Sweep of the Blade

Sweep of the Blade by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a joy to read. I really appreciated the pivot from Dina to Maud here, though we do get a bit of transition time with overlapping views.

Maud and Helen are a team and it was such a joy to watch play out. She is steadfast in her determination not to become some sort of trophy wife again to a vampire, but Arland is just as stubborn about his commitment to them both. We get a lot of backstory on vampires, their wars, their politics, and their family structures. I’m not even sure where to start in a review, so I’m going to focus on the relationship goodness.

Maud is obviously an outsider when she arrives with Helen and there is also something going on in the vampire politics realm. She really leverages all her training in both fighting and innkeeping to make sure she and Helen can survive all these machinations. Arland is clearly much stronger and more well equipped with Maud by his side than without her. Even Arland’s family becomes Team Maud (and Helen) along the way, which was lovely to watch. I think I would have enjoyed this book even as a stand-alone without that whole innkeeper buildup and background, but I’m not sure you would get the same bang for your buck. While I’m happy to join back up with the earth-bound folks, this was definitely a nice diversion and addition to the lore.

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