Name: Realm Breaker
Rating: 3.768595041322314 (242 reviews)
ISBN: 9780062872647

Victoria Aveyard

"A strange darkness grows in Allward. Even Corayne an-Amarat can feel it, tucked away in her small town at the edge of the sea. She soon discovers the truth: she is the last of an ancient lineage--and the last hope to save the world from destruction. But she won't be alone. Even as darkness falls, she is joined by a band of unlikely companions. Together they stand against a vicious opponent, invincible and determined to burn all kingdoms to ash, and an army unlike anything the realm has ever witnessed."--

Realm Breaker

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF RED QUEEN COMES A BRAND NEW SERIES SAVE THE WORLD OR END IT... A strange darkness is growing in the Ward. Even Corayne an-Amarat can feel it, tucked away in her small town at the edge of the sea. Fate knocks on her door, in the form of a mythical immortal and a lethal assassin, who tell Corayne that she is the last of an ancient lineage - with the power to save the world from destruction. Because a man who would burn kingdoms to the ground is raising an army unlike any seen before, bent on uprooting the foundations of the world. With poison in his heart and a stolen sword in his hand, he'll break the realm itself to claim it. And only Corayne can stop him. Alongside an unlikely group of reluctant allies, Corayne finds herself on a desperate journey to complete an impossible task, with untold magic singing in her blood and the fate of the world on her shoulders.

Tatiana

Realm Breaker: 2.5/5


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

Gosh... Y'all... I wanted to love this book. I was expecting an epic and intricate new fantasy series to dig into, and this wasn't it.

Premise:
First of all, the book itself is extremely confusing, but the plot is very mundane and linear. Realm Breaker is a multi-pov story about saving the world. Essentially there are things called "Spindles," which are rips between worlds, and Taristan, an evil guy, is opening these Spindles, which threaten to tear the world apart. The only hope to close the Spindles is a spindleblade wielded by someone with spindle blood. 

One of our characters, called Corayne, is the "chosen one" with spindle blood and joins a rag-tag group of people to journey with and find a Spindle to close.

Writing & Plot:
I want to preface this with the disclaimer that I generally do not enjoy journey stories. I have read quite a few in my past, and usually, I do not want them as much as other fantasy books. That said, this journey was incredibly dull. Nothing happens except for the final 50-100 pages. It is slow-paced, and considering it is a 560-page book, it is hard to get through. There are only a handful of action scenes, and they only meet the villains once in the entire story. There is no significant twist, nothing—just a completely linear plot.

Furthermore, there are some significant plot holes. The first one being if Taristan can only open Spindles, and Corayne can only close them, why can't Taristan... open another Spindle once Corayne closes one?

This entire book was world-building. It wasn't plot-driven or character-driven; it described the background of different characters and what they observe around the world. You can imagine the entire book except for the final 50 pages as one large info dump.

Characters:
There are SIX POVs in Realm Breaker. I wish someone had told Victoria Aveyard that less was more. Overall, there were so many POVs and so little character development that it felt overwhelming and extraneous. Here's a breakdown of all the characters:

Corayne an-Amarat:
Corayne is our given main character, who is "the chosen one". Some parts of me believe she shouldn't have been the main character because I found her annoying overall. I understand that the point was to make her out to be a regular teenage girl who was thrown onto a quest with no training, but reading her POV made me frustrated and rolled my eyes.

Andrey Trelland:
Andrey is the squire and described by many as a "cinnamon roll." He has a true heart of gold and committed treason to help this new cause that he deems essential. I liked Andrey and thought he had the most development.

Sorasa Sarn:
Soraya is the assassin of the group. She is meant to have a mysterious past and is "unfeeling." I found reading this to be incredibly dull. She is essential to plot, but her chapters were just bland. I was not too fond of Sorasa, and I thought she needed more development.

Domacridhan: 
Domacridhan is an immortal prince who's extremely strong. His POVs at the beginning were interesting, but as they progressed, I found myself skimming his chapters because they added nothing to the plot. He has no development and doesn't act as a prince would. Most of the time, he's acting like a fool.

Erida:
Erida is an evil queen and by far the best character. She's the queen of Galland and won't stop at anything to gain power. She's clever and knows the ins and outs of her court. She also has a romance with the big boss villain Taristan which was fantastic.

Valtic:
A witch who speaks in only riddles. I also really liked her because she's so strange.

Rhida:
Dom's cousin and the only plot point she had was to try to convince her people to fight. She is not introduced to any of the other characters and did not need a POV by any means. I assume she'll have a more significant role in future books, but it was highly frustrating to switch to her POV within Realm Breaker

Taristan:
The actual villain. I would have given up 4/5 of the other POVs to have his POV in this book. Thus, he is Coraynes's uncle, has spindle blood, and wants to open the spindles and rule as King. He is mysterious, and I think he has an ulterior motive with Erida. He is complex, and I am intrigued by his character and plot.

