izzy reviewed Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
Still arguing with myself over whether to read book 2
2 stars
I loved Red Queen and had high hopes for Victoria Aveyard's new books, but sadly, Realm Breaker didn't get there. At all. It's a good story but it's too easy to put down and too difficult to keep reading; there's nothing really keeping me engaged. I think its problem might be including too many narrators right from the start - right when I think I might start caring for one of the characters, the perspective changes. It makes them all feel like they're just plot points, and one of them could die without making the reader feel anything about it, just as long as the plot can go on. And that's quite sad, because they're good characters. I think it would've done the book good to keep the prologue and last chapter told by the same characters as now, but to restrict the rest of the book to 1-2 narrators …
I loved Red Queen and had high hopes for Victoria Aveyard's new books, but sadly, Realm Breaker didn't get there. At all. It's a good story but it's too easy to put down and too difficult to keep reading; there's nothing really keeping me engaged. I think its problem might be including too many narrators right from the start - right when I think I might start caring for one of the characters, the perspective changes. It makes them all feel like they're just plot points, and one of them could die without making the reader feel anything about it, just as long as the plot can go on. And that's quite sad, because they're good characters. I think it would've done the book good to keep the prologue and last chapter told by the same characters as now, but to restrict the rest of the book to 1-2 narrators (i honestly think Corayne might be enough). After we've fallen in love with the characters, more could be added as narrators.
The way it is now, Realm Breaker is sadly not even letting me get close
And still, I think the story has so much potential, the characters make me curious (if it were different, i might be begging for a spin-off from Sorasa's perspective. But don't try putting 5 spin-offs into the main book), i love the little historical accuracies (finally no prince being called "Your Majesty"), and the writing style is so great, it enabled me to read over 500 pages I didn't really get to enjoy