Ace of Blades

 I received an e-arc of this book via the author in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Michael Knightly for writing Ace of Blades because it is such an enjoyable read. 

Nox is such an enjoyable character to read because he is rough around the edges and a male Bella who can actually hold his own (sort of) it is kind of hard when your enemy is fae/elf/vampire and Nox used to be in the army before becoming a trauma surgeon. He used to be a girl and the ways it is portrayed in the book is hilarious. The best thing is that the author does not feel the need to remind you that Nox is part of the LGTBQ+ community every two pages. It is gradual and little things like when he is afraid and his voice reaches an octave he has not reached in a long time or the whole lack of a cock situation (you'll have to read it to understand because I do not think it is appropriate to write on my blog). Nox is a delight because unlike Bella he actually does things throughout the book (apologies to any Twihards out there, but it is true as much as I love the book it would be better if Bella took a page out of Nox's book).

For those confused about why I keep referring to Bella is because this book reminds me so much of Twilight and the unfortunate part is that once I started to see it I could not unsee it. Except it is adult and LGTBQ+ with Curtis being a vampire/fae/ elf (I'm not too sure what he is because these terms were interchangeable throughout the book). and the boyfriend Drew is a Grim a shapeshifter that can change into the shape of patron in Drew's case he was a mountain lion. 

At first, I was against Drew because I wanted Nox and Curtis together, but toward the end of the novel he started to grow on me. I will say that he at least tried, and I love the friends reaction to Nox talking about Drew being back in his life.

Curtis is lovable and made me laugh so many times throughout the book. At least he is a thoughtful stalker and can acknowledge that he is way older than Nox and unlike Edward, he is okay with Nox being in another relationship, so long as Nox understands the consequences. I love the agreement Nox and Curtis have with each other and the contract that Nox violates within a day of having it.

I will not say much because I do not want to spoil the preciousness that is Curtis because it is too good to spoil for anyone. Ah wellness checks (read the book and you will get this).

Warning: there is kinky things that happen in this book. It is not sex more like biting/kissing (I don't know how to explain this without giving away too much). There is also violence in this book and it contains mature themes.

If you are okay with these kinds of things then you can either preorder the book on pretty much any book retailer or you can still get an e-arc from the author by going to his instagram page (I believe the book comes out in October of this year).

50 out of 5 stars.