Now, that's many characters, and I have to say none of them had any substantial development. While fighting monsters, I found myself not caring about anyone or if anybody died. If the characters were better or Aveyard just focused on a few, it would have been a much more enjoyable book.

Conclusion:
I am disappointed. I was looking forward to this book, and it was a significant letdown. I think the world and overall premise have potential, but the execution of this first novel was painful. The slow-paced and boring characters and the constant change of POVs and info dumps were frustrating and unenjoyable. 

All that said, now that the world-building is over (hopefully), I will pick up the second book to see if the plot extends further and gets more complex. It's a sluggish start, but it sets up the following books well.

I felt like this book started pretty slow. It was kind of hard to get into and I felt like some things were drawn out. But I can tell that it was just setting up for more exciting things to happen in the next book. I did start to enjoy it a bit more at the end though. Looking forward to more happening in the next book. 

Maggie Hotmer

Kelsey Munson

**Thank you Epic Reads for sending me an ARC**

As someone who was not super in love with the Red Queen series, I was a bit nervous about how this one was going to play out, but this...

I like this. 

3.5/5 ⭐️ I’ll post an in-depth review closer to release (5/4)

honestly really disappointed in this book. it fell flat for me personally. it was kind of confusing and most the characters weren’t that interesting. sorasa and erida being the exception. there also wasn’t very much action which added to the slow pace. honestly do not think I’ll continue the series. 

Hannah Williams

This book is dense and seemed intimidating, but it was well worth the read. Aveyard creates compelling worlds and characters within them

Evelyn Krupicka

Emily B

4.5 STARS:

I really hate being a mood reader sometimes. I bought this last year when it came out, and I would pick it up occasionally since then, but it was just never the right time to read it I guess. But the stars have aligned and I finished it! And I loved it! I read Red Queen a long time ago, and though I liked it, it wasn't one of my favorites (though that may change as I am planning a reread to continue the series, so who knows?). For this reason, I was a bit familiar with this author. Personally, I found this to be much better than Red Queen.

This book was the perfect mix of character driven and plot driven. Those are my favorite kinds! The plot definitely had some twists and turns, and I was never bored. I suppose it is a bit on the slower side, but I thought the pacing was very well done. And it didn't fall into the trap that most travel books do, so I was very happy! I usually really despise travel books because they just meander all the time and it takes FOREVER to get to the next part of the story. Not the case with this book. They got from Point A to Point B to Point C pretty quickly, yet still took small moments to build the characters.

Speaking of characters, they were fantastic! While I ended up liking all of them, the ones that really stuck out to me were Corayne, Erida, Sigil, and Sorasa. Ohhhhh Sorasa. She has jumped to a place in my top 5 favorite female characters (and trust me, it's a long list, so that's an accomplishment). I appreciated the moral-grayness of Erida, and I thought that Corayne was a perfectly constructed protagonist. Sigil was one of the few who didn't get a POV, but I hope that changes. We didn't have her long, but I am intrigued and want to know more.

The world was also really complex. I loved the idea of Spindles and the connection of other worlds. It was a little confusing in the beginning, but what worked for me was just paying attention to the names they kept repeating. The map also helped a lot too.

All in all, this will definitely go down as one of my favorites. I'm kinda glad I read this now so I don't have to wait as long for the next book. I really recommend this if you like strong female characters and immersive fantasy worlds. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

The beginning is a bit confusing. Every chapter is written from one of six POV's, which sort of added to the confusion, I think. After reading a few chapters, I realized I had started this book before, then dropped it. So, I powered through and was happy to find the story does become more enjoyable. The idea is interesting, but I may have enjoyed it more if it was executed differently.  

Jenna

sydney

dom and sorasa are the best part of the book

Siena Grace

Was it just me or was this book a little disappointing? First off the prologue had me wanting to scratch my eyes out, it felt like I was in high school English class and the teacher was making us read Shakespeare. I could not understand it and had to re-read way more than I’m used to. Not only did it get off to a bad start but I just could not connect with any of the characters. 

I got about halfway through but only because a small part of me was rooting for this story to be as good as I remember the red queen books being, albeit I was like 15 when I read them but even young me had taste. 

I am giving this 3 stars, this is only my opinion, the story wasn’t terrible, I just hate slow, and this book was practically dragging its feet.

Chiara Vitale Zelaia

After never finishing the Red Queen series, I thought I would swear off Victoria Aveyard books forever. Yet social media has a peculiar power. One too many of your friends start talking about a book, you get curious, you see an aesthetic reel created by the author herself showcasing all of your favorite things. Just like that, all my certainties scattered in the wind like leaves, and here we are. REALM BREAKER reads like a high fantasy. At its core, this is a Lord of the Rings style quest/adventure. We have a magical artifact and a chosen one who can wield it to stop the big baddie. A big baddie (or two) who wants said artifact for ultimate power. An unlikely group of individuals who band together to save the day. 

