as well as the development of their individual storylines.

Overall, based on the first 280 pages of the arc, I really found myself excited to see these new characters, world and storylines.

Thank you to net galley for providing me an arc for this book in return of a honest review.

Cassandra Clare has established herself so well within YA fantasy that it seems very unfamiliar territory to see her venture into adult fantasy. I’m not sure I think she did!

This sample serves as, I think, around 50% of the novel. It’s compelling - her writing is nothing if not addictive - but aside from a few brothels, it has the same heart and friendship of her YA characters and their stories. This is not a bad thing - I really enjoy her Shadowhunter series’, but I’m not sure this should be marketed as adult.

Regardless, I enjoyed the book and I can’t wait to see what Connor, Kel and Lin get up to next; this feels just like the Dark Artifices in terms of friendship and compulsion to continue reading, so I’m really excited for the next half!

I didn't read the information on this properly when requesting so wasn't aware it was a sampler until I started reading but as I love cassandra clares books that's OK because I'm so happy I got to read some of this book prior to release.

As it's the first book in a brand new series there is a lot of world building and character introductions. I found it flowed very well and had no issues getting used to new ideas and structure.

As this one is more fantasy based the character names reflect that so for me personally that took longer to get used to as I don't read a huge amount of fantasy.

But I am looking forward to reading the rest of this book on its release. I can't wait.

As this was an excerpt and not the full story I would call this rating temporary. I found the concept interesting but quite slow going, which was the major issue for me.
Overall, I enjoyed the relationship between the prince and his 'sword catcher'. There was banter and they both seemed like fleshed out characters with their own opinions. And I liked the hints of magic. However I did find all the points of view quite heavy going too, especially when I'm struggling to get invested in the main two characters and then switching to even more.
I will likely pick this up as I have enjoyed all of Cassie's Shadowhunter books.

Some authors try to make the jump from YA to adult fantasy and, while not fail, still don't quite manage to write distinctly different from the way they have before. This book, in my opinion, does it brilliantly.
Cassandra Clare still writes utterly compelling characters that your heart bleeds for, but she adds a winding and many-layered plot (peppered with enough clues and premonitions that I cannot wait to re-read this book again and sigh at my obliviousness) and intricate world building worthy of the big Epic Fantasy names, creating a world that it is incredibly easy to disappear into.
Places, concepts and magic systems are introduced in a way that won't be confounding to someone just getting into High Fantasy novels, but are complex and brilliantly written enough that they will be compelling even to someone who has been reading the genre for years. It is rare to be able to recommend a book to both groups (Priory of the Orange Tree has been a recent exception), but I truly think that Sword Catcher might be able to be added to the list.
I devoured this book. As someone who has been a fan of the Mortal Instruments world but has aged out of it a little, this book came as the most pleasant surprise possible. It made me remember how much fun reading can be, and had me constantly thinking about the plot and characters. The book feels like it's setting up something big (you know that feeling when you have 40 pages left and there are still so many things unclear, and you realise that there is a chance that they will only be explained in the NEXT book in the series), and my major problem with it is that I don't have book two in my hands right now.

DL;DR: Read this book if you are looking for an epic, incredibly compelling, complex High Fantasy book full of political intrigue, multi-layered, heartbreaking characters and wonderful world-building.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC sampler of The Sword Catcher in exchange for a honest review. This review will be spoiler-free and is based only on the sampler.

I am a long-time fan of Cassandra Clare's writing and when I had the chance to request a sampler of Sword Catcher, an adult novel in a whole new world, I was very excited. Simply put: I loved it!

Sword Catcher features vivid, detailed worldbuilding with life-like characters against a complex political backdrop. The magic system draws from Jewish traditions to present a complex magic system with a deep history of mythology. I really enjoyed reading this unique spin.

Typically, I am not the biggest fan of dual narrative books, but Sword Catcher achieved an engaging balance with characters from different classes – seeing the same world from two different perspectives was definitely a benefit to the overall storytelling.

