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A review by sinamile
Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
5.0
Audiobook Review
CW/TW: death, murder, assassins, imprisonment, war, graphic violence, blood, knives/knife violence, swords/sword violence, attempted murder, animal death, fraticide
I really employed this one. I was hesitant because I don't have a great history with Victoria Aveyard's writing (and by that, I mean that I've tried to read and reread 'Red Queen' enough times to know it's never going to happen. But this one, this was a good one. It was so good that my brain did that thing it does where I, out of nowhere, didn't want to keep reading (despite enjoying) because I didn't want the book to end. So.
Things I liked:
>The setting.
I am a fantasy fan through and through. I may lie sometimes and say I like urban fantasy, but this type of fantasy is thr only type of fantasy I really care about (which is probably why I wasn't into about 'Red Queen').
> Aveyard's writing.
They aren't the same, but her writing reminds me of Holly Black (who's writing style I adore), and I think that's why I enjoyed this book as much as I did. I also like that Aveyard didn't fall into that familiar trap of trying to use bombastic words just because you're in a fantasy world. She used normal English, didn't make things too dramatic (like the names of places were dramatic, but I didn't mind that at all), kept the writing simple. It made it more interesting for me, not having to wrestle my two brain cells to try and understand what the heck is going on.
> That one relationship.
How can you not stan a relationship between two ambitious people? It's the smoothness of him and the fire of her that's just getting me riled up. Like give me more of that, Miss Aveyard, I like that. That wedding chapter, Natalie Naudus reading it to me with the right voices...... Come on now, come. on. now! I want all of that, give me more of that, Miss Aveyard, please and thank you!
> The Aesthetic
Another reason I liked this book as much as I did is because it fits this particular Pinterest moodboard/aesthetic that I love. It made itself so easy for me to imagine because I can see the mood board, can see the aesthetics.
> "You are a relam breaker...."
Weh ah! Take my money, sis, just take it! It's was at this moment that I realised I wanted to desperately own a copy of this book. I'd been thinking about it on and off and I read, but at this moment, at this point, I was like "It's a must". It's a must!
Thing I didn't like:
> The characters.
I'm not sure how to properly explain this, coz I did actually like the characters, but I also didn't really like them that much. Like they're nice characters, I guess, but I wanted more from them. Like, what I expected were characters a bit more morally gray than what I got. It wasn't enough gray for me, maybe.
Like, they aren't bad characters in terms of the writing, I like them, however, I wanted just a little something darker with the characters, wanted them to be a little more selfish with their decisions, wanted then to nope out a situation and somehow end up forced back into it because of *circumstances* but absolutely loathe every moment of being there.
I feel like the characters weren't as gray as I was expecting them to be, I guess. When I was hearing about the book (I wasn't paying attention coz I didn't think I read it, so oops to me there), I assumed they'd be a darker shade of gray. Like yes there are assassins and forgers and pirates, but they're soft.
But then again, but then again, it could just be that this is YA and there's a certain limit to how dark characters can be, or something. I don't know. But I wanted more murder, more bloodshed, more selfish decisions on the part of the assassins and pirates. It just felt like the moment they joined the team, joined the quest, they kind of became righteous, and I don't want that, I didn't come here for that. I wanted more of them to try stealing the sword to sell it, or conniving with the villains because they want money. I wanted to be shocked and confused and be gutted by their awful decisions but also be like "yeah, but that's exactly who they are", but also be like "I was so sure they'd changed". Yah know what I mean?
But again, not to say they were bad, I liked them, so yah.
> The Amount of POVs
It was too many, especially in the beginning when we were still being introduced to everyone. There was a moment in time where i didn't know which character was who. I remember when one character was being introduced and I thought they were another characters and I was so confused and it took way too long for me to realise that it's not who I thought it was
This could be blamed on my own concentration, but also, there were just way too many POVs. I feel that the book would've been fine with maybe three POVs (Corayne, Andry and Erida). Not complaining, not really, but it was a bit much.
