Review: The Copper Promise by Jen Williams (The Copper Cat #1)

The Copper Promise (The Copper Cat #1)
Jen Williams
Published: July 5, 2016 (Angry Robot Books)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review 

Reviewed by: Beth

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

Note: This appears to be a re-release of the book, originally published in 2014 after being released as a series of novellas.

Wydrin is a typical sell-sword, though a bit unusual in her choice of traveling companion; Sir Sebastian, an ousted knight, tends to let honor get in the way of their pursuits. Together, they do all right and watch each other’s back. But when they take a job for Lord Frith that takes them into the mysterious Citadel—long rumored to be the final resting place for a group of mages—the thing they unwittingly unleash may be the end of them and everything they hold dear…their souls included.

Frankly, I really enjoyed The Copper Promise. It was fun to read, and one of the biggest reasons for that was Wydrin (otherwise known as The Copper Cat). She was a blast to hang out with; she’s smart, cocky and a bit of a know-it-all, but she’s good at what she does and she doesn’t care whom she announces it to. She would definitely be the life of the party, with tall tales and quick comebacks. While Sebastian and Frith were well-written characters in their own right, they are more the foil for Wydrin herself. There is a hint of romance in the book, both straight and LGBT. But in this first book out of three, a hint is really all there is—and to me, that allowed the story to shine through more as these main characters figured things out.

The story itself was fairly quick-paced. Particularly toward the end, I really didn’t want to put the book down. It’s a good thing the Starbuck’s baristas are generally mellow, or they may have gotten tired of me sipping the same drink for 2 hours while I finished reading. The conclusion was satisfying and there was no cliffhanger to try and make the reader stick around. That tends to be a pet peeve of mine, so I think it was well done in this case.

The only thing that took a bit of getting used to was the alternating perspectives. There is so much going on, and sometimes the main characters are not even remotely close to each other, so it could be a little bit discombobulating in the switch. It definitely wasn’t helped by the fact that my Kindle version had some severe formatting issues. But once I got into the story and figured out the rhythm, it worked to very good effect to help broaden the story.

Overall, I truly enjoyed The Copper Promise. I’m looking forward to reading the next one and (hopefully) seeing the character development since this one ended. Great summer read!

Sexual Content: Hint of LGBT romance