Black Blade Blues by J.A. Pitts

Black Blade Blues by J.A. Pitts

Tor Books, 2010.

No, she does not wear belly shirts in the book!

Overview: Sarah Beauhall, a Seattle blacksmith and part-time prop manager for a low-budget movie, is happy to spend her free time with her friends in the Society for Creative Anachronism (a medieval re-enactment group), going to auctions to pick up antique weapons, and dating her girlfriend of a year, Katie. When she comes into possession of a sword straight out of Norse myth, Sarah is forced to recognize that dragons, giants, and trolls are real, and that she must fight them. 

My reaction: When I found this in the library, I thought it was too good to be true! Tamora Pierce's Daja Kisubo, a female blacksmith who (spoiler alert!) is eventually revealed to be attracted to the ladies, was the beginning of my love for lesbian smiths, and Laurie J. Marks' Karis rekindled it. With Black Blade Blues, I hoped to find another kickass smith to be a fan of. For the most part, Sarah did not disappoint! She is a skilled smith and warrior (she's proficient in tae kwon do as well as sword and hammer), and while she is a skeptic at first, she commits herself to saving the day when her friends are in danger. 

The culminating battle was a thrill to read, and I'm definitely planning to read the other two books in the series, Honeyed Words and Forged in Fire.

My main issue was Sarah's trouble dealing with a really homophobic upbringing. It wasn't her shit-ton of internalized homophobia going on that grated as much as the fact that she recognized it, and hadn't taken constructive steps to deal with it even as it sabotaged her relationship with the woman of her dreams. When it got too much, I'd skim just slow enough to comprehend, but fast enough that my annoyance was minimized. 

Since this was my first urban fantasy read featuring a lesbian blacksmith in the Pacific Northwest, and I was really enjoying my reintroduction to the genre after a long time spent reading mysteries, I brushed aside any number of plot holes without caring too much. It actually wasn't until I was looking up the publishing information for the book on Goodreads--and subsequently gave into the temptation to read negative reviews--that I realized just how thoroughly I had glossed  them over by the end because DRAGONS and HARROWING ENCOUNTERS and oh, yeah, a LESBIAN BLACKSMITH. Sure, there are things that don't make sense, but you know what? I enjoyed it anyway. Yell at the characters a little if you have to (I'm sure you will--I did!), skim a little if you have to, but because my overall enjoyment factor was so high, I'm recommending this one!