Actual rating is four (4) stars but I'm giving it five (5) stars based soley on that one pairing. Also, I kind of got a not-really spoiler for book 2 and the pairing seems to be thriving there too, so six (6) stars for this book, lol
CW/TW: death, murder, assassins, imprisonment, war, graphic violence, blood, knives/knife violence, swords/sword violence, attempted murder, animal death, fraticide
I really employed this one. I was hesitant because I don't have a great history with Victoria Aveyard's writing (and by that, I mean that I've tried to read and reread 'Red Queen' enough times to know it's never going to happen. But this one, this was a good one. It was so good that my brain did that thing it does where I, out of nowhere, didn't want to keep reading (despite enjoying) because I didn't want the book to end. So.
Things I liked:
>The setting.
I am a fantasy fan through and through. I may lie sometimes and say I like urban fantasy, but this type of fantasy is thr only type of fantasy I really care about (which is probably why I wasn't into about 'Red Queen').
> Aveyard's writing.
They aren't the same, but her writing reminds me of Holly Black (who's writing style I adore), and I think that's why I enjoyed this book as much as I did. I also like that Aveyard didn't fall into that familiar trap of trying to use bombastic words just because you're in a fantasy world. She used normal English, didn't make things too dramatic (like the names of places were dramatic, but I didn't mind that at all), kept the writing simple. It made it more interesting for me, not having to wrestle my two brain cells to try and understand what the heck is going on.
> That one relationship.
How can you not stan a relationship between two ambitious people? It's the smoothness of him and the fire of her that's just getting me riled up. Like give me more of that, Miss Aveyard, I like that. That wedding chapter, Natalie Naudus reading it to me with the right voices...... Come on now, come. on. now! I want all of that, give me more of that, Miss Aveyard, please and thank you!
> The Aesthetic
Another reason I liked this book as much as I did is because it fits this particular Pinterest moodboard/aesthetic that I love. It made itself so easy for me to imagine because I can see the mood board, can see the aesthetics.
> "You are a relam breaker...."
Weh ah! Take my money, sis, just take it! It's was at this moment that I realised I wanted to desperately own a copy of this book. I'd been thinking about it on and off and I read, but at this moment, at this point, I was like "It's a must". It's a must!
Thing I didn't like:
> The characters.
I'm not sure how to properly explain this, coz I did actually like the characters, but I also didn't really like them that much. Like they're nice characters, I guess, but I wanted more from them. Like, what I expected were characters a bit more morally gray than what I got. It wasn't enough gray for me, maybe.
Like, they aren't bad characters in terms of the writing, I like them, however, I wanted just a little something darker with the characters, wanted them to be a little more selfish with their decisions, wanted then to nope out a situation and somehow end up forced back into it because of *circumstances* but absolutely loathe every moment of being there.
I feel like the characters weren't as gray as I was expecting them to be, I guess. When I was hearing about the book (I wasn't paying attention coz I didn't think I read it, so oops to me there), I assumed they'd be a darker shade of gray. Like yes there are assassins and forgers and pirates, but they're soft.
But then again, but then again, it could just be that this is YA and there's a certain limit to how dark characters can be, or something. I don't know. But I wanted more murder, more bloodshed, more selfish decisions on the part of the assassins and pirates. It just felt like the moment they joined the team, joined the quest, they kind of became righteous, and I don't want that, I didn't come here for that. I wanted more of them to try stealing the sword to sell it, or conniving with the villains because they want money. I wanted to be shocked and confused and be gutted by their awful decisions but also be like "yeah, but that's exactly who they are", but also be like "I was so sure they'd changed". Yah know what I mean?
But again, not to say they were bad, I liked them, so yah.
> The Amount of POVs
It was too many, especially in the beginning when we were still being introduced to everyone. There was a moment in time where i didn't know which character was who. I remember when one character was being introduced and I thought they were another characters and I was so confused and it took way too long for me to realise that it's not who I thought it was
This could be blamed on my own concentration, but also, there were just way too many POVs. I feel that the book would've been fine with maybe three POVs (Corayne, Andry and Erida). Not complaining, not really, but it was a bit much.
Actual rating is four (4) stars but I'm giving it five (5) stars based soley on that one pairing. Also, I kind of got a not-really spoiler for book 2 and the pairing seems to be thriving there too, so six (6) stars for this book, lol