Blade of Dream
Kithamar is a center of trade and wealth, an ancient city with a long, bloody history where countless thousands live and their stories endure. This is Garreth’s.
Garreth Left is heir to one of Kithamar’s most prominent merchant families. The path of his life was paved long before he was born. Learn the family trade, marry to secure wealthy in-laws, and inherit the business when the time is right. But to Garreth, a life chosen for him is no life at all.
In one night, a chance meeting with an enigmatic stranger changes everything. He falls in love with a woman whose name he doesn’t even know, and he will do anything to find her again. His search leads him down corridors and alleys that are best left unexplored, where ancient gods hide in the shadows, and every deal made has a dangerous edge.
The path that Garreth chooses will change the course of not only those he loves, but the entire future of Kithamar’s citizens.
In Kithamar, every story matters―and the fate of the city is woven from them all.
-Goodreads
Title: Blade of Dream
Series: Kithamar #2
Author: Daniel Abraham
Page Count: 464
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.25/5.0
Date Read: February 27th, 2025
Opening
Last year, our Buddy Read group selected Age of Ash book one of the Kithamar series by Daniel Abraham as a monthly read. This started my second series by Abraham and like the first (The Dagger and the Coin) I rather enjoyed it. As I have been focusing heavily on getting caught up on series, I noticed book two Blade of Dream was released already as well, so I thought I'd dive into this one in early 2025.
Pacing
The pacing worked well for me. The only real trouble I had was it took me some time to truly recall what had happened to wrap up book one. That and if I'm being honest the first half of Blade of Dream almost seemed like an entirely different story other than still taking place in Kithamar. I didn't feel that connection to book until the second half. Once that happened though, I was dialed in!
I'd also like to admit that I did the audiobook for this one which was narrated by Sean Rohani who is relatively new to me. He did a rather good job though and it didn't take me long to be able to focus on his presentation. Often times I struggle to dial into narrators that I'm not familiar with but Sean's performance had me feeling very comfortable early on.
World Building
The world building is one of the stronger aspects to this book and the series in general so far. The connection to the city (as a character) and other characters is very unique to me. Beyond that, there is definitely some magic in this world but the character interactions and the politics of the city and it's different regions and factions seem to take center stage to me.
Character Development
The character development is also really good in Blade of Dream. To be honest there was definitely a strong Romeo and Juliet type of story with some of our characters. Garreth's arc was really good, and right up my alley. The young man who isn't afraid to branch off from comfortable roots and try to find his own path is always an enjoyable story for me.
Closing
Not to take anything away from the Elaine story arc though, as it's also fantastic. As we learn more about her background is when I really started feeling the connection back to book one of this series.
This continues to be a strong series that I am enjoying and will look to continue when the next installment is released.
I would recommend this book and series to readers of fantasy looking for something just a little different perhaps while still giving us some familiar vibes we are used to in traditional fantasy stories and worlds. I haven't read anywhere near all of Abraham's books at this point but I would venture a guess and say if you enjoyed The Dagger and the Coin series like I did, you will probably like this one.
This is by no means a fast paced story so be prepared for plenty of build up. I didn't find the build up over boring and feel like I was slogging at any point which to me means a lot!
Scoring
Pacing 4.0 / 5.0
Worldbuilding 4.5 / 5.0
Character Development 4.25 / 5.0
