Review: Fate Breaker

Fate Breaker by Victoria Aveyard (Realm Breaker #3)
Published: February 2024

“We were all small things once.”

The Companions are torn apart and the realm hangs in the balance, at the edge of ruin. Taristan and Queen Erida rise triumphant from the battlefield, while Corayne barely escapes with her life; her Companions left behind to uncertain fates. But not all hope was lost: Corayne managed to steal Taristan’s Spindleblade. Without it, Taristan can’t rip open any more Spindles. Without it, he can’t end the world. Now, from every corner of the realm, the Companions race to reunite while they rally old allies and seek unexpected new ones, in one final push against darkness. But Taristan and Erida are all but invincible. With their cruel god, What Waits, on their side, they will sacrifice anything and anyone to his hunger. Everything has come to this. In the final clash between good and evil, a ragged alliance makes its bravest stand against a ruthless enemy . . . and the demon god who would consume the realm entire.

Corayne seems to grow a bit more in this story which I felt was sorely needed. Left to her own devices in the beginning, she seems to find a good head on her shoulders and sets off in the final part of her journey with purpose. Like before, I do think we could have delved a little deeper into Corayne’s mind and really understand how she feels about everything going on beyond surface level but I think that’s the curse of a multi-POV story – it feels like not enough time can be given to each character.

I will admit that I did not mind Domacridhan too much in this book. In the past two books he has annoyed me to no end but he definitely stepped up here in the finale. I felt like I could relate to him a little more which is good and I felt like he cemented a better place in the Companions and what they stand for.

Sorasa may just be my very favourite character in these books. The way she goes through life is just utter brilliance. Her attitude towards others – chef’s kiss. She has skills for sure and tries to use them for slightly less nefarious acts which I appreciated but I definitely preferred when she just went ahead and used them. Sorry not sorry!

Erida, Erida, Erida… Girl you are trouble. And I love it! I couldn’t help but just marvel at her brash approach to everything whilst remaining soft for only one thing. Her goals would not be taken from her and I admired her tenacity to see them fulfilled – even if it wasn’t the right way. You know a villain is written very well when you cannot help but root for them throughout a story.

Poor Taristan seemed to be a little lost here – namely in spirit. He still has his drive to conquer the world – especially at Erida’s side and in service of What Waits – but after the loss he suffered at the end of the previous book, it seems to have had quite the knock on effect. He is still a great character, drawing me in any time he is on the page. I just feel like there was slightly less of him in terms of personality than there has been previously. Could that be a choice in showing his loss of humanity thanks to What Waits? Possibly!

I wasn’t as invested in the likes of Charlon or Valtik. Charlie added a bit more to this story than before but he still felt rather useless. Valtik frustrates me no end and felt like she was only conveniently there to plug any possible plot holes. She makes so few appearances that I did question whether it was worth even still having her in the book!

All books in the Realm Breaker series are big and they are wordy. Fate Breaker is certainly no exception to that. However, saying that, I found that the pace of this final book in the trilogy to be much better than the others. This could be that Aveyard was so settled into the story now that she found her groove and really went for it. Equally, it could just be there was less world building because us readers are now familiar with the realm and characters. The plot was pretty good. A little meh in parts for me but I think that’s because I feel like everything has been building for so long that I just want to hit that climax. The characters felt a little overwhelming at times but I think that is because there is such a large cast – not entirely uncommon in the final books of a series. Our main characters remained well fleshed out but perhaps smaller characters not so much. The romance we got in this story was delightful. Aveyard has mastered the art of longing stares and heart eyes. But she has also mastered a great relationship – the rockier in the beginning the better. My favourite couple really got their page time and I loved every second. It is no surprise that we also got a big battle here since it is the finale. Aveyard cleverly balanced the fighting alongside the impact and seeing it across multiple points of view. I can safely say I was hooked throughout, wanting desperately to know the outcome. Finally, the ending felt pretty good to me. A little sudden perhaps but those very final moments had me rather emotional. Well done Aveyard.

Overall, Fate Breaker is a great conclusion to this Spindlerotten realm!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5