Week 33 Review: The Harp of Kings

From Goodreads:
A young woman is both a bard--and a warrior--in this thrilling historical fantasy from the author of the Sevenwaters novels.

Eighteen-year-old Liobhan is a powerful singer and an expert whistle player. Her brother has a voice to melt the hardest heart, and a rare talent on the harp. But Liobhan's burning ambition is to join the elite warrior band on Swan Island. She and her brother train there to compete for places, and find themselves joining a mission while still candidates. Their unusual blend of skills makes them ideal for this particular job, which requires going undercover as traveling minstrels. For Swan Island trains both warriors and spies.

Their mission: to find and retrieve a precious harp, an ancient symbol of kingship, which has gone mysteriously missing. If the instrument is not played at the upcoming coronation, the candidate will not be accepted and the people could revolt. Faced with plotting courtiers and tight-lipped druids, an insightful storyteller, and a boorish Crown Prince, Liobhan soon realizes an Otherworld power may be meddling in the affairs of the kingdom. When ambition clashes with conscience, Liobhan must make a bold decision and is faced with a heartbreaking choice. . . 

My Review:
Wow, I really enjoyed reading this book! I really enjoy Juliet Marillier's writing, and the fact that this series is a spin off of her Blackthorn and Grim series...yeah, that's so great! That Liobhan and Brocc are their kids, and that Liobhan has the red hair like Grim imagined, yeah, that's just a sweet moment!

So the mystery into the missing harp, that was pretty intriguing. It did become a bit of a waiting game, that they had to accomplish strange tasks that didn't always make sense in the moment, but when it all came together, did. That was pretty fantastic.

I really enjoyed the interactions that Liobhan and Dau had. He didn't think that she belonged there, or at least, that she should give the focus to music that she did. And she didn't like him back. Given that we were in all 3 of their heads, we got to see all of them go on this journey!

I wasn't expecting ending! We knew a few of the facts, and Liobhan had figured out what happened. But that ending, wow, that just blew me away! It was so great, and yeah, I can't wait to see where things are going to go from here, and what the mystery/investigation of the next book will be!

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait to see where this series is going to go from here!

Author: Juliet Marillier
Series: Warrior Bards #1
Read: August 14th, 2019
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: Love her writing and the world this series is in! And it's a Historical Fiction 2019 Book, Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Ace
Expected Publication: September 3rd 2019

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars