Reviews with content warning for Blood - Realm Breaker

Favorite Female Character: Corayne An-Amarat
Favorite Male Character: Andry Trelland

I really liked this one! I’ve been reading work by this author for a while, and I have to say that her writing has grown so much since her first series. RB felt a little non-linear and confusing at times, but once I really got into it I fell in love with the setting and the characters. With an expansive world build and enthralling storyline of danger, deception, and royal intrigue, I would recommend this for fans of LOTR, Six of Crows, and general sweeping fantasy novels.

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erins_bookshelf_'s review

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adventurous tense fast-paced

4.5

I put off reading this book for a while because I wasn't the biggest fan of the Red Queen series, but this was so good and I'm glad I finally got to it! It does fall into the 'chosen one' trope area but honestly I don't even care because it's a really good story and the reason for why she's the only one who can save everyone makes sense rather than it just being "because of magic" or something like that.
I need to get the second book as soon as possible because I'm loving this story so far and I need more of it!!

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queer_bookwyrm's review

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

3 ⭐ CW: Violence, descriptions of blood and gore, torture, PTSD

Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard is book one in the Realm Breaker series. I was quite disappointed with this one, actually. I loved the Red Queen series, but this fell flat to me.

We follow a group of seven people who are on a quest to save the Allward. Corayne, Spindle touched and the chosen one is the one one who can save the realm from being torn apart by her uncle, who only wants chaos and destruction. Andry, the dutiful squire wracked with survivor's guilt and PTSD and possible love interest for Corayne. Sorasa, (the best character) the sarcastic assassin who has the best banter, and I wanted to know more about her backstory. Dom, the immortal Elder who is our resident himbo and good boy who doesn't get along with Sorasa. Charlie, the forger and ex-priest with a heart of gold, and is clearly pining for a boy. Sigil, the bounty hunter and all around badass and scary lady. And finally, Valtik, the witch that doesn't make any sense, but gets them out of a pinch anyway.

Personally, I thought there were too many different POVs, and the result was a very slow and drawn out story. I was 80% of the way through the book before the gang was completed. It just took way too long to get to where you knew the story was going. I also don't care enough about most of these characters, because we don't get enough time with each of them. Sorasa was the only one I had strong feelings about.

If you don't mind a slow build up in book one, this could be a good epic YA Fantasy read, but if you're looking for fast paced action, this isn't it. I don't think I'll continue the series.

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This was almost a DNF for me, except that by the time I was thoroughly bored by very little happening of importance, I was already almost done. As an audiobook, at least, the story flies by, unafraid to spend a very long time on each event without quite being dull. I wasn’t engaged by the chemistry of the main band of heroes, though a particular character who appears helpful and then is shown to be nefarious was much more interesting. This lands in a weird middle ground, like it’s trying to be a character-centered narrative with a traveling party that’ll be a tightly-knit found family by the end, and it’s aiming to be a grand journey epic that takes its time and goes to interesting places and is more concerned with the journey than the destination. I can recognize that it has an assassin with a mysterious past, a battle-hardened immortal, a squire trying to never fail anyone like he failed his last knight, a young woman finally making her way in the world, and an old woman who is prophetic and mysterious. It also has a queen trying to consolidate her power, a mysterious and malevolent prince, and a traveler trying to get help. However, these brief descriptions are more exciting than what actually happens in the story. I recognize the roles they play in the narrative but I don’t care about them as people and I keep forgetting who everyone is. I made my list of important characters without reviewing the list from the official blurb (available above), and my list doesn't quite match because it feels like the characters were chosen based on tropes, but a slightly different list were actually interesting in the story.

Part of what makes everyone feel interchangeable is that most of their individual goals aren’t well-defined. The main antagonist wants to open the spindles as a kind of revenge for his twin being stolen and raised to an inheritance that he only lost due to the luck of being born second. That explains why he’s angry but doesn’t sufficiently explain why he chose this particular plan as his revenge. The queen is my favorite character, her goals and motives are really clear and they make sense in the story. I understand why she’s doing what she’s doing, whether or not I think it’s wise or good. As for the others, they want to stop the spindles from being opened because the spindles let in deadly creatures. Great, love a “save the world goal”, but their individual goals other than “stop the antagonist and don’t die” are lost in favor of cultivating mystery and potential later reveals. It makes them feel interchangeable, because even if their goals are explained before or during the journey they don’t seem to affect what actually happens. At one point they get imprisoned, and not only has one of them been in prison before, they’ve been in this particular prison and already has a way to get out as soon as they decide to implement it. It means that even a prison break (traditionally a pretty dramatic bit of story) is anticlimactic and almost immediately solved.

