**Disclaimer: I received a free copy of The Sword and the Dagger by Robert Cochran from his publishers in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to them for this opportunity.
The Sword and the Dagger by Robert Cochran is a young adult historical fiction novel. It is a multi point of view novel set during the reign of Genghis Khan. Three very different characters are forced to come together on an unlikely mission. I rated it four stars on Goodreads.
Here’s the summary from Goodreads:
When empires clash, a Princess, a Knight, and an Assassin embark on the quest of a lifetime.
During the time of the Crusades, an unlikely trio—a Christian princess, her affianced prince, and a Muslim assassin—embarks on a quest to the court of the most fearsome warrior the world has ever known, Genghis Khan.
A rousing tale of adventure and romance about three young people who must grapple with fundamental issues of loyalty, friendship, faith, honor, and courage against the backdrop of conflicts that still resonate today.
I was really excited when Kari recommended this book for me for the July #bestiemademe because I have been meaning to read it for forever. I’m really bad at procrastinating on my TBR and this was definitely the case here. However, I really enjoyed this novel and so I’m really glad that I finally got to it.
I find the basic premise of this novel really interesting. I love history, but I don’t always read a lot of historical fiction novels. I was, admittedly, extra intrigued because of who the author was. While he admits to taking liberties with the historical content of the novel, I felt that it really just added to the overall depth and plot of the novel. I also really enjoyed the historical period as I haven’t really read anything set there and I liked that we got to see into the mind of Genghis Khan.
Cohesively speaking, the novel really worked. I liked the way that the characters were developed and how their relationships developed. All three start off at odds, and to see them change over the course of their journey was really interesting. I loved Elaine the most because she was such a strong character. She didn’t want to just concede and let the men in her life push her around. She was independent and fiesty, and maybe a little bit impulsive, but overall she was really fantastic.
The story was really well paced. There was a good amount of excitement to keep you interested and reading, but not so much that it was a stressful book to read. There were some really good cliffhanger moments that also added to the suspense, and I felt like it would really translate well to a television format.
Overall, I definitely recommend this book if it strikes your fancy!
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