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Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite
The Lavender Blade by E.L. Deards is a dark, romantic, and thrilling adventure set in a steampunk world filled with danger, deception, and the supernatural. Colton and Lucian are a pair of exorcist con artists who make their living scamming the wealthy until a real demonic possession threatens everything. As Lucian fights for his soul, Colton is thrust into a desperate struggle to learn the true art of exorcism before it’s too late. But the deeper he goes, the more sinister and powerful the demon becomes, forcing him to make increasingly drastic choices to save the man he loves. E.L. Deards weaves a tale of love, resilience, and sacrifice, exploring the boundaries between faith, deception, and destiny. With rich world-building and complex characters, The Lavender Blade is a hauntingly beautiful and pulse-pounding read.
Author E.L. Deards has a real sense of style in the prose, and that creates a mesmerizing blend of steampunk, romance, and supernatural horror that feels elegant and dangerous right from the first page. This certainly drew me in and offered something more powerful than the typical dark romance. The thrilling, atmospheric storytelling is just the beginning of the jewels in this novel. The character development is well-penned, with close narration that homes in on small but vital details for a unique, emotionally charged story that seamlessly mixes action, heartache, and dark magic so that readers feel every pulse-pounding moment just as the characters feel it. Lucian and Colton both have very different attitudes and approaches to the challenges of the plot, and this makes for a rich mix of influences and some great dialogue clashes as their bond develops. Overall, for fans of steampunk fantasy with a gothic twist, I highly recommend The Lavender Blade as their next must-read.
