Thank you to Tor for providing the arc in exchange for a review!

Kel is taken from the orphanage to be brought up alongside Prince Conner, there to stand in, in case there is danger or risk - a Sword Catcher.

He had not known what it meant to be needed by someone else: that it made you want to protect them. To his own surprise, he wanted to protect this boy, the Prince of Castellane.
Wanted to stand between him and a forest of bristling fléchettes. Wanted to stare down and demolish any enemy that wished Conor Aurelian harm.

Lin is shunned for being an Ashkar and is looked down upon in her society for wanting to become a physician as a girl.

”Truly, that is magic."
"It is medicine." She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Once, they were the same. No longer.

These two storylines intersect much later in the story than I might have expected, but there’s an instant connection between the characters - hostility, animosity, and intrigue. You’ll have to read to find out who feels what, and why.

I loved learning about Kel and seeing the world through his eyes. An orphan raised in the shadow of a prince. He’s constantly being told where his loyalties should or shouldn’t lie by different factions, pulled in directions by both his past, present, and future.

Lin felt quite similar to other female protagonists shunned for doing what they believe in. This does not make her boring, but just typical. However, I do like how she is challenged by those around her to consider a world larger than her own aspirations.

As a side note, Antonetta was an interesting side character and it is clear she is being set up to take on a role of a potential love interest. She felt like a familiar archetype - a daughter of a noble whose mother seeks more for her. She changes herself from who she was as an adventurous young girl into her mother’s desired docile, manipulative, and court formal young woman. I hope we get more of her character and development as the story/series progresses.

One of my gripes.
Keeping track of the twelve different families, their houses and their charters was confusing at times. I think this would work well with an index which may be added in a later draft, but I think this would really help readers to flip back to. Whilst this didn’t detract from understanding what was going on, it did feel slightly jarring reading a bunch of names and not knowing who was who or their significance.

An important note.
This felt quite different to Cassandra Clare’s other work. Even her writing style seems changed. If you’re going in expecting her usual romantic writing and beautiful pining, you won’t get that here.
I have seen many people worried about the similarities of this book to A Darker Shade of Magic. Whilst the names sometimes felt similar, and certain personality traits cropped up, I didn’t feel there was any copy. When coming to write any piece of work, creating something totally and completely new and unique is impossible. People are going to compare these two series and I think that’s unfair to both authors involved.

Overall, I am intrigued to see where Cassandra Clare will take us on this new journey. I think it was time we left the Shadowhunter world (I write as my heart breaks), as Clare needs to expand herself as an author and explore other stories and worlds.

Whilst this doesn’t rank as high as Clare’s other books for me, this feels like an exciting debut into her new era of writing and her future!

If you enjoyed The Final Strife, I would recommend this book!

I was lucky enough to be accepted for a sample part of Sword catcher and after reading I have straight away pre ordered the special edition from Waterstones !

I cannot wait to see what is in the rest of the book once it comes out but I will say that this has the potential to be an amazing series.

Thank you Netgalley for this sample. I didn't need more to get super excited. For what I have read it is great and I am sure I will love this book.

This is one of those samplers that left you craving for more as this promises to be a very exciting fantasy series.
Can't wait to read it
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

LOOOVED this little sampler omg. I love Cassandra Claires Shadowhunter series so was excited for a book of hers outside that world. Cant wait for the book t be out.

Very very different from cassandras usual shadow hunter world but still great excited to read the whole book when it comes out to see what happens!
Really enjoyed the premise

when is the full book coming out?! i can’t wait, this is totally different to the authors other books but just as good if not better in opinion.
the story feature so many characters that you know are going to pay integral roles as the book and the series progresses.
and now that begins to find out what happens next!

Thank you to netgalley for sending this sampler for an honest review.

I’ve been a pretty committed follower of Cassie’s Shadowhunter series and was really excited that she was moving into Adult fantasy for Sword Catcher. One of the things that I’ve always loved about Cassie’s books are the characters, and Sword Catcher didn’t disappoint. In just a short sampler I’ve come to love so many of the characters. Cassie always manages to make them seem human with the details that she gives about their thoughts, their actions, their desires. I was really interested in the way the characters interacted with each other and was especially interested in Kel, Lin, Andreyen, Merren and I just was desperately devouring all the details and complexities of each interaction. It’s really intriguing to see such a perfect representation of love and resentment, loyalty and ambition, secrets and trust colliding. I can’t wait to see how this tangled web of relationships continue.
I’ve only read a sample of this book but I already love it. I also really love the sword catcher concept and the really exquisite worldbuilding. My only real issue with it was personal from having come from some of Cassie’s faster paced novels from the Shadowhunter series, I had to really check myself in order to get used to the pacing and tone of the book. It feels very different (because it is) and as I was reading it, I appreciated the talent that Cassie brings to Sword Catcher as a really dynamic writer in a true to genre adult high fantasy novel.
Now that I’ve reached the end of the sample, I want to read so much more of this book and I’m so upset that I have to wait until October to finally get it.

