Oh!!! You know how in some series the second book kind of falters?
NOT THIS ONE!!!!

Mai Corland slams her foot on our collective necks from the word go in Four Ruined Realms!!!

I had to take breaks because it was a helluva ride! From the action, to the new secrets, and oh my word the plot and world building were phenomenal!
It was everything we needed after that amazing start in Five Broken Blades, with its cliffhanger ending that left me breathless. 
Thankfully this books starts just as that one ended, and our beloved anti heroes are all struggling.

After learning to trust one another in book 1, trust is now a commodity they can no longer afford. It was emotional watching them grapple with the truth of who they themselves were and who they thought their friends were. This was some excellent parsing of emotions and so real. Loved it! Truly one of my favorite parts of this book.

The other part that really stood out to me were the new mythical elements to the story. Those were fun and always with unexpected twists. But then that was the entire book. Twists that twisted my innards outwards, while I screamed into a pillow lol!

This book also reminded me of Mission Impossible. The team had missions to do that could not really be done, but they figured it out anyway...sort of. (Read the book and see lol)

Four Ruined Realms has all the things Fantasy lovers could ask for and so much more. The romance aspect was there too btw, and swoony, and heartbreaking. 

Sigh I just loved it. 

I can again safely and LOUDLY recommend this series by Mai Corland. 

Do yourself a favor and READ IT!