Fate Breaker by Victoria Aveyard is the third and final installment of the Realm Breaker series. After finishing her sophomore series, I can’t help but think over and over again that this is the type of YA I want to read. The plot, characters, and the thread that ties them all together have been lovingly crafted to inspire you, make you laugh, and, of course, earn a tear or two. Give in and get ready to save the world, because in this book, it’s ending.
The battle at the end of book two has decimated the Companions. Separated from the party and unsure of who has survived the night, Corayne ventures alone at breakneck pace away from the battle with a Spindleblade on her back. Without her friends, Corayne is vulnerable and lost. Two Spindles and their endless horrors remain open in the world and continue to spill out into the realm. As the color seeps from the sky and turns to an alarming red, Corayne and her far-flung Companions know that the realm is dying. They each have their own battles to win before they reunite one last time in hopes of saving the world.
The adventuring party comes together in book one, and then endures shared hardship together in book two. But in Fate Breaker, the group has scattered across the realm, and it’s the first time since the very beginning of this tale that the Companions are not together. Aveyard uses their individual circumstances to get the pieces in place and build to an epic finale. Separating the group allowed the story to cover more ground and give the limelight to some secondary characters. Instead of the story dragging toward that final battle, the distance between the companions made the 600+ pages feel action-packed and meaningful. It was compelling to read each character’s individual situation as they fought their way back to one another again.
While Fate Breaker is a fantastic conclusion to the series, there were a few parts of the story that I felt were unresolved. This truly may only be a slight sticky point for me, because Aveyard absolutely ties up each POV’s arc in a satisfactory way. There were just a few moments that I wished were addressed. The epic end battle had its conclusion, but there were other terrors wreaking havoc in the world whose resolution, or lack thereof, is still unknown to me. Forgive me for my vagueness as I avoid spoilers, but there was also an injury dealt in the finale, and the circumstances around it felt thin. And the last sticky spot I couldn’t get free of is that one Companion receives so little page time by the end of the story that I wished there was some way to know more of their final contributions. These little unknowns didn’t ruin my experience, but I am left with a small itch to understand how these situations were resolved.
In all the chaos of the first two books, I didn’t realize just how much love played a role throughout this series. I saw this come to fruition in this last book, maybe because people were torn apart and had to make even more difficult decisions. Love gives you something to fight for; it may stay your hand, or drive you to make a killing blow. Domacridhan began this whole adventure due to his love for his friend, Corteal. This love evolved to include Corayne, whom he would stop at nothing to be by her side and help her see her task through. Most interestingly, in Fate Breaker, we see the type of love that has bloomed between the antagonists, Erida and Taristan. Their love takes on a different shape and tends to bring about violent ends, but it’s there, and it fuels the decisions they make toward conquering the realm.
If you want to read a strong young adult adventure story with imperfect, flawed, and sometimes bad people choosing to save the world, then make sure you have the Realm Breaker series on your shelf.
Rating:
Fate Breaker – 9.0/10
Realm Breaker – 9.0/10
-Brandee