I'm hooked. This sampler gave me just a taste of the characters, world, and magic system, and it was just enough to really get me invested. Sword Catcher grabbed me by the throat! Cannot wait for this one to come out so I can continue to enjoy the story!

I have been a fan of Cassandra Clare's shadowhunter series for many years and was really intrigued at the idea of her writing a completely new high fantasy world. The first few chapters were slow and there was a lot of new information to take in, but this is to be expected when creating a new world from the ground up.

The plots starts to unfold quickly after the first five chapters and the reader is presented with a strong idea of each of who the main characters are and how they fit the narrative's dynamic. For example, Kel's change in attitudes, Lin's strong nature and Prince Conor's stubbornness. Clare's writing allows these characters to develop in their own space rather than competing for attention in each scene. Clare's villains are always morally grey and devious, which is no different to Sword Catcher's Ragpicker King. He is a very interesting and intriguing character, despite only seeing a small percentage of him in these sample chapters. It definitely leaves me wanting to read and discover more.

I will be reading this novel when it is published, Clare has got me intrigued!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a Sample of this book for me to give an honest review.

As soon as I saw Cassandra Clare was coming out with a new book I knew I had to have it, It has been on pre-order for months and when I signed up to NetGalley I squealed to see it was available and crossed everything in hoping I would be accepted to read it and when I was I nearly screamed.

This book is amazing so far and I cannot wait to get a finished copy to consume the rest.

We are following Kel as he is taken to the palace to become basically a body double for the prince, Conor, in the same timeline we are following Lin, a physician who is trying to save her friends life. They are both wanted by The Ragpicker king to do what he wants and they are both fighting against it, currently.

I already knew I love Cassandra Clare's writing and the book just solidified what an amazing author she is and that she is THE QUEEN of Fantasy.

Review to continue when I get a full copy of the book... October 10th Cannot come quick enough.

I need more of this book. I’m loving the characters and the world. The magic system. I can’t wait for the book to see how it ends!

Sampler - wanted more of the book

There is not much i can say until I read the whole book as the ending might not be as expected -enjoying so far.

I was so excited to read Cassandra Clare's first adult novel and it does not disappoint - I don't know how I am expected to wait till October now to read the full book!

The perfect little snippet that has left me wanting more. I can't wait to read Cassandra's adult novel!

Very enticing sampler and I cannot wait to read this book. I have placed my preorder so I can read it immediately upon launch.

Absolutely gobsmacked that I got accepted for this one but really happy I did. I enjoyed this little snippet of Cassies new book and cannot wait until I can read the whole thing

I would read anything Cassandra Clare writes. I've been a true Mortal Instruments universe fan since I was 13 (now 23), and I continue to read and collect her books. It's a bittersweet thought knowing that the world is nearly complete, but I am also thrilled to see Clare branch out into a new series, a new world. Claire is known for TMI so releasing a new series, as she's previously done with the Magisterium series that was co-written with Holly Black, is a difficult feat. I do think this is the perfect time. The Last Hours trilogy has been concluded; the Wicked Powers have an intended release, so there is the perfect stale mate to introduce a new world to her repertoire.
To begin with, the cover is just beautiful. Cassandra Clare's cover designers never fail. The premise is exciting, and the characters appear promising, and the sample is just long enough to entice the reader to keep wanting more.
I think true Cassandra Clare fans look forward to anything she releases, but this gives new readers the opportunity to sort reading her new work from the beginning as finding a place to jump into the Mortal Instruments is pretty tricky now that there are multiple series and trilogies to figure out.

I desperately need the rest already. Something from Cassandra clare written for adults ad not from the Shadow hunters series, so worth taking a shot on for sure. I know there were worries it too much like VE Schwab, but it definitely doesn’t read like that. An intriguing plot, with some fantastic character development, and this is just the sample. I cannot wait to see what happens from here on out.

Excited to read the rest of this book. This is the first book for CC outside of her famous shadowhunters series, and so I don't think readers will know what to expect. But I'm definitely intrigued to find out what happens next!