Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: I believe I found this on one of the lists I received and I really enjoyed the cover art so I added it to my TBR.

Overall rating: I admit, the first chapter immediately had me...and then I struggled a bit at the beginning of the book. There is so much world-building! Which, don't get me wrong, is absolutely brilliant; however, there are a lot of words and names and information that is specific to the world within the book and not anything that would be every day for the reader so it takes a bit to wrap your brain around all of it...at least it did for me. I did enjoy the multiple perspectives in the book and I enjoyed how the perspectives came together into one storyline, that was done very well. Another piece I thought was important to the storyline and world-building is the inclusion of the book excerpts. It helps you get a better feel for the history of the world and what the characters are up against. I will say, that it was a bit reminiscent of The Daevabad Trilogy, especially since they both use Suleiman as a character/reference point, have a female main character with healing/magic powers, and are set in a world of racial divides. I will most likely try to get my hands on 'The Ragpicker King' (the second book in the series) because I do enjoy Kel and the world that's created within Sword Catcher, however, 'Sword Catcher' doesn't hold a candle to Daevabad.

Reader's Note: My extended reading time is due to a lapsed library loan (and long hold list) and not my interest in the book.