Shields of Sparrows

Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry is a romantasy built around an arranged marriage, circumstances outside of the protagonist’s control and the unlikely bond between two people who on paper should have absolutely nothing in common yet somehow miraculously do.

Odessa, the eldest yet somehow “back up” princess of her kingdom is claimed as a bride prize by the neighboring kingdom’s crown prince under the shield of sparrows treaty. The problem is that was a role always meant to be her sister’s. Her sister, who was actually trained since birth to be the next sparrow.

“A King cannot kill his Sparrow, and a Sparrow cannot kill her King, either directly or indirectly, without death befalling them both.”

Yes, the misogynistic nature of this did send me into a huffing, puffing meltdown rivaling the Big Bad Wolf™, but what can I say? It got me invested immediately.

When the wedding day comes months ahead of time and the crown Prince says that he wants Odessa instead, she’s thrown into a life she was never meant to have. Her father, the king, sets her off on a mission to spy, steal secrets and most of all kill The Guardian™ (I know, HOT!)

“I didn’t ask to be married to a stranger and shipped across the continent. I didn’t ask to come to Turah. I didn’t ask to be jailed in a wilderness treehouse. Those were decisions made for me by the whims of men. So you can threaten to take away my freedom all you want, but I will fight you. Every step of the way. Until my last breath. And I will not go quietly into a cage.”

The problem is, no one tells Odessa anything – not her father and definitely not her new husband. She’s forced into a kingdom and a role she never wanted and, really, she’s just learning as she goes. She’s doing her damnedest to quell her attraction to The Guardian, since she’s a married woman, but it’s hard when she feels nothing towards her husband, Xavier.

The Guardian, who goes by Ransom, spends more time in Odessa’s presence than her husband. So, of course you spend the whole time trying to “beautiful mind” yourself a way that they can be together. I had hopes. I had dreams. I had a wish and I, of course, had a prayer. And with a name like Ransom? He was giving main character vibes from the start. I won’t apologize for immediately rooting for him. It was justified. And really, I’m literally just a girl, what did you expect?

“There was a tether between us. Gods save us when it snapped. Why couldn’t I feel this way for the man who’d claimed me? Our mouths were too close. All it would take was a shift and we’d collide. We’d crash into each other, and the shock waves would destroy us both. I needed him to say something mean. To strike a nerve. To bruise my heart. I needed him to hurt me so thoroughly, I’d never forgive him.

‘I hate you.’ It should have broken the moment. It should have pissed him off. But he stared at me like I was something to behold. Something to cherish. Something to protect.

‘Yes, you do,’ he said. ‘Don’t forget.’”

Odessa decides that she’s done letting men tell her what to do (you go girl!) and learns how to fight in her wonderfully delightful little treehouse village she’s been taken to live in. She embraces her new life while also trying to learn more about just what’s going on in the world she’s been thrown into. All, while building herself into someone formidable.

“Who would I become if I wasn’t at the mercy of men?”

The answer? A powerhouse. Someone completely and utterly ready to be in a position of power over a whole realm.

I’m fascinated by this world and by the components built into it. I can’t wait for the next one. Perry leaves us off in a place that had me absolutely screaming into the ether. I need the sequel and I need it right now. I’m hanging by a thread over here.