Do you think that this is a good length for a story? Should they generally be combined into a single novel? Or could authors add more depth and get a trilogy out of it? Let me know in the comments (above). I feel like I’m seeing more duologies out there than I used to. The lushly romantic, magical first volume in the epic Bladesmith duology by bestselling YA fantasy sensation Tricia Levenseller. So overall, I didn’t like this second book as much as the first, but it did come to an exciting conclusion. The romance also felt like it stagnated, and despite Ziva and Kellyn being thrown together for so much of this book, Ziva’s lack of perception about their relationship made this a frustrating read. Some of the plot felt too contrived to me. The action in this book didn’t move as quickly as in Blade of Secrets and I had a harder time getting through it.

This book continued the story from Blade of Secrets and launches a new crisis where a power-hungry prince takes both Ziva and Kellyn captive and forces Ziva to create magical weapons for his growing army. The forge has always been Ziva’s safe space, a place to avoid society and the anxiety it causes her, but now it is her prison, and she’s not sure just how much of herself she’ll have to sacrifice to save Kellyn and take center stage in the very war she’s been trying to stop. When the events that follow lead to Ziva and Kellyn’s capture by an ambitious prince, Ziva is forced into the very situation she’s been dreading: magicking dangerous weapons meant for world domination. Ziva is forced into a breakneck race to a nearby city with the handsome mercenary, Kellyn, and the young scholar, Petrik, to find a powerful magical healer who can save her sister’s life.

Eighteen-year-old Ziva may have defeated a deadly warlord, but the price was almost too much.