What do you think?
Rate this book
Heavenbreaker #1
Heavenbreaker
Bravery isn't what you do. It's what you endure.
The duke of the powerful House Hauteclare is the first to die. With my dagger in his back.
He didn’t see it coming. Didn’t anticipate the bastard daughter who was supposed to die with her mother―on his order. He should have left us with the rest of the Station’s starving, commoner rubbish.
Now there’s nothing left. Just icy-white rage and a need to make House Hauteclare pay. Every damn one of them.
Even if it means riding Heavenbreaker―one of the few enormous machines left over from the War―and jousting against the fiercest nobles in the system.
Each win means another one of my enemies dies. And here, in the cold terror of space, the machine and I move as one, intent on destroying each adversary―even if it’s someone I care about. Even if it’s someone I’m falling for.
Only I’m not alone. Not anymore.
Because there’s something in the machine with me. Something horrifying. Something…more.
And it won’t be stopped.
The duke of the powerful House Hauteclare is the first to die. With my dagger in his back.
He didn’t see it coming. Didn’t anticipate the bastard daughter who was supposed to die with her mother―on his order. He should have left us with the rest of the Station’s starving, commoner rubbish.
Now there’s nothing left. Just icy-white rage and a need to make House Hauteclare pay. Every damn one of them.
Even if it means riding Heavenbreaker―one of the few enormous machines left over from the War―and jousting against the fiercest nobles in the system.
Each win means another one of my enemies dies. And here, in the cold terror of space, the machine and I move as one, intent on destroying each adversary―even if it’s someone I care about. Even if it’s someone I’m falling for.
Only I’m not alone. Not anymore.
Because there’s something in the machine with me. Something horrifying. Something…more.
And it won’t be stopped.
424 pages, Hardcover
First published May 21, 2024
About the author
Sara Wolf
24 books3,638 followersSara Wolf adores baking, cats, and screaming helpfully at her own imagination. When she was a kid she was too busy eating dirt to write her first terrible book. Twenty years later she mashed her fists on a laptop and created the Lovely Vicious series. She lives in Portland, Oregon where the sun can't get her anymore.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,220 reviews
Read
November 8, 2024I enjoyed this science fiction adventure very much! It moves at an excellent pace and wastes no time getting into the action. Like all the best world-building, it drops us right into the new world with a minimum of exposition and lets us find our way along with the main character.
We join our protagonist Synali in the wake of an assassination. This happens right away, so it is hardly a spoiler, but (SPOILER) she has just finished killing her father, a noble who fathered her out of wedlock with a commoner woman, and who later decided to eliminate mother and daughter to hide his indiscretion. We follow Synali as she tries to deal with the aftermath of her successful patricide. Prepared to die, she nevertheless finds a way to survive . . . and this spins her life in an entirely unexpected direction. (END SPOILER)
Synali's world is a space station orbiting a gas giant. Generations ago, it was flung into the galaxy by the unknown powers of the Enemy, an alien race that supposedly descended on Earth and nearly destroyed humanity. The station is a monarchical society, ruled by a king, supported by noble families, with the vast majority of the population being peasants whose lives are miserable and expendable. There is also a powerful pseudo-Christian church, so welcome to the European Middle Ages . . . in space. Back during the war with the Enemy, church legends say that mankind was saved by its noble knights, who rode giant steeds (basically Transformers/Jaegers/mechazoids) against the Enemy. Nowadays, this chivalric tradition has devolved into a form of entertainment, with noble knights jousting against one another for God, King and Station.
Synali should never be able to ride. She is a bastard, not a full noble. And yet, rebel forces become interested in her, and how they might be able to use her drive for revenge to bring down the nobility.
Our main story revolves around Synali's quest for further vengeance, but there are also compelling elements of mystery and romance. What is the actual story of the knights and their steeds? What exactly was the Enemy? There are plots within plots, and Synali's quest is complicated by her growing feelings for Rax, a noble opponent who is annoyingly kind, handsome and caring . . .
A good adventure, with familiar sci-fi elements mixed in new and interesting ways, Heavenbreaker is the first of a series. I will definitely be checking out the second volume when it arrives, since most of the mysteries of the Station remain unanswered, and I need to know!
We join our protagonist Synali in the wake of an assassination. This happens right away, so it is hardly a spoiler, but (SPOILER) she has just finished killing her father, a noble who fathered her out of wedlock with a commoner woman, and who later decided to eliminate mother and daughter to hide his indiscretion. We follow Synali as she tries to deal with the aftermath of her successful patricide. Prepared to die, she nevertheless finds a way to survive . . . and this spins her life in an entirely unexpected direction. (END SPOILER)
Synali's world is a space station orbiting a gas giant. Generations ago, it was flung into the galaxy by the unknown powers of the Enemy, an alien race that supposedly descended on Earth and nearly destroyed humanity. The station is a monarchical society, ruled by a king, supported by noble families, with the vast majority of the population being peasants whose lives are miserable and expendable. There is also a powerful pseudo-Christian church, so welcome to the European Middle Ages . . . in space. Back during the war with the Enemy, church legends say that mankind was saved by its noble knights, who rode giant steeds (basically Transformers/Jaegers/mechazoids) against the Enemy. Nowadays, this chivalric tradition has devolved into a form of entertainment, with noble knights jousting against one another for God, King and Station.
Synali should never be able to ride. She is a bastard, not a full noble. And yet, rebel forces become interested in her, and how they might be able to use her drive for revenge to bring down the nobility.
Our main story revolves around Synali's quest for further vengeance, but there are also compelling elements of mystery and romance. What is the actual story of the knights and their steeds? What exactly was the Enemy? There are plots within plots, and Synali's quest is complicated by her growing feelings for Rax, a noble opponent who is annoyingly kind, handsome and caring . . .
A good adventure, with familiar sci-fi elements mixed in new and interesting ways, Heavenbreaker is the first of a series. I will definitely be checking out the second volume when it arrives, since most of the mysteries of the Station remain unanswered, and I need to know!
June 6, 2024
A. This is not romantasy (why tf did Red Tower try to say that it was??)
B. This is sci-fi not fantasy and there is no romance
C. This is some of the worst sci-fi I’ve ever read
D. This is fourth wing in space
0/5⭐️ easily the worst sci-fi I’ve ever had the misfortune of reading😍
Wow do you want a high action sci-fi in which huge robots battle it out in the vacuum of empty space🪐??
Well!! Keep looking it isn’t here!!
Heavenbreaker has everything folks:
- a small, hot, gorgeous but scarred, morally confused yet inexplicably gifted, and suicidal female protagonist named Synali 🥰✨✨ (she’s suicidal because being suicidal makes you better at “riding” the mechas)
- huge giant robots that literally only joust🐎 why would you include huge robots and only let them joust????? That’s boring af
-a love interest that’s the super special and best at what he does and is super hot and so much bigger than her and so tortured🥵because his mother abuses him and he loves her instantly for some reason because Synali is not like other girls and she’s like really good at riding🤩
- Synali is so good at riding despite never having any formal training or education and only having ridden once like two months ago for the first time. But she somehow defeats 6 of the best riders in the whole tournament just because she’s THAT good😍🥳😝 like you don’t get it she’s actually way better than all of these nobles that have been training their entire life at the academy to specifically built to train nobles to ride the giant mechas.
- we also have Dravik who is her tortured mentor whose secretly the ex-prince🤴🏻 and has massive mommy and daddy issues and who also is somehow the shadow-leader of the random rebellion group?? (A rebellion group that really doesn’t matter and isn’t even on page until the author occasionally remembers them)
- repetitive battles that are all yapping🗣️ and no actual fighting.☺️✨ truly imagine the most boring actions scenes to ever be written
- prose that was written by the edgelord to end all edgelords⛓️🥀🔪🩸 “There’s only one color for me… Black.🖤⚫️🐜” girl bffr.
- ALSO THE COMBINATION OF FIRST PERSON (Synali’s pov) AND THIRD PERSON (every other character the author wanted to yap about) PICK ONE PLEASE DEAR GOD
- also the literal Christian church for whatever reason? It didn’t do anything in the story it was just there to get shit on occasionally??? But also all the characters pray occasionally and genuinely?? Do we not like the church or do we?? I don’t even know the vibes😭😭
The book starts out directly after Synali kills her father. We don’t get to see her kill her father or experience the assassination of her mother like six months prior. We simply get told all of this😍😍 Sara Wolf hates actually showing you anything or giving you and meaningful description throughout the whole book she just tells you random things in a random order🥰✨
At one point she tells you that the power cell thing that’s running the space station is fed by the brains of dead people and then like four chapters later Synali is like “omg where do the brains go???” Bitch we already know?? Why is the main character getting information so far behind the reader?????🧍🏻♀️
Also the synopsis literally spoils the whole book. “Omg what’s in the machine with her??” Idk probably the fucking aliens mentioned in the synopsis. Oh wow what a plot twist there’s an alien in the robot🤯😱🙊
Don’t you love having your feminine rage books having a multitude of powerful, interesting, well developed female characters? Well you find it here😘 The only female character in the whole book that we are supposed to be rooting for is Synali. In 2024 feminism has gone so far that we still get only a single female character in our feminism books😍🥰
Every other notable or plot important woman is dead😵 (expect for Mirelle who is catty and just there to be a rival) wooo feminism 🥳
Are you looking for phenomenal character arcs?? Close your eyes!! They aren’t here!! Synali is the same character from front to back except for the author randomly forgetting that she has a phobia of being touched from her time at a literal brothel???
