ARC Review: Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

Synopsis:

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.

Review:

This is one fabulous book, with a big dramatic world and lots of amazing characters taking us on an epic action-packed adventure.  We travel to different locations, experiencing the contrasting climates and scenery all of which are beautifully and vividly described by the author.  The world is expansive, but not overwhelming, and I enjoyed pouring over the map following their journey.  We have pirates, assassins, immortal beings and sea creatures, its all there in this wonderful plot twisty fantasy medley. The magic system is interesting and I liked the idea of the Spindles with gates opening into other realms.  All of which have been locked and closed for thousands of years and they must remain that way.  Despite the length of the book with the fluidity of the writing and immersive narrative it’s very compelling and the pages flew by in no time at all.

The characters are brilliant and one of the reasons I enjoyed Realm Breaker so much.  They are brimming with personality, we have such a mismatched and disconnected group of people but their dynamics and interactions are delightful and they soon built up to become a close knit albeit motley crew. The multiple points of view worked really well giving us greater insight into each character’s thoughts and feelings and adding depth and realism to each one.  There is no romance in this novel but it was hinted at and hopefully there will be a blossoming relationship in subsequent novels.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the Red Queen series, in fact I decided not to continue with the series after reading the first book.  However, I felt the author hit the nail on the head with this one, it’s an excellent introduction to this new series and I absolutely loved it.  This is an exciting and imaginative world, I really did lose myself in the world and characters and I can’t wait to immerse myself in it again. I’m looking forward to finding out where the next instalment it takes us.  I love the cover too!

Publisher:  Orion
Publication Date (UK):  4 May 2021
Series:  Realm Breaker, #1
Format:  Paperback
Page Count:  576
Genre: Epic Fantasy/YA Fantasy
Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Happy reading!

𝓚𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓷

^{Twisted in Pages Blog}