IGNITE

A girl fighter fights evil in a midseries time filler.

Disfigured by scars and outed as a girl, superb sword fighter Alexa is King Damian's most valued guard. Though Damian relies on her completely as a soldier and adviser, the awkwardness between the pair encroaches on their every interaction. Alexa has told Damian she doesn't love him, convinced that a relationship would destroy her beloved king (she feels she’d be bad for him, for no apparent reason beyond her disfiguring scars). Every time she sees him, Alexa is struck with such blinding physical pain—in her chest, stomach, gut and skull—that readers might wonder if she should visit a doctor. A visit to the kingdom by villainous, alabaster-skinned desert people leaves the kingdom in danger from a wicked seductress and her brother, a malicious goon who tortures his own henchmen for kicks and giggles. Though the dastardly fiends don't appear to be dark sorcerers, they certainly have mysterious powers almost impossible to resist. Still, no dark magic or potential war with the Blevonese can distract Alexa from her Very Important Love Triangle with two bland blank slates.

Adequate heroic fantasy only for those who must have every girl-with-a-sword