The events of the prologue felt like they should have been the end of the first book, there's so much tension and depth in such a brief space, and then the rest of the book doesn't live up to that promise.

The worldbuilding related to the spindles is interesting, but the details don’t have time to matter before this portion of the trilogy is over. I have no interest in the sequels. This was bland in an inoffensive but uninteresting way. I don’t hate it, I don’t like it, it’s just blah and I don’t recommend it.

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maple_dove's review

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Couldn't get interested. Fantasy doesn't appeal to me unless it's alongside a genre that I really like.

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madisone's review

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adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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nora_knight's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

As the introductory book to a series, I enjoyed it. It took a while to introduce each of the characters and set off on their quest, but it seems to set up an exciting adventure and I'm already anticipating reading the next book.

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jessicaludden's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

*4.5*

“‘Well, if you don’t belong to a place, perhaps we belong to each other? We who belong nowhere?’”

I really liked this and my only “complaint” is that I need more. There is a massive amount of world building in this book, which is necessary because it’s a very complex world. Victoria does a great job including lots of detail and lots of descriptions, almost to the point where it’s too much. I loved the world building don’t get me wrong, but I would’ve traded that for a little more character interaction. I loved the characters and I loved their potential relationships with each other, but I think we should’ve seen more of it. My favorite scenes included these characters having one on one conversations and building that trust between each other. I absolutely loved the scene with Dom and Andre having a heart to heart about the shared grief and survivor’s guilt they’re feeling. Scenes like that are what I felt was missing from this. I would’ve loved to see more Dom and Sorasa, more Sorasa and Corayne, and more Corayne and Andry. I’m okay with it for now because I know we’re going to get more in the rest of the series, but I couldn’t help but feel that part missing from the story. It was also difficult for me to get attached to characters like Sigil, Charlie, and Valtik because they showed up so much later in the story and we didn’t really get a feel for who they are. What surprised me the most was how much I loved the villains, especially their potential little romance occurring. Taristan is such a great villain and Erida is so complex. I love their dynamic and I can’t wait to see them try to take over the world together (and possibly get closer at the same time). Overall I loved the world and loved the characters. I’m not gonna fault this book for what it was lacking because I know there’s more to come and I’m so excited!

Favorite Quotes:
“Corayne knew herself, and while she was her mother’s daughter, she was not her mother’s equal.”

“‘Boys do stupid things to feel like men, no matter how old they are.’”

“The Amhara has great need for those who can pass unseen, and who is more unseen to men than a woman?”

“Andry, afraid of the city ahead. Corayne, afraid of the sword on her back. Dom, afraid of nearly everything.”

“‘If I could, I’d make you a knight right here. You’ve certainly earned it by now.’”

“‘So the realm stands on the brink of destruction. It might have tipped already. And for some reason, you need me to join this…’ He glanced down their line. This time his scrutiny felt like an insult. ‘Merry band of heroes?’”

“He doesn’t belong here with us, as much as he tries to. The end of the world is no place for Andry Trelland. He doesn’t deserve it.”

“He imagined leaving Sarn behind at almost every turn, but found he could not picture her battling a bounty hunter to death, and certainly not over someone as unimportant as Charlon Armont.”

“Mortals are impossible to fathom, especially Sorasa Sarn.”

“An immortal Veder, a Jydi witch, a copper-eyed assassin, a royal squire, a criminal fugitive, and a pirate’s daughter, the Ward’s hope. What a mess we are, Dom thought as Sarn claimed a corner of the room.”

“As in Ascal, Andry was torn between duty and desire. The squire will march and fight and carry on until he drops. Until someone gives him permission to stand back, and be a little less strong.”

“Sarn is still occupied, Valtik is useless, Corayne can barely swing a blade, and Andry is somehow sleeping through everything.”

“‘Even when it isn’t the end of the world, the realm is a dangerous place for women,’ Sorasa added, gesturing between herself and the bounty hunter. Sigil grinned broadly. ‘And so we became dangerous.’”

“No amount of squiring had prepared him for a girl like Corayne.”

“Charlie not so much, but if he is trampled, so be it. His blood isn’t saving the Ward anytime soon.”

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