A-
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
CW/TW: Graphic violence, animal abuse, and animal death.
The Blacksmith Queen is my very own Dragon Age video game fantasy come to life. There are powerful women, plus quippy banter between friends and family, and a talking dragon. It’s fantastical, fun, and I’ll immediately be buying a physical copy to add to my own library.
The Old King has died, sending the kingdom into turmoil as his sons murder one another for the throne. However, the Witches of Amhuinn have prophesied that the next ruler shall be a queen. Confusion ensues as the king only has sons and thus begins a quest for everyone to find this mysterious queen-to-be and either kill her or ally with her.
And whoooo, boy, there are surprises, which I refuse to ruin for you. Not even in a spoiler because I need everyone to read this book.
There are a couple things I want to make clear right up at the top. I wouldn’t call this a fantasy romance. There is a romance present, but it’s mostly background development. You could completely remove it and things would largely remain unchanged.
Second, if you are particularly sensitive to abusive language against women, this has a lot of it.
Undoubtedly, I had the most fun reading this. Sarah can attest to all the excited messages I kept sending her. Lots of caps were typed.
Ed. note: Can confirm.
For those who aren’t aware, G.A. Aiken is another pen name for Shelly Laurenston. While there are similarities, especially when it comes to the over the top, madcap feel of nonstop action, Aiken’s settings work better for me than those written under Laurenston. It’s easier for me to settle in for a bonkers ride with a fantasy world, rather than paranormal/fantasy elements set in present day. If you’re a fan of both, you’ll love this. It has all the markers: supportive men, strong and capable women, comic book-esque fight scenes. And jumping into the fantasy setting of this book is rather effortless and uncomplicated
There was not a single woman I didn’t like in this book, especially those who were part of the Smythe/Farmerson family. Keeley is the main character. She’s an affable blacksmith who makes friends with demon wolves and sees the best in everyone. She’s like a golden retriever if those dogs could wield a giant hammer.
But before Samuel could truly panic, Keeley came jogging toward him, carrying the axe and her hammer as if they weighed nothing. She tossed the axe back to its owner and said, as she ran past, “Now we run away. Run,” she cheerfully pushed. “Everyone run. Quick like bunnies!”
Gemma is one of Keeley’s sisters. She left the family a decade earlier under mysterious circumstances to become a nun, creating a rift in their relationship. By the end of the book, Gemma became my favorite:
Quinn heard the soldier’s scream and turned to see a battle unit release the women they’d be dragging away and run. From Gemma Smythe.
“You really love doing that, don’t you?” he had to ask, briefly ignoring the fighting going on around him. “Scaring the unholy shit out of them when they see what you really are?”
She looked at him over her shoulder, the smile on her face pure sin.
Beatrix is a creepy Wednesday Addams in spirit and sister to Gemma and Keeley.
As she expected, her sister Beatrix sat with her back against the trunk. She wore a bright yellow dress, the skirt spread out around her, along with many books and parchment scrolls.
Keeley relaxed her shoulder against the tree. “We have visitors. If you don’t want to talk to them, you may want to avoid dinner.”
“Gladly.”
Their mother, Emma, is the infamous Blacksmith Maiden, who beats the shit out of dudes while nursing.
“You have a trebuchet?” Caid asked…because he couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Mum made it. She gets bored when she’s pregnant.”
Keran is a cousin: a 40+ year old woman and former pit fighting champion. She loves to be naked, drink, and have sex with anything that moves.
Keran pushed her way between the two and shoved them apart. “Cut it out.” Both women opened their mouths to argue, but Keran quickly added, “I’ll get fully naked right here! Tits and bush for the world to see!”
Laila isn’t part of the family; she’s a centaur. Her mother is the matriarch of the Amichai clan. Even the villainous women in this book are…admirable, if only because I respect the fuck out of their hustle.
This book is essentially women being badasses and men supporting their decisions. It’s wonderful.
Most of the men in this book are just goofy dudes who love their partners. It’s sweet to see women who are appreciated unabashedly for who they are. Caid, the hero, though I struggle to give him that label because like I said, not a romance, is Laila’s brother and a centaur. They’ve come to the Smythe/Famerson family as part of their quest to ally with the prophesied queen.
The centaurs are an interesting group, as there are clans for different climates and geographical areas. They can shift at will and their centaur form comes with big ol’ antlers and fangs, plus your typical horse lower body. Though Laila and Caid (and later their other brother, Quinn) become part of this odd band of adventurers, the Smythe/Farmerson family is always the focus.
My issues with this book are minor, as it’s easily in my top reads for 2019, but it wasn’t without fault. Despite absolutely loving all the different portrayals of women in The Blacksmith Queen, Gemma is frequently body shamed by her sister and other people around her. She’s frequently called the “chunky nun” and it made me sad to see. Everyone is readily accepting of Keran’s scarred and beat up body from years of prize fighting, and of Keeley’s muscular shoulders. I wished that same love was given to Gemma, but the way she looks in her robes is commented upon several times.
