A Court of Thorns and Roses Paperback Box Set (5 books)
Sarah J. Maas
by T. Kingfisher
Halla is a timid, middle-aged housekeeper whose life is upended when she unearths a legendary blade during a desperate attempt to fend off her greedy, predatory in-laws. By drawing the sword, she inadvertently binds herself to Sarkis, an immortal warrior trapped within the enchanted steel for centuries. Now, the reluctant hero is forced to serve as Halla’s protector, tethered to a woman who is as kind-hearted as she is unprepared for the dangers that follow them.
As they flee across a landscape crawling with bandits, fanatical inquisitors, and legal threats, the pair must navigate a growing, tender intimacy that neither expected. Sarkis offers lethal expertise and a dry, centuries-old perspective, while Halla provides the warmth and humanity he long ago abandoned. However, the sword that grants Sarkis his freedom is a fickle, sentient burden, and its influence threatens to consume them both.
Caught between a web of political conspiracies and the looming shadow of the blade’s dark origins, Halla and Sarkis must determine if their bond is merely a magical accident or a genuine connection worth fighting for. In this whimsical yet perilous journey, they discover that the greatest courage often resides in the most overlooked people.
Taty AnaRefreshing romantasy with a comic flavor
"Swordheart has been an amazing and refreshing fantasy romance read. The story follows main protagonist Halla who is a naive yet practical and very likable character. MMC is Halla’s bodyguard, Sarkis. He is strong, smart but he has some unusual circumstances that involve enchanted sword and he has some secrets. Book has potent humor and some mild spice, which makes it a delicious cozy read. Side characters are written to perfection. Sequel, Daggerbound is coming out later this year. I would highly recommend this book for fun and enjoyable read! ["
April 3, 2026 Verified Purchase
Ms.ScrigglesFun, Playful Read
"A fun little book. Interesting world-building. It was a quick, easy read and would likely be something easy to enjoy as an audio book while attending to other tasks. I liked all the characters and enjoyed their interactions. The plotting was tight and the ending satisfying. I only caught two errors throughout my read, which is par for the course even in the most tightly edited books from back in the day. (One POV switch without any break to signify it and one moment toward the end where the word "click" was accidently put in as "dick"-probably easy to miss because of the font used.) My one quibble is that the author's "voice" really didn't change noticeably between characters. Sometimes I was several paragraphs into a section before I knew whether it was Halla or Sarkis' POV despite the two characters having quite different personalities. Heading each section with their names as needed could have solved this without any further edits by the author. ["
September 29, 2025 Verified Purchase
Kindle CustomerFantastic!
"I LOVED THIS BOOK. I loved it SOOOOO much. Oh gosh, even just thinking about it while writing this review is making me want to read it again. Ok, let me try to be coherent. Swordheart is a fantasy story with a strong romantic subplot to it, which is kind of my thing. The main character, Halla, is such a great character. She’s been sort of a passive person most of her life, accepting her lot even if she hadn’t always been happy with it. She married young and when her husband died became a housekeeper to her in-laws in exchange for a place in their home (which was really so gracious of them, wasn’t it?). When the owner of the home passes away and leaves it to Halla, she suddenly finds herself in a situation where they’re trying to force her to marry to keep the home within the family. Not wanting to marry the odious man and, having been locked in her room and seeing no way, out she contemplates just ending it all. That’s when she reaches for a sword hanging on the wall, draws it–and that’s where our story really begins. Because the sword is enchanted and whenever it’s drawn Sarkis, an enchanted warrior attached to the sword, appears. And he isn’t very happy to discover someone trying to off theirself with his sword. One of the unexpected delights of this book for me was the humor. This book is funny. There’s so much hilarious banter and many humorous situations that I found myself giggling through half of the book. Reading this at work on my lunch break was funny because my coworker had to keep asking me what I was laughing at. Honestly the characters and their relationship is the best thing about this book. The plot is essentially to go on a journey to get some legal paperwork filed so that Halla can get rid of her nasty in-laws. Along the way they encounter various obstacles, friends and foes. They also pick up a fellow companion along the way who brings some added fun as well as depth to the story. There are some other things going on, mostly in the background until they aren’t, but for the most part the plot itself is pretty simple and straightforward. But back to our characters and their relationship. I love the way things played out between them. They’re two adults being very adult about things, but also kind of hesitant in a ‘feeling each other out’ sort of way. Halla doesn’t even have her mind on romance for a while because she’s too busy worrying about getting all this mess with the house straightened out. And Sarkis seems to fall pretty hard pretty fast but he’s an enchanted sword so there’s all kinds of pitfalls there and they’re both practical people at the end of the day. Something about their relationship felt very fresh with the way it was handled, even though it plays on a lot of familiar tropes. Their relationship to each other, first as friends, had each of them of rediscovering parts of themselves they had either long since buried or had never seen the light of day. Halla opens up and becomes a lot less passive, all while retaining her kindness, while Sarkis becomes a little less cynical. They’re a great balance for each other and one of the reasons they work so well together. I really loved this book. I’d suggest it to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy romance or a comedic fantasy, or just enjoys an uplifting read. 5/5 stars. ["
December 22, 2018 Verified Purchase
Constant ReaderCreative, Funny, Romantic, Rich Adventure Story
"This author tells such a good story! Every time that I begin one of her books I am quickly caught up in the action and the characters. This book returns to the world that held Paladin’s Grace and several of her other books. This book would stand alone, but I did enjoy returning to a world that I had seen before with an entirely new story. A few familiar characters from other books make brief appearances or are referred to in passing and while I loved those bits, a new reader would not be confused if they are not familiar with them. Highlights of the world include the well-developed and interesting religious groups and, of course, gnoles. The book is humorous, clever, and wildly entertaining. Halla is an attractive and clever heroine. Zale, her traveling companion and legal champion for much of the story is also a terrific character. Sarkis, our hero is an apparently immortal warrior trapped within a sword. Brindle, a gnole, is also an important part of the enjoyment of this story. You get the point here: the characters are engaging, complex, and interesting. You can care about them, believe them, and enjoy them. The writing is excellent, and the plot is engrossing. The humor is humorous and at times very, very funny. (Some of the humor is in double entendre.) The romance is romantic and sometimes a bit sexier than you might expect. The pacing is very quick even as the ox lumbers along, and the pages turn quickly. I was sorry when I turned the last page. If you have not read anything by this author, lucky you, because you have many hours of enjoyment waiting in her back list. ["
March 25, 2022 Verified Purchase
Sarah J. Maas
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