Published: April 2024
Pages: 528
Series: The Last Legacy #1
Summary
Lukan Gardova is a cardsharp, academy dropout, and―thanks to a duel that ended badly―the disgraced heir to an ancient noble house. His days consist of cheap wine, rigged card games, and wondering how he might win back the life he threw away.
When Lukan discovers that his estranged father has been murdered in strange circumstances, he finds fresh purpose. Deprived of his chance to make amends for his mistakes, he vows to unravel the mystery behind his father’s death.
His search for answers leads him to Saphrona, fabled city of merchant princes, where anything can be bought if one has the coin. Lukan only seeks the truth, but instead he finds danger and secrets in every shadow.
For in Saphrona, everything has a price―and the price of truth is the deadliest of all.
My thoughts
There is not much I can say about this book that you probably haven’t seen from others. I really loved this book. This reminds me hugely if Mask of Mirrors (think high society, rebellion, factions, gang underworld) met The Tainted Cup (murder mystery, main character out of his depth but is guided by perseverance and morality). The Silverblood Promise takes the best things from those two books and joins them together.
“You can’t escape the past, Lukan. It’s our lifelong companion, always at our side.”
The writing is phenomenal. I was captured, I felt everything that was going on. I was curious, sad, angry, I was really feeling it alongside our characters. The stakes are high in this one and I wanted so badly for Lukan to make it through, I was completely rooting for him.
Lukan was a fun characters because he was so real. The Lukan you see at the start of this book is not the same Lukan by the end. He may be slightly immature and perhaps ignorant, but he is guided by his morals and he comes to learn what he values most. He has such perseverance and a huge love for his family despite the circumstances.
“You have to stand up for yourself, you understand? You can’t let someone have their way just because they were born into wealth and privilege. That doesn’t make them better than you.”
Lukan’s relationship with Flea was one of the most wonderful things to come out of this ordeal. The growth throughout this book between the pair of them, but also looking inwards individually. They’ve both had a positive influence on each other, bringing each other out their shells. Showing each other to trust and depend on another being. It was so lovely I need more of them. I love Flea!
“In that moment Flea had realised that trust freely given was more valuable than any trinket she’d ever stolen. It was an almost physical presence inside her chest, lending her a degree of confidence and pride that she’d never felt before.”
So much stuff happens in this book when I finished it I felt like I needed a minute to play catch up. But it was so good. So much fun to read and all the shenanigans they get up to. It was a wild ride and I was there for it all. Take me on that journey, I was truly trusting the process and I’m glad that I saw this story through. I looked at how thick the paperback was and I did wonder just what happens for it to need so many pages (and the writing is teeny!) but the story was much bigger than I imagined and it was a pleasant surprise.
“Sometimes you owed it to yourself to do what was necessary, not what was easy.”
The characters felt believable and as I mentioned already, I was glad to see Lukan’s character development and to see him continue with his mission not just because of his promise but because it was the right thing to do. He took gradual steps and he really turned himself around.
“No one chooses to be a thief, it’s something that’s thrust upon us. We just have to make the best of it.“
Would I recommend?
Yes! I’m so excited to see where this book goes. Although we get an ending to this plot, we still have a bigger mystery at play which will move into the next book. I’m not sure if this will be a duology or a trilogy, as long as it doesn’t get dragged out then I am here for the ride!