Title: The Swordsman’s Lament

Author: G.M. White

Genre: Fantasy

Review by: Dani Hoots

Rating: 4/5

IndieBound/Amazon/Barnes&Noble

When a prince is murdered, a legendary swordsman stands accused.

The King wants blood . . .

and loyalty counts for nothing.

Belasko thought he was beyond intrigues and machinations. But when the grief-stricken King demands vengeance, Belasko discovers he is expendable. His options are clear… find the real killer or satisfy the royal bloodlust.

With the forces of the palace mobilised against him he is thrust into the city’s bleak underbelly and must fight to discover the truth. With betrayal around every corner he must form unlikely alliances. Can the veteran warrior survive long enough to protect his friends and prove his innocence?

Join Belasko on a fast-paced fantasy adventure as he hunts the real killer, from courtly intrigue to the depths of the city’s criminal underworld, and learns the true meaning of The Swordsman’s Lament.

*I received this book for an honest review*

From the first page, I was hooked! I really liked the main character Belasko. He was someone you could root for during the entire book—cunning, resourceful, and a warrior. The fight scenes were terrific and it made me want to join HEMA right now (although I was already going to join once it’s safe for us to go out again). Swords, of all kinds, has always been a passion of mine so I was really glad when I was offered to review this book.

My favorite character, and one I hope we learn more of in future books, is the Water King. I think if I were in this world, I would probably be working for him if we were honest. I loved how there were myths about him and we got to learn some of the truth. I look forward in learning more about him and the world White created.

The only problem I had was with the princess. She was an important part but I feel we didn’t get to read enough of her to really understand who she was. Without spoiling, I felt the ending didn’t quite line up with the rest of the story for how she acted. It wasn’t a bad ending at all, and it worked, but I just needed to understand her thought process more.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. If you love knights, swords, or medieval stories, this is definitely one for you!

~Dani

About the author:

G.M. White has always been an avid reader, a love of the written word instilled in him by his parents at an early age. This may or may not have something to do with the fact that he was a very talkative child and the only time he was quiet was when he had his head in a book. Anyway, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on that one. A lifelong storyteller he finally decided to put his imagination to good use and set pen to paper (well, fingers to keyboard) and started to write down the worlds that he carried with him in his head. The Swordsman’s Lament is his first novel, published September 2019.