I went into this book not knowing what to expect since I’d hear mixed things about the authors previous “Red Queen” series but I was pleasantly surprised! Realm Breaker involves a gripping quest led by a ragtag group of characters throughout a well-constructed and richly layered world. It actually somewhat reminded me of more old-school fantasy classics. It was also really refreshing to read a YA fantasy that didn’t focus on romance at all in this first instalment. It was primarily about the newly forged friendship between Corayne and her crew.

While I enjoyed the large cast of characters and many locations, I felt that the world-building was incredibly dense and delivered through massive info-dumps throughout the majority of the book. I think Aveyard could've significantly scaled back some of the lore and woven it into the story more naturally—likely making it more enjoyable.

I enjoyed the World building but it took me too long to get into this story. If I wasn't already a fan of her previous series, I probably wouldn't have continued. In the end, I'm glad I did, and I'm now looking forward to the next installment.

Realm Breaker is one of my most anticipated reads of 2021. I will read anything Victoria Aveyard publishes in the future. I enjoyed the world building and the multiple character perspectives. I love books dealing with quest/journey with a group of strangers. I am also going for a villain romance. It took me about 50% of the book to really get in to it. I am glad I stuck with it. I would definitely read the second. Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to receive a copy. I preorder a physical copy and can’t wait to have it on my shelves

Thank you NetGalley for the Realm Breaker arc! First I thought this was an epic adventure book. The world building is amazing and I loved the multiple points of view. Andry Trelland is probably my favorite. I love that there is squires and pirates and just so much! I felt so much for Corayne having to live up to the pressure of family. The portal traveling element I felt was so interesting. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the story plays out! I feel like Victoria knocked this book out of the park!

This was interesting! This had really great worldbuilding and I really liked the characters and how the characters interacted with each other I loved the dialogue, especially Corayne's she had this very dry humor, like bad stuff happens and she's just like 'well okay then'. I also liked how Aveyard made the "main character" not this all powerful being, because really, she's just a teenager and I think that sometimes that's important in YA books, because yes you should think that you can be a powerful person as a teen, but it's also important to know that nobody starts out that way, so this novel really showed her grow as a person.

This book was, however, really hard to get into. There is such a big info dump at the beginning and it really made me not want to read the book, honestly. I also think the multiple points of view were also incredibly confusing at times, like some of the points of view started off and I'm like confused as to what is going on and who's point of view it is, like I just feel like I wasn't introduced to the characters well enough. Towards the end of the book, I did end up figuring out who and what was going on but it took a while because there was this massive info dump.

So while the worldbuilding was great, I think the characters could've been explained a bit more, there was just so much info being put in my brain that I couldn't actually figure out what was actually going on in the plot. I think if I reread this, I might understand it a bit better, but just from that first read, it was a bit hard to understand everything going on in the book. And this might just be how I read books, someone else might understand the book perfectly! The book itself is just very dense in information.

This was...an interesting one. I must admit that I was not the world's biggest fan of Aveyard's debut series. It lacked a lot of worldbuilding and was mostly just underwhelming for me. However, I felt this was where my opinions flipped--the worldbuilding felt solid and well-done throughout the novel (though at times I admit I felt it dagged/held the story down; but with fantasy, I am actually all right with this.) I admit that the characters fell flat to me, and if I don't like the characters of a book, then I'll find my general interest in the novel decreasing. This book felt like the opposite of RED QUEEN in many ways; I loved the characters but felt the world needed more attention; whereas in this, (for me at least) the world shone, and the characters needed more. Ultimately, I think this is a book that will divide Aveyard fans of her first series, because it's very different. I'm very interested to see what sort of response this book will receive because of that. I enjoyed it, definitely, though I don't feel the need to rave about it (which was what I was hoping for.)

Overall, a solid read, and I'm looking forward to seeing where Aveyard takes the world, characters, and story next.

Red Queen is one of my favorite series, and Realm Breaker did not disappoint. All the twists and turns led to a satisfying cliffhanger for book 2. Counting down the days...

After the greatness that was the red queen series, aveyard had big shoes to fill. While I am not sure she lived up to red queen but this was not bad. Realm breaker was just enough to be different to red queen but her writing style came through. I am curious enough to want to finish the series.

Victoria Aveyard writes an exciting fantasy adventure with a compelling cast a diverse characters. A must read for fantasy lovers!

This was a book I had waited a long time for as I am a fan of the Red Queen series. Great plot, lots of twists. I will definitely have to read it again to catch details that I missed the first time. It was hard for me to really get a feel for any of the individual characters since each chapter was in a different character's point of view. I would still highly recommend this book and can't wait to see where this series leads.

This was a fresh fantasy told in the old way reminiscent of Tolkien and Jordan. It took a bit of patience to get into, but overall, I enjoyed the characters, the world, stakes and hope for more to come.

I am blown away. Aveyard is one of my favorite authors, so I knew I'd love Realm Breaker, but I wasn't prepared to be completely sucked in and spat out and then ask for more.

