Clare, C: Sword Catcher Chronicles of Castellane 1

I‘m a big fan if Cassandra Clare and her writing style. Sword Catcher is an amazing fantasy filled with a rich world and characters. It starts slow and you have to get used with all the new words and info dumping but other than that, it‘s really good. It‘s all about politics and intrigue, relations and magic in a fascinating world building. The romance is a sub - plot but it keeps you wondering and yearning for more. The characters - each of them were so different and so layered. I love Kel, Conor, Antonetta, the Ragpicker King, Jian and Lin with all of my heart. And all the other characters who play a major part in the book. Hands down, she’s one of the best fantasy authors, she‘s a master of world building and crafting amazing and different characters :)

I simply loved this book! It was my first book from Cassandra Clare not about Shadowhunters and this new world was so well created! At the beginning, there were many new names and places, but soon, I got used to it and then, I couldn’t get enough! Kel is a wonderful main character, as well as Lin. They are both very fascinating, especially Kel as the Sword Catcher. His loyalty to Conor had no boundaries, even if it was a little sad to see that they kept so many secrets from each other at all. In general, this book was so full of secrets, betrayal and unexpected turns, it was very fun to read! All in all a promising start, reading this is really worth it!

As a huge fan of the Shadowhunter universe I had high expectations when this new series was announced. They were a bit too high, unfortunately. Sword Catcher is different than the Shadowhunter books and that's good. It is supposed to. Especially in the beginning there are a lot of descriptions and an expanded worldbuilding. It helps you dive in, but for me it got kind of boring because the pace was so slow. I generally enjoy quieter scenes and chapters when they support character development and show the emotional depth of the protagonists. But I could not really connect with the characters here so I did not get hooked with the story. It's solid, but I will leave it at that and won't continue with Ragpicker King.