Thank you for a sampler of Casandra Clare’s new Adult Fantasy Series Pan Macmillan and of course NetGalley.

I’ve loved Casandra Clare since I was a little girl, now as an adult I’m so very ready and so very excited to move on to her more adult aimed work.

This sampler had me very excited to read the entirety of this book!

I really enjoyed this! Although this was only a sampler, it had loads of pages in it and I quickly found myself falling in love with the story and the setting, having loved Cassandra Clare’s other works previously. The main characters were incredibly compelling and I can’t wait for the next books in this series. Definitely check this one out!

an amazing adult debut i’ve really missed her writing and am excited to see where this goes. this was a gripping read and the plot had me invested from start to finish

when cassie first announced this series back in 2017, i was immediately excited about the concept as it was not something i had ever read before in fantasy. fast forward to 2023, 6 years later, i am so glad she took her time with it to craft such a compelling & refreshing story that still retains her strength in character building & world building, while also improving in her fantasy plotting and pacing.
adult fantasy really suits her and i am glad she took this leap out of the shadowhunter world and that this was the story she chose to do it with.


kel and lin, our main characters, shined in their own ways, and i loved the paths they sought individually and their journeys to achieving the desires truest to their hearts. they were both strong and brave and selfless in their own ways, yet were also capable of ruthlessness to protect their loved ones.


cassie once again displays her flair for writing intriguing & loveable characters, dynamics and relationships that leaves the reader craving for more. the side characters like conor, antonetta, joss falconet, the ragpicker king & merren were all equally interesting & flawed as our main characters in ways that made me wish, many times, that i could get into their heads and see what they're really thinking (especially conor & antonetta).


the romance was also equally entertaining and i thoroughly enjoyed the angst and tension between our pairings. cassie has truly become an expert in creating heartwrenching & heartbreaking ships that always remains stuck deeply in our hearts and impacts us in life changing ways, and i am blessed that that fact hasn't changed one bit throughout all the years i have been reading her books.


with that being said, i hope the sequel, ragpicker king, comes sooner rather than later and that this story is able to continue in the form of more books because i cannot get enough of this world and these characters. one of faves of 2023 for sure!

Thank you to the publisher -Pan Macmillan-for a sampler of Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare!

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare is the first in her debut adult fantasy series set in the bustling city of Castellane full of political intrigue and is structured in multi-pov's. It was great fun seeing Castellane as the grounds for power and wealth to be fought and meddled with among the nobles, criminals, the wealthy and also those from places beyond whom had some sort of political/wealth interests in the city. Unsurprisingly, I loved getting to know Kel, an orphan, who is transported into life among royals as he is thrusted into the position of Sword Catcher for the Prince of Castellane, Conor.

Cassandra's use of the idea of a body-double was effective in this fantasy setting, as it meant the stakes were higher for the main characters. The idea that both a Sword Catcher and a Prince must be the same person whilst also living together saw how the bonds of friendship and duty could be challenged. Magic is woven into this world through the existence of the Ashkar, a community that lives behind a wall within the city because of the magic they wield. Lin Caster, an Ashakri, and also a physician, finds herself beyond the walls in order to venture out in hopes of achieving her ambitious goals.

After devouring this sampler, I went on to pre-order the book in many editions!

I'd like to express my gratitude to the publisher for providing this sampler of "Sword Catcher" by Cassandra Clare!

Cassandra Clare's "Sword Catcher" marks the commencement of her debut adult fantasy series, unfolding within the vibrant city of Castellane, brimming with political intrigue and featuring a multi-perspective narrative structure. Exploring Castellane as a battleground for power and wealth, where nobles, criminals, the affluent, and external figures with political and wealth interests engage in manipulation, was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. It comes as no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed delving into the life of Kel, an orphan unexpectedly thrust into the intricate world of royalty as he assumes the role of Sword Catcher for Prince Connor of Castellane.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

I patiently waited to read this book during my December cruise holiday without reading any spoilers. This book sent me on a journey of emotions. I was intrigued at the beginning, then found it a bit slow paced and then off I go on the book journey! I would say this is a mixed emotions book. A far cry (as to be expected) from the mortal instruments which I loved.
There is a lot of world building and this can sometimes slow down the pace of the book. Considering this book is adult fantasy, I was also surprised at there being no spice. I feel this book is basically the book before the real story begins. I will definitely read the next as I feel committed to continue on this journey. Will it be in my favourite books of all time? Probably not. Hoping the next book in series will change my mind.

Whilst I've loved all of Cassandra's other books, I found this a much more difficult read. It feels very 'info-dump'y and convoluted so, after three attempts to get into it, I've decided to call it a day and try again at a later date.

Cassandra Clare does it again and has me gripped and wanting to read the rest of the book. I have always been a fan of her previous books, but it is nice to read about a new universe and get my teeth into something new! Hopefully I will get the whole book for Christmas!

Okay so I'm a huge fan of Cassandra Clare so obviously I had to apply for this ARC!!

