A Gilded Iron Blade: San Amaro Investigations, Book 3

“I don’t like this.”“Noted. I’m going to do it anyway.”This series? Simply marvelous. Book three? Edge of your seat action, tender moments, and painful goodbyes.Butler fuses the fantasy, private detective, and murder mystery genre’s seamlessly in these books, adding in unexpected plot twists and a fresh, innovative magic system.The San Amaro Investigations books have become one of my favorite series. Told from the perspective of Parker Ferro, a fae raised by humans, the books follow his adventures when he finds himself the fulcrum been two realities, charged with keeping each safe. His boyfriend is Nick, a powerful alchemist from a powerful family who works as a detective. Along with his sister and the projected spirit of his foster mother, Ferro has to fight the very worst tendencies in humans after the rebirth of the World Tree in San Amaro, an interdimensional oak tree that connects a thousand different realms.Humans being what they are, their first reaction to the World Tree is to destroy it. But any attack on the World Tree will result in a devastating war launched by those protecting it from other dimensions.As Parker and Nick scramble to keep the Tree safe, teenagers with exceptional magical abilities start disappearing. The disappearances become even more personal as Parker’s sister, a powerful witch, goes missing.In each book, it’s an ensemble performance, with multiple people doing their best against those whose idea of freedom means destroying anything that doesn’t look like them. It’s an appropriate, though sadly recurrent, theme that hits home given the state of our nation today. During the McCarthy era, the blacklisted folk quartet, the Weavers (featuring Pete Seeger), sang “Wasn’t that a Time,” in which there’s a line that says “and the madmen come again.” Over and over, the madmen come. And so it is in The Gilded Iron Blade as a group of paranoid zealots attack the Word Tree and anyone protecting it with a homicidal fury that borders on psychosis.Butler’s series seems to follow Hirohiko Araki’s “golden path” of successful stories, a formula where the hero, Parker Ferro, starting with the odds and his own personal baggage all stacked against him. “The hero must rise,” according to master mangaka Araki. The protagonist should always be moving upwards, and never stagnant or regressing. Most series and movies seemingly follow this precept in some way, but in Butler’s San Amaro series it is on full display. Parker starts out in Book 1 in a ramshackle apartment, barely making a living and is about to be evicted. In the current book, The Gilded Iron Blade, he’s in a stable relationship, has a house, and is one of the most powerful beings known. But his challenges multiply, and he’ll need more than brute power to stop the new villains Butler introduces. The higher the hero rises, the greater the obstacles.Book Four isn’t out until later this summer.Is it July yet?

What can I say? I really loved this book. A Gilded Iron Blade has been a wonderful, exhilarating read and is a fantastic addition to the San Amara Investigation series. It picks up from where The Oakwood Throne left off and presents another exciting, mysterious and action-filled adventure for Parker and Nick. Reading the first two books is a must before diving into this one.A Gilded Iron Blade presented a brand new case that has some large scale consequences to it. The so-called villain of the week is quite contemptible as expected. His character presented the reader another glimpse on how far the secret society hell bent on destroying the fae would go to achieve their goals.The worldbuilding like in the other books has been great. With the basic foundation laid out previously, the new details and information presented here added a deeper layer, more color and richness to an already interesting setting arousing a desire to see more of the universe of the San Amaro series. Moreover, the magical system has been so intriguing and I really liked the uniqueness of each magic type presented. Each characteristic on how one works on their own and when weaved with the other types is fascinating to read.The characters have been a delight as well! I adore Parker and Nick and the growth they had shown ever since they were first introduced in Wormwood Summer. Their bond has deepened and their relationship has become stronger ever since. There are still some rough patches here and there but they've matured enough to find it in themselves to slowly work things out.The book has shown a more vulnerable side to Parker who has slowly learned to open up to Nick and have the man he loves be the pillar he can lean on. It's not just Nick he has opened his heart to though. He had added Sugar the succubus he rescued, and the not-cat demon to the small family he is forming.The emotional parts of the story hit really hard and that one particular scene near the end was both beautiful and sad.If you're looking for a new urban fantasy series to binge on that has some magic-wielding main characters, humor, drama, heart-pounding action, politics fae or otherwise, a shadowy organization bent on destruction and world domination with a dose of romance weaved in seamlessly, give this book and the series that it is part of a try.I can't wait for the next book to drop.This would be 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.I received an ARC of this book and I have chosen to publish my fair and honest review.

