The Price of Freedom, The Weight of Secrets, and A Review of The Bird and the Blade

Cooking Directions

[scroll-box] As a slave in the Kipchak Khanate, Jinghua has lost everything: her home, her family, her freedom … until the kingdom is conquered by enemy forces and she finds herself an unlikely conspirator in the escape of Prince Khalaf and his irascible father across the vast Mongol Empire. On the run, with adversaries on all sides and an endless journey ahead, Jinghua hatches a scheme to use the Kipchaks’ exile to return home, a plan that becomes increasingly fraught as her feelings for Khalaf evolve into a hopeless love.

Jinghua’s already dicey prospects take a downward turn when Khalaf seeks to restore his kingdom by forging a marriage alliance with Turandokht, the daughter of the Great Khan. As beautiful as she is cunning, Turandokht requires all potential suitors to solve three impossible riddles to win her hand—and if they fail, they die.

Jinghua has kept her own counsel well, but with Khalaf’s kingdom—and his very life—on the line, she must reconcile the hard truth of her past with her love for a boy who has no idea what she’s capable of … even if it means losing him to the girl who’d sooner take his life than his heart.

[toggle title=”CLICK HERE FOR CONTENT+TRIGGER WARNINGS”] Slavery, suicide, kidnapping, mention of rape, death, violence, and torture.[/toggle] [/scroll-box]

Purchase Your Ingredients

Add to Goodreads Buy on US Amazon Buy on Book Depository

Let’s Make Some Waffles

• It’s a retelling of an OPERA! Retellings are about a time a dozen nowadays (not that I’m complaining…I’m complete trash for retellings 🙃). I’ve seen a Cinderella Space Opera, a modern-day Beauty and the Beast, a gender-bent Sleeping Beauty…I could go on. Fairy tales are popular creative fodder, but before stumbling upon The Bird and the Blade, I’d never encountered a retelling of an opera before (I mean, how cool is that???). Honestly, the only thing I knew about operas before this book was The Phantom of the Opera, and that’s not even a real opera (it’s a musical)!

• The setting is a unique point in history that I’ve never read (or even thought) much about. I love reading novels set in places whose culture and history I’m unfamiliar with because it gives me the chance to not only broaden my horizons, but also to better educate myself. The Bird and the Blade is perfect for both of these things because it’s set in 13th Century Asia where the Mongols reign supreme and that was completely new for me. Yay for new things! (Teacher, can I get extra credit for this or something?)

• The characters were so dang LOVABLE. As any writer will tell you, characters are one of the most important, if not THE most important, part of any story. If a reader doesn’t care about the characters, then it doesn’t really matter how great or interesting your plot is. In the end, your book is going to flop. But the opposite can be true too. Great characters can transform the average into something magical. Something memorable. And that’s exactly what happens here. The Bird and the Blade, by itself, would be a good story – but it’s the character dynamics of Jinghua, Khalaf, and Timur that transform it into a GREAT story.
  
  
  • Jinghua – Stolen from her home in China by invading Mongols and forced into slavery, Jinghua fears that her freedom will never again be within reach. But all of that changes when enemy forces attack the household of her new Mongolian “master.” At last, Jinghua has a chance to escape. The only problem is that she’s developed feelings for the last person she should, and she can’t seem to leave him behind.
    
  • Khalaf – As the last surviving Prince of the Kipchak Khanate, Khalaf’s only desire is to regain his kingdom. To do this, he must win the hand of the beautiful Princess Turandokht by solving three impossible riddles. But if he fails, he will die.
    
  • Timur – Exiled from his seat of power, this “old goat” will do anything and everything to restore his glory and honor. Well, almost anything; he won’t sacrifice his youngest son, Khalaf. Determined to stop Khalaf from dying at the hands of Turandokht, he turns to the only person he can trust: Jinghua.

• The author kept jumping between the story’s past and present like it was a Back to the Future movie (minus the DeLorean). The majority of The Bird and The Blade follows two timelines; the first covering the backstory of Jinghua’s life as a slave and the second describing Khalaf’s attempt to answer three impossible riddles. Initially, I thought Bannen juggled these two perspectives awkwardly, that the constant time jumps and flashbacks made for choppy storytelling. But by the end of the novel (after the BIG REVEAL™), all the pieces fit together and I was finally able to see the brilliance behind this decisive narrative method.

• The writing style was incongruous with the genre. With the use of many modern-day idioms and slang words, the author’s voice sounds too modern for the book’s 13th Century setting. Although the writing is delightfully engaging, it would have felt more appropriate for a YA Contemporary novel, rather than a Historical Fiction one. That being said, I kind of got over it by the middle of the novel, and even ended up enjoying the unique combo despite myself…so maybe I should put this in the “What I Liked” section? I’m undecided.

• THAT ENDING THO. I understand that the author wanted to stick to the plot of the original opera, and I respect that, but it still broke my heart a little lot.

The Bird and the Blade is a lush tragedy with endearingly flawed characters, a memorable setting, and a unique writing style that weaves together a powerful story about the price of freedom and the weight of secrets.

My Rating: I LOVE YOU 3,000

Have you read a book that was a retelling of an opera before? What book was it?

Do you like books with bittersweet endings, or do you prefer them to be wrapped up nicely?

Have you read this book? What did you think? Tell me all about it in the comments!