Though The Blacksmith Queen is the length of standard book, it felt much longer in some parts. A lot of things happen and there is so much travel.
It’s possible that these plot points aren’t fully resolved yet, but the pacing of the second half felt overcrowded. Larger page counts don’t intimidate me and I would have voted for at least a hundred more pages to address plot details and the romance more thoroughly. Major political and romantic threads are introduced and wrapped up in the last quarter of the book. Things could have been allowed to breathe and develop more There are scenes where allies need to be recruited and though it seemed like it was going to be a rather extensive mission, it all happens pretty quickly. I would have preferred more detail given how much these decisions are supposed to affect the overall story arc. Would the dwarves be better allies than the elves? What about the aggressive and mistrusting barbarians?
But what I wouldn’t give to attend Smythe/Famerson family reunion. These characters will be ones I remember forever and though I was initially disappointed at the lack of romance noted in reviews (as per my comments in a previous Whatcha Reading), I didn’t feel I missed it all that much.
The Blacksmith Queen is a bloody, feminist romp that exudes girl power in all forms, and I’m envious of its fantasy girl squad.
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I’ve been extremely curious about this one since seeing it in the August Book Release post, but my abysmal track record with fantasy romance made me a bit wary. So the news that this is not only awesome and feminist but more fantasy than romance is actually good news for me! Will definitely have to check this one out now.
My favorite part of any Aiken/Laurenston book is always the women and their friendships – they just really ring true to me. Although I do also love that the stock conflict in an Aiken/Laurenston romance is a woman who just doesn’t wanna get pinned down (this is, erm, personally resonant) and her realization that she doesn’t have to be, because her dude loves her just the bloody, badass way that she is.
And the swearing. I also like the swearing.
I loved this book. I even love that the youngest Smythe sister, a toddler who was probably no more than four?, is also a budding badass. I found it interesting how she kept trying to drop her own little knowledge but kept getting interrupted. I kept picking it up as a reader but you are never quite sure if anyone in book was getting her vibe. That little girl was shrewd!
Also enjoyed how Aiken conceptualized the Centaurs, the way she described their shift, how they blended, how they fought, and the significance of their kilts. So interesting.
Finally, I liked how smart the villain is. And the conflict it sets up for the hero(ine)s.
I’ve heard some great things about this series! I’ll pick this up eventually!
Totally want to echo all of the above. I also sort of felt like it ended in a bit of an odd spot. I get that it was sort of a natural place to pause and there will be more books in the series, but it felt like the end of “Part 1” rather than the end of a book. Very much looking forward to seeing what’s next for these folks.
This one’s on my TBR – glad to see you enjoyed it. Can someone expand on the animal abuse is? I personally don’t care if it’s a spoiler; I’d rather know ahead of time. I hadn’t seen that warning yet.
@Nicolette: It’s off page, but mentioned several times of it happening in the past with one particular character.
I was already excited about reading this and now I really can’t wait!
I love Laurenston/Aiken, but the last few Aiken books have begun to bore me (the Dragon series went on way too long), so I am so pumped for this one!!
This one surprised me with its grin-out-loud moments. I’d read a couple Aiken dragon books in the past but they didn’t inspire me to read more. This one though was a treat.
However, I too had an issue with the pacing in the second half. At the first it was beautifully handled, especially building up to those scenes where you think the shit’s going to hit the fan and it will all go Red Wedding on us. Later it seemed rushed.
I will read the next book in the series because, how can I not? This kind of female empowerment and Bechdel Test wins don’t come along every day in fantasy.
The centaurs wear kilts when they’re human. Those kilts transform into bridles when the centaurs are centaurs. The centaurs have human heads with leather bridles. The kilt around their waist moves to the head and becomes a bridle. With reins or without? With a bit or without? Like, most of us would expect a bridle to have a bit and reins, but neither are mentioned, so maybe these kilts turned bridles are just a web of leather straps criss-crossing their still human faces? WHY???? What is the purpose of the bridles? They are ridden by humans so rarely I’d bet the vast majority of centaurs have never experienced it. The bridle is there to facilitate control of the human over the horse, but why would a human need to control a centaur that way, either from the ground or while mounted? And if the bridle doesn’t even have reins, that makes it even less functional. If the purpose is just to keep the kilt handy for modesty the next time the centaur takes human shape, why not transform it into a sash like an ambassador or beauty pageant contestant wears? Why are these centaurs wearing leather bridles on their human heads, and WHY ARE ZERO OTHER READERS DISTRESSED BY THIS?
I FORGOT ABOUT THE ANTLERS. They wear bridles on their antlered heads. This is not better.