Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard. Unabridged e-audiobook. 16.5 hours. Read by Natalie Naudus. HarperAudio/ HarperTeen/ HarperCollins Publishers, May, 2021. 9780063087668.
Teen Tuesday features Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard. This is the beginning of a wholly new fantasy series by the author of The Red Queen series.
The realm of Allward is protected from evil and "He who waits" by spindles, which are in turn, protected by humans descended from the Cor bloodline. They are the only ones who can wield a spindleblade. Taristan, bitter at being denied his heritage, has been opening spindles with the help of a wizard. Twelve Companions of the Realm, including Cortael, Taristan's twin meet in a bloody battle in the opening pages of this sweeping fantasy. When Taristan viciously murders his twin, Andry, a squire manages to spirit Cortael's spindleblade away from the battlefield and escapes the massacre.
Meanwhile, Corayne an-Amarat, daughter of a fierce and feared pirate, wishes for adventures on the sea of her own. She's bitterly disappointed when her mother leaves her behind. It seems that she is the last of the Cor bloodline and learns who her father was from an immortal elder named Dom, who is determined to recover Cortael's spindleblade and train Corayne to closed the spindles her uncle is opening.
Dom's band of realm defenders is small and ragtag, comprised of a dangerous assassin, Landry, the haunted squire, Corayne, and eventually a sorceress, a forger with a price on his head and a bounty hunter with a grudge.
The world building was a bit vague and multiple points of view occasionally cause confusion. The plot was frequently interrupted by flashbacks that sometimes distracted. Still, the cast of characters were intriguing as were the political machinations. There's banter and occasional humor amidst the suspense of the action with close calls and impossible escapes.
Sign me up for book two! New-to-me narrator, Natalie Naudus turned in a well-paced performance with voices that were unique.
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