Rax, her love interest, exists purely to love her for no reason even when she actively pushes him away
Dravik, her mentor, is so secretive idek what his character is…
And all the other characters have the emotional depth of a wet sock 🧦
Every interaction between Rax and Synali is either awkward and uncomfortable or weirdly sexual and flirty despite Synali’s obvious trauma🤪 but omg isn’t that just so hot??🥵
Miss Sara Wolf desperately wants you to think she’s so clever😏 that she points out every two seconds that there are “words beneath words”!!! Ya know, the thing most professional writers would call ✨subtext✨??? And despite pretending that she’s clever for inventing subtext all of her writing is completely devoid of it. Miss Wolf acts as though the reader is in fact not a grown adult but a stupid child that can’t understand plot points without them explicitly spelled out for you making every “plot twist” a horrifically ridiculous and predictable reveal.
Also Syanli is so easy to root for😍 within the first 30% of the book she’s unlikeable, unkind, and KICKS a dying old man’s hand when he was trying to bandage her wound🥹 isn’t she just so lovable??
And the society makes so much sense🤯 they live on a huge space station that never really gets properly described but it has tons of churches and buildings and hills and an artificial ocean and roads and red wood trees which would be fine if the scale was depicted to you in any manner but the author just keeps adding onto it when it’s convenient for her. They orbit this huge gas giant called Esther… that they are… attempting to… terraform. Yes. You heard that right folks they’re trying to terraform a planet made completely (aside from a metal core) of GAS. 🌏You know that wonderful that is totally solid and totally terraform-able substance gas? 🪐YOU CANT TERRAFORM GAS.💨
There’s also false AI and true AI and Miss Wolf refuses to explain the difference. You kind of get the implication that True AI is sentient but she never actually explains. All you really know for sure is that True AI is banned because it once almost killed everyone or something.
There’s also eldritch memory eating aliens that only like suicidal people because they know what death feel like. But also the aliens don’t die they just turn into gel that regenerates into living aliens again so why do they like people that yearn for death? 💀☠️
The whole narrative is haunted by a comatose queen that wanted to free the eldritch aliens👽🐙 (which power the whole space station filled with millions) because she felt bad for them. A motive that is being continued by Dravik, her son. THEY WANT TO KILL MILLIONS OF PEOPLE SO THAT THE CREEPY TENTACLE BITCHES CAN BE FREE. Sorry but fuck the tentacle guys. absolutely not bye👋
There’s nothing redeeming about this story the plot is nonsensical. The characters are flat and uninteresting. The aliens are not compelling. The giant robots jousting was lame and such a slog. I audibly groaned every time I had to sit through another yap session of a fight.
And the last ten percent is flat out strange?? Why did Synali basically fuse with a tentacle bitch and why was her mom there?? Was it because her head was fed to the core?? It was all strange and obscure and not at all compelling. 🧍🏻♀️
It might have been an interesting story if Red Tower could put a single one of there books through a SINGLE round of editing but god forbid we put effort into the books we’re selling for 30 dollars.
Also the audio book was awful. She mispronounced the word “sigil” as “sig-ul” every time it came up and Saint Petyr as Saint “petter”?? And every chapter begins with a definition of a Latin word but it’s so hard to figure out what is going on when you’re only hearing it audibly because Red Tower had no interest in actually making their “accessible books” accessible.
It’s clear to me that all Red Tower cares about is making the outside and the sprayed edges pretty enough to coax people to buy the books but doesn’t actually care at all about the craft or art of writing or storytelling. They routinely hand you unedited garbage that would be better used to dry up coffee stains than to be used for any kind of entertainment or much less something to expand your mind or deepen your understanding of the world around you.
This book doesn’t have any interest in telling a good story or sparking any emotion. It’s bland and unintelligent slop for—I don’t even know who it’s for. There’s not really any romance (they kiss once) there’s no gripping plot or fun dialogue. There’s no subversive characters or even any fun AI companions. It’s for insecure edgelords that want to pretend they’re reading interesting and good sci-fi. But in reality it’s a waste of paper and money and it was a massive waste of 15 hours that I will never get back.
So thanks Red Tower😘 and thanks Sara Wolf for creating some of the most braindead sci-fi I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading🥰✨
P.S. WHY IS THERE A RAVEN ON THE COVER???? HEAVENBREAKER (THE MECHA) HAS A HARE ON IT NOT A RAVEN??? NO MECHA HAS A RAVEN ON IT???
B. This is sci-fi not fantasy and there is no romance
C. This is some of the worst sci-fi I’ve ever read
D. This is fourth wing in space
0/5⭐️ easily the worst sci-fi I’ve ever had the misfortune of reading😍
Wow do you want a high action sci-fi in which huge robots battle it out in the vacuum of empty space🪐??
Well!! Keep looking it isn’t here!!
Heavenbreaker has everything folks:
- a small, hot, gorgeous but scarred, morally confused yet inexplicably gifted, and suicidal female protagonist named Synali 🥰✨✨ (she’s suicidal because being suicidal makes you better at “riding” the mechas)
- huge giant robots that literally only joust🐎
-a love interest that’s the super special and best at what he does and is super hot and so much bigger than her and so tortured🥵
- Synali is so good at riding despite never having any formal training or education and only having ridden once like two months ago for the first time. But she somehow defeats 6 of the best riders in the whole tournament just because she’s THAT good😍🥳😝 like you don’t get it she’s actually way better than all of these nobles that have been training their entire life at the academy to specifically built to train nobles to ride the giant mechas.
- we also have Dravik who is her tortured mentor whose secretly the ex-prince🤴🏻 and has massive mommy and daddy issues and who also is somehow the shadow-leader of the random rebellion group?? (A rebellion group that really doesn’t matter and isn’t even on page until the author occasionally remembers them)
- repetitive battles that are all yapping🗣️ and no actual fighting.☺️✨ truly imagine the most boring actions scenes to ever be written
- prose that was written by the edgelord to end all edgelords⛓️🥀🔪🩸 “There’s only one color for me… Black.🖤⚫️🐜” girl bffr.
- ALSO THE COMBINATION OF FIRST PERSON (Synali’s pov) AND THIRD PERSON (every other character the author wanted to yap about) PICK ONE PLEASE DEAR GOD
- also the literal Christian church for whatever reason? It didn’t do anything in the story it was just there to get shit on occasionally??? But also all the characters pray occasionally and genuinely?? Do we not like the church or do we?? I don’t even know the vibes😭😭
The book starts out directly after Synali kills her father. We don’t get to see her kill her father or experience the assassination of her mother like six months prior. We simply get told all of this😍😍 Sara Wolf hates actually showing you anything or giving you and meaningful description throughout the whole book she just tells you random things in a random order🥰✨
At one point she tells you that the power cell thing that’s running the space station is fed by the brains of dead people and then like four chapters later Synali is like “omg where do the brains go???” Bitch we already know?? Why is the main character getting information so far behind the reader?????🧍🏻♀️
Also the synopsis literally spoils the whole book. “Omg what’s in the machine with her??” Idk probably the fucking aliens mentioned in the synopsis. Oh wow what a plot twist there’s an alien in the robot🤯😱🙊
Don’t you love having your feminine rage books having a multitude of powerful, interesting, well developed female characters? Well you find it here😘 The only female character in the whole book that we are supposed to be rooting for is Synali. In 2024 feminism has gone so far that we still get only a single female character in our feminism books😍🥰
Every other notable or plot important woman is dead😵 (expect for Mirelle who is catty and just there to be a rival) wooo feminism 🥳
Are you looking for phenomenal character arcs?? Close your eyes!! They aren’t here!! Synali is the same character from front to back except for the author randomly forgetting that she has a phobia of being touched from her time at a literal brothel???
Rax, her love interest, exists purely to love her for no reason even when she actively pushes him away
Dravik, her mentor, is so secretive idek what his character is…
And all the other characters have the emotional depth of a wet sock 🧦
Every interaction between Rax and Synali is either awkward and uncomfortable or weirdly sexual and flirty despite Synali’s obvious trauma🤪 but omg isn’t that just so hot??🥵
Miss Sara Wolf desperately wants you to think she’s so clever😏 that she points out every two seconds that there are “words beneath words”!!! Ya know, the thing most professional writers would call ✨subtext✨??? And despite pretending that she’s clever for inventing subtext all of her writing is completely devoid of it. Miss Wolf acts as though the reader is in fact not a grown adult but a stupid child that can’t understand plot points without them explicitly spelled out for you making every “plot twist” a horrifically ridiculous and predictable reveal.
Also Syanli is so easy to root for😍 within the first 30% of the book she’s unlikeable, unkind, and KICKS a dying old man’s hand when he was trying to bandage her wound🥹 isn’t she just so lovable??
And the society makes so much sense🤯 they live on a huge space station that never really gets properly described but it has tons of churches and buildings and hills and an artificial ocean and roads and red wood trees which would be fine if the scale was depicted to you in any manner but the author just keeps adding onto it when it’s convenient for her. They orbit this huge gas giant called Esther… that they are… attempting to… terraform. Yes. You heard that right folks they’re trying to terraform a planet made completely (aside from a metal core) of GAS. 🌏You know that wonderful that is totally solid and totally terraform-able substance gas? 🪐YOU CANT TERRAFORM GAS.💨
There’s also false AI and true AI and Miss Wolf refuses to explain the difference. You kind of get the implication that True AI is sentient but she never actually explains. All you really know for sure is that True AI is banned because it once almost killed everyone or something.
There’s also eldritch memory eating aliens that only like suicidal people because they know what death feel like. But also the aliens don’t die they just turn into gel that regenerates into living aliens again so why do they like people that yearn for death? 💀☠️
The whole narrative is haunted by a comatose queen that wanted to free the eldritch aliens👽🐙 (which power the whole space station filled with millions) because she felt bad for them. A motive that is being continued by Dravik, her son. THEY WANT TO KILL MILLIONS OF PEOPLE SO THAT THE CREEPY TENTACLE BITCHES CAN BE FREE. Sorry but fuck the tentacle guys. absolutely not bye👋
There’s nothing redeeming about this story the plot is nonsensical. The characters are flat and uninteresting. The aliens are not compelling. The giant robots jousting was lame and such a slog. I audibly groaned every time I had to sit through another yap session of a fight.
