Summary
Lies woven in blood are lines waiting to be crossed.
Lin is a competent, dedicated soldier but his mission takes a drastic turn when one of his charges is found murdered. Soon after, he is ambushed by magic-twisted monsters, gravely wounded, and abandoned by his one remaining ally.
Waking to find his injuries healed by forbidden magic, Lin is marked as an oathbreaker by the very laws and beliefs he upholds.
Lin soon finds his faith in the faction he’s lived his life upholding tested by the woman who saved him from the brink of death. With his fate hanging by a thread, he faces an impossible choice: stand by his new ally and seek vengeance for his murdered charge or betray her for amnesty from those who’d execute him.
Review
Bloodwoven is proof that a book doesn’t need to be long and complicated to be compelling. At only 315 pages it is relatively short for a fantasy novel, the plot is straightforward, and the cast of characters minimal. In spite of this, I never felt like I was reading a simple story. The lore of this world is intricate without being overwhelming, the characters emotionally complex, and the plot is engaging, all of which drove me to read this book compulsively. I always say that the highest compliment I can give a book is finding myself lost in it and disregarding how long I’ve spend reading, and I can certainly say that about Bloodwoven.
Anyone who knows my reading preferences will know that I love intricate worldbuilding, the more details the better. Many readers are not of the same opinion however, and I’m aware of that. To me the downside is that sometimes things feel a bit too convenient for me in fantasy novels with less detailed worldbuilding. Bloodwoven strikes a perfect medium for me that I think will appeal to virtually any fantasy reader. In truth we don’t learn all that much about the world outside of what is strictly necessary for the progression of either the plot or the character arcs. That still leaves us with plenty of details though, especially about the magic and culture of the people. This is where it gets tricky though, and in the hands of a less skilled writer, I think this book would actually leave both myself and most other readers dissatisfied. Because most of the information we do get comes from conversations between 2 of our MCs, Lin and Tylle. Having one character explain things to another is a common method authors use to explain important world elements to the reader, but it can often come across as stale and info-dumpy. Not in this novel though, the author is careful to hook the reader and invest them emotionally in the characters first, and tie these world explanations to the emotions and driving motivations of the characters. Because of this I believed the conversations every time and never even noticed the potential info-dumps. It really wasn’t even until I sat down to write this review that I noticed what the author had done, it was that well executed.
As an extension of the worldbuilding, I really enjoyed the magical combat scenes, of which there are many. It would take too long, and be somewhat spoilery, to explain how the magic works but suffice to say it lends itself to really creative uses in combat. All of our protagonists are combatants of one kind or another, and frequently come up against opponents who can wield magic. Instead of being stale or repetitive however, the author showcases more and more intriguing ways the magic of the world can be used, partially for fun I’m sure, but also to teach the reader more about the magic without spelling it out. This book is fast paced and has frequent action so if that is something that appeals to you then you are definitely in for a treat.
As I mentioned previously, our cast of characters is small. There are really four but I will just focus on a couple here. Lin is our main protagonist and singular POV and his interactions with Tylle are perhaps the most compelling element of the novel. Lin is a magic-wielding soldier of the religious organization of the country, and Tylle is a priestess of what she claims is the true religion of their culture, corrupted by the organization Lin works for in order to manipulate their people. I love religion in fantasy novels, I find it fascinating to explore the different elements of religion and how they help and hurt people, especially ones that have been corrupted and used as tools. And though interesting enough to read about in its own right, the intimate battle it causes within Lin is the real star of the show. In the beginning of the novel Lin is grievously injured and Tylle, who was his prisoner at the time, uses magic to heal him and save his life. Which sounds great but is actually forbidden by his religion and leaves him with permanent magical signs on his skin that he believes will damn him in the afterlife. He initially agrees to help Tylle in order to find a way to remove these marks in hopes for redemption but along the way he discovers things that conflict with everything he thought he knew and believed in since he was a child. This internal conflict, and the decisions Lin has to make because of them, was definitely my favorite part of the book.
All in all I had a fantastic time reading Bloodwoven. The fast pace, frequent action, short length, and tight writing all combine to craft a deeply compelling novel that readers will find hard to put down. This novel has me completely hooked and I can’t wait to see what comes next in this trilogy. I find it hard to picture a fantasy reader that wouldn’t enjoy this novel so if it sounds at all interesting, I highly recommend picking it up.