Sword Catcher will be released 10th October 2023. Thank you again to Tor via Netgallery for providing the eARC sample of this highly anticipated book.

Having read the majority of the Shadowhunter series, I had high hopes for these being new adult as I felt I outgrew the teenage perspective. However even with an older narrator it still felt very similar and I didn't see myself very drawn in to the story.

I am utterly captivated and find it hard to believe that I must wait to devour the rest of Sword Catcher. I anticipated the writing to be reminiscent of The Mortal Instruments, and while Cassandra's influence is evident, the style has evolved significantly. This is undeniably one of those books that deserves a top spot on your to-be-read list because everything, from the intricately woven plot to the flawlessly crafted characters, is sheer perfection.

A sample of this eARC was provided by the publisher through Netgalley.

I believe the sample was only half of the novel, so my rating & review will be from only what I have read.

The first few chapters started off very strong and I was very intrigued and sped through the pages. The writing style was easy to follow and I liked where the plot was going in the beginning. But then the plot sort of slowed down and I felt like I was dragging myself to continue reading.

My favourite character was definitely Lin. Her pov was the most enjoyable for me and I looked forward to reading hers more than Kel’s pov. I just loved her personality so much. Although I also enjoyed the other characters such as Kel and Conor, I felt like I could easily detach myself from them and I realised that maybe I didn’t really care about them the more that I kept reading.

I’m not sure if I’ll continue reading the rest of the book once the book has been published but maybe I’ll get curious enough as to what happens in the last half of the book and hope that the plot picks up quicker and that I’d get attached to the characters.

I’ve long been a fan of Cassandra Clare’s work, and I’m so very excited by this new type of book from her!! This is just a sample of Sword Catcher, but what I did get to read made me incredibly excited for the rest. The world building is extremely well done and was easy to understand without being repetitive or overdone. I love all of these characters, especially Kel! I’ve always thought that was Cassie does best is building such complex and realistic characters even in a fantasy environment, and that really shines through here. I can’t wait to see what happens next when the book is out later this year!

Firstly, thank you to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for approving my request and sending me a sample of Sword Catcher!

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Unfortunately, however, I did not finish this sample. It took me sixty-pages to realise that this book wasn't hooking me in. I've read Cassandra Clare's 'The Infernal Devices' when I was young and marvelled the magic of it, but this is an entirely new piece of work that, at the moment, is not catching my eye.

The premise is interesting and the reason why I requested a sample. Maybe I will pick it up and try again when it releases in October, but for now, this is sadly a DNF.

My star rating is solely because I did not finish. This might change if I choose to pick it up once more and attempt to finish it. If I do, I'll be sure to post an updated review.

I am looking forward to this book, the sampler left me wanting more. I would highly recommend this to my book reading friends.

The book started off strong but nothing profound or earth shattering seemed to happen. Most of the book seemed to just focus on world and character building, this was great by itself but I wanted to see more action and events driving the story along as the only action seems to be right towards the very end of the book and it wasn't dramatic enough to really be counted as a cliffhanger.
I liked the story of the sorcerer-kings at the beginning of each new chapter and feel that this story would have been more impactful to write in detail instead. I will be reading the next one only for this story.

I will read anything Cassandra Clare writes - this was incredible, I'm literally counting down the days until I can read the whole thing.... I have a feeling this is going to be her best work yet :)

I'm utterly obsessed with this book, but, who is surprised! I grew up reading Cassandra Clare, and now here I am as an adult, getting to read her adult debut, a masterwork of world building and beautiful respect for her own history woven through the pages. The queernormativity makes it even more beautiful, setting the stage for every reader to feel comfortable and at home as they dive into a world that promises adventure, love, and lore that begs you to get lost in it. Sword Catcher is brilliant- the next unstoppable force of nature in the world of adult fantasy.