Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
Shield of Sparrows
by Devney Perry
Fantasy | Romantasy
511 Pages
Released May 2025
Shield of Sparrows series #1
Rating: ★★1/2
Goodreads
Content Warnings
My romantasy kick was still in full swing so I decided to pick up yet another that I’ve been seeing everywhere lately. I wish I could stay I loved this but there were many aspects of this story that just didn’t resonate with me.
This book follows Odessa, a princess living in the kingdom of Quentin. On the day her sister is set to be married off to the Prince of the Turan Kingdom, something unexpected happens. The prince wants Odessa instead. Caught off guard by the sudden change, the King lets Odessa in on a dire secret - that she needs to spy on the Turan Kingdom and find the location of their secret capital. The fate of Odessa’s own Kingdom rests on her shoulders but as Odessa learns more about the Turans, will her shifting alliance put her own family in peril?
Unfortunately this book did not do it for me, which was pretty disappointing given how much this book is being advertised right now. For starters, this book was entirely too long. The beginning of the novel was interesting enough but after those initial 50 or so pages, the plot quickly started dragging. There were so many repetitive portions in this story where we are introduced to the various monsters that plague Odessa’s world. It felt like the same thing over and over again - new town, new monster, new attack. And while there was a little bit of world-building, it somehow still felt lacking. The monsters were mildly interesting but I think Perry missed opportunities to really build up the suspense.
The female main character is, unfortunately also rather annoying. I believe she’s supposed to be in her twenties but she reads more like sixteen. And while I appreciate her intense curiosity, most of the book is written in the form of questions and inner monologue which can be extremely grating at times. There is definitely a naiveté Odessa doesn’t really seem to shake until towards the end of the novel and while this can be chalked up to slow character growth, it unfortunately made her rather unlikable for most of the novel.
If you are a seasoned romantasy reader, you’ll also see some of the twists coming from a mile away. The romantic tension in this book is mediocre and drawn-out but not in that delicious yearning way. And if you’ve read books like Fourth Wing or Quicksilver or Silver Elite, it will feel pretty familiar. At this point, I feel little or no interest to the characters or plot so I don’t think I’ll be continuing on in the series.
I think if you enjoy romantasy, you’ll still like this one. It’s okay. Not great, but definitely not the worst either. But if you read a lot of romantasy, I imagine this will be more middle-of-the-road compared to some of the other choices out there right now.