And the last ten percent is flat out strange?? Why did Synali basically fuse with a tentacle bitch and why was her mom there?? Was it because her head was fed to the core?? It was all strange and obscure and not at all compelling. 🧍🏻♀️
It might have been an interesting story if Red Tower could put a single one of there books through a SINGLE round of editing but god forbid we put effort into the books we’re selling for 30 dollars.
Also the audio book was awful. She mispronounced the word “sigil” as “sig-ul” every time it came up and Saint Petyr as Saint “petter”?? And every chapter begins with a definition of a Latin word but it’s so hard to figure out what is going on when you’re only hearing it audibly because Red Tower had no interest in actually making their “accessible books” accessible.
It’s clear to me that all Red Tower cares about is making the outside and the sprayed edges pretty enough to coax people to buy the books but doesn’t actually care at all about the craft or art of writing or storytelling. They routinely hand you unedited garbage that would be better used to dry up coffee stains than to be used for any kind of entertainment or much less something to expand your mind or deepen your understanding of the world around you.
This book doesn’t have any interest in telling a good story or sparking any emotion. It’s bland and unintelligent slop for—I don’t even know who it’s for. There’s not really any romance (they kiss once) there’s no gripping plot or fun dialogue. There’s no subversive characters or even any fun AI companions. It’s for insecure edgelords that want to pretend they’re reading interesting and good sci-fi. But in reality it’s a waste of paper and money and it was a massive waste of 15 hours that I will never get back.
So thanks Red Tower😘 and thanks Sara Wolf for creating some of the most braindead sci-fi I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading🥰✨
P.S. WHY IS THERE A RAVEN ON THE COVER???? HEAVENBREAKER (THE MECHA) HAS A HARE ON IT NOT A RAVEN??? NO MECHA HAS A RAVEN ON IT???
May 31, 2024
⚔️ Sci-fi vs fantasy
⚔️ Grief, suicide, female rage
« What you like has very little in common with what I care for »
⚔️ Politics (lots of it)
⚔️ Tournaments
⚔️ Multilayered characters
« The wolf only knows how badly the deer suffers when the tiger comes »
The way this started - I was pretty sure it was going to be a 5✨ for me but a few things happened that bugged me a little. I struggled with the rating to be quite honest.
The 3 major things that impacted my reading experience was 1) the writing. It was very repetitive 2) some things were very convenient and 3) hints of the chosen one which is a trope I’ve been struggling with lately.
There’s little to no romance (which didn’t bother me) but what did bother me was who the love interest was…
Overall, I’d say the first 30% of this were amazing but the rest unfortunately fell flat for me. I would still recommend if you don’t mind all those things I mentioned.
—•
Pre read : I had forgotten I’d preordered that book in January 😆 what a surprise when it came in 2 weeks ago! The most gorgeous sprayed edges I’ve ever seen
⚔️ Grief, suicide, female rage
« What you like has very little in common with what I care for »
⚔️ Politics (lots of it)
⚔️ Tournaments
⚔️ Multilayered characters
« The wolf only knows how badly the deer suffers when the tiger comes »
The way this started - I was pretty sure it was going to be a 5✨ for me but a few things happened that bugged me a little. I struggled with the rating to be quite honest.
The 3 major things that impacted my reading experience was 1) the writing. It was very repetitive 2) some things were very convenient and 3) hints of the chosen one which is a trope I’ve been struggling with lately.
There’s little to no romance (which didn’t bother me) but what did bother me was who the love interest was…
Overall, I’d say the first 30% of this were amazing but the rest unfortunately fell flat for me. I would still recommend if you don’t mind all those things I mentioned.
—•
Pre read : I had forgotten I’d preordered that book in January 😆 what a surprise when it came in 2 weeks ago! The most gorgeous sprayed edges I’ve ever seen
July 4, 2024
i am an outlier here - i really liked this one, folks. the biggest complaint seems to be that this isn't romantasy and that there aren't enough smooches, and that's probably why i liked it more than others. i'm here for the outer space jousting and chronic pain. no time for smooching when we're out here AVENGING, after all.
Want to read
January 14, 2024I'm getting pissed that this author will write book one in a series and then completely abandon the series, publish a new book in a new series, then abandon that series, and then publish a new book in a new series. Even though I like this author and her writing style, I'm not going to even consider reading this book until the whole series is complete because I'm tired of being let down.
May 31, 2024
I um want to talk to the people marketing this book. This is marketed as a romantasy and there is literally no romance in it. There is the potential for one in the next book but nothing in this. The book had so much potential in the formulation and idea but the execution and writing didn’t land. If I hear the word ride or can you ride again I’ll lose it because of how much it was used in this book.
This is like a sci-fi, AI fantasy full of feminine rage against the rich. It’s very eat the rich but I wasn’t invested enough to care about the main character and rich in it. The whole setting of the book and plot is very cool and it would probably make a good show if they give the characters more life. The amount of repetition in the writing was so much and I was just bored. I have no idea what I just read and I may have wasted my time, maybe the next book will make up for it. Idk maybe we as a community should want more than just pretty covers and sprayed edges.
This is like a sci-fi, AI fantasy full of feminine rage against the rich. It’s very eat the rich but I wasn’t invested enough to care about the main character and rich in it. The whole setting of the book and plot is very cool and it would probably make a good show if they give the characters more life. The amount of repetition in the writing was so much and I was just bored. I have no idea what I just read and I may have wasted my time, maybe the next book will make up for it. Idk maybe we as a community should want more than just pretty covers and sprayed edges.
Want to read
February 6, 2024~*~ Found the book description ~*~
In Synali von Hauteclare's world, blood is all that matters.
In a massive space station that houses the last of humanity, the king rules. Nobles dance. Commoners starve. And when they aren't starving, they watch the riding tournaments between the giant robots called “steeds”—once used in the war against the enemy, now repurposed for honorable lance-to-lance high-speed combat with a gravity generator. Only nobles may have the honor of riding. Only nobles may have the glory. Only nobles have the blood.
In Synali von Hauteclare's world, she's a bastard; her mother a commoner, her father a duke. And she's just killed him.
But he killed first.
Seven people in House Hauteclare helped her father hire an assassin to kill her and her mother. Synali survived. Her mother did not. And now Synali will do anything to make them pay, even ally with a noble, her sworn enemy. Now she’s made a deal: for every win she scores in the upcoming Supernova Cup, this enigmatic nobleman will kill one of the seven. She's never ridden, and the steed her new ally gives her—Heavenbreaker—sings strange lullabies in its hangar. And, increasingly, in her mind.
With her half sibling, Mirele von Hauteclare on her trail, and hotshot pilot Rax who’s trying to get in her bed, Synali has her hands full.
But blood is all that matters. And she will ensure they see much of it.
In Synali von Hauteclare's world, blood is all that matters.
In a massive space station that houses the last of humanity, the king rules. Nobles dance. Commoners starve. And when they aren't starving, they watch the riding tournaments between the giant robots called “steeds”—once used in the war against the enemy, now repurposed for honorable lance-to-lance high-speed combat with a gravity generator. Only nobles may have the honor of riding. Only nobles may have the glory. Only nobles have the blood.
In Synali von Hauteclare's world, she's a bastard; her mother a commoner, her father a duke. And she's just killed him.
But he killed first.
Seven people in House Hauteclare helped her father hire an assassin to kill her and her mother. Synali survived. Her mother did not. And now Synali will do anything to make them pay, even ally with a noble, her sworn enemy. Now she’s made a deal: for every win she scores in the upcoming Supernova Cup, this enigmatic nobleman will kill one of the seven. She's never ridden, and the steed her new ally gives her—Heavenbreaker—sings strange lullabies in its hangar. And, increasingly, in her mind.
With her half sibling, Mirele von Hauteclare on her trail, and hotshot pilot Rax who’s trying to get in her bed, Synali has her hands full.
But blood is all that matters. And she will ensure they see much of it.
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
April 13, 2024First of all, I am so sorry.
This is a five-star prediction for me but I couldn't even get through the first 100 pages. I could not stand the writing or the narration style. It is as if the author wanted to end every chapter with a "mic drop" and suddenly the final sentences felt less epic. There is so much going on from the beginning that it felt like I was jumping in on a sequel not the first book in a series. I did skim the ending and a few pages in the middle and I just don't see this book being for me. It's so unfortunate because I think this is the most BEAUTIFUL book I've ever seen.
IM SORRRRYYYY DONT CANCEL ME
Original:
i don’t know what i did to be blessed with an ARC but THANK YOUUUU
This is a five-star prediction for me but I couldn't even get through the first 100 pages. I could not stand the writing or the narration style. It is as if the author wanted to end every chapter with a "mic drop" and suddenly the final sentences felt less epic. There is so much going on from the beginning that it felt like I was jumping in on a sequel not the first book in a series. I did skim the ending and a few pages in the middle and I just don't see this book being for me. It's so unfortunate because I think this is the most BEAUTIFUL book I've ever seen.
IM SORRRRYYYY DONT CANCEL ME
Original:
i don’t know what i did to be blessed with an ARC but THANK YOUUUU
February 18, 2025
When I read the negative reviews for Heavenbreaker, they were all unified in one major complaint: "I am mad that the romance was a slow burn" only said in a much dumber way. This is why we don't get romance arcs that take time to develop and actually are based on genuine developing attraction. Y'all are so fucking boring.
