Epic Adventures Await
Transport yourself with three fantastic series
By M. CLARE HAEFNER | Covers courtesy of the publishers
It is easy to get lost in the adventures of Corayne an-Amarat and her companions in Victoria Aveyard’s Realm Breaker trilogy as they battle darkness to prevent What Waits from consuming Allward.
A fan of Aveyard since her debut young adult Red Queen series, the Realm Breaker trilogy — Realm Breaker, Blade Breaker and Fate Breaker — shows her growth as a storyteller with another thrilling fantasy adventure.
Corayne, who is the daughter of a pirate and the Cor blood heir, and her six companions — a squire, an immortal Elder, an assassin, a warrior, a witch and a former priest — are Allward’s only hope against her uncle Taristan and his young queen Erida as they get help from an evil magician and the powerful demonic ruler of another realm intent on taking control of Allward at any cost.
Pulled into the adventure from the first few chapters, Fate Breaker, which was released in February, was an epic conclusion to this action-packed trilogy. The final installment was worth the wait as Corayne and her companions fight their fate, hoping to save the world despite all odds or die trying.
While Aveyard tells an excellent story, few fantasy writers are better world builders than Sarah J. Maas. Beloved for her Throne of Glass and Court of Thorns and Roses series, the Crescent City trilogy may be her best work yet.
Despite the nearly two-year wait between installments — the House of Blood and Earth (March 2020), the House of Sky and Breath (February 2022) and the House of Flame and Shadow (January 2024) — the adventures of the half-Fae and half-human Bryce Quinlan are more than worth it in this contemporary romantic fantasy series.
Throughout the trilogy, Bryce seeks revenge in a world of magic, with danger around every corner as she and her rebel allies battle to save their world from the Asteri.
Packed with surprises and plot twists you won’t see coming, the Crescent City trilogy is captivating. Maas weaves her magic through a cast of many characters, once again crafting a narrative told from several points of view. Her flawed heroines and heroes are constantly pushed to be their best selves and forced to dig deep to work together to save their world.
If you’re not tired of epic fantasies with fierce female protagonists after finishing the Realm Breaker and Crescent City trilogies, you should definitely pick up another great young adult series from Rebecca Yarros. The Empyrean adventures begin with Fourth Wing (May 2023) and Iron Flame (November 2023).
“I will not die today” is Violet Sorrengail’s personal mantra as the 20-year-old begins her first year in the Riders Quadrant at Basgiath War College. Expecting to enter the Scribe Quadrant to follow in her late father’s footsteps, Violet will need all her wits to survive after her mother — the fierce commanding general of the Riders Quadrant — orders Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
With the kingdom’s protective wards failing, Violet and the other the cadets may be their kingdom’s only hope to survive the latest incursions in a 600-year war. But with fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, it won’t be easy. Everyone at Basgiath has an agenda. And once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.
Yarros transports readers into the action with one breath-taking revelation after another in this epic and satisfying start to a five-book romantic fantasy series that you won’t be able to put down until you reach the final page.
