by A.M. Vergara

A Fantasy, 2023 by Damocles’ Blade Press, 365 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:

I have a terrible time remembering/paying attention to the dates and places that are put in chapter headers. It gets even worse in audiobooks because I can’t go back and check. I hope they weren’t important!
There’s a lot of descriptions of clothing, appearance, and things. Not unusual for fantasy or historical books, I mention it only as a content warning, since some readers find it dull.
No Magic, no fantasy creatures. This makes the book hard to classify by genre. It reads like a historical fantasy, but without those things it is hard to call it such.

The history of the Firefax family was intriguing. This was refreshing as, often, when a story breaks to give you backstory it is boring. This one worked to add a little mystery to the story.
Murdoch. The mysterious dark stranger of legend. The long lost brother. The dangerous killer. Yet the way he treats the other character betrays his reality, his true inner nature. I love characters like him! He was so deep and so morally grey he became my instant favorite. Plus, he has a sort of dry sarcastic humor, which is my favorite kind!
Beautiful language. The descriptions are well done, the emotions are on the surface, and the dialogue feels realistic. Just well written.

Readers who enjoy complex characters, family drama, and historical settings.
Readers who like slow building stories that come together in a rush of and leave you breathless.

Although hard to classify by genre, the beauty of this dysfunctional family of assassins captivates and will appeal to a huge variety of readers. Highly recommended!