The Silverblood Promise

This was fantastic!

It was such a good start to the series, full of adventure and excitement, mystery and tense moments! I really loved the relationship between Flea and Lukan, it was so wholesome, and they really grew together! I love a good quest and a conspiracy, and this had both! I can’t wait to continue the series!!

The narrator was PHENOMENAL! He did such a good job and it elevated the book to a 4 star for sure!

Brenock O’Connor really captures the voices of Lukan and Flea well and it is a really enjoyable listen even when sped up. I would listen to future audiobooks by O’Connor and I think his narration really suits the fantasy/big old adventure genre.

Lukan finds himself amid chaos after discovering his father has been murdered and he left a final note for him, written in his own blood, Using the clues from the note he finds himself travelling to unravel the mysteries surrounding his fathers death. He employs an eleven year old street urchin and their relationship was one of the best parts of the story. There is magic, terrifying beasts and creatures, deadly assassins, elusive thieves . and Lukan plotting terribly. 'The plan stank worse than a week old corpse.'

'I suppose evil is at its most powerful when it wears a smile and smells of rosewater.'

This debut was so much fun! I loved every part of it and was hooked with the story from the beginning to the end. It was relentless in action, mystery and sarcasm throughout. I look forward to book two and travelling to Korslakov!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in advance in exchange for an honest review.

The Silverblood Promise is the first book in The Last Legacy series by James Logan. Lukan Gardova is a disgraced heir to a noble house, estranged from his father and kicked out of his academy for a duel that ended badly. He now spends his days gambling and drinking gin, but finds purpose again when he discovers that his father has been murdered in very odd circumstances. His search for answers take him to Saphrona, the dangerous city of merchant princes and secrets.

I was drawn to this book based on the blurb and the fact that the book was recommended for fans of James Islington. I'm currently halfway through the audiobook of The Will of The Many by James Islington, and I knew instantly that it was going to be a 5 star read. So when I saw the comparison to James Islington in the ALC's book description, I was really excited for this. And I had that same feeling when I started this audiobook - I just knew that I was going to love it, and be completely drawn into the world and the characters. That feeling never went away as I listened for 17 hours. The plot takes poor Lukan from one unfortunate situation to another, and his smart mouth and reckless attitude doesn't help him much either, although he does always manage to slip out of a situation unscathed. The book wastes no time getting into the action, and a lot happens in this book. It's fast-paced but also perfectly paced - there's definitely no filler here, but you get proper time with the characters Lukan meets along the way.

Speaking of characters, the relationship between Lukan and Flea is definitely a highlight. Flea is the young street thief that Lukan meets very early on in the book, when he first arrives in Saphrona. Their sibling-like behaviour and eleven year old Flea's ability to repeatedly save Lukan from dire situations was both sweet and funny. Lukan meets a large variety of characters during this first book, and the narrator of the audiobook uses a lot of different accents and intonations to differentiate all of the characters. I really enjoyed the audiobook format!

The author does a really good job of building up the lore of this world gradually, rather than lore dumping at the start of the book. The magical elements build up too as the plot unfolds, and are likely to play a bigger part in future books in the series. It is a really strong fantasy book, focused on both plot and characters and the ending is a powerful lead-in to the sequel.

Disclaimer: I received an ALC from NetGalley but this is my voluntary and honest review.