Audiobook Review: Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher

Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 3.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Series: Book 2 of Swordheart

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (August 25, 2026)

Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins

Author Information: Website

Narrator: Jesse Vilinsky

It feels a bit strange, even a little wrong, to give a T. Kingfisher book anything less than four stars. These days, she has become a must-read author I can pick up with very little hesitation because I know I’m probably going to get something clever and fun, but while Daggerbound was all that and more, it still didn’t quite have the same magic for me.

First things first, though, while this book is a follow-up to Swordheart, reading the first book is not a prerequisite. The story features new main characters, and the underlying series concept of enchanted swords will be quite thoroughly explained for the uninitiated. This tale follows Learned Edmund, a disillusioned scholar who has decided to leave the religious order he has dedicated himself to his whole life. Under the guise of transporting some books and relics, he sets out on a journey into the unknown, only to be ambushed by a group of bandits on the road. In the scuffle, an ancient sword in his shipment is dislodged, accidentally releasing the immortal being trapped inside it. That being is known as the Dervish, a warrior who has spent countless centuries bound to the weapon, cursed to serve whoever wields it.

Yet, to the Dervish’s surprise, the bookish Edmund is not exactly the kind of person he had envisioned for a master. The scholar is no fighter and certainly no physically imposing strongman, but at the same time, there are qualities in him that prove far more valuable than brute strength. For one, Edmund is kind, thoughtful, and genuinely respectful, treating the Dervish as a person rather than a servant, and that alone makes him very different from the wielders who came before him. An unlikely partnership quickly forms, turning next into a much larger adventure as they travel through a series of increasingly dangerous situations, picking up an assortment of companions along the way. From deadly diseases to ravenous dragons, trouble seems to have a habit of finding them. But naturally, somewhere between all the danger and fighting for survival, Edmund and the Dervish begin to realize they might mean more to each other than either of them expected.

So, coming back to this world initially seemed like a pretty safe bet, and truly, I did enjoy myself. That said, compared to some of Kingfisher’s other books, and even to Swordheart, this one felt a little more uneven and less engaging. Perhaps this was due to the story itself, which felt less like one cohesive adventure and more like a string of quests connected by the fact that the same group of characters happened to be wandering through them. And while I loved the additions of companions like Large Frances and Dog Violet, they weren’t always as consistently integrated into the story as I would have liked, as illustrated by their relative absence in the final stretch of the novel. Granted, this might have been to make room for the returning Swordheart characters, but those appearances were also so brief that the obviously intended cameos only reinforced that same episodic feeling.

At the same time, I just didn’t connect with the Dervish or Edmund as much as I wanted to. Their relationship has all the ingredients I should love, but something about the dynamic never quite clicked. Certain things bugged me, such as the Dervish’s repeated insistence that Edmund wasn’t his type, a joke that was amusing the first few times but quickly wore thin. It makes me think that while Kingfisher’s particular brand of wit can be fantastic, when it falters, it can lead to more cringing than laughing, and that’s especially a shame because humor is such a big part of the book’s personality. There’s a fine line between quirky and downright cheesy though, and for me, Daggerbound crossed it a little too often.

Still, ultimately, this book was a pleasant return to a world I already knew I liked, and even though it didn’t quite recapture what made Swordheart so charming and special, there was still plenty here to remind me why I love T. Kingfisher’s fantasy in the first place. I also had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook, narrated by Jesse Vilinsky, who made a strong case for experiencing this one in audio format. There were a lot of characters to distinguish here, eccentric and unique creatures including a gnoll and a giant pill bug, but she delivered a performance worthy of all the energetic dialogue and banter. Even when the story itself wasn’t always working for me on the page, I enjoyed hearing the narration bring it to life. This is an adventure filled with imagination, proving that even a slightly off-day from the author is a pretty good time, and worth the experience.