I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm giving myself a reading slump and I don't want to do that with blade breaker. uk/landing-page/orion/orion-company-information/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Orion Publishing Group Limited. Blade Breaker does a mediocre job at convincing me that Andry and Corayne have somewhat of a bond—it still feels mainly like they’re the only two people traveling the world of the same age and similar trauma. He will use shockwave, which serves as a knockback, so it is best to back up toward the guarding rails on the north and south sides of the ring.

You only need to bring him down to 50% health, but if your gear level is too low the fight can be painful. What’s worse is that this writing style renders everything as rather basic and simplistic or unintentionally humorous. Initially, I was a bit hesitant about going into this story without remembering a lot, so I looked up a few summaries and notes about the first book, but still felt a little worried. This is perhaps most apparent with Sigil, who gets little more to do than say “The iron bones of the Countless will never be broken” every so often (seven times! There is no kindly retired mathematician teaching her her figures or anything remotely relevant to her acquiring these skills ever explained.

When done, jump back up to Skyhold and speak again to Master Smith Helgar, who will send you to the Circle of Wills to duel Saurfang. The group’s anti-hero is hands down my favorite character of the series, and she has incredible development in this book. From the adventuring party to the power-obsessed villain to the horrific realms and their monsters leaking into the world, Aveyard has crafted another story I could not put down. Giving Erida a point of view in this book as well was a very good decision, because it gave a very nice glimpse into what was happening on her side beyond just what the other characters were hearing. Hoping to see more of her and of Charlie (though this sneak peek at Fate Breaker has already revealed that he gets his own POV) in the next book because I want to love these queer little people so much, give me a chance, Victoria!

And it certainly doesn’t help that most of what we learn about these characters is told to readers outright, not shown through flashbacks, or demonstrated by triggered memories. And then there is Valtik, so unassuming and jaunty yet viciously clever in her attempts to spread herself and help as much as she can. A divided realm must rally, an unstoppable enemy must be defeated, and the fate of the world rests on a blade’s edge. Aveyard disagrees—she thinks fear is foolish to ignore, that one should listen to it and take control of it in a message of cautious consideration.

BB still has YA elements, and I wish Aveyard had abandoned the genre, but I feel the need to note the more mature tone of this series bred by the depth and complexity of its themes and characters, which leads it away from what one would expect from a “YA Fantasy Adventure. The ending of Blade Breaker had me in ruins, let’s just say, and I need the next book in the series ASAP. Comment by Juvia77Just commenting to say that, as of 5 Feb 2021, this quest is still spawning, and I was able to pick it up on both of my warriors on the same day. This book is very large, which is exactly the type of fantasy I needed at the time, and it did allow for the plot to move a little slower so that there was an emphasis on the characters.