Booktok is responsible for multiple hyped books and although I don’t really want it, it’s also very much dominating my own TBR. Most books that are popular on that platform find their way to other social media and Goodreads, where people who aren’t on TikTok find out about them. The “Legends of Thezzmar”  series by Helen Scheuerer is one of those series that found its popularity on – I believe – Booktok but slowly made its way to other platforms. And to my TBR as a result, or at least, the first instalment Blood & Steel did.

About the book

Blood & Steel by Helen Scheuerer
Series: The Legends of Thezmarr #1
Published by Alchemy on February 16, 2023
Pages: 548
ISBN: 9781922903037
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romantasy
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom, From Blood and Ash and The Witcher, BLOOD & STEEL is an epic romantic fantasy with enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn spice, found family, and a sprawling world of magic and monsters.
Women are forbidden to wield blades, so she has trained in secret her entire life. Now racing against the clock, she fights to secure her place in the elite guild charged with the protection of the five kingdoms.
Will Althea pass the perilous initiation test and take her place as a champion of Thezmarr – or will the invading evil snatch away her dream before it starts? 
The sparring and hazing of the new trainees border on deadly, but even more dangerous is her growing attraction to Wilder Hawthorne, her unwilling warrior chaperone.
Blood & Steel is the gripping first book in the heart-pounding, epic romantic fantasy series, The Legends of Thezmarr.
With her death foretold, Althea Zoltaire only has three years to become what she’s always dreamed of being: a warrior legend.
If you like fierce sword-wielding heroines and brooding, tortured heroes, you will devour this sexy, addictive fantasy adventure.
All around them, schemes are afoot and darkness looms.

My review

I’m often a little cautious with Booktok books, because they more often don’t get it right than they do. Books are easily hyped, which is quite problematic for someone who is easily influenced by such hypes. Whereas many people talked about this book and loved it, I decided to take the plunge once again. My expectations were therefore pretty high and hopeful, because I was in desperate need of a romantasy that gripped me from start to finish and would surprise me at the same time. I’m glad to say that my expectations were partially met.

In the land of Thezmarr, women aren’t allowed to fight anymore. This is a new rule installed after a battle horribly gone wrong a few decades ago. Women therefore have to be alchemists, in order to be healers for the Warswords, the male soldiers. Thea and her sister Wren have been brought to the fortress they currently live in as orphaned little girls and are training to become such alchemists. Whereas Wren is completely passionate and satisfied with this job, Thea is not. She dreams of fighting and protecting her country and people. One reckless mistake might lead up to the opportunity to live her dream, but this doesn’t happen without a struggle. Or two. Or more. After only training in secret, Thea may finally enjoy the other rookies and prove herself worthy of being a Warsword. If she can make it, she can lead the way for the other women in Thezmarr. Along the way, she has several encounters with Wilder Hawthorne, Thezmarr’s most notorious fighter. Will he agree on mentoring Thea? And are they able to maintain a professional relationship?

Scheuerer has elaborated Thea and her passion really well. She has a mission and doesn’t take no for an answer. From the beginning, it’s obvious that she is fierce and loyal to her cause. Even if it means damaging some dear relationships. Thea is clever and knowns how to handle herself amongst all the teasing and outright bullying. However, this wouldn’t be a romantasy if it wasn’t for our main character to hide something. What Thea is hiding won’t be revealed till closer to the end of the story, but when I figured this out, I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t surprised, I just shrugged and moved on. Apart from her determination, Thea doesn’t stand out from other characters within the romantasy sub genre and therefore doesn’t stick with me. Unfortunately, this applies to the secondary characters as well. Hawthorne is grumpy with a soft spot for his loved ones. We hardly get to see that soft side, but it will show eventually. The main characters don’t fit really well together though. I just don’t feel it. It feels forced. All characters have been executed well to some extend, which is enough for this novel.

Just like the characters, the plot ticks off all the boxes of the genre this book belongs in. There is a war looming on Thezmarrian borders and Thea is passionate to fight and destroy their enemies. The progression of the story is therefore pretty predictable, it fits the romantasy formula perfectly. It fails to surprise me at any point, and I was not too intriguedas a result. The romance was predictable as well as it was clear from the start how this would end. The book ticks off many tropes and therefore they feel forced. To me, it feels like the author wanted to tick them all off in order to satisfy lovers of the genre. As I’ve read so many books in general – and in this genre as well –, you won’t get away with that so easily with me anymore. I wasn’t bored, but I’m certain this book won’t stick for long.

The writing however is easy to follow and pretty straight forward. Both Thea and Hawthorne get their own POV, although Hawthorne’s is rare at the start. Gradually, he gets more showtime and we get to know him better this way. The chapters can be quite long though, although they don’t feel that way. This is a 500+ pages book, but I was able to finish it quickly because it just doesn’t feel so long. The formulaic structure of the plot adds up to this too.

Blood & Steel by Helen Scheuerer all in all is not a bad start to a series. It definitely has potential. Our main character Thea is fierce, ambitious and determined to succeed in her mission. Apart from this, her character won’t stick unfortunately. She therefore is executed well to some extend, which also applies to the secondary characters. They are replaceable and your typical romantasy characters. The same can be said for the plot, this is also predictable and follows a clear structure we always see within this type of books. The writing is straight forward which makes this 500+ pages book not feel like that at all. However, the predictability and the story failing to surprise me at any moment outweigh the writing style. Whereas I enjoyed my time spent reading this first book in the “Legends of Thezmarr” series, I’m not sure whether I want to continue at this point. If I would, I’m not in a hurry to do so.