In true Aveyard fashion, the world-building is flawless. It's intricate and thoughtful and her clear attention to detail leaves the reader with a thorough understanding and complete immersion into this world. Pirates! What! I loved everything about it. It felt so new and unique in the YA world, which makes its draw that much more appealing.
Aveyard's writing style is really a huge selling point for me in all her books--I love the witty banter, acerbic wit, and precise diction that her characters often employ. Even if there's a lull in the action, it's still completely engaging. Realm Breaker is full of fantasy tropes that I think will appeal to a wide audience--there's something in it for everyone, I think. And of course...it's got the plot twists that we've all come to know and love (hate? love?) from an Aveyard book. This is truly one of my new favorites!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I am writing this review after reading 1/3 of the book. That’s all I could manage and have set it aside for now. (Maybe I’ll pick it up later, but I honestly don’t know.) This book is DENSE- lots and lots of world building with complex names. At this point in the story I still don’t know what Spindles are though they’re referenced often, it’s never in a way that the reader can actually understand what they are. The book is written from multiple POV, which I usually enjoy. My issue with it this time is that the chapter starts with someone’s POV who hasn’t been introduced in the book yet so you have zero idea who or where this person is when you start the chapter. I’m disappointed because I was so excited to read this book because of all the hype.
I will come back and edit this review if I ever decide to pick the book back up and finish it.

3.5 stars, rounded up

I enjoyed the start of V.A.'s new series. There was a huge info dump and somewhat of a confusing set-up in the beginning but the plot was interesting enough to move past this.

"A strange darkness grows in Allward. Even Corayne an-Amarat can feel it, tucked away in her small town at the edge of the sea. She soon discovers the truth: She is the last of an ancient lineage—and the last hope to save the world from destruction. But she won’t be alone. Together they stand against a vicious opponent, invincible and determined to burn all kingdoms to ash, and an army unlike anything the realm has ever witnessed."

At times the plot moved far too slowly and there wasn't enough action. This wouldn't matter if the characters actually DID ANYTHING during these slow times, but they didn't. The writing is good, but I didn't feel immersed in this world the way I like to be when I read fantasy novels. I'm interested to see where this series goes!

I think this might be the next YA book that everyone and their mothers will be reading. For one the world that Aveyard was able to build is so well structured, and it doesn't base itself all around only Europe, you can see kingdoms inspired by other countries that all have their own unique cultures and are really well flushed out. Also the main character I found to be truly wonderful, who is aware that she currently is filled with longing of just seeing the world, and maybe it's the quarantine talking but I related to that so much. Also the way Aveyeard was able to just write such wonderful characters is fantastic. Every single character has something to add to the story and none of them seemed to be made just to push the protagonist along, they all seem to have their own personalities and lives that do not revolve just around the Main Character.

Overall I will be highly singing the praises for this book

The book opens with a band of knights and immortals who have been united to save the realm. They are swiftly defeated by an army of the undead. A young squire is believed to be the only survivor of the battle. From there he eventually joins an immortal, a pirate’s daughter and an assassin in a second attempt to prevent the destruction of the realm.

Red Queen fans will not be disappointed. This book is a delicious mix of Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and Six of Crows.

What an adventure this book is! I will admit, I was insanely confused for the first part of this book and all of the information thrown at you right away, but after I found my footing, I enjoyed it much more. This book has everything you could want in a fantasy, and I love the medieval vibes! Those who manage to stick with it will enjoy this very much, I think. Excited to see where this goes!

Ok first off I really disliked the Red Queen series so going into Realm Breaker I was not expecting much. What I got was amazing. Victoria Aveyard has grown as a writer and her imagination is going wild. I loved this books plot, world, and characters. There was a moment that I felt a connection to the book Six of Crows and some may also see it. This will be a series of Ms. Aveyard that I will happily continue without it feeling like it’s my job.

Corayne an-Amarat is meant for bigger things, even if her mother, the pirate queen doesn't think so. Denied her chance to sail with the pirates, she grumbles at home, until she learns she's Corblood - the last of a race of mortals from another world, long though dead when her realm closed the Spindles, magic portals between worlds. The Spindles allowed travel between the worlds, and were thought destroyed, stranding a race of immortal Elders in Corayne's world, but saving her world from ruin from What Waits. Now someone is opening the Spindles again, and only Corayne accompanied by an assassin, a disgraced squire, an Elder prince, a bounty hunter, a forger and a witch, can save the realm.

This was super disappointing, because I'm a big fan of Aveyard's other series. But this had major issues - for starters the pacing is WAY off. The first half of the book is just setting up the characters who are going to go on the quest, but without any real character development besides Corayne. The premise - long-lost portals between worlds - is confusingly explained. And just huge parts of the books make no sense: the Elders are immortals, except half a dozen of them are killed in the first chapter? One of the last remaining Cor - who has enormous power - was abandoned in the woods as a child just, because? The assassin knows how to find Corayne how? The Elder knows how to find the assassin how?

I really enjoyed this book but there were times that I was bored. I really related to the main character and feel the author gave her a lot of depth. I will be recommending this book to all of my friends.