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First Ordinance #4

SpellBreaker

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History is written by the victors. Truth is written by the Larentii--Nefrigar, Chief Archivist

Wylend Arden, Fifth-level warlock and King of Karathia for more than twenty-thousand years, had quite a story to tell.

"It began like this," he said, his smile slightly crooked as he lifted his cup of wine to me. "I had an older brother, born to one of my father's legitimate mates. His name was Wellend and he was heir to the Karathian throne. On his sixteenth birthday, my father gifted him with the Heir's Ring, as was proper."
* * *
After thousands of years, Wylend's niece and nephew are making a bid for the Karathian throne. All they need, it seems, is a book and a ring to prove their inheritance.

It matters not to Deris and Daris Arden whom they murder or which worlds they destroy in their quest to wrestle the throne from seemingly legitimate heirs. If they conquer the Karathian King and take the throne, their greed will demand that the Alliances be next...

Unless their spell can be broken.

296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 7, 2015

54 people are currently reading
208 people want to read

About the author

Connie Suttle

76 books809 followers
Connie Suttle lives in Oklahoma with her husband and three cats.

Connie holds an MFA in Fine Art (film production and animation) and taught courses at the university level before moving on to bookstore management. Nowadays, if she isn't writing or editing, she's dreaming up her next book.

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5 stars
316 (46%)
4 stars
186 (27%)
3 stars
125 (18%)
2 stars
38 (5%)
1 star
8 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
19 reviews14 followers
June 10, 2016
Didn't expect to finish this book but did anyways and not happy about it. Possibly one of the worst series I have read and finished. Only reason I finished this series cause I didn't want to leave the series hanging. I really had hoped that the book would get better (it has high rating).

Story line:
The first book starts off interesting and had potential. The problem faced by the MC in the first book was primarily on poison spreading in the MC world and when her world was destroyed the poison spreads though to other planets, infecting them and will eventually lead to destruction (there are a lot of worlds/planets in this book). This problem become a sideline plot from book 2 onwards and wasn't even resolved in the end. In each book there is a "bad" guy bent on trying to rule the planets or destroying it.

Problem: I have a lot of this, so bear with me
1) Connie Suttle should have informed readers that this book has characters from her previous series. I couldn't be bothered to pick up her other series to understand the characters in this book. She should have provide background and explanation

2) Too many freaking characters. I lost track of who is who. I don't need point of view from all the characters.

3) Names of character. You have a lot of character in your book already and so why did you put freakishly similar names. examples : Wellend, Warlend, Wylend, Wallend.

4) A lot of planets are introduced that I didn't bother trying to remember their name (A map would have helped this)

5) Why is every single male that is introduced becomes Quin's mate or someone else's. I have lost tracked on how many mates Quin has (8 or more) and I don't see anything special about her that all males had to fall for her. There is no romance or attraction for mating to occur. I prefer MC or any character with 1 person only not multiple

6) The ending, its not the ending (The bad guy got away again). Connie Suttle should have at least make an appropriate ending and not leave your readers hanging. Not everyone wants to read the next new series

I won't be reading any of her other books. I am done with this Author.


Profile Image for Cynthia.
123 reviews
December 14, 2015
I wish the author would add a genealogy tree in the beginning of each book... Due to all characters I get lost to who is who when I begin new book
Profile Image for Kathleen Kurdziel.
283 reviews4 followers
October 27, 2015
I've read all of Connie's books and found them to be very enjoyable, but... the multitude of POVs had me constantly turning back to because... wait... what... who's speaking now? The cast of characters has become so vast that you need a freaking scorecard to keep track of who's who, who's mated to whom, who have we read about in another life in a previous book, who goes by multiple names, who's has died and been restored to life, OMG, I hope this all ties together by the end because it is becoming a real chore to slog through these books to the end only to find (again) that the bad guy got away and this will be resolved by a new cast of characters (with visits from the previous characters) in the next book.
Profile Image for Victoria.
470 reviews
December 31, 2019
DNF at 33%.

