Book Review: Five Broken Blades Might Be Your New Favorite Fantasy Read of the Summer
For the second year in a row (I’m calling it now), Red Tower Books has published the fantasy/romantasy read of the summer. Fourth Wing took all of Booktok and Bookstagram by storm last summer, and raised the bar for beautiful first editions in the U.S. with sprayed edges that we’ve come to expect from every Red Tower book. Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland was a delight after some mediocre TBR reads I’ve had over the past couple months. While some people may be hesitant to pick up another Red Tower book (we all got burned by that not-actually-a-circus book), this one is such a fun read and while there is romance, it’s refreshingly good fantasy. The pacing is relentless, the characters are all unique, and I love that Corland doesn’t shy away from tackling hard topics or making her characters morally grey. These characters are anything but simple. The multi-POV might seem overwhelming at first because there are so many of them, but I actually felt like it made the pacing superb. Every chapter ends on a mini cliffhanger that has you immediately turning to the next page. I just couldn’t stop reading. If you like the idea of a band of misfits coming together to assassinate an evil immortal king (but they definitely can’t trust each other either), you will love this book. Ready to dive deeper?
Let’s give credit where credit is due: Red Tower absolutely kills it when it comes to insanely gorgeous first editions:
Things to Know:
Book one in an unfinished series
Band of Misfits
Romance
Betrayal
Multi-POV
TW for SA + Violence
Cliffhanger ending
I’ll admit, when I started chapter one, I wasn’t immediately sold. We meet Royo, a strongman, whose dialog was a bit clunky, and came off as kind of simple, but he came to be one of my favorites. You really are plopped into the middle of the story, but we quickly find out that practically everyone wants King Joon unalived, and for good reason. He’s terrible.
Sora quickly became my favorite character. As a poison maiden, one of the only survivors from a sadistic Count who turned her into a femme fatale, her motivations surround saving her little sister at any cost. Plus, she has a cat named Dot, and cat people are the best people.
Prince Euyn can suck it. Honestly, he was such a frustrating character, because you feel sorry for him and what’s happened to him, but the more you get to know him, he is an absolute selfish, mysoginist pig of a man who I actually couldn’t stand. Now say it with me friends: “depiction does not equal endorsement.” Corland does a fantastic job creating a complex character who’s kind of a terrible human.
If you want more spoilery thoughts on the characters, you can watch my reading reactions here.
I mentioned this above, but I have to give major props for the pacing of this novel. It never lets up. It’s the quintessential, “just one more chapter” kind of book, because I swear you’ll be saying this to yourself when you read it. Plus, they’re short chapters, which I know some people especially appreciate. The plot absolutely keeps you on your toes. If you’re paying attention, you will absolutely call the twist and the reveals, but I wasn’t mad about it. It didn’t feel completely predictable—more like a fun puzzle to figure out.
Now if I had to say one thing that keeps it from being a perfect five stars for me is some instances of modernisms creeping in (which is a big pet peeve of mine), and but I know this doesn’t bother some people, so don’t let that deter you.
I would absolutely recommend this to anyone looking for a solid adult fantasy with romance. And bonus points if you’re interested in a non-western fantasy setting. You won’t regret picking this one up. I cannot wait for book two, which we just found out is coming January 2025, so not too long of a wait! 4.5 stars.
Quotes:
“He’s gentle. I’d expected something else when I’d heard about him. A bad man. A brute. And he isn’t one. I mean, yeah, he’s a violent killer, but no one’s perfect.”
—
“I should stop expecting hidden depth out of a puddle.”
—
“These bladesmiths should be hanged. I fight with my glorified butter knife, but I might as well bludgeon him to death with the handle.”
—
“I tried to forget you while I was gone. It would’ve been better for both of us, I’m sure. But it’s not possible. It’s never going to be possible.”
“And why is that?
“Because I’d know you in this life and the next hundred.”
—
P.S. If you end up getting a copy of any books through an Amazon affiliate link above, you’ll be helping me support this site and newsletter. Thanks in advance for supporting a fellow bookworm! BTW, I will always disclose affiliate links when they’re present. :) Happy reading!