Book Review: Blade and Staff for Hire

From the “Back of the book”:

“Bayan Avanar is a warrior of whom the bards sing. He travels the lands, seeking his promised bride and slaying monsters with a fiery spellblade.

After two years of searching, Bayan arrives in sunny Leon and at last finds clues pointing to the girl he has only seen in visions. Accompanied by a young half-elf healer Charles Whitmore, who joins him in his quest for a wife, Bayan must confront the monsters in his path if he is to rescue the girl of his dreams.

Kesara Francesa has dreamed of her dark warrior for months and is terrified that he brings her death. But this dark warrior is her only hope, for her time is running out: on Midsummer’s Night she is to be sacrificed to raise an ancient god. Only Bayan Avanar, legendary warrior, can save her now.

Contains no smut, lots of action violence, the soul mates trope, and a couple of bros on a road trip.”

So, that last tag line really does sum up the story. This was a fun fantasy swashbuckling adventure romance story.

And, it managed to avoid all the tired tropes. The couple got together fairly early in the story, so we got to see them grow together. Bayan and Charles are good friends…. Take note, Hollywood, there ARE other types of conflict than “make the friends fight and bicker with each other”, and they DO work in a story.

This was a nice, fun, comfort read. I loved it.