Sword Catcher is her first Adult Fantasy novel and I can say, it didn't disappoint! We follow Kel as he joins the Royal family as the elusive Sword Catcher, sword to protect Conor, heir to the throne. One note is that I found the name 'Conor' to be a little out of sorts when it was surrounded by all these Fantasy names but maybe that's because I'm Irish and the name Conor is an Irish name so it's common here?

Really enjoyed the world building and the clothes mentioned in the excerpt, it really intrigued me to buy the book when released! I felt the dual POVs of Kel and Lin added to the world building and it was interesting to see their interactions with each other and Conor.

I never thought I'd see Cassandra Clare write a non-shadowhunter book but she did very well with Sword Catcher and I look forward to the sequel

This was a fantastic adult debut! The political storyline mixed with the world building was perfect! It felt like a grown up Shadowhunters vibe for a generation who are now adults! I am so excited to see where the next one goes!

Having never read the Shadow Hunters series, this was my first introduction to Clare’s writing, and all I can say is I’m going to go and devour every other piece of fiction she has ever written because wow. I loved the protagonists, and the multi pov! Big fantasy books have often scared me in the past, but the underground crime aspects of it reminded me of the writings of Leigh Bardugo (particularly her Crows in the Grishaverse).
Recommend this heavily!!

It was enjoyable but definitely felt it fell in to the same Clare trap of an overly descriptive prose and slightly slow plot advancement.

It’s not enough to put me off the book at all though

Sword Catcher is Cassandra Clare’s big jump from young adult to the world of new adult fantasy fiction and it is safe to say I was fairly excited to read this book being a massive fan of her Shadowhunter universe 😍

This book was a bit of a push to get through with it being very high fantasy and with the author trying to build an entirely new world from scratch. There is a lot to take in with it but it does work in Cassie’s favour because you have a very solid foundation of the world she has built 👍🏽

The two main characters are quite compelling but my favourite has to be Kel and seeing how he develops in this book. He was very easy to love from the beginning and I am looking forward to following his journey as the series goes on. I did like Lins character but she didn’t leave a massive impression on me until the last 30% of the book so again hoping to her character get fleshed out in book two! The Ragpicker King certainly an interesting character about but my only quip is that we didn’t really learn enough about him to understand his motivations (but I guess this will definitely be explored in book two!)

I personally see this first book as setting the scene to what is to come as I think Cassandra Clare has set up a very solid baseline of the world, characters and potential political and romance plot lines for the series. I am looking forward to seeing how this series grows in book two The Ragpicker King! 📚

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.
Clare also interweaves culture and history into her story so that Lin constantly feels guilty for thinking or doing certain things whilst trying to decide whether she wants to separate herself from the old traditions or ensure her place in her ancestor’s community.

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.

I tried my best to like this book, but I found it meandering, tedious, digressive, and overall too reminiscent of existing series to keep my attention. Felt like a really, really long prelude to something that could have been more interesting if it was more fast paced.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I've actually never read any Cassandra Clare before as her novels all came out when I was an older teenager/in my twenties and not reading YA as much and there was just too much content for me to catch up on! So this was a good introduction to her writing for me. I enjoyed the overall arc of the narrative, though at 600+ pages it did sometimes feel slightly slow - I'm hoping a lot of the setup done here will pay off in the next installment and allow the narrative to move along a bit quicker then. The only thing that made me feel a bit icky was the portrayal of King Markus's mental health - but again, I'll give Clare the benefit of the doubt and assume there'll be more follow-up of that in future books. Enjoyable enough for me to come back for more.

3.5 🌟 Having loved Cassandra Clare’s shadowhunter series I was really excited for this and I feel like it was my excitement that kind of let this down a bit as it just didn’t live up to the other series.

I did enjoy the story and the main characters, especially the relationship between Kel & Conor which I wish we could’ve seen more of, but it felt like the world building was just too long winded and I found myself getting confused about the names of everything and the places. It felt just a tad too long and I think I would’ve enjoyed it if some of the exposition had been cut out. I feel like this is definitely setting up for the series and I am interested in continuing it but not sure if I would reread this one in preparation.

In general I’m a big Cassandra Clare fan, so it was no surprise to me that I would love this book.

The main characters were fantastic, and I especially loved how their stories intertwined with each other and see what linked them together. I did however think that Lin’s story was pretty boring at first and for the first 10 or so chapters, every time it came to her POV I wished to be back with Kel and Conor because their relationship just intrigued me and drew me in right from the very start. Eventually though, Lin’s story became more interesting and later on in the book I was hoping to stay in her POV longer because I was so interested in what was going on.

I do think there was something missing from this first book though – I just can’t quite put my finger on what. I just occasionally felt like I needed more and like I was missing something, but it wasn’t noticeable enough for me to not love the book. I’m hoping that it was just because it was the first book in the series and it was just setting the scene and worldbuilding ready for things to really start happening in the next book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5971354326

Enjoyable fantasy for fans of the Fourth Wing or Sarah J. Maas Crescent City series, although probably closer to a young adult read than the latter and considerably less raunchy! I'll catch the next one when published.

Thanks to the author, published and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.