Spoiler-Free Review*

This is my review for book 2, Four Ruined Realms, in the Broken Blades series. For my review of book 1, see below:

• Book 1: Five Broken Blades

*Spoiler free review for book 2, but does contain spoilers for book 1.

What’s Four Ruined Realms about?

Our favorite band of liars and thieves must find a way to do the impossible: steal the Golden Ring of the Dragon Lord from Queen Quilimar.

This was a solid continuation of the story started in book 1.

This had many of the hallmarks that I loved about Five Broken Blades. It was fast-paced with short chapters, interesting characters, and plenty of relationship-driven moments in between the action.

Also like book 1, it was a bit more telling than showing, and some moments felt like they came and went too fast to feel them properly. (The audiobook helped a lot here, and the performances were very good).

In general, though, I enjoyed it. It took a while to get going – the first 60 pages or so felt like mostly setup – but then it was back to it’s normal pace. I found Tiyung’s chapters especially compelling, since he was separated from the group at the end of book 1 and sent to prison. His experiences there provided an interesting counterweight to the action and movement that was in the POVs from the main group.

The twists and turns at the end were the most fun. Book three comes out this summer, and I’m definitely excited to see where it goes.

Should you read Four Ruined Realms?

If you enjoyed book 1, then you’ll like this sequel. I felt this book continues in pretty much the same form and fashion.