Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing The Lavender Blade by E.L. Deards. This book sounded right up my alley. So, I couldn’t resist jumping on the opportunity to get a copy. Did it live up to its premise? Read on to find out!

Colton and Lucian make a living conning the desperate with fake exorcisms—Lucian is the charm, Colton the trick, and together, they’ve turned deception into survival. Their work is dangerous, their romance even riskier, but they’ve always found a way to stay ahead.

Until Lucian is truly possessed.

A powerful demon takes hold, twisting his body into something unnatural, horrific, wrong—and no priest, no con, no desperate lie can fix it. With time running out and Lucian slipping further away, Colton has no choice but to learn real magic, break every rule, and attempt the impossible.

Because if he fails, Lucian won’t just be lost. He’ll be something else entirely.

***Thank you to She Writes Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

I was immediately hooked by the premise of The Lavender Blade. A pair of con artist exorcists fleecing the rich by pretending to purge their homes of demons all while falling in love? That sounds like a book written for me. Unfortunately, the story wasn’t executed to its full potential at all, and many elements felt half-baked.

I’ll start off with what I really loved about The Lavender Blade. Besides its premise, the characters were by far the best thing about this book. Their dynamic as they grew their business was fun to read, and I loved getting to experience their relationship blossom. They were from very different worlds despite living in the same city, and I liked getting to see them react to how the other side lived. Colton’s undying devotion for Lucian, even in the face of so much danger, was really sweet and admirable, while also being really, really stupid. lol. Lucian’s family drama was intense at times, and I felt bad that his father just couldn’t accept him for who he was. All that to say, I really like the main characters of this book. 🙂

Unfortunately, the writing in The Lavender Blade just wasn’t for me. Transitions between scenes sometimes felt confusing. Furthermore, the writing tended to flip between third and first person on a whim, which I found really annoying. It was almost as if certain parts were meant to be asides written from inside the character’s head, but there was nothing other than the weird flipping in POV to mark the distinction. Finally, the dialogue often made me cringe and just felt so unnatural at times.

I also really wanted more from the thematic content and world-building in The Lavender Blade. The setup of the society was really bare bones. The rich and poor were divided in different parts of the city by walls and guards. Why? How did that dynamic develop, and how was it maintained? The religions and history of exorcists in society also weren’t defined very well despite being a central piece of Colton’s identity. I was just left with so many questions and wished the story had done a bit more with the themes, especially in regards to class.

I did really like the outline of the story in The Lavender Blade, though. The exorcism sham was fun to explore and just felt like cozy fun. The possession aspect was really interesting, too. The two halves of the story just didn’t fit together as well as I’d have liked. After the possession, things abruptly switched from cozy to horrifying with a lot of violence, abuse, and some sexual assault. I think the latter part of the story spent a little too much time on the horrors of possession and not enough on them planning and trying things to reverse it.

Overall, The Lavender Blade ended up being a great premise that could’ve used a bit more work. The characters were lovely, and the plot was entertaining. However, the writing and world-building left something to be desired, and the two halves of the story just felt too different to be cohesive. Therefore, I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.

There you have it! My thoughts on The Lavender Blade by E.L. Deards. Have you read this book, or would you? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments!