This read was just what I needed to get out of a slump I have been in! It was engaging, easy to fall into and kept me thoroughly entertained. I love it when a story becomes like an afternoon spent with a good friend and "restores your soul" with its goodness and delight. This is a book of that nature. It is sure to bring a smile to your face and it will not disappoint!

Victoria Aveyard crafts such an amazing world. If you think the first book was amazing and heartbreaking get ready for the second book.

Her new Realm Breaker series feels like a natural evolution for Aveyard as a writer—as a whole, it’s a generally more mature story with a massive cast of characters, a setting with its own complicated history and geopolitical problems, and a forthright adventure/quest premise that nevertheless leaves room for plenty of shades of gray within its lines.

Second installment Blade Breaker is very much an in the middle of things sort of book: Readers are immediately dropped back into the events that concluded the first novel with little to no exposition or catch-up, and the stakes simply keep rising from the story’s first page to its last. Having successfully closed one of the Spindles (a magical portal to another realm) that is threatening to destabilize and destroy the Allward, Coryane al Amarat, descendent of Old Cor, must pick up her magical sword (known as a Spindleblade), gather her loyal Companions (an immortal, an assassin, a squire, a warrior, a forger, and a witch) and begin the search for the rest of the portals. A hero’s work is never done, after all.

Victoria Aveyard has some epic Tolkien-like world-building in this series, with an amazing cast of characters, and the amazing ability to "literally" gut the reader. In Blade Breaker, we are reunited with Corayne and the rest of our rag-tag team of hero outcasts as they continue their journey to save the realm from Queen Erida and her father's twin brother Taristan. I was so excited to pick up this second novel, already familiar with the world and theses loveable characters, and was left utterly destroy by Aveyard in the best possible way. No one writes villians like Victoria Aveyard. Honestly I'm quite glad she did not write the Harry Potter series, because with the way she writes bad guys, I would probably end up in love with Voldemort. This book is full of action, more realms and deadly creatures.... and of course a heart stopping, jaw dropping ending that will leave me unsettled until I have Realm Breaker 3 in my hands.

It took me reading about half the book before I got into the story. There are a lot of different storylines that at times get confusing. The end of course left me wanting more.

I am forever obsessed with Aveyard's writing. She is an auto-buy author for me; I will buy absolutely anything she publishes. The characters in this series! The found family! The unique magic system & world she has created! There isn't much that I dislike, honestly. At times the pacing dragged a bit for me, but it's because I'm impatient to find out what happens. The ending hurt...but I think she knows that. So so so good.

Thank you to HCCFrenzy who sent me an ebook ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This review will contain spoilers for the first two books.
I cannot express how excited I was when I got approved for an ARC of this book. I’m an avid fan of Aveyard’s books, ever since the first Red Queen novel. The first book in this series, Realm Breaker, was very good but didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The pace was off slightly and the information dumps ended up being a clunky, taking you out of the story. Despite this, I did really enjoy it, and Blade Breaker was one of my most anticipated books of the year! It was fantastic. The book picks up right where the first one ends, our ragtag band of heroes dealing with the aftermath of closing the first Spindle. From there the book follows them as they race against Taristan, Erida and What Waits in an effort to close the Spindles they open before too much damage is done. Rihda , Dom’s cousin, makes a bid for allies with the Vedara of the North and the Jydi raiders. Also. DRAGONS. I am so happy Aveyard is including dragons and I hope we see more of them in the next book. This book really found its footing right away and then took off from there. Something I really enjoyed was the slight Tolkien influences you can see in Aveyard’s world building. The Vedara are very similar in certain ways to the Noldorian elves of Tolkien and I loved it. The clunky info dumping of the first book was not a problem here, world building information was seamlessly woven in. Allward is a fascinating world and it was great to see more of it. The ending, in true Victoria Aveyard fashion was a massive cliffhanger that now has me anxiously awaiting the next instalment. Another thing I loved was the casual LGBTQIA+ inclusion in this book. There is a nonbinary member of royalty and Sigil is a confirmed Bicon. I’m fairly sure Dom is queer too, as when Sorasa says there’s many lords and ladies that both want to sleep with him, he only says he would never sleep with a mortal being. All of this is treated as absolutely normal, there is no homophobia or transphobia in this world. I love a good queer-normative fantasy. My only concern is that it seems like Sorasa and Dom are going to be a couple and frankly I’ve been rooting for Sorasa and Sigil to be our bi for bi sapphic power couple. This was a great solid sequel that does not suffer from bad sequel syndrome. 5/5 stars.

I would like to thank Harper Collins for providing a complementary digital arc of this novel via NetGalley. This is the second novel in the Realm Breaker series by Victoria Aveyard. It surpasses the first book in every way. I truly enjoyed how the author further explored characters like Sorasa. There are many layers to her character and there are particular moments with her that were very emotional. We also learn more about our villain Taristan, and his motivations as well as those of Queen Erida. There were alot of questions from the first novel, specifically about her drive, that were addressed here. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger. Nevertheless, this is a very strong sequel. The time spent further developing these characters with some very emotional turns further enhanced my appreciation of the story that was laid out in the first novel. By the end of this novel, I was ready for the next book and truly want to further explore these characters and get closure to this solid, enthralling, fantasy story.

Absolutely loved this one! This was the perfect sequel and it was so great to be back into this world with the characters. This book broke my heart and mended it at the same time and i cannot wait to see what happens next

This was a DNF. I try not to DNF books, but I had just finished the first book in this series which was just OK, and this was even more drudgery.
I found the overly descriptive narrative to hinder the pace of the story. My eyes kept jumping, I kept rereading, an dmy brain kept turning out. The ideas of the the story are very good, but not executed In a way I can track with. If there is a book three, I will not subject myself to it.

Thank you to Harper Collins Childrens Books for sending me this free ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blade Breaker is the second book in the trilogy and I am torn on my feelings for this book. There was some really good action but then there just seemed to have way to much extra unnecessary information that it felt way to long. The book starts right in at the end of the action from the first book and since it has been a year since I read the first book it took me a long while to remember who was who (there are a lot of characters) and what had actually happened in the first book. The action scenes are fabulous in this story and the multiple POV's give great perspectives with so many different characters that was helpful in keeping the story moving. One difference from the first to the second book is that I didn't root for the villains as much as I did in the first book they just felt like true villains in this one and now I want them defeated. I am going to give this four stars for action and making me like the companions even more than I did in the first book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

Loved this sequel! So amazing, just as good as the original, and can’t wait for the next. Amazing POV from different characters, and a great Rec for any fantasy lovers of all ages. 4/5 stars!

I started reading but couldn't remember enough of what happened in the first book to feel like this one was making sense to me. I will reread the first book and then start this one again later.

We won't actively purchase for our library specifically because it doesn't seem to work as a stand-alone. We try to actively stock books that can stand alone due to the small size of our libraries and the variety of visitors and accessibility to books. However, I don't hesitate to personally recommend anything Aveyard writes. She's a fabulous author.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC.

Blade Breaker begins right where Realm Breaker leaves off--in the aftermath of the first Spindle closing. From that point on the book is one big quest, following the adventures of both sides until the end where the merry band of heroes is split up, and Corayne is on her own for the first time.

Blade Breaker was just as good as Realm Breaker, but while there is a carried hope for romances between some of the characters, character connections weren't a focus. New connections weren't made and the existing ones weren't deepened. The band of heroes were all working together, of course, but the story was carried so much on the plot that readers are distanced from even the protagonists and have trouble making connections with them. As a result, the story lagged a bit, even with the action that carried it along.

Overall, Blade Breaker was good but not great, and I might hesitate before requesting the ARC of the next book.

This book! I loved it. The plot moved but also gave time with the characters to grow them (and their slow burn romances). I often was gasping and hate that I have to wait at least a year until I can find out what happens next!

Thank you to the publisher, HarperTeen, HCC Frenzy, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Following their battle all manner of sea monsters in Ibal and closing the Spindle, the Companions are still shaken, but there is no time to lose. Erida and Taristan have already set their sights on conquering Madrence, and eventually, the rest of Allward, even as they search for the next Spindle in their quest to allow What Waits access to the realm. The Companions must seek allies among the other kingdoms in the Ward to oppose the armies of Galland as well as Taristan’s undead forces even as they turn their steps towards closing the next open Spindle.

Blade Breaker was a stunning sequel that more than lived up to the high standards set by Realm Breaker on all fronts, from world building and expansion to character arcs, and the story picked up almost immediately from book one, drawing the reader back into the thick of things right away. When the first book ended up being so strong, I had my doubts about this one, but there was not a hint of the dreaded second book syndrome and this was truly a standout middle book with battle scenes worthy of a finale, which leads me to wonder just how good the actual finale might be! The style of narration gives a well rounded view of what is happening on all fronts and with the bulk of world building and explanations taken care of in the first book, it allowed me to really concentrate on the story and enjoy the way the plot unfolded. This is exactly the type of writing I prefer for the high fantasy genre and Victoria Aveyard has done a phenomenal job with this second installment.

I loved every single moment of each character arc – yes, even the villains’. Corayne in particular has come so far, and it’s clear in this book how much strength and confidence she has begun to gain. The other character I felt had a lot of growth was Sorasa. Her journey has been so interesting and it has started to change her priorities as she deals with familiar faces from her old life and figures out who she wants to be. I really liked that the villains’ perspective continued to be so prominent. Erida and Taristan were as horrible as ever and yet their arc was rather fascinating to follow. I didn’t quite reach a point where I could root for them – though Erida’s troubles with her court and rebelling nobles do make her a somewhat sympathetic character at times – but it was more of seeing just how far they were willing to go in pursuit of their goals. I would be so interested to see a Taristan POV in the next book though, despite his being a central character in this tale, he is the only one whose thoughts we haven’t gotten to see yet – his evolution into the present day figure is sure to be an intriguing one and at the very least, I hope there will be more insight into that. There were some romance subplots developing in this book, and I wasn’t too invested in them to be honest. There was just way too much going on to focus on this properly amidst the chaos, but it remained subtle enough and didn’t distract from the plot.

The pacing was again, slow for my taste at times, but atleast there was plenty going on in every chapter that it didn’t affect my reading experience as much this time around. The book as a whole did feel a little too long though, and it took me much longer than usual to finish reading it.

The ending was just…I had to read it twice just to wrap my head around everything that happened and I may have screamed when I realized that there were no more pages. I appreciate a good cliffhanger, but just how am I supposed to last an entire year without knowing what happens next? I was a little hesitant to make this comparison with the first book, but the way this series continues to expand and the solid plot and strong characters, it all gave me some very Lord of the Rings-esque vibes, and there is literally no higher praise than that I can give to a fantasy novel. Blade Breaker is definitely one book this summer not to miss! Highly recommended!

Victoria Aveyard again shows that she is the queen of YA Fantasy. The depth of these characters and the plot are stunning. She has created a world I want to live in. Everything about this book is more significant. The stakes are higher and development is deeper. She is incredible and I can't wait for the next book!

A good sequel is like reuniting with good friends after too much time spent apart. Blade Breaker is one of those sequels.

The Companions succeeded in closing one Spindle, but where should they go next? As the Companions gather allies, Erida and Taristan add to their empire.

I was reminded a lot of Game of Thrones and Six of Crows as I read. I continue to enjoy the alternating POVs. It works so well that at times I was lulled into rooting for the “bad guys”. Let the countdown for the next book begin!

Wow, Victoria Aveyard does it again! Blade Breaker is a beast of a book but has so much depth and richness that I couldn't out it down. I needed to know what happened and am already itching for the third and final piece of this story!

The world that Aveyard continues to build in this book draws you in completely and I vividly felt like I was on the journey with Corayne and the Companions to fight Queen Erida and Taristan. I love the different viewpoints as it adds so much depth to the story being told. And that ending! My heart!! Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollin's Children's Books for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.