One of its biggest strengths is the vast and detailed world-building, which I enjoy in any fantasy worthy of the name. Each location was meticulously planned, from geography to culture and people (which is why I loathe that the ebook didn’t have a map, but thank Bookish Odin for Google). The pacing was sometimes slow, perfectly normal in a high fantasy but perhaps more adequate for a new adult/adult audience rather than the target YA readers. The overall feeling was that not much was happening. The opening chapters were a bit confusing and the reader must pick up fragments of information along the way to perfectly understand the events, the scope of the adventure and the bigger picture of the plot. It’s a bit of work, but it felt rewarding once everything was in focus.

The adding up of these elements would usually bring my review closer to a 3 star review, but as I like to say, a good cast of characters can save a book, and that’s what happened for me with Realm Breaker. The characters crept up on me, revealing bits and pieces of themselves as the story went on. Give me heroines who reluctantly take on the mantel of the hero in order to see the world. Give me self-sacrificing big grumps bantering with a seemingly heartless assassin. Give me a world in which women are the most feared pirates on the seas, where the lines between good and evil are blurred and even the villains have a heart to go along with their ambition. Victoria Aveyard gave me all of that with her diverse and quirky cast of characters, and it kept me hooked on the pages chanting “one more chapter”. 

Was Realm Breaker perfect? No. But I was sad when it was over, wondering what more was in store for these characters. I still find myself thinking about it, missing it days after I finished reading. If that doesn’t mean the book left a mark on me, I don’t know what will. I also admire the creative effort that went into making this book, following in the footprints of a masterpiece that gave us so much and yet so little at the same time and centering the voices of those who were sidelined in the making of that masterpiece. In short, the more I think about this book, the more obsessed I become so I highly recommend giving it a shot!

Maria Elena Vitale Zelaia

Reading this book was…an adventure, and not just in the figurative sense. Realm Breaker was in fact June’s #BookTalkWithWifey book. (The readalong and book talk hosted every month by @_ckarys and @drawingandreading on Instagram.) In the chat, we all seemed to agree in the beginning, but as the days passed, it was hard to have two people say the exact same thing. Yes, many of us agreed on certain elements, but there wasn’t an opinion prevailing on the others. Where do I stand for this book?

I liked it.

The book opens with a prologue that most of us found very confusing. A lot of characters are thrown in and to get to the end of it I gave up on trying to understand who was who or I would have hardly understood what was happening, which was partially the case. Once the prologue was over, my sister and I went over the things we understood. It wasn’t much. 

However, things started clicking into place as we continued the story. The more I read, the more I wanted to read and know about the characters. Some (Sorasa and Dom. Do I ship them? Yes. Please bookish gods, make this happen!) clicked faster than others, but in the end I wound up loving most of the characters. The ones I haven’t entirely warmed up to are the ones introduced around 70% into the book, but I’m sure they’ll hold many surprises in future installments. I was sad once the book was over. Just like that, I realized I’d fallen in love.

The world is vast and it’s difficult to remember everything, but it’s such a beautiful world and I enjoyed it even if I still don’t remember all the places mentioned. There was one POV we see a handful of times that I would have gladly done without, because I felt those chapters brought away from the queen’s and the gang’s storylines. I might change my mind in the second book, though, depending what the storyline brings to the overall plot. This and the confusing prologue is the reason why I’m giving this 4 stars.

Irresistibly action-packed and full of lethal surprises, this stunning new fantasy series from Victoria Aveyard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Red Queen series, begins where hope is lost and asks: When the heroes have fallen, who will take up the sword? A strange darkness grows in Allward. Even Corayne an-Amarat can feel it, tucked away in her small town at the edge of the sea. She soon discovers the truth: She is the last of an ancient lineage--and the last hope to save the world from destruction. But she won't be alone. Even as darkness falls, she is joined by a band of unlikely companions: A squire, forced to choose between home and honor. An immortal, avenging a broken promise. An assassin, exiled and bloodthirsty. An ancient sorceress, whose riddles hide an eerie foresight. A forger with a secret past. A bounty hunter with a score to settle. Together they stand against a vicious opponent, invincible and determined to burn all kingdoms to ash, and an army unlike anything the realm has ever witnessed.

Livia

4.5/5 stars


oh my god... I have to say that Victoria Aveyard really steps up her game with the book and hopefully with the series. I did hear that this one was sloooow and I have to say that yes, mostly it's our characters going from places to places and running away because they're fugitives, collecting more people on their quest to save the realms from being destroyed by Taristan. But I actually like their journey along with them getting better as characters and building the plot in a way that will explode in the sequel. I adore the incredibly intricate world that the author also build, and kudos to her for the map because holy shit, it's the most gorgeous fantasy map I've seen. (view spoiler)[I am slightly uncomfortable with the massive age gap between Erida and Taristan, but them as a pair is cunning and great as the antagonist. (hide spoiler)]

Realm Breaker

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