Parents' Guide to Blade Breaker: Realm Breaker, Book 2

Filled with more world-building and political intrigue than the original, this sequel sets up the epic battle between Corayne's quest to save the world and Taristan's to destroy it. Author Victoria Aveyard knows how to put her characters through the ringer, and this sequel doesn't disappoint when it comes to character development, team bonding, and, unfortunately for our favorite characters, violence. The story continues to be told from various points of view, including those of the two villains, and luckily the voices are distinct enough for readers to tell the difference even if they missed the chapter heading with the character's name. Readers will naturally gravitate toward some characters' plot threads over others, but Corayne and Andry's will appeal to fans of friends-to-more romances, while Taristan and Erida's will be enjoyed by readers who enjoy wicked love interests like the Darkling (in the Shadow and Bone books).

In the case of the central couple, Aveyard's gift for writing romance stays limited to longing looks, hand-holding, and overt observation from pretty much everyone but the couple in question. Instead, it's the relationship building between Corayne and her companions that's at the heart of this story. The crew must learn to not only rely on one another but learn who else in the realm they can trust and believe. Epic and up-close fight sequences provide enough terror to make it clear why some leaders or kingdoms have no choice to join Erida and Taristan's fold, out of fear rather than respect. Like most middle books, this one poses more questions than it answers, but readers will become invested enough to count the months until the third book's release.