Mattinesh “Matti” Jay is keeping up appearances. To anyone looking in, they see a wealthy and well-established merchant house, but inside, the Jays are running a lean machine. Ships carrying goods have been lost, production has been cut back, and a myriad of unfortunate events plague Jay House. After the Jays have exhausted every option, they decide to arrange a marriage for Matti with a more prosperous house to ease their woes. Matti must find a way to keep the business afloat until the marriage to the affluent Sophia Cooper is official, but another man is vying for her hand and plans to challenge the union. Luckily for Matti, every wedding has a best man, someone who can duel and defeat challenges with their impeccable sword skills, but you have to have the coin to pay for talent. So Matti scrapes and saves to hire a man who can ensure this marriage happens, but unfortunately for him, all he can afford is conman Luca Piere.
I appreciate Marske exposing the burdens placed on the eldest children in this story. Matti is the poster child for anyone who finds themselves first in the birth order, and I would know, being the eldest child myself. As the oldest Jay child, Matti has taken over his family’s business and with it, all the weight and responsibilities. He’s so good at masking his anxieties and bad at asking for help, so the family has no idea of his true experience running Jay House. The entire family knows how capable and responsible Matti is, and they don’t think he’s struggling and therefore, don’t offer to help. Matti’s relatability is heightened by the setting with Marske’s story; he’s forced to operate in a world that mirrors our familial dynamics and relationships. His worries don’t get overshadowed by magic or fantastical elements, he’s just a son trying to save his family from financial ruin and will do anything to prevent it, harming his heart and his health in the process.
I STRUGGLED with the plot of this story. It’s not the main one where Matti has to marry a more prosperous House to save his family. It’s all the machinations of the Houses and the unlucky mishaps affecting Matti’s family that ultimately create the story’s climax. I seriously doubted my own intelligence for a while because I could not pick up what Marske was putting down. But as the eldest child, I blame myself for things first, so once I worked myself out of that thinking (thank you, therapy), I realized the worldbuilding is way too light to fully grasp what is happening. This is a devastating blow to a story that could have been really intriguing. Overall, I like how Swordcrossed was set up and the role Luca plays in the madness, but I had no idea what was happening. I didn’t know the players well enough, their house affiliations, or their patron deities, so any of their moves didn’t have an impact. Critical connections in this story are missing if I had to rely on the character’s reactions to discern if the plot twists and information I received were a good or bad thing.
As I sat down to write my review, I also realized that I couldn’t remember the names of any characters outside of Matti and Luca. That includes Matti’s sister, his betrothed, parents, and the countless players that are wrapped up in the vague conspiracies surrounding Matti’s House. My point is that a lot of substance is missing, not just in the worldbuilding, but in the character relationships, too. I didn’t have a connection to anyone, even Matti who reflected my own experiences and feelings as the oldest child in many ways. I can’t help but think of the chemistry between Robin and Edwin in Marske’s first series, The Last Binding. Their connection felt tangible and meaningful, and I didn’t really feel that between Matti, Luca, or any of the other characters. Matti and Luca sorta clash together and become an item after remarking several times how hot the other one is. And while I do think they bring out the best in each other, I missed the spark that ignited their interest and felt out of touch the entirety of the book.
It should come as no surprise then to hear that I wasn’t swooning over Matti and Luca’s romance. Again, I love the set up and the circumstances they find themselves in, but the execution was lacking. They each are supposed to fill in the gaps for the other and expose all the ways they are flawed. However, I thought this was a little one-sided, with Luca pointing out all the ways Matti suffers in his role and Matti not really influencing Luca to evolve much.
As much as I loved the plot of Swordcrossed, my loose hold on the storyline and character relationships made everything feel too distant for me to fully immerse myself in the world and enjoy it. No amount of sword euphemisms or romance could get me to buy into this story, so I’ll keep my change this time around.
Rating: Swordcrossed – 6.0/10
-Brandee
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The thoughts on this story are my own.