Barbara Russell, $3.99, ISBN 978-1005905491
Fantasy Romance, 2019
Hazel Ravenwood has just lost her job at the Royal Archaeological Society. Basically, she didn’t let an uppity bloke feel her up, and if he weren’t good enough for her in that way, then he’d make sure that she’s not good enough for the Society. At 27, Hazel needs a job badly, so armed with the power of sarcasm, she starts to look around. Well, after a few weeks of fruitless job hunting, she gets two requests for a job interview. It must be her lucky day.
Well, sort of. She’s not so lucky in that during her last few weeks of employment, she handled some artifacts, and one of these artifacts likely formed some kind of link with her, as this link is detected by two long-lived enemies: Sebastyon Sancerre and Aleximanus “You Know I’m Gonna Be Redeemed Somehow and Be the Ooh the Most Angst-Wangst One in the Series” the Betrayer. I know Alex is the bad guy because it is laid out the very moment the two men are introduced and Tyon launches into an internal monologue about everything to clue the readers in, and the prologue also leaves no ambiguities at all that Tyon is the good guy here, the leader of the Order, sequel baits that are brought back to life as sin-eaters to take down their evil counterparts.
So, Tyon wants to discover the relic and protect Hazel, but he naturally can’t tell her the whole truth because she’s not the reader and hence has no such privilege. Fortunately, he’s hot and she also stumbles upon him helping the poor and the oppressed, so she ends up taking his job offer, because come on, who can resist such contrived plot developments.
Is The Pact of the White Blade Knights the first written book by Barbara Russell? I do wonder, because this one displays many traits typical of an author’s debut effort. It’s structured in a way that exposes how the author doesn’t trust her reader with any hint of suspense. Everything is revealed immediately, leaving me to fidget in impatience as I wait for the heroine to catch up. I don’t learn much that is new as I turn the pages, and this is an issue because this story moves very slowly.
No, I’m not joking, as Hazel deciding whose job offer she’d like take up spans a few chapters alone. Given that I already know whom the good guy is, and then seeing how the author contrives to ensure that Hazel picks Tyon anyway… well, it’s a roller-coaster ride that moves along a flat vertical plane from beginning to end.
I find myself thinking that this one would have been far more fun to read if the author hadn’t had a prologue that spelled out what Tyon is. Why not let me find out later in the story as Hazel learns more about her employer? That way, our heroine also won’t be playing catch up with me, we’d be learning about that guy together instead, and that would allow me to be more invested in the heroine’s journey.
Imagine how interesting things could have been if Hazel ended up taking a job with Aleximanus instead, and ends up having to do cunning heroine stuff to get away. I could have found out along with her what kind of person that fellow is, instead of learning all this so early on. Things could have been more of an edge-of-seat exciting read if there had been a dramatic confrontation between the two men, and I learn why they are enemies through their bombastic declarations that these types tend to deliver before they start whacking one another. If the heroine had played a more active role discovering the two men’s secrets, I could have also glimpsed more of her intrepid nature and rooted for her more.
No, instead, I just turn the pages waiting for the heroine to discover what I already know, and I’m bored for the most part.
Also, the author is afraid of letting her characters lose or sacrifice even a little bit here. The heroine does something here that could be considered a dramatic sacrifice for her love or even the force of good, but no, by the end it is revealed that she never had to do anything drastic at all, and the hero just assumed that she did. In fact, the heroine ends up profiting from supposedly being in danger, as by the last page, all those that initially stood in her way of being a Strong Independent Woman have been completely removed from the scene. The entire story is contrived to allow Hazel and Tyon to achieve their victories with zero to minimal cost, and as a result, the whole thing feels tad unearned.
The author seems afraid to let me worry or fear for her characters as well. Hazel, despite claiming to feel scared, has no moments when she can’t show off how sarcastic she is. Oh, I’m to believe that she’s cared of Tyon? She could have fooled me, as she has no issues saying things to push all his buttons just because she can. Yes, sadly, Hazel is one of those heroines created under the assumption that being a strong and feisty heroine means being able to talk and do things that could have worsened any situation, but don’t worry, she is always protected by plot armor, so hey, stand up and applause, people, sheesh.
Anyway, I get the feeling while reading this thing that the author is just too afraid of letting her characters even break a nail permanently, just as she is scared that I may experience even a little twinge of suspense or worry while reading. Hence, she has ensured that this story is very clearly telegraphed as much as possible, so that there is no ambiguity whatsoever as to the direction of the story from start to finish, while making it clear that her characters are never in any danger of losing even a second. Victory is assured for the good guys, and don’t worry, it’s an absolute victory with not even a little cost to them. Now go get the next book.
The Pact of the White Blade Knights is a polished and easy read, suggesting that even if this had been a first book, it had gone through a few rounds to tidy off any rough edge present in the prose. However, the fundamental issues of the story remain, and these issues are flawed in a pretty significant manner as they ensure that, despite how interesting the premise may be, the story is executed in the blandest, dullest, and most non-engaging manner possible.
