Review for

 Lord of Druemarwin 

 by Helen C. Johannes


            Lord of Druemarwin stands strong among its peers as a solid sword and board fantasy story, which is what attracted me to it. I came for duels on parapet walls, political intrigue, and the ever-present burden of honor, but I stayed for the characters and tightly woven plot. Johannes has built a world where characters and their struggles keep the reader turning pages until the very end. I’m not much for romance novels, but here’s one that knows how to get me invested in the perilous love story between our hero and heroine. Even the spicier scenes of love and lust seem earned rather than contrived, something I think is pretty rare.

            For lovers of worldbuilding, Lord of Druemarwin will not disappoint. One of the strongest aspects of this is the limited scope of the story. It doesn’t take place across vast continents, with hundreds of characters or cultures. Johannes takes her time and builds the three rival clans into fully fleshed cultures, each with their flaws and virtues, before setting them on the arduous task of finding common ground. Our principle characters, Lady Raell and Lord Naed, have to overcome not only the political turmoil of a world in the brink of change, but also their own deeply ingrained sense of duty, honor, and loyalty. Their love for each other, a force stronger than tradition, may be the only thing that can begin to bring these disparate societies together.

            Another solid aspect of this novel are its characters. I absolutely loved Raell. Her arc through this novel is one of personal growth and strength, but every inch of it is learned through hard lessons and bloody trials. I was so glad to see her stand on her own two feet as a confident equal to both heroes and villains. Even secondary characters are fleshed out to the point where I thought to myself, “Ha, Toth ain’t gonna like that.” And boy, was I right.

            If I have a criticism, it’s that the first third of the book or so is a little slow to get off the ground. By the halfway point, I was reading with every spare minute I had, but it took a little while to get there. I can probably chalk this up to not having read the first in this series, so I had to play a little catch-up with learning who was who and what was what. Again, Johannes does a powerful job of building a world that’s logically consistent, so catching up wasn’t hard to do, but the beginning still felt a little sluggish.

All in all, a fun and enjoyable read, even if it is outside my normal wheelhouse. I’d certainly recommend it to anyone who wants some romance splashed into their medieval Europe fantasy story, or anyone who wants to read about someone getting their kneecap broken in vivid detail.

Disclaimer: I received this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.


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