With that, lets talk Heavenbreaker
Overview:
🔫 Revenge story
😈 Female rage
💒 Slow burn romance
🔪 MC who kills people
💢 Rivals to lovers
👨👧 Middle aged man "adopts" teen girl
🤖 Fighting robots
⭐⭐ Read more of my reviews and get tips on the best Enemies to Lovers books by checking out my Blog, Enemies to Lovers Source ⭐⭐
🖤🖤 Follow me On Bluesky for more book ranting 🖤🖤
Heavenbreaker follows Synali, a girl hellbent on revenge. She has just murdered her father, a prominent duke, after he killed her mother. learning that his entire house played a hand in her mother's death, Synali teams up with a wayward prince in order to kill them all.
Heavenbreaker is part Iron Widow, part Count of Monte Cristo and part Red Rising. While Iron Widow is very surface level with loose dialogue, Heavenbreaker puts a significant emphasis on building a complete world and mature characters that all receive a level of development. If you struggled with the immaturity of Iron Widow and wanted something a bit more adult. I do think Heavenbreaker is a great alternative (Note, I did give Iron Widow 1 star)
This is a scifi new adult book and I was surprised how much depth the scifi elements received, as new adult tends to use SFF as a set dressing rather than the author truly caring about those story elements. . Expect some technical babble.
This is where I want to get to what makes the book controversial. This book is housed under a publisher that pushes a lot of romantasy. The book received sprayed edges ands was assumed to fall under the romantasy banner. Many romance fans were frustrated and confused when the primary plot of the story was actually the focus rather than the romance. To me this says more about romantasy readers than the book itself, its clear many readers are unable to enjoy a romantasy if the plot isn't completely neutered so the main characters can fuck in the first book. Those of us whole love slow burns need a few wins, so yall can sit the fuck down with your instalove obsession imo.
Heavenbreaker is refreshing as hell for me because it does the opposite. Synali has fully developed relationships with people other than her love interest that get focus and time. There is a clearly set up romance and its a lot of fun and moves slowly. The love interest Rax isn't obsessively fawning over her and the characters don't spent pages upon pages noting how hot the other is. While some of the lust moved quickly for my taste, Synali and Rax's romance is a slow burn given proper time to develop. It doesn't help that he is marrying into the house shes trying to eradicate and she needs to beat his ass in a robot fighting contest.
Synali is trying to kill her whole family, so she may not have all the time in the world to obsess about boys. I am someone who loves romance but hates modern romance tropes infecting every single romantasy and I can tell you right now, Heavenbreaker ain't following any of those rules.
Synali is a bit of a single minded character, but her first person POV can also be genuinely beautiful. Sara Wolf has solid prose and Synali's inner monologue benefits quite a lot from that. She can be somewhat of a standard "angry lady" protagonist, but I do think she is a fun and worthy main character to follow. More critically, i appreciate that the author allows her to be willing to kill people, as many revenge/assassin based main characters are simply "misunderstood".Especially women. No, Synali is absolutely here for slaughtering her entire family. Lets go~
The side characters are where the book truly shines. All of them very much have their moment to be their own people. Every single side character from the mentor to the rival to the love interest are all fully fleshed out human beings with stories that mean more than their connection with the main character. There are some shorter POVs for multiple characters that do a great job drawing you in and connecting you with them. All of the characters in this story are quite morally grey.
I am giving the book 4.5 stars because sometimes the book can steer into immature YA territory and lose me, and sometimes Synali's POV can be a little repetitive, but I genuinely enjoyed this and feel its a step in the right direction for new adult books.
With that, lets talk Heavenbreaker
Overview:
🔫 Revenge story
😈 Female rage
💒 Slow burn romance
🔪 MC who kills people
💢 Rivals to lovers
👨👧 Middle aged man "adopts" teen girl
🤖 Fighting robots
⭐⭐ Read more of my reviews and get tips on the best Enemies to Lovers books by checking out my Blog, Enemies to Lovers Source ⭐⭐
🖤🖤 Follow me On Bluesky for more book ranting 🖤🖤
Heavenbreaker follows Synali, a girl hellbent on revenge. She has just murdered her father, a prominent duke, after he killed her mother. learning that his entire house played a hand in her mother's death, Synali teams up with a wayward prince in order to kill them all.
Heavenbreaker is part Iron Widow, part Count of Monte Cristo and part Red Rising. While Iron Widow is very surface level with loose dialogue, Heavenbreaker puts a significant emphasis on building a complete world and mature characters that all receive a level of development. If you struggled with the immaturity of Iron Widow and wanted something a bit more adult. I do think Heavenbreaker is a great alternative (Note, I did give Iron Widow 1 star)
This is a scifi new adult book and I was surprised how much depth the scifi elements received, as new adult tends to use SFF as a set dressing rather than the author truly caring about those story elements. . Expect some technical babble.
This is where I want to get to what makes the book controversial. This book is housed under a publisher that pushes a lot of romantasy. The book received sprayed edges ands was assumed to fall under the romantasy banner. Many romance fans were frustrated and confused when the primary plot of the story was actually the focus rather than the romance. To me this says more about romantasy readers than the book itself, its clear many readers are unable to enjoy a romantasy if the plot isn't completely neutered so the main characters can fuck in the first book. Those of us whole love slow burns need a few wins, so yall can sit the fuck down with your instalove obsession imo.
Heavenbreaker is refreshing as hell for me because it does the opposite. Synali has fully developed relationships with people other than her love interest that get focus and time. There is a clearly set up romance and its a lot of fun and moves slowly. The love interest Rax isn't obsessively fawning over her and the characters don't spent pages upon pages noting how hot the other is. While some of the lust moved quickly for my taste, Synali and Rax's romance is a slow burn given proper time to develop. It doesn't help that he is marrying into the house shes trying to eradicate and she needs to beat his ass in a robot fighting contest.
Synali is trying to kill her whole family, so she may not have all the time in the world to obsess about boys. I am someone who loves romance but hates modern romance tropes infecting every single romantasy and I can tell you right now, Heavenbreaker ain't following any of those rules.
Synali is a bit of a single minded character, but her first person POV can also be genuinely beautiful. Sara Wolf has solid prose and Synali's inner monologue benefits quite a lot from that. She can be somewhat of a standard "angry lady" protagonist, but I do think she is a fun and worthy main character to follow. More critically, i appreciate that the author allows her to be willing to kill people, as many revenge/assassin based main characters are simply "misunderstood".Especially women. No, Synali is absolutely here for slaughtering her entire family. Lets go~
The side characters are where the book truly shines. All of them very much have their moment to be their own people. Every single side character from the mentor to the rival to the love interest are all fully fleshed out human beings with stories that mean more than their connection with the main character. There are some shorter POVs for multiple characters that do a great job drawing you in and connecting you with them. All of the characters in this story are quite morally grey.
I am giving the book 4.5 stars because sometimes the book can steer into immature YA territory and lose me, and sometimes Synali's POV can be a little repetitive, but I genuinely enjoyed this and feel its a step in the right direction for new adult books.
April 15, 2024
Heavenbreaker is unlike anything I've ever read. Full of female rage and heavy with grief, what starts as a fun, sci-fi book about giant mecha jousting evolves into an exploration of AI, the misuse of power and the corrupt ruling classes.
I've just finished Heavenbreaker as I'm writing this review so please bear with me if my thoughts are a little jumbled! I'm still trying to piece them together, to be honest.
Heavenbreaker started off strong: angry murder girly Synali gets her revenge on her Duke father who conspired to have her mother assassinated (her too, but he failed on that account) and we're introduced to this super cool world of noble families and giant mecha suits ('steeds') that said noble families joust in for fame and glory?! Say less. You have my attention.
Synali was certainly an interesting protagonist. Her perspective was heartbreaking to read from at times; as the book's contents warning page will tell you, there is suicidal ideation present. Synali's need for revenge drives her in a way I don't think I've seen from a main character in a long time - it's sheer desperation, and you can really feel that throughout the entire book. She knows, however, that if and when she achieves this, the noble Houses will not allow her to live and she doesn't care. As she says repeatedly, she wants to rest and be with her mother again. Synali grows over the course of the book to want a life after her goal is complete, but these moments are somewhat fleeting, as her focus always comes back to achieving her revenge on House Hauteclare and those who have wronged her. Grief and revenge aside, Synali is a total badass and takes shit from no one, which proved to be incredibly entertaining!
Side note: Synali's steed is not the bird on the cover, like I thought it was going to be for some reason. Even after finishing, I still don't know who or what that bird is or why it's on the cover - it's not House Lithroi's OR House Hauteclare's (noble houses Synali is associated with throughout the book) symbol. Her steed is the giant metal lady on the first-print-run sprayed edges.
The 4 'main' supporting characters are introduced early on: Rax (Synali's love interest and rider for House Velrayd), Mirelle (Synali's rival and rider for House Hauteclare), Dravik (Synali's mentor, from House Lithroi) and Rain (the assassin who killed Synali's mother). I don't have any particular feelings on Rain, but I found the other 3 likeable. Mirelle was the standout for me, and I really hope we see more of her in the second book. Dravik intrigued me the most, though. His motivations for making a deal with Synali (for each jousting match she wins, he will kill one of the seven people involved in her mother's death) are mysterious, and I never knew whether I could trust him or not.
I wish we had gotten more from Rax, though, in terms of his role as a love interest. I loved him as a character, and really liked getting to see a bit of his backstory through his POV chapters/flashbacks, but the romance between him and Synali is definitely a subplot. Though there are one or two kiss scenes between them (including, ahem, a shower scene 😉), I wouldn't class there as being any spice on-page. Heavenbreaker is a sci-fi book with a few romance crumbs, rather than being whatever the sci-fi equivalent of a romantasy would be. I'm hoping the romance (... and spice?) amps up in the next book!
