Honest Book Review of Shield of Sparrows
Author: Devney Perry
Some of the links on this blog are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you make a purchase. This helps support the blog at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support! Click to read my Disclaimers for more info.
Shield of Sparrows might just be the best slow burn romantasy I’ve read since Quicksilver by Callie Hart. Devney Perry delivers a beautifully layered slow-burn romance wrapped in a dark, immersive fantasy world filled with terrifying monsters, rich lore, and just enough magic to keep your heart racing.
The worldbuilding is top-tier—vivid without being overwhelming—and the slow unravel of the characters’ relationships made the emotional payoffs all the more satisfying. I was especially drawn in by the creatures that haunt the edges of this story; they added a real sense of danger and kept the tension high throughout.
Yes, the pacing dipped a bit in the middle, and one of the main plot twists was a little too easy to spot coming. But Perry still managed to surprise me with a few unexpected turns that had me flipping pages late into the night.
What really stood out to me was our FMC’s journey. She’s not your typical fierce warrior who knows how to handle a sword on page one. She’s raw, inexperienced, and frankly—just surviving. But you get to witness her learn, struggle, and train, building both her skill and stamina over time. It makes her growth feel earned, and her resilience all the more powerful.
If you love slow-burn romantasy, high stakes, and a heroine who holds her own in a brutal world, Shield of Sparrows needs to be on your TBR. I’m already dying for the next book in this series.
If you just want to try this out, Shield of Sparrows is available on Kindle Unlimited to try out. Which I do highly recommend trying this fantasy book out.
Curious how this compares to other trending fantasy romances? Check out my post Popular Fantasy Romances: Is It Worth the Hype? to see where this one lands on the scale.
Thank you Devney Perry and Red Tower books for giving me a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Read my honest book review of Rites of the Starling
The next book in this popular romantasy series
⚠️⚠️SPOILER⚠️⚠️
For the angst, the slow burn, and the addictive worldbuilding… even if everyone dies in one chapter.
Let’s get into it—because Shield of Sparrows left me reeling, and not just from the slow-burn romantasy tension.
Was it obvious that the mysterious Guardian was actually the Crown Prince in hiding? Yes, well at least it is for me anyways. The moment he stepped onto the page with that “brooding protector with secrets” energy, I just knew. And the fact that Odessa unknowingly marries Ransom? Predictable… but still gave me butterflies. The chemistry was everything I could have hoped for. I lived for their slow-burn connection, and honestly, I didn’t mind that I saw that twist coming because it was so well executed and worth it in the end.
But let’s talk about the parade of deaths that happened all at once during the Crux. It seemed like the author had a thing for killing most of the side characters!
Jocelyn? A spy? A warrior?? That reveal was wild and actually made me laugh when she was just… killed off right after. Lucelle being Ransom and Evie’s mother? Jaw drop. And then, just like that—gone. Banner shows up to get his fiancé Brielle (another plot twist) and I thought we were going to get something there, but nope. Another one bites the dust. ☠️ He deserved it because all he cared about was getting his revenge.
Seriously, why did everyone get killed off in the span of the last 25 pages during the Crux? I thought Xavier—Ransom’s double—was a goner too, but thankfully there’s a thread of hope for him through Ransom’s POV. I’m not emotionally ready to lose anyone else at this point.
Devney Perry has done enough to me as it is. I am sending her my therapy bill for the whirlwind she gave me.
Lucelle’s entire subplot? Scientifically diabolical and completely out of left field. The fact that she created Lyssa as some kind of magical experiment was shocking enough—but just as we start to piece together who she really is and what she’s been up to these past few years, boom—she’s killed off as well. No real answers, no deep dive into her motivations, and no clear path forward for the cure. It felt wildly underexplored, especially for a plot thread with such massive implications for Ransom, Odessa, and the entire world. We will see how this unfolds in the next books.
And then… that Crux creature reveal? I was ready for a massive, monstrous bird—and instead we get a human woman with the same hair as Odessa? WHAT?! That twist alone opened up a whole other level of mystery. What is the king of Quentis hiding? Did he kill Odessa’s mother? Was she the creature that everyone fear? I HAVE QUESTIONS!!!!!
Devney fed us just enough at the end with that Ransom POV to keep us hooked, but the questions left hanging are killing me (almost as fast as she killed her characters off, lol).
This was easily my favorite romantasy this year—dark, immersive, and deeply emotional. It is popular fantasy romance book that lived up to the hype.
Shield of Sparrows gave me everything I crave: slow-burn tension, deep characters, deadly secrets, and a world teetering on the edge of ruin. I need the next book ASAP.
