Hey! Welcome to the A Broken Blade Tour
BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE: A Broken Blade
AUTHOR: Melissa Blair
PUB. DATE: August 2nd, 2022
PUBLISHER: Union Square & Co.
GENRE(S): ADULT FICTION—Fantasy
TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING(S): Sexual assault mentioned, Substance addiction, Suicidal ideation, Self-harm, Murder, Torture, Colonialism
BUY LINK: https://bookshop.org/a/11727/9781454947875
SYNOPSIS:
My body is made of scars,
some were done to me,
but most I did to myself.
Keera is a killer. As the King’s Blade, she is the most talented spy in the kingdom. And the king’s favored assassin. When a mysterious figure moves against the Crown, Keera is called upon to hunt down the so-called Shadow.
She tracks her target into the magical lands of the Fae, but Faeland is not what it seems…and neither is the Shadow. Keera is shocked by what she learns, and can’t help but wonder who her enemy truly is: the King that destroyed her people or the Shadow that threatens the peace?
As she searches for answers, Keera is haunted by a promise she made long ago, one that will test her in every way. To keep her word, Keera must not only save herself, but an entire kingdom.
Interview Questions:
What was your inspiration behind A Broken Blade?
I was reading a lot of paranormal fantasy romance during lockdown. The subgenre was super popular on BookTok at the time and I was reading it all alongside everyone else. But I kept noticing that these books were set in colonial societies with little to no mention about the peoples Indigenous to these lands. I started asking myseld what had happaned to them, what their cultures had been like, why and how these transitions of power had happened. Eventually I had the idea of what kind of story would I write if I stayed in the subgenre, kept all of the tropes and elements BookTok seemed to love so much, but framed it from an Indigenous point of view. Keera was born from that thought experiment and A Broken Blade is her story.
- What drives Keera in the book?
Keera is constantly trying to balance her longing to mitigate harm and desire to help her kin as much as possible with the guilt of what is required of her to maintain the small amount of power she has been able to carve out for herself. Most days, she finds the guilt overwhelming and is haunted by the decisions she’s made in the past. Keera has a lot of skills in her repertoire, but self-forgiveness isn’t one of them.
- What is next on her journey?
There is so much about the world and history of Elverath Keera doesn’t know or understand. There’s also so much about her own past and history she doesn’t understand. Readers will see how those merge together in Book 2. Keera and Riven also need to have a serious chat and I can’t say there won’t be weapons involved.
- What can we expect in the Halfling Saga?
There were two things I wanted to do with the Halfling Saga when I started. First, tell a story of an Indigenous people coming together to take down a colonial conqueror and revive their culture. And the second was to play around with some much-loved tropes in unexpected ways. I feel comfortable saying you can expect both of those things in the upcoming books.
- What are you reading currently?
I have a few books on the go at the moment. I’m listening to Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse, reading Book Lovers by Emily Henry on my iPad and Critically Sovereign edited by Joanne Barker is sitting on my bedside table.
- What are your favorite books with Fae, elves, and other mythical creatures?
I can’t count the number of times I’ve reread Ella Enchanted. I also loved the Inheritance Cycle as a teen. Anything with dragons is usually an instant buy for me.
DJ Reads Books 