Even as a huge shipper and wishing there was more romance, my biggest gripe with this book is the worldbuilding. Perhaps this was just me being a new sci-fi reader, but I really feel like some of it needed to be clearer. For instance, I still don't 100% know who or what 'the enemy' is (I think I know, but I can't be sure). I also struggled to visualise some scenes (in terms of what things or places looked like), but the action/jousting scenes were well-done.
Heavenbreaker also deals A LOT with AI, which I won't talk about (again because of potential spoilers) but let's just say I am Very Much looking forward to Hellrunner because of that ending!
The first 20-25% and the last 25% of the book were my favourite parts. That's not to say the middle 50% is bad by any means, though I did feel it dragged a little bit. There were still exciting plot things, twists and reveals happening, but I don't think Sara Wolf's writing style is entirely for me. I can't put my finger on why, but I never felt fully connected with or immersed in the story.
As a final note, I think a small part of my problem with Heavenbreaker is that I expect everything that comes out of Red Tower to be the next Fourth Wing (aka a guaranteed-5-star romantasy that rots my brain and I can't go a day without thinking about) and then I feel rather confused and disappointed when that doesn't happen. I still really enjoyed Heavenbreaker and this is obviously a self-created problem, but I just thought it worth mentioning. I can't be the only one who feels this way, right?
(The Wren in the Holly Library, you are the next victim of all of my high expectations 😂)
Overall though, I'd highly recommend Heavenbreaker and I can't wait to read the second book, Hellrunner!
Thank you SO much to Brittany at Entangled Publishing for sending me an ARC!
↠ 4 stars
Bookstagram ✦ BookTwitter ✦ BookTok
I've just finished Heavenbreaker as I'm writing this review so please bear with me if my thoughts are a little jumbled! I'm still trying to piece them together, to be honest.
Heavenbreaker started off strong: angry murder girly Synali gets her revenge on her Duke father who conspired to have her mother assassinated (her too, but he failed on that account) and we're introduced to this super cool world of noble families and giant mecha suits ('steeds') that said noble families joust in for fame and glory?! Say less. You have my attention.
Synali was certainly an interesting protagonist. Her perspective was heartbreaking to read from at times; as the book's contents warning page will tell you, there is suicidal ideation present. Synali's need for revenge drives her in a way I don't think I've seen from a main character in a long time - it's sheer desperation, and you can really feel that throughout the entire book. She knows, however, that if and when she achieves this, the noble Houses will not allow her to live and she doesn't care. As she says repeatedly, she wants to rest and be with her mother again. Synali grows over the course of the book to want a life after her goal is complete, but these moments are somewhat fleeting, as her focus always comes back to achieving her revenge on House Hauteclare and those who have wronged her. Grief and revenge aside, Synali is a total badass and takes shit from no one, which proved to be incredibly entertaining!
Side note: Synali's steed is not the bird on the cover, like I thought it was going to be for some reason. Even after finishing, I still don't know who or what that bird is or why it's on the cover - it's not House Lithroi's OR House Hauteclare's (noble houses Synali is associated with throughout the book) symbol. Her steed is the giant metal lady on the first-print-run sprayed edges.
The 4 'main' supporting characters are introduced early on: Rax (Synali's love interest and rider for House Velrayd), Mirelle (Synali's rival and rider for House Hauteclare), Dravik (Synali's mentor, from House Lithroi) and Rain (the assassin who killed Synali's mother). I don't have any particular feelings on Rain, but I found the other 3 likeable. Mirelle was the standout for me, and I really hope we see more of her in the second book. Dravik intrigued me the most, though. His motivations for making a deal with Synali (for each jousting match she wins, he will kill one of the seven people involved in her mother's death) are mysterious, and I never knew whether I could trust him or not.
I wish we had gotten more from Rax, though, in terms of his role as a love interest. I loved him as a character, and really liked getting to see a bit of his backstory through his POV chapters/flashbacks, but the romance between him and Synali is definitely a subplot. Though there are one or two kiss scenes between them (including, ahem, a shower scene 😉), I wouldn't class there as being any spice on-page. Heavenbreaker is a sci-fi book with a few romance crumbs, rather than being whatever the sci-fi equivalent of a romantasy would be. I'm hoping the romance (... and spice?) amps up in the next book!
Even as a huge shipper and wishing there was more romance, my biggest gripe with this book is the worldbuilding. Perhaps this was just me being a new sci-fi reader, but I really feel like some of it needed to be clearer. For instance, I still don't 100% know who or what 'the enemy' is (I think I know, but I can't be sure). I also struggled to visualise some scenes (in terms of what things or places looked like), but the action/jousting scenes were well-done.
Heavenbreaker also deals A LOT with AI, which I won't talk about (again because of potential spoilers) but let's just say I am Very Much looking forward to Hellrunner because of that ending!
The first 20-25% and the last 25% of the book were my favourite parts. That's not to say the middle 50% is bad by any means, though I did feel it dragged a little bit. There were still exciting plot things, twists and reveals happening, but I don't think Sara Wolf's writing style is entirely for me. I can't put my finger on why, but I never felt fully connected with or immersed in the story.
As a final note, I think a small part of my problem with Heavenbreaker is that I expect everything that comes out of Red Tower to be the next Fourth Wing (aka a guaranteed-5-star romantasy that rots my brain and I can't go a day without thinking about) and then I feel rather confused and disappointed when that doesn't happen. I still really enjoyed Heavenbreaker and this is obviously a self-created problem, but I just thought it worth mentioning. I can't be the only one who feels this way, right?
Overall though, I'd highly recommend Heavenbreaker and I can't wait to read the second book, Hellrunner!
Thank you SO much to Brittany at Entangled Publishing for sending me an ARC!
↠ 4 stars
Bookstagram ✦ BookTwitter ✦ BookTok
June 7, 2024
Holy hell this was amazing. If you like the giant war machines and female rage of Iron Widow, the commoner fighting in a deadly tournament against nobility of Red Rising, the cool technology of This Mortal Coil, and the enemy of Aurora Rising….you will love this book!
May 29, 2024
3.5 ⭐️ maybe 4?? I think I should have listened to this as an audiobook lol.
I wish this had more romance... I was expecting an enemies-to-lovers sci-fi, and instead, I felt like we barely got any romance. Maybe sci-fi isn't totally for me, but last year, Star Bringer was an infinity star read for me, so I was expecting something similar. ✨️
Everytime I thought I knew what was going on I got confused again lol. It's weird because I really did enjoy all the characters and the plot, I just feel like I only understood 60% of what was going on and it would have been a five star read if I could have understood and/or pictured better what was going on in my head.
I'd still recommend it, but in my humble opinion, I think this is better suited for advanced sci-fi readers instead of entry-level ones. ✨️
I wish this had more romance... I was expecting an enemies-to-lovers sci-fi, and instead, I felt like we barely got any romance. Maybe sci-fi isn't totally for me, but last year, Star Bringer was an infinity star read for me, so I was expecting something similar. ✨️
Everytime I thought I knew what was going on I got confused again lol. It's weird because I really did enjoy all the characters and the plot, I just feel like I only understood 60% of what was going on and it would have been a five star read if I could have understood and/or pictured better what was going on in my head.
I'd still recommend it, but in my humble opinion, I think this is better suited for advanced sci-fi readers instead of entry-level ones. ✨️
November 19, 2024
2.75
Taka za trudna dla mnie, ale nie czytam też sci-fi
Taka za trudna dla mnie, ale nie czytam też sci-fi
Read
June 19, 2024Another one bites the dust. DNF/skim/finish.
Going to try to sell in a bundle on Facebook.
Over these books.
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Going to try to sell in a bundle on Facebook.
Over these books.
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
February 14, 2025
4.5/5
Pomysł i świat zajebisty. Główna bohaterka będąca złoczyńcą szukającym zemsty absolutnie mnie kupiła. Cała ta idea jeźdźców i maszyn jak i intryga wow przegenialne to było i nie mogę się doczekać kolejnego tomu.
ALE
Bardzo specyficzny styl. Momentami za dużo słów a za mało treści. Symbole i metafory które mam wrażenie momentami widzi tylko autorka. Budują one jednak klimat i nadają efekt tajemniczości, momentami jednak irytują.
Moją jedyną krytyką jest podłoże całej fabuły w kwestii zemsty.
Dziewczyna wprost oświadcza królowi przy wszystkich ludziach, że za każdą wygraną walką będzie mordować członka rodziny, który przyczynił się do zamordowania jej matki. Skoro tak, to czemu jej lord i wspólnik w zbrodni stara się pozorować ich śmierci na wypadki? Każdy wie że to jej wina, mówią to wprost a jednocześnie król nie wydaje dekretu by ją po prostu unieszkodliwić. Jest to zakryte maską „honoru” oraz niechęcią zniżenia się i przyznania że król boi się bekarta. Wciąż jednak fakt że pozwalają jej jeździć i absolutnie nikt nie stara się jej zamordować jest dla mnie zgrzytem w logice. Nie czuję się usatysfakcjonowana tymi wyjaśnieniami, brakowało mi większego zaklejenia ze sobą tych wątków.
Pomysł i świat zajebisty. Główna bohaterka będąca złoczyńcą szukającym zemsty absolutnie mnie kupiła. Cała ta idea jeźdźców i maszyn jak i intryga wow przegenialne to było i nie mogę się doczekać kolejnego tomu.
ALE
Bardzo specyficzny styl. Momentami za dużo słów a za mało treści. Symbole i metafory które mam wrażenie momentami widzi tylko autorka. Budują one jednak klimat i nadają efekt tajemniczości, momentami jednak irytują.
Moją jedyną krytyką jest podłoże całej fabuły w kwestii zemsty.
