Review: Victoria Aveyard absolutely outdoes herself when it comes to “Blade Breaker” and it’s ending. 

 

In this sequel to the “Realm Breaker” trilogy, Aveyard gives the reader the opportunity to explore the Kingdoms of Ibalet, Trec, and Madrence. We are made aware of their differing cultures, values, and monarchs through alternating viewpoints, which is something that I appreciated. One such monarch that Aveyard acquaints the reader with is Isadere, the King of Ibalet’s Heir and Lasreen’s Chosen. Isadere identifies as neither male nor female and uses they/them pronouns, providing necessary and important non-binary representation in young adult fantasy. I absolutely love Isadere’s character in “Blade Breaker” because of their unique abilities gifted to them by the goddess of death and life. I look forward to seeing what role they will play in the final installment of the trilogy! 

 

In addition to getting to know new characters, the reader is exposed to a new side of certain members of the Companions. For instance, Aveyard allows us to see a crack in Sorasa’s mask when she shares the reason for her exile. The ruthless assassin’s vulnerability humanizes her, making her feel all the more real and relatable to the reader. 

 

While Sorasa opens up to her newfound friends, Erida shuts down. Her trust in others (aside from Taristan) disintegrates as she embraces cruelty and sheer villainy. I enjoyed reading from her point-of-view and sympathized with the root of her frustrations, but as the saying goes “two wrongs don’t make a right.” In this case, conquering the realm may not be the solution to all of her problems like she thinks it is. 

 

Corayne’s slow development from young girl to soldier across the first two books was also fun to follow. I particularly appreciated Aveyard’s choice to make her a novice swordsman rather than a skilled warrior. Her progress is more realistic this way.  

 

Because Aveyard spent a lot of time establishing the world of Allward in “Realm Breaker,” I expected more action sequences throughout “Blade Breaker.” In actuality, this was not the case. As previously mentioned, the band of Companions spend time in multiple Kingdoms. Thus, the majority of the book chronicles the travels of the Companions as they move from spindle to spindle. While the build up is slow, however, the reader is ultimately rewarded with two epic battle scenes in the last hundred pages before being hit with Aveyard’s most painful cliffhanger yet! I cannot wait to see whether or not the realm will be saved in book 3!