Forging The Blade

by Arwen Falvey

Avalia is the most lethal assassin in the world, but when she runs afoul of a fire-starting terrorist she finds herself charged with a terrible crime. Through luck, skill, and the help of her innate empathic abilities she has weathered many a storm, but this might be the biggest yet. Dragged before The Court of The Regents, the highest court in the land, she must recount her life story to convince the elemental regents of her innocence. Will her tale save her life? Or is this the end of her story?

434 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 25, 2025

About the author

Arwen Falvey is an author, artist, and generally unhinged person who enjoys all things magical, mystical, dark, weird, and whimsical. With over 40 years of creative writing under her belt, including an article for The CBC and her debut novel, Swinging on Gates, she has a long, ink-stained history of creativity and escapism. Her experiences with queerness, disability, otherness, abuse, trauma, mental illness, and chosen family inform her work, offering a unique perspective on universal struggles. She lives on the South Shore of Nova Scotia with her daughter and three cats who enjoy it when she makes them battle tanks out of cardboard boxes. Her work can be found at www.arwenfalvey.com.

Reviews

[readerari_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC review of Forging the Blade
Release date: 25 June 2025

3/5 ⭐️

I found this book very unique. The entire book I was taken back to history and then to the present, a back and forth to reveal the history. The story revolved around a trial in front of the different realms which were unique and offered different worlds and experiences.

The pacing was constant throughout the book, I was taken seamlessly between time and the events that happened. The book focused on world building and I can see it playing into the next book(s) in the trilogy.

The vocabulary was rich, the author wrote beautifully and it was easy to grasp what was being described.

Thank you to the author, Arwen Falvey, for gifting me this eARC. All opinions in this review are my own.

[Aislinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous! Made me laugh, made me cry, it was brilliant!