Dziewczyna wprost oświadcza królowi przy wszystkich ludziach, że za każdą wygraną walką będzie mordować członka rodziny, który przyczynił się do zamordowania jej matki. Skoro tak, to czemu jej lord i wspólnik w zbrodni stara się pozorować ich śmierci na wypadki? Każdy wie że to jej wina, mówią to wprost a jednocześnie król nie wydaje dekretu by ją po prostu unieszkodliwić. Jest to zakryte maską „honoru” oraz niechęcią zniżenia się i przyznania że król boi się bekarta. Wciąż jednak fakt że pozwalają jej jeździć i absolutnie nikt nie stara się jej zamordować jest dla mnie zgrzytem w logice. Nie czuję się usatysfakcjonowana tymi wyjaśnieniami, brakowało mi większego zaklejenia ze sobą tych wątków.
June 19, 2024
It’s finally over. This was gibberish for 500 pages truly. Red tower should go to jail for claiming everything after fourth wing is romantasy and enemies to lovers.
June 21, 2024
I was unfortunately very disappointed with Heavenbreaker. The premise itself is somewhat interesting and I enjoyed the SciFi-Fantasy genre mix (it is not romantasy at all, I have no idea why this novel is tagged as romantasy); however, I struggled with Wolf’s writing throughout the entire novel for four reasons:
First, the novel itself would have benefited significantly with a prologue instead of thrusting the reader directly into the middle of an active plot line. The opening scene is our protagonist Synali having just murdered her father moments ago. It’s an odd place to start the novel and it was poorly executed because the adrenaline and high of the character's actions weren't really introduced or capitalized on in the first few chapters. Because of this, there was less room for upfront context-setting that really would have helped with the readers’ confusion about what the f just happened, because Wolf doesn’t properly explain it at all (or at least not soon enough to mitigate readers’ confusion). This made for a pretty bad first impression and rough start to the book.
Second, world-building and imagery is so crucial in establishing immersion for readers, especially for SciFi and Fantasy books. Wolf’s writing had a severe lack of context, descriptive imagery, and placed too heavy of a burden on readers to “fill in the blanks” with their own imagination. This is somewhat difficult for readers to do because Heavenbreaker has medieval, futuristic, ritualistic elements all intertwined. These contrasting themes can make it challenging for readers to know what to picture, and I personally wish Wolf did a better job taking the time to build this world more thoroughly and providing us with more vivid imagery. What especially irritated me is that the writing felt lazy in this aspect. Rather than explicitly say what is happening, Wolf repeatedly just uses single words, something like “Black. Darkness. Falling. Pain.” This might have cool impact once or twice but she does this so. Much. It feels like lazy writing because I would much rather have complete sentences.
Third, WE GET IT. Synali is angry. Unfortunately, we as readers are not at all invested in her success, nor do we share her hatred for the nobles because, as I mentioned previously, we didn’t follow any of her storyline until the damage was already done and she had already killed her father. All we have as readers to go off of is Synali’s narration, which is not effective alone. A bunch of “I’ll kill every damn one of them”s is not enough to convince a reader to feel the anger with the character. We need to experience the events, observe the wrongdoings, and actually witness the consequences. Again, a prologue would have helped.
Lastly, Wolf’s narration and writing of Synali’s character was weak because rather than explore the complexities of the value she places on her own life, she instead just repeatedly hammers on the point of “I hate nobles.” This was so inconsistent however, because on one hand, Synali wants to destroy her father’s house, yet she also wants to die. Pick one, or explain the internal conflict better. There was such a huge missed opportunity here to continue the kamikaze-esque mentality of fighting until the dying breath and letting it consume your life in the process (an actual fascinating nugget of psyche the author only briefly touches upon). I would have loved to continue seeing an exploration of what it means to fight knowing that you will die, that you will not observe any benefits of a victory, what it will mean for the survivors / next generation, what the fine line is between the sense self-preservation in order to last in an active battle versus the sense of accepting your own demise. More importantly, what are the pieces of life and humanity that stand out to Synali and make her see value in living outside of just a desire for revenge. If Wolf was going to make being suicidal such a big unique character trait, I need to see it used more effectively or for it to have a more positive-trending character development.
I won’t be continuing the series but it was nice to have a refreshing novel that incorporates both SciFi and Fantasy themes well. Execution could have been better, but this is fully just my own opinion.
First, the novel itself would have benefited significantly with a prologue instead of thrusting the reader directly into the middle of an active plot line. The opening scene is our protagonist Synali having just murdered her father moments ago. It’s an odd place to start the novel and it was poorly executed because the adrenaline and high of the character's actions weren't really introduced or capitalized on in the first few chapters. Because of this, there was less room for upfront context-setting that really would have helped with the readers’ confusion about what the f just happened, because Wolf doesn’t properly explain it at all (or at least not soon enough to mitigate readers’ confusion). This made for a pretty bad first impression and rough start to the book.
Second, world-building and imagery is so crucial in establishing immersion for readers, especially for SciFi and Fantasy books. Wolf’s writing had a severe lack of context, descriptive imagery, and placed too heavy of a burden on readers to “fill in the blanks” with their own imagination. This is somewhat difficult for readers to do because Heavenbreaker has medieval, futuristic, ritualistic elements all intertwined. These contrasting themes can make it challenging for readers to know what to picture, and I personally wish Wolf did a better job taking the time to build this world more thoroughly and providing us with more vivid imagery. What especially irritated me is that the writing felt lazy in this aspect. Rather than explicitly say what is happening, Wolf repeatedly just uses single words, something like “Black. Darkness. Falling. Pain.” This might have cool impact once or twice but she does this so. Much. It feels like lazy writing because I would much rather have complete sentences.
Third, WE GET IT. Synali is angry. Unfortunately, we as readers are not at all invested in her success, nor do we share her hatred for the nobles because, as I mentioned previously, we didn’t follow any of her storyline until the damage was already done and she had already killed her father. All we have as readers to go off of is Synali’s narration, which is not effective alone. A bunch of “I’ll kill every damn one of them”s is not enough to convince a reader to feel the anger with the character. We need to experience the events, observe the wrongdoings, and actually witness the consequences. Again, a prologue would have helped.
Lastly, Wolf’s narration and writing of Synali’s character was weak because rather than explore the complexities of the value she places on her own life, she instead just repeatedly hammers on the point of “I hate nobles.” This was so inconsistent however, because on one hand, Synali wants to destroy her father’s house, yet she also wants to die. Pick one, or explain the internal conflict better. There was such a huge missed opportunity here to continue the kamikaze-esque mentality of fighting until the dying breath and letting it consume your life in the process (an actual fascinating nugget of psyche the author only briefly touches upon). I would have loved to continue seeing an exploration of what it means to fight knowing that you will die, that you will not observe any benefits of a victory, what it will mean for the survivors / next generation, what the fine line is between the sense self-preservation in order to last in an active battle versus the sense of accepting your own demise. More importantly, what are the pieces of life and humanity that stand out to Synali and make her see value in living outside of just a desire for revenge. If Wolf was going to make being suicidal such a big unique character trait, I need to see it used more effectively or for it to have a more positive-trending character development.
I won’t be continuing the series but it was nice to have a refreshing novel that incorporates both SciFi and Fantasy themes well. Execution could have been better, but this is fully just my own opinion.
May 25, 2024
This is what I wanted Red Rising to be!!!
If you read Red Rising and wish it had been Eo’s story instead—this is for you.
Snyali is my GIRL. Her rage is a 10/10.
If you read Red Rising and wish it had been Eo’s story instead—this is for you.
Snyali is my GIRL. Her rage is a 10/10.
September 17, 2024
I was really surprised by Heavenbreaker. I have read Sara Wolf's other fantasy trilogy, Bring me Their Hearts, which's though fun, is a very generic fantasy. Heavenbreaker, however, is a wholly unique sci-fi. I found that the romance was pretty weak, the world was hard to visualize at the start, and the end got a little confusing, but everything else was great. The characters were well written and as the story went on I learned to love them, the world-building is super fascinating, and the pacing was really solid. I also liked the way AI was written into the story. Overall, this book surprised me with how much I liked it. I'm not normally a sci-fi person, but this was cool.
June 16, 2024
this is the 4th red tower book i have read and the 2nd i that is misclassified.
Heavenbreaker is not a science fiction romance. It is not a romance. There is a romantic subplot that is very poorly handled, based nearly entirely in the physicality of their attraction to a distracting and clumsy degree. It's so out of left field and explicitly stated I almost think it came from editor's notes, like some editor at red tower was like "the romance was not obvious enough so throw in a couple of hot and heavy reminders. But the thing is those reminders don't actually do anything to progress the romance so they're nearly worthless to the larger narrative. All they do is yank me out of the book. This had real slowburn potential and instead I feel like the book bended to the demand for instant reader gratification. What makes slowburns good is a genuine "will they/won't they" push and pull not "I want to fuck him so bad but i'm biding my time".
There are other weak points in the editing on a prose level. Repeated phrases, some repetition of ideas. The corset of this book needed its laces tightened. But I truly, truly think that with better editing, this could've been a really really good book. Just a little more care with regards to tightening up the craft and a better vision for how the romance and other thematic elements came together, this could've been a home run.
Synali, the main character, is instantly defined by her anger, so single minded and all encompassing that it propels her forward through sheer spite alone. It's very much Red Rising x Iron Widow-esque. To be honest, I didn't care about her that much as a person, but I do think giving her such a clear and emotionally charged goal did set the narrative up well. There was a purpose and a clear destination and I wanted to see how the story would progress.