This was a seriously looooong (7 hours) book but very engrossing to read. As with the rest of the series, these books should all be read in order for maximum reading enjoyment. While I definitely do enjoy this book, a couple of things did detract from my enjoyment. Parker was extremely angry with Malcolm for “using” him which I felt was super hypocritical considering Parker’s use of all the different spirits of things throughout the series. Additionally, I didn’t care for the demonization of the National Guard throughout the book. That felt like some cliché device against the military. Just because peace is always preferable to war doesn’t make members of the military evil. Just my opinion. Still, I did very much enjoy this book and am looking forward to the next book in the series.

This is a very in between book. It doesn’t stand on its own very well. The romance part is nonexistent; it’s all about the case. But the case drags on and on and there isn’t a satisfying conclusion. The spell work done on the climax of the book doesn’t make any sense. There’s a lot going on here with very little action or forward progress. A few inconsistencies as well. I still gave 4 stars because I enjoy the series, but this installment is a letdown.

This is the first time I've ever dove into a fantasy-type genre, and it does not disappoint. I've never actually made it past further than the 2nd book and read the 3rd instalment of any books series as most of the time, the 3rd book never captures my attention, but this series has been amazing!! I cannot wait to see how this all ends

I read all three of the first books in one sitting each and it's no surprise why. Butler writes compelling, emotionally deep casts of characters and twists the world building in logical and fascinating ways. From start to finish I love the deep and consistent construction, the sensible, realistic characters and the escalating danger and thrill of each book. Emotional twists and turns that had me unable to stop until I had answers, fraught with fear and elation for some of those answers.This is exactly what you want from good urban fantasy.

More dots get connected linking a lot of the stories in previous books. Parker healing and breaking and healing and breaking but becoming stronger in the process and growing. His relationship with Nick a balm to his soul and the vessel for all his true strength. A very wholesome continuation of the Saga with some closures as well as revealed loose ends to continue. I don't remember the last time I was impatient for a series to be published already! Ugh

Well, this was spectacular. And also, gut-wrenching: by the end, I was CRYING.Kai Butler continues to amaze me with her talent: the plot, the world-building, the magic, the romance, the characters... everything is masterfully created.This series is precisely why I love this genre so damn much, and "A Gilded Iron Blade" just adds new, fascinating layers to the complexity of the plot and new, unexpected layers to both Parker and Nick's characters and their romance.Parker, in particular, broke my heart in many, many points: his life has been so complicated, and seeing all of his powers and obligations war inside and outside of him, all his hidden insecurities about being left by the people he loves, all his doubts... I just felt for him so much. His relationship with Laurel and Shannon and Marco is (and was) something so special, and let me tell you, although the content warnings gave me an idea, I was not expecting to cry THAT much at the end. My heart just splintered for him.Nick, as usual, was fantastic, although he still remains somewhat a mystery: I'm curious to see if we'll finally meet his famously powerful family in the next book, and what will be their reaction to Parker's unusual ways. I have a feeling his cover as a normal kitchen witch is about to be blown.Also, what was THAT ENDING? OMG, I'm so excited to read what else Kai Butler has in store for us.

A Gilded Iron Blade ist das dritte Buch der San Amaro Investigations-Reihe und lässt Parker wieder kaum Zeit zum Atmen.Nach dem Cliffhanger im letzten Teil war ich sehr gespannt, wie es mit der vorherigen Windrose weitergeht, jedoch spielt Malcolm und sein Verrat eine eher untergeordnete Rolle. Stattdessen werden eher andere offene Fragen wie Parkers Mutter oder das Feuer in ihm abgeschlossen.Band 3 lebt wieder von Parkers Humor, charmanten Nebencharakteren und einem spannenden Fall.