Leta’s Book Review: Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

Fantasy, 13+

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

After the stunning setup in Realm Breaker, Blade Breaker was sure to provide a ton of action and it delivered. We catch up with the Companions only a moment after we left them at the end of Realm Breaker, still reeling from that final battle.

The plot of Blade Breaker was dense and exhilarating. It pulled me in and carried me around their entire world beside them. Every time the action dimmed and things almost became boring, time jumped forward as much as made sense or the action snuck around a corner and caught them all by surprise. All the intricacies made me want to reread the first book so that I learned about all of the characters again, but it wasn’t long before more details came to light that explained even further and I remembered.

Corayne, our chosen one, has the difficult role of allowing others to fight for her in most scenarios since she isn’t trained. Over the course of this second book, she learns how to defend herself from Sorasa and Sigil. I can see her being an unnecessary character, except that she brings such a different perspective into the lives of all of these immortal or legendary people. The character development across the board is steady and positive, both from the events of the novel and because of the Companions and villains influencing each other.

A quick word on the villains of this world, Erida and Taristan: they really don’t feel evil all the time. They both move closer to that over the course of this novel and their conquest, but Erida is a point of view character and we know that what she wants isn’t evil–it’s the methodology that she’s chosen that inflicts more damage than necessary on innocents.

Victoria Aveyard has found the perfect middle ground between classic YA writing style and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings vibes. Her prose is easy to understand, yet ancient and complex in its flow. I have tried multiple times to make it through her previous YA series, Red Queen, and only time will tell if I make any headway with it the second time through. Realm Breaker and Blade Breaker, on the other hand, are mature and sophisticated in their cadence. I won’t hesitate to find out what happens next to our heroes, especially after that ending–even better than the cliffhanger in the first one!

Thank you for reading. I appreciate you taking the time and I hope that you check out Realm Breaker and Blade Breaker!