The book is a lot more political than I expected it to be, which I ultimately enjoyed. Synali's relationship with her mentor feels a little disjointed and could've come together better (I never felt like he was a "villain" or wary of him the way the narrative tried to insinate), but even when I rolled my eyes, I still was invested in his Deal. How the love interested was incorporated into the larger narrative made sense, the emotional conflict between Synali and her cousin was well defined, and the third POV of the assassin was relevant. There's a larger mystery and political conspiracy at play, and the drip of clues and information the reader is given is paced perfectly. I could see it being off putting if you're not attuned to sci-fi in this vein, but I was living. Personally, this is the only time in the last decade where I've read a book with "trials" that actually successfully scaffold the plot with the structure it needs. The trials have immediate consequences directly tied to rising tensions in the book. This was done well. I liked it.
If it weren't for the craft issues that required I take breaks and threatened me to DNF it, I would've been able to confidently recommend this book. Like I said, an editor could have saved her. Heavenbreaker, I'm sorry I was not your mother.
Heavenbreaker is not a science fiction romance. It is not a romance. There is a romantic subplot that is very poorly handled, based nearly entirely in the physicality of their attraction to a distracting and clumsy degree. It's so out of left field and explicitly stated I almost think it came from editor's notes, like some editor at red tower was like "the romance was not obvious enough so throw in a couple of hot and heavy reminders. But the thing is those reminders don't actually do anything to progress the romance so they're nearly worthless to the larger narrative. All they do is yank me out of the book. This had real slowburn potential and instead I feel like the book bended to the demand for instant reader gratification. What makes slowburns good is a genuine "will they/won't they" push and pull not "I want to fuck him so bad but i'm biding my time".
There are other weak points in the editing on a prose level. Repeated phrases, some repetition of ideas. The corset of this book needed its laces tightened. But I truly, truly think that with better editing, this could've been a really really good book. Just a little more care with regards to tightening up the craft and a better vision for how the romance and other thematic elements came together, this could've been a home run.
Synali, the main character, is instantly defined by her anger, so single minded and all encompassing that it propels her forward through sheer spite alone. It's very much Red Rising x Iron Widow-esque. To be honest, I didn't care about her that much as a person, but I do think giving her such a clear and emotionally charged goal did set the narrative up well. There was a purpose and a clear destination and I wanted to see how the story would progress.
The book is a lot more political than I expected it to be, which I ultimately enjoyed. Synali's relationship with her mentor feels a little disjointed and could've come together better (I never felt like he was a "villain" or wary of him the way the narrative tried to insinate), but even when I rolled my eyes, I still was invested in his Deal. How the love interested was incorporated into the larger narrative made sense, the emotional conflict between Synali and her cousin was well defined, and the third POV of the assassin was relevant. There's a larger mystery and political conspiracy at play, and the drip of clues and information the reader is given is paced perfectly. I could see it being off putting if you're not attuned to sci-fi in this vein, but I was living. Personally, this is the only time in the last decade where I've read a book with "trials" that actually successfully scaffold the plot with the structure it needs. The trials have immediate consequences directly tied to rising tensions in the book. This was done well. I liked it.
If it weren't for the craft issues that required I take breaks and threatened me to DNF it, I would've been able to confidently recommend this book. Like I said, an editor could have saved her. Heavenbreaker, I'm sorry I was not your mother.
Shelved as 'dnf'
May 22, 2024Info dumping and yet I'm so confused, it's usually one or the other...
DNF - 10%
DNF - 10%
May 27, 2024
Binge read this and had a fun time but idk if I could explain anything in this book
Shelved as 'dnf'
October 12, 2024DNF 148 pages in. I am a completionist, but I just cannot with this. I have FOMO usually which stops me from DNF'ing, but I just don't give AF about this story or any of the characters. I don't even care enough to read spoilers. This is heavy sci-fi/fantasy, but the world building is essentially nonexistent. And this is too wild of a concept to not have an established world and rules! We basically know that these giant robots are jousting...it's boring and repetitive. It is all telling and not showing. There is an abundance of italics and bold in the writing to REALLY tell us, which is a bit lazy in my opinion.
The perspective changes from Synali to two of the other "riders," Rax and Mirelle. Synali is first person, the other characters are third person. THEN there is this third-person omniscient thrown in here and there which makes absolutely no sense. (See, here's where I would use bold or italics to really get my point across, but Goodreads won't let me.) It is all over the map.
And let's talk about Synali, as the FMC. She is such an a-hole. We are told over and over that she had such a traumatic experience, but I don't care what happened to her in the past. And I don't care what happens to her in this battle or anything else. She behaves like a homicidal toddler. I can totally see why Rax is smitten with her 🙄. This "relationship" if that's where it's going would make me homicidal.
I don't rate DNFs. I don't think it's fair to assign a rating to something when I haven't consumed it all. If I were rating this based on the first almost 150 pages, this would have been my first ever 1⭐. While I did like the synopsis, I have to be honest that the cover of this book swayed me. I may have learned my lesson. Despite how pretty it is, it is going in my unhaul pile.
The perspective changes from Synali to two of the other "riders," Rax and Mirelle. Synali is first person, the other characters are third person. THEN there is this third-person omniscient thrown in here and there which makes absolutely no sense. (See, here's where I would use bold or italics to really get my point across, but Goodreads won't let me.) It is all over the map.
And let's talk about Synali, as the FMC. She is such an a-hole. We are told over and over that she had such a traumatic experience, but I don't care what happened to her in the past. And I don't care what happens to her in this battle or anything else. She behaves like a homicidal toddler. I can totally see why Rax is smitten with her 🙄. This "relationship" if that's where it's going would make me homicidal.
I don't rate DNFs. I don't think it's fair to assign a rating to something when I haven't consumed it all. If I were rating this based on the first almost 150 pages, this would have been my first ever 1⭐. While I did like the synopsis, I have to be honest that the cover of this book swayed me. I may have learned my lesson. Despite how pretty it is, it is going in my unhaul pile.
September 6, 2024
˖ ࣪ ⟡˚ 1 star ˚⟡ ࣪ ˖
ehh.. where do i start with this.
whoever is doing the marketing for this book needs to be fired. this is NOT a romantasy or anything even close to it. it’s a sci-fi.
the MC has got to be one of the most annoying characters i’ve ever read about. her entire personality revolves around how much she hates everyone and how suicidal she is. literally. she mentions how badly she wants to die after they finish the plan ever couple sentences. she is also apparently super skilled in operating a steed without any training… sigh
this book does a lot of telling and not a lot of showing and it pissed me off.
the beginning was promising and pretty interesting, but after 20% it got extremely boring as it seemed like the same thing was happening over and over again.
i’m disappointed because i really thought i was gonna love this.
ehh.. where do i start with this.
whoever is doing the marketing for this book needs to be fired. this is NOT a romantasy or anything even close to it. it’s a sci-fi.
the MC has got to be one of the most annoying characters i’ve ever read about. her entire personality revolves around how much she hates everyone and how suicidal she is. literally. she mentions how badly she wants to die after they finish the plan ever couple sentences. she is also apparently super skilled in operating a steed without any training… sigh
this book does a lot of telling and not a lot of showing and it pissed me off.
the beginning was promising and pretty interesting, but after 20% it got extremely boring as it seemed like the same thing was happening over and over again.
i’m disappointed because i really thought i was gonna love this.
April 16, 2024
This was so good I can't wait for Hellrunner. Evangelion meets game of thrones sprinkled with alien. There's a romantic element but it's not about that and the character development is done so well.
May 22, 2024
EPIC AND CAPTIVATING! I’ve never read anything like this before! Even the writing style is unique and entrancing! If you are a sci-fi/fantasy fan this could be THE one you wouldn’t want to miss.
If a book can keep you on your toes, this is one of those! I had no idea what I was expecting when I started this book but oh my, it’s never this! 😨 You do not get to rest anytime while reading this one. Every chapter is fast paced and full of unpredictable plot twists. I was thrown into a very unique world with power hungry nobles, AI, machines, and a deadly competition. I loved the short chapters and multiple POVs which I think made the flow of the story so much interesting and engaging. We get a hint of romance but it’s more of building the connection rather than a full blown romance. I’m eagerly waiting to see how this develops in the next book! The characters, the premise, and the plot are so creative to an extent that I’d need a couple of days to actually process the details 🫠. My small brain is “Overloaded” (you’ll understand the reference when you read the book) with many elements from the story. I’m keeping my review spoiler free but add this to your TBR! Totally awesome and EPIC!
Eagerly waiting to see how this book does after release!
Many thanks to Red Tower books for my beautiful PR box and ARC in return for an honest review. All opinions are of my own.
If a book can keep you on your toes, this is one of those! I had no idea what I was expecting when I started this book but oh my, it’s never this! 😨 You do not get to rest anytime while reading this one. Every chapter is fast paced and full of unpredictable plot twists. I was thrown into a very unique world with power hungry nobles, AI, machines, and a deadly competition. I loved the short chapters and multiple POVs which I think made the flow of the story so much interesting and engaging. We get a hint of romance but it’s more of building the connection rather than a full blown romance. I’m eagerly waiting to see how this develops in the next book! The characters, the premise, and the plot are so creative to an extent that I’d need a couple of days to actually process the details 🫠. My small brain is “Overloaded” (you’ll understand the reference when you read the book) with many elements from the story. I’m keeping my review spoiler free but add this to your TBR! Totally awesome and EPIC!
Eagerly waiting to see how this book does after release!
Many thanks to Red Tower books for my beautiful PR box and ARC in return for an honest review. All opinions are of my own.
May 27, 2024
It's just like The Hunger Games but in space . It's a good read and kind of leaves you on a cliffhanger hanger.
June 13, 2024
Before I start this review, I want to preface it by saying that I am EXTREMELY GRATEFUL that Entangled Publishing and Red Tower sent me an ARC of this book. It is my first ever from them and I am ETERNALLY GRATEFUL!!!
