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Carlee

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Carlee is Currently Reading

Carlee is currently reading

Blood & Steel (The Legends of Thezmarr, #1)

by Helen Scheuerer (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in May 2025

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Carlee said:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

" 4.5 stars; What a fantastic introduction to this series! It had great character, relationship, and world building, well-written and fast-paced action sequences that I could easily visualize, and introduced many different plot points and questions tha 4.5 stars; What a fantastic introduction to this series! It had great character, relationship, and world building, well-written and fast-paced action sequences that I could easily visualize, and introduced many different plot points and questions that can be built upon and answered in future installments.

I really liked Thea and Wilder as main characters and enjoyed how the author would throw in occasional chapters from Wilder’s POV. Both Thea and Wilder’s personalities, motivations, desires, and devotion to each other was well-established in this book, while still leaving room for them to grow and evolve both as individuals and a couple.

As much as I don’t like it, I do understand why Wilder feels he can’t be both Thea’s mentor and lover. Although, I have to think that eventually he will end up being both despite his good intentions. I knew that there was no way for them to truly get together so soon in the series and I’m actually looking forward to seeing them go back to the push-pull relationship they had in the beginning of the book. The choice to have Thea and Wilder spend so much time in each other’s company early on when he was her escort was a good one as it helped build their relationship organically and now with her as his apprentice they’ll definitely have reason to be around each other without it feeling forced.

This book also introduced some amazing supporting characters that I’m eager to learn more about and see how their journeys unfold in future books. Although I have mixed feelings about Wren right now, I do think she’s absolutely brilliant in her field and someone Thea will have to rely on going forward to survive. I also think she’s eventually going to enter into a relationship with Cal. Cal and Kipp were both amazing additions to the story and some much-needed support for Thea as she started her journey as a shieldbearer. I imagine that they will continue to work together and use their specific skill sets to become an unstoppable unit. I can’t wait to see more of Audra and hear more about her past as a Warsword. She’s definitely not fulfilled in her new life as a librarian and I don’t think she’s picked up a sword and fought for the last time just yet.

I can’t wait to find out more about Talemir and Malik. There’s a lot that is still unknown about Talemir’s story and what really happened between him and Wilder. The line Wilder said about Thea reminding him of Talemir’s wife always stuck with me and made me wonder if there was some kind of love triangle there or if he was just resentful of Talemir finding someone he loved enough to give up being a Warsword for. I feel so bad for Malik and love what a gentle giant he is. I hope he’s able to recover from whatever ails him and that he’s at least able to speak again. I adore Dax and love how loyal he is to Thea and Malik, however, I don’t believe he’s just a protective pet. I think there’s something more going on there…is he actually a person?

I’m not sure what to make of King Artos yet, I think there’s more to him than meets the eye and I don’t fully trust him or the other rulers. Like Thea, I wonder what his power and magic as the most powerful empath actually entails and whether or not he knows or has suspicions about Thea having magic and being a royal heir? He definitely seems to have taken a special interest in her and be keeping tabs on her. Also who tried to kill him and why? The fact that someone was trying to murder him was quickly glossed over, but has to come back into play in subsequent books. I also want to see more of his daughter and think she has a bigger role to play in all this as well.

I’m very interested in learning more about Thea and Wren’s royal lineage and whether or not they have more family out there. Who were their parents and how and why did these girls end up left on the doorstep of Thezmarr? Thea has to be directly connected to Anya…I’m thinking she’s her older sister because they keep mentioning that she too has copper hair. What exactly happened with her and the blade that night was confusing to me and I would like more clarification on that as well as the guild master’s decision to immediately strip women of their right to serve and protect the realm. The guild master, Osiris, is another character I do not trust and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was in cahoots with some of the rulers to suppress women, damage the veil, and do whatever other nefarious things they have planned. I also believe there has to be more to the prophecy that says Thea will only live to 27. Maybe the number 27 represents something else or maybe it’s a lie altogether? Either way Thea is definitely not dying then.

I can’t wait to pick up the next book of this series and find out the answers to all of these questions and see how this series unfolds. It’s off to a great start and I truly hope that it only gets better from here! ...more "

progress:

(page 18 of 550)
— Feb 24, 2026 03:05PM

May 26, 2025 09:52AM · see review