Review: The Bird and the Sword by Amy Harmon

My Thoughts

A must-read, beautifully written, poignant page turner.
Amy Harmon delivers an unforgettable story once again.

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Synopsis

The day my mother was killed, she told my father I wouldn’t speak again, and she told him if I died, he would die too. Then she predicted the king would trade his soul and lose his son to the sky.

My father has a claim to the throne, and he is waiting in the shadows for all of my mother’s words to come to pass. He wants desperately to be king, and I just want to be free.

But freedom will require escape, and I’m a prisoner of my mother’s curse and my father’s greed. I can’t speak or make a sound, and I can’t wield a sword or beguile a king. In a land purged of enchantment, love might be the only magic left, and who could ever love . . . a bird?

My Review

“For the word is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edge sword. Piercing, even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow.”

When it comes to wielding words like a sword, Amy Harmon always strikes true. She’s a brilliant, lyrical writer whose stories make me feel deeply, move me, inspire me. Her poetic style tangles words in unexpected ways that add dimension and meaning. Her prowess is evidenced in her latest work—The Bird and the Sword—a fantastical romance about the need to feel loved, be seen, show acceptance and realize the true power of the words we express. The story is beautiful, evocative, spellbinding and rife with lessons to take to heart.

“Swallow, Daughter, pull them in, those words that sit upon your lips. Lock them deep inside your soul, hide them ‘til they’ve time to grow. Close your mouth upon the power, curse not, cure not, ‘til the hour. You won’t speak and you won’t tell, you won’t call on heav’n or hell. You will learn and you will thrive. Silence, Daughter. Stay alive.”

The day Lark’s mother died at the hand of the King, she unleashed her final words—if Lark died, her father would die too, and the king would trade his soul and lose his son to the sky.

Lark lost her words that day, silenced so she wouldn’t tempt danger, so she wouldn’t fully command the magic with which she was born.

Years later, she would be taken as a pawn by the murdering King’s son—the new King—to be used against her father who longed to usurp the throne. Throughout the entirety of her life, she’d been held captive in one way or another, by her father, by her silence and now by King Tiras.

Lark lived in a time when magic was disdained. Those who were gifted were persecuted and the Council openly tried to snuff out their power.

“The castle was full of secrets and schemes, full of people hungry for power and afraid of magic.”

To Lark, King Tiras was a study in contradiction. He was virtuous and beguiling all at once. Charming, but dangerously so. He seemed to care for her, and she warmed to him, but she wondered if he used her as a means to an end.

“I had given my words to a man who could use me. And use me he had. Use me he would. Until I was no longer of use.”

All her life, Lark wanted to be seen, to be loved. And when she finally feels to have found what (and who) she’s longed for, everything turns on itself with unexpected suspicions and truths.

“I have all the power, but you will destroy me.”

There are so many things I loved about Lark’s story. As a passionate fantasy reader I did love the magic that swirled within the story—to me, it gives the narrative another dimension and depth. But what’s also great is that the story is perfect for those who are not habitual fantasy readers as the focus revolves around the relationships and the burgeoning romance.

The words will sweep you away, the romance will captivate you, and you’ll find yourself utterly entranced by Amy Harmon’s beautiful story.

“I have loved you every moment of every day, and I will love you until I cease to be.”

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