Now for the review...
Brace yourself...
I actually had to get out my laptop to write this review...
0.5/5 Stars
I struggled with this book so much. The premise of this book was interesting, space jousting with enemies to lovers. Coming from Red Tower, I had high hopes that this would be the next Fourth Wing and become an instant favorite. But I could not have been more wrong. Every time I picked up this book, I immediately wanted to put it down.
First, the writing style made the book difficult to follow. The book felt as if it needed another round of edits before publication. There were so many fragmented sentences and just as many run-on sentences. The sentence would start with a thought and then just abruptly end. Also, the flow of the sentences was tough to follow. I cannot even begin to count the number of times that I had to go back and read the sentence to understand what I was reading. And just as many times, I could not understand what was being said after rereading it over and over. Another reviewer said it best when they said, "it's like the author wanted to mic drop at the end of every chapter." I couldn't have said it any better. Very quickly, it became repetitive and old.
Second, the world building was difficult to understand. I am not usually a sci-fi person, but I wanted to push out of my comfort zone and try something new. This was the wrong book to do it with. Another reviewer stated this book felt like it's a sequel and not the first in the series, and I agree. It felt like the author expected the reader to know what was going on and know what the world looks like. It was hard to picture the world at all. Again, this goes back to the writing style as well.
Third, the characters felt absolutely one dimensional. There was no depth. The FMC had no redeeming qualities. She wanted revenge for her mother's death at the hands of her father and then she wanted to join her mother in death. but yet at the end she's joined forces with the AI in her steed (don't get me started on the AI). There was no real growth for the character at all and I could not get behind her at all. The so called "love interest"? I literally rolled my eyes when I wrote that. There was no "love interest". There were no enemies to lovers. There was an insta-love on part of the boy, but I don't even understand how he loved her. It makes no sense. Just like the FMC, he was a cookie cut of every other MMC in every YA book ever written.
Fourth, the plot made no sense. The author took shots at the Christian church and then two chapters later was talking about how good the church was. Each chapter was told from a different perspective, and it really took away from the story. Not only did it go back and forth between the FMC and the MMC, but it added in at least three other characters. The reader would find out stuff about the plot before the MCs would and it really took any investments and surprises away from the story. I couldn't follow it at all. I hate to say this but it's almost like AI wrote the story and not in a good way. It was that choppy and hard to understand.
Again, I am eternally grateful that I was blessed with an ARC from Entangled and Red Tower. But this book was absolutely not for me. I absolutely pushed myself to finish this book and you can see that in how long it took for me to finish it. Would I read Hellrunner? Honestly, no probably not. Unless it got a major edit and improvements from this one, I will not be reading it.
Please understand that this is my opinion. An opinion is just that, AN OPINION. You may read this book and love it. And that's completely okay!! Each and every one of us is entitled to our own opinions. This is just mine. Would I recommend it? Honestly, no. I did not enjoy it at all. I hope Hellrunner will be better, but I think I will pass on reading it in the future.
Now for the review...
Brace yourself...
I actually had to get out my laptop to write this review...
0.5/5 Stars
I struggled with this book so much. The premise of this book was interesting, space jousting with enemies to lovers. Coming from Red Tower, I had high hopes that this would be the next Fourth Wing and become an instant favorite. But I could not have been more wrong. Every time I picked up this book, I immediately wanted to put it down.
First, the writing style made the book difficult to follow. The book felt as if it needed another round of edits before publication. There were so many fragmented sentences and just as many run-on sentences. The sentence would start with a thought and then just abruptly end. Also, the flow of the sentences was tough to follow. I cannot even begin to count the number of times that I had to go back and read the sentence to understand what I was reading. And just as many times, I could not understand what was being said after rereading it over and over. Another reviewer said it best when they said, "it's like the author wanted to mic drop at the end of every chapter." I couldn't have said it any better. Very quickly, it became repetitive and old.
Second, the world building was difficult to understand. I am not usually a sci-fi person, but I wanted to push out of my comfort zone and try something new. This was the wrong book to do it with. Another reviewer stated this book felt like it's a sequel and not the first in the series, and I agree. It felt like the author expected the reader to know what was going on and know what the world looks like. It was hard to picture the world at all. Again, this goes back to the writing style as well.
Third, the characters felt absolutely one dimensional. There was no depth. The FMC had no redeeming qualities. She wanted revenge for her mother's death at the hands of her father and then she wanted to join her mother in death. but yet at the end she's joined forces with the AI in her steed (don't get me started on the AI). There was no real growth for the character at all and I could not get behind her at all. The so called "love interest"? I literally rolled my eyes when I wrote that. There was no "love interest". There were no enemies to lovers. There was an insta-love on part of the boy, but I don't even understand how he loved her. It makes no sense. Just like the FMC, he was a cookie cut of every other MMC in every YA book ever written.
Fourth, the plot made no sense. The author took shots at the Christian church and then two chapters later was talking about how good the church was. Each chapter was told from a different perspective, and it really took away from the story. Not only did it go back and forth between the FMC and the MMC, but it added in at least three other characters. The reader would find out stuff about the plot before the MCs would and it really took any investments and surprises away from the story. I couldn't follow it at all. I hate to say this but it's almost like AI wrote the story and not in a good way. It was that choppy and hard to understand.
Again, I am eternally grateful that I was blessed with an ARC from Entangled and Red Tower. But this book was absolutely not for me. I absolutely pushed myself to finish this book and you can see that in how long it took for me to finish it. Would I read Hellrunner? Honestly, no probably not. Unless it got a major edit and improvements from this one, I will not be reading it.
Please understand that this is my opinion. An opinion is just that, AN OPINION. You may read this book and love it. And that's completely okay!! Each and every one of us is entitled to our own opinions. This is just mine. Would I recommend it? Honestly, no. I did not enjoy it at all. I hope Hellrunner will be better, but I think I will pass on reading it in the future.
May 22, 2024
Heavenbreaker opens with Synali, our protagonist, killing her father, the Duke of House Hauteclare. It’s basically a suicide mission. We learn she is his bastard daughter and that the Duke and others plotted the assassination of her and her mother. Only Synali survived. As she makes her escape, she ends up being mistaken for a rider and takes part in a jousting match. The story that unfolds was a curious one with robotic steeds, noble families and a unique offer for revenge.
It took me a minute to settle into this author’s style and the world we find ourselves in. We’ve got noble families ruling a failing world with social classes, greed at the top and desperation in the lower classes. After her accidental joust, Synali is offered a deal from Dravik, of House Lithroi. For each battle she wins, he will kill one royal from each house involved in her mother’s assassination.
The steeds aren’t horses or birds, as the cover suggests, but these giant robotic suits known as steeds that the riders sit in. Synali rides a giant lady carrying a sword. The story touches on artificial intelligences and I’ll leave you to discover that for yourself. Despite Synali’s suicidal plans, I liked our complex heroine. She is driven almost desperately so by her need for revenge. This need drives her to win each competition even if she knows the houses will never let her live.
The romance is a slow burn and a side plot to the story. The love interest is Rax, from House Velrayd. It’s a forbidden romance. We learn Rax’s story through backstories, his point of view, and interactions with Synali.
Other key characters were Dravik, who mentors Synali and aids in her revenge. I am curious for more of his story. Then we have Mirelle from House Hauteclare. She is Synali’s biggest rival and a standout character with bite. Then there is Rain, the assassin who carried out the murder of Synali’s mother.
Time in the arena was my favorite part and Wolf did a wonderful job of bringing the battles to life in vivid color, but overall I wanted more world-building and found myself frustrated by the tidbits we learned. While I don’t like info dumps, I struggled to fully visualize the world and civilization.
Ashley Bryce narrates and did a great job of capturing Synali’s personality and giving voice to the other key players.
Overall, this was an engaging listen with an engaging plot and I look forward to listening to Hellrunner the next audiobook in the series. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
It took me a minute to settle into this author’s style and the world we find ourselves in. We’ve got noble families ruling a failing world with social classes, greed at the top and desperation in the lower classes. After her accidental joust, Synali is offered a deal from Dravik, of House Lithroi. For each battle she wins, he will kill one royal from each house involved in her mother’s assassination.
The steeds aren’t horses or birds, as the cover suggests, but these giant robotic suits known as steeds that the riders sit in. Synali rides a giant lady carrying a sword. The story touches on artificial intelligences and I’ll leave you to discover that for yourself. Despite Synali’s suicidal plans, I liked our complex heroine. She is driven almost desperately so by her need for revenge. This need drives her to win each competition even if she knows the houses will never let her live.
The romance is a slow burn and a side plot to the story. The love interest is Rax, from House Velrayd. It’s a forbidden romance. We learn Rax’s story through backstories, his point of view, and interactions with Synali.
Other key characters were Dravik, who mentors Synali and aids in her revenge. I am curious for more of his story. Then we have Mirelle from House Hauteclare. She is Synali’s biggest rival and a standout character with bite. Then there is Rain, the assassin who carried out the murder of Synali’s mother.
Time in the arena was my favorite part and Wolf did a wonderful job of bringing the battles to life in vivid color, but overall I wanted more world-building and found myself frustrated by the tidbits we learned. While I don’t like info dumps, I struggled to fully visualize the world and civilization.
Ashley Bryce narrates and did a great job of capturing Synali’s personality and giving voice to the other key players.
Overall, this was an engaging listen with an engaging plot and I look forward to listening to Hellrunner the next audiobook in the series. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
May 19, 2024
5 STARS!!! the first time i’ve read a sci-fi/fantasy book and i love it!!! unlike anything i’ve ever read and i need MORE. the female lead was giving everything i need her to give!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,220 reviews