It is very different to what I'm used to see from this author, but I loved that.

I was provided part of the book through NetGalley for a review and it hooked me on. I just had to purchase the book, have the full story in my hands and I plan to finish reading it as soon as possible.

I found the world building unique and beautiful, characters versatile and intriguing. I feel, like I won't be disappointed once I finish this book!

Since reading this brilliant teaser I’ve read the book. As Cassandra Clare’s adult debut, it feels incredibly different to her previous ya works but just as good. My favourite characters were definitely Kel and Antonetta. And now I’m eagerly waiting for book 2! 5 stars for this sampler and the book!

I read a sample of Sword Catcher, having never read Cassandra Clare previously. I was curious and not having read much teen or fantasy thought this would be a good opportunity to make a start.
Firstly, I was drawn to the cover, because of its design, vibrancy and symmetry.
I was pleasantly surprised at the writing, which was compelling and which didn't jar for me as it can sometimes for me with fantasy. I am looking forward to reading this in it's entirety and for reading other works by Clare.

I've never read any Cassandra Clare before but I thought this was great! An orphaned boy, Kel is recruited to be the "Sword Catcher" for Prince Connor, so basically a bodyguard slash public decoy to attract any unwated attention meant for royalty. After the boys have grown into young men the story follows the political movements of a kingdom filled with people all desperate to make themselves richer/more powerful or to be involved with more secrets. A whole race of people, the Ashkar, are confined to a section of the city, only being allowed to wear certain colours so that they are easily identified. A female Ashkar healer, Lin, saves the life of Kel following an attack meant for Connor and becomes further woven into their story. MY only complaint about this book is that it was only a "sampler" so it's only half of the full Sword Catcher book and I need to finish it IMMEDIATELY! I'll add a full review to Goodreads once I've made it through the remaining 300 pages!

I was given a portion of this book to read. It was well written but unfortunately didn’t draw me in enough to want to complete the book. Thank you netgalley for providing :)

as this is a sample and i didn’t continue the book i do not have a full review to give, but i will edit if i do finish

As a huge shadowhunter fan I was incredibly excited and nervous to read a new Cassandra Clare book, especially one outside of the shadowhunter world. The world building was fantastic and I really began to feel invested in the plot and the characters. I loved the political intrigue and morally grey characters. Cassandra Clare always writes very character centred books , her writing makes it easy to fall in love and root for her main characters. This book was no exception and I’m extremely excited to see how Lin , Connor and Kel story continues aswell as learn more about The Rag Picker King who was by far the most interesting character.
Thank you for the early copy of one of my most anticipated reads !!

I really enjoyed this book. This book was heavy on the world building, especially for the first half. I would say the world building for the first 300 pages sets up the plot in the latter half of the novel and is thus necessary for building the overall arc of the book. There is some romance, but it is not a main part of this story. With the ending I have a feeling this is going to be a series, and I’m really hoping it will be. The dual POVs made the characters come to life for me and I got to know them more than I would have if I’d only gotten one point of view. I’d definitely recommend everyone to pick up a copy.

What a wild ride, I actually really really enjoyed this and it's left me with SO many questions. The characters are so in depth and also very secretive that you don't know who is doing what. This is what I love about Cassandra Clare and her books.

I had such high hopes for this book but then was wary after the finale that was Chain of Thorns, but so so happy with this! Can't wait for what's to come

Such a riveting and detailed world with an incredible spread of characters, getting to read the first half of this book before release was such a pleasure and an honour!

Honestly I found this one a bit of a struggle. Whilst I do sometimes find fantasy a little harder going, this one had me debating giving up multiple times. I ended up listening to the audio which was easier, but it’s taken me months to get here. It felt a little overdone, and a little forced in places, with characters just not relatable or endearing.
A shame as I’ve heard great things about Cassandra’s other books.

I wasn’t interested in this at all. It didn’t feel unique in any way. I may revisit in the future but I am in no hurry.

Read this book. Very interesting start to a new world created by Cassandra Clare. Interested to see where it goes.

I’m not too sure how I feel about this book.

I loved the shadow hunters by Cassandra Clare so was kinda disappointed with this book.
I really struggled to get in to this book and feel like it could have been written in to a much smaller book.
It did take me a while to actually read and I did keep leaving it unfinished

Sword Catcher brings adventure and mystery to life through rich worldbuilding and complex characters wrestling with inner demons. Though the political intrigue bogs down at times, Clare's gift for depth and detail shine through in a story that ultimately satisfies. I'll give it 3.88 stars for creating an immersive fantasy world while developing flawed but fascinating characters. The plot may meander but the relationships between characters anchor this novel. Give it a read if you enjoy detailed fantasy worlds and don't mind slower pacing.

As much as the premise sounded good, the execution wasn't something that made me want to keep reading. For a large book not much actually happened. Our two main characters were charming enough and it was nice to hear from them together and separately but I felt a little bored reading this one and wanting it to end by the halfway point.

Thankyou to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan, Tor for a free e-arc in exchange of honest review.

I wanted to like this however i had to DNF. I didnt grip me in the slightest and i just didnt care at all to carry on.

As a fan of Cassandra Clare I was very excited to read this book and very glad that I got to do so!

This book had plenty of worldbuilding info (as a firt book in a fantasy series should) that made me jump into the world and loose myself in it.
First, as a huge fan of her YA books, I was very excited to see how Cassandra Clare will work in the adult fantasy genre and she did not disappoint. The tone was more mature but I'd argue that her topics/subjects stayed as dark as her YA books (I have trauma from those, so yeah, they do be getting dark) .

I liked thecharacters, especially Kel,Connor and Lin and am excited to see how CC will develop them and the rest of the characters. This was also a book mixing a lot of magic and politics and I enjoyed that.

I'm very excited to see what comes next!

Whilst suitably intriguing, Sword Catcher was a lengthy affair. Not only did it feel overwhelmed by lists, but a lot of world building/backstory was seemingly dumped at random places which slowed the pacing.
Don't mistake me - the world building itself was incredibly well done but I feel it could have been fed to us a bit more subtly. Sword Catcher felt very much like - and I hate to make this comparison for multiple reasons - Deathly Hallows Part 1. The entire tome felt like exposition for Book 2 where the story will start properly.

i’m not sure how to review this because all i got was a sample and not the full book but i’ll just convey my thoughts.

first, as cassandra clare’s first foray into the non-shadowhunter world, i was honestly not sure what to expect. what i was used to expecting was brooding, troubled characters with black marks on their arms.

sword catcher? i had no idea what to expect.

the first few pages were definitely an info dump and i did not blame the author for that. since this is our first time venturing into this world, information is needed for us to understand. however, i felt that it dampened my excitement for the book since there was a lot to take in. once again to reiterate, it is not the author’s fault since this is a completely new world we are entering.

the characters were intriguing, but i felt that i was yearning for more. then again, i only read a sample so maybe what we got was not truly what these characters are like. i’m excited to read the rest of the book!