Flora Reviews… Hidden Blade (Soul Eater #1) by Pippa DaCosta
Quote from Hidden Blade
“Gods. They’re a pain in my ass, I thought as my cell phone chirped in my pocket, alerting the four college kids inside the apartment that I was crouched on their balcony, watching them summon gods knew what from the underworld. It had to be a god calling me – too many millennia had given them the worst sense of timing.”
My Overall Rating: 5/5
Plot: 5/5 – Flow: 4/5 – Character Development: 4/5 – World Building: 5/5
What’s Hidden Blade about?
[book-info]
Read: July 2017
Re-read: 16th – 19th April 2019
Hidden Blade is an adult urban fantasy novella featuring humans, Egyptian Gods and demons and is the first book in Pippa DaCosta’s Soul Eater series.
I downloaded Hidden Blade for my Kindle because it was free. Plus, I also downloaded the narration using my monthly Audible credit. Double freebie – result!! I read the ebook and listened to the narration before bed. However, my favourite experience was when I read along to the narration. It really brings the story alive.
Hidden Blade was one of the novellas that appeared in the Bad Magic box set which I read back in the summer of 2017.
What did I like about Hidden Blade?
I’m already a fan of Ms DaCosta’s books. Her writing style is intelligent, engaging and very easy to read. I like how she paces her plots and the balance of tension, mystery and action she uses. Plus, there’s always a sprinkling of humour in her stories.
As a narrated book, I enjoyed Paul Woodson’s performance immensely.
The pace at which he read the story was just right. The tonal variations he used during different scenes and the change in voice he used for each character’s dialogue brought the characters to life. I’d definitely buy books narrated by him in the future.
Hidden Blade has dark themes and some upsetting scenes.
Although I didn’t blubber like a baby, a few of the more poignant, emotional scenes did cause the odd tear to trickle down my cheek.
What I liked about this book, was that I was never quite sure how things would end. The tension built dramatically, my blood boiled with frustration at the injustice and I couldn’t work out which character would make it to the next book. I loved that I was kept guessing.
But it’s not all doom and gloom.
There’s sarcastic humour and well-written banter in this tale which made me smile. Plus, beautiful glimmers of humanity that warmed my old heart. I feel it’s a sign of quality writing and character connection when an author can make me feel and get so caught up in the story.
What didn’t I like?
I did give this book a 5-star rating. Therefore, nothing niggled or grated on my nerves while reading it.
That’s not to say that I didn’t find the actions, reasoning and behaviour of some of our main characters frustrating at times. However, (in my opinion), that’s deliberate; it’s all part of the journey and character/story development that Ms DaCosta makes us, the reader, experience to make the whole tale so involving.
I would also just like to add.
Hidden Blade is the first book in a six-book series. Therefore, I expected to have some questions left unanswered. However, fear not, dear reader, there is no life or death cliffhanger at the end of this book! WooHoo! Brownie points to you Ms DaCosta!
Basically, what I’m saying is…
Hidden Blade is a great action-packed start to this Egyptian urban fantasy series!
I really enjoyed this book. It had everything that I look for in a 5-star read. It’s well written with a huge amount of credible twists and turns that kept me guessing. There’s action galore and a bit of an emotional roller-coaster of an urban fantasy tale!
Due to the graphic violence and sexual/dark themes, I’d recommend Hidden Blade to adults who are not offended by content of this nature who are fans of urban fantasy adventures with gritty story-lines and lots of action.
Has my review of HIDDEN BLADE (SOUL EATER #1) encouraged you to find out more? I really hope so. Just click on any of the links below to check out the book yourself or to find out more about the author.
[about-author]
[about-narrator]
Thanks for visiting and reading my thoughts about HIDDEN BLADE. Have you read any of Pippa’s books? Or this series? Drop me a comment and we can chat books! 😉
Before you go, have you checked out my favourite auto-buy authors’ page? See which amazing authors I love and don’t forget to recommend anyone I’m missing. 😉
Bye for now,
Flora x
Audible Subscription
Just in case you didn’t know, I’ve had an Audible Membership since 8th July 2018. I get one credit a month to use to buy ANY audiobook. Plus, there are ALWAYS fabulous offers running like 2 for 1 deals, 50% sales, exclusive member-only deals, you know the thing.
My audiobook library has really taken off!
As you can tell from my reviews, I’m listening to rather than reading these days. I find it a relaxing but more immersive experience.
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