Realm Breaker

 This review will be about Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard. Published on May 4, 2021, It’s the first book in the Realm Breaker series with 3 books in total. Its genre is classified as a Young Adult High Fantasy Adventure series. 

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A little about the book; 

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.

Review: 

In 2021 when this book was released, I knew I immediately wanted it. I never read anything by Aveyard but I knew I was going to love it based off of; BIG world/map, Pirates, multiple points of views with a group of unlikely comrades who try to save the world and magic.

The world building is extensive and long, especially in the beginning but being able to reference the map helped and I didn’t mind it because the map art is gorgeous and the world building was easy to follow along with! Another thing about the world building, it was so detailed and so well written that I had an easy time imagining being there. I loved being able to see where each character was, it made it so I felt more immersed in the world. I did struggle for a bit, in the beginning, trying to figure out where everyone was but once I started reading more it was easy to follow along.

Characters:

The point of view transitions flawlessly, but I do have a couple of favorites so I was always excited for the next chapter. Each character has different backgrounds, personalities, etc… The character growths and downfalls were so detailed that I couldn’t help but to root for some of them and hate others. Let’s just say I had a lot of emotions during some parts of the book. Angry, sad, confused, betrayed. NOT at the book but at some of the characters! That’s how you know that the author has perfected the characters!

The main character throughout the book is Corayne. When reading this book, I immensely enjoyed reading Corayne’s point of view. She’s the daughter of the most feared pirate, Hel Mel and as she starts her journey, she grows into a more resilient young woman, she’s far from naive as she can easily read people and depending on the problem, she can come up with brilliant solutions for the group, sometimes even leading it.

Some more characters that have points of view in this book are ; 

Sorassa,throughout this entire book, I always looked forward to her point of view. She was an assassin for the Amhara but now she’s a Forsaken, banished.  She’s sarcastic, badass with her whip and knives, her tongue even sharper than her blades. She prefers to be the outcast of the group but with how long their journey is, she’s bound to feel close to the unlikely group. 

Andry, the squire who witnessed evil enter the world has a lot on his shoulders. This character is a good compliment to the others as he is a sweetheart and cares about the world, even though he has to turn his back on his home. Domacridhan, also known as Dom, the immortal, also witnessed the evil entering this world, even though he’s 500 years old, he reminds me of a puppy! He has major skills that the group needs but he’s clueless when it comes to mortals and how to manage his emotions. 

Valtik, the eccentric witch who has been guiding this unlikely group from the very start, very secretly though, made me laugh a lot. Some of her rhymes are funny yet crucial for the group, as they contain answers and clues for the group on their adventure. Sigil, the bounty hunter, I can't quite put my finger on it but she reminds me of someone I either read in a book or in a video game but her character personality is very tom-boyish. Sigil has a quirky personality and dark humor that I immediately liked. Sigil’s bounty and mortal enemy, Charlon,or charlie, is another character in the book, who produces forged seals and is a priest but he brings other aspects to the group. The banter between Sigil, Charlon, and Sorassa had me laughing (most of the time) while reading. 

Then of course there’s the villain, Taristan. The way this character was written, his backstory and the way he acts, made me pity him and hate him at the same time. His upbringing was sad and that’s what made me pity him. His actions are what makes me hate him, he’s essentially trying to destroy the world to rule the world and for What Waits (the great evil). Erida, the morally gray young queen of Galland. At first, I really liked her point of view as it brought political intrigue to this world, but after finishing the book, oh boy. I get that she just wants to hold the power she has and strives for more but come on, why did she have to betray everyone! (Spoiler alert for those who haven’t read this sorry). Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed reading her points of views but because she’s so power hungry and doesn’t care who she hurts to get what she wants, especially her childhood friend, I don’t really like her but I still enjoy her point of views. 

There are essentially a lot of characters in this book, I know. I’m starting to find that if there are multiple points of views in a book, as long as all of the characters compliment each other and they blend flawlessly together, I really don’t mind it. I used to hate reading multiple points of views because I always felt like it was either rushed or it didn’t fit with each other because they were all at the same moment in time. But that’s not the case with this book. 

As far as romance goes in this book, there’s not a whole lot as far as the MC’s. There is a Villian on Villian chemistry/ mutual benefits for power though. I believe there might be more romance in the second for Corayne and Andry as they seem to have some feelings for each other but don’t act on them, we will have to see! The romance that was in this one though, for however much there was, was very mild and not the focal point of the book. 

The plot of the book is good, including the Spindle blade, Spindle blood, and the Spindle portal aspect. The monsters that show up from the Spindles are otherworldly and detailed to perfection that you can easily picture these horrifying creatures. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be looking forward to reading and reviewing the second book, Blade Breaker. If you're at all interested in the huge mix of interesting aspects to this book from the intriguing characters, a lot of action and adventure, politics, huge world building/map,  to funny and sad moments, this book might be for you! If you’ve read this book, what did you think of it? Let me know! For those of you who have made it all the way to the end of the review, should I start including pictures in my reviews? Let me know!!