Damn... The series started so great but each sequel deteriorated one after another.
It started by adding to many different POVs and adding a multitude of characters with complicated relationships. At the end you didn't know if someone was someone's mate/parent/child or some random from the streets.
Also the couples/mates have no chemistry with eachother and to be honest you could not really distinguish among any of them (especially the males) nor was the "love" believable. It seemed as every male that the MC met became her mate??? And professed love the next minute???
It really bothered me that the MC (Quin/Finder) actually became more of a side character. What's with that? I really wanted to know more about her story that's why I tried to continue reading the series. But alas after reading some reviews for the next (last) book it seems that it has not improved regarding the problems I have mentioned.

What a pity...
Profile Image for Margo.
62 reviews6 followers
February 12, 2016
Finally some quite time for Quin and her mates and her friends arrived so why is she so restless and feels that something bad is about to happen? When you chasing a ghost and nothing can be taken for granted and nothing that was isn't completely true and has a significant part in the present what is Quin and her friends supposed to do? Some are going to the past, some are trying to correct the present and the magical Orb is doing whatever it wants. Quin's life is getting more dangerous then ever. Will she be able to survive the coming hardships and come out of it unscratched or will she loose something in the process?

My Thoughts
Okay, I have to admit that I had problems while reading this book. First of all the POV changed all the time and in too quick successions for me to sometimes follow who was actually telling the story. Second of all there should be some stipulation saying that before reading this book readers should read "R-D" series. I was getting so frustrated while reading Spell Breaker because I didn't know the background of Zaria's story. All the while I was wondering if I should stop reading it and start with R-D series and I really don't think that's how it supposed to be. But all in all the story in itself is good and I really liked it :).
Profile Image for Ryan Mangrum.
187 reviews13 followers
October 19, 2015
First off all, this story moves the overall story line forward, but there are some big problems.

1) Too busy. Far too many character perspectives. Quinn, Zaria, Lissa, Ilya, Morid, Morett, Terret, Gerret, etc, etc. There were quite a few times where i had to go back a few pages to remind myself whose perspective I was reading at the time.

There's no reason for the reader to know what EVERYONE is thinking.

2) There are some pretty major inconsistencies. At the end of the God Wars, Lissa is supposed to be one of The Mighty. However, in this book she acts like she has little or no power. I can't tell if she doesn't realize her own power or if she's playing it down on purpose to avoid getting too personally involved in event.

It seems like Zaria/Corinnelar has FAR more power than one of The Mighty, and that's just nuts.

3) Pretty major plot hole with the rings. The twins are chasing after the rings that supposedly signifies their right to rule Karathia, but when the rings make their appearance, they know they can't wear them. If they knew they would never be able to wear them and claim the throne, what was the chase all about. It made no sense.
54 reviews1 follower
October 27, 2016
Book 4 completely kept me wanting more

As the other 3 books, book 4 was always on the move. You couldn't guess where it was headed and the ending was a surprise. I loved this series and would definitely recommend to anyone!
Profile Image for Livey.
1,474 reviews
February 21, 2020
So this 4th in the series introduced Zaria who was really instrumental in the plot through tout the book. Quinn is still at the mercy of the orb and her mates must deal with her trials as does Zaria in a different way. Now there are generations of Lisa’s family and mates involved and it feels like there is more to come with the cliffhanger at the end of the book. I admit I had to reread several times due to the constant,
time changes and travel. I love the continuation of space crafts into the story. Now, onto the last in this series.
128 reviews
July 1, 2017
Lots of names and places to process very intricate world building done very well

I hate that amazon forces me to leave a written review !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The story was good,. Still don't know what Finder is.
1,711 reviews6 followers
February 15, 2018
War

Evil incarnate. Chasing evil from planet to planet. Trying to stop a war from magic throwing criminality insane. This is one of the most difficult and fascinating books I have ever read. Only slightly anticlimactic.
3 reviews3 followers
February 2, 2025
difficult

So many characters/locations/histories were introduced in this book, I found it very confusing. I still enjoyed reading it, although at a much slower pace. I did find myself going back and forth to try to keep everything ordered in my mind!
Profile Image for Llaph .
1,066 reviews29 followers
May 27, 2018
I wish I had finished the R-D series before I finished this one.
So much stuff going on!
Wyland... wyland... That branch of Lissa's family really rather stinks...
Profile Image for Tiffany.
233 reviews
October 20, 2018
DNF might pick it up another time but as for now I just couldn't keep going.
807 reviews
April 21, 2019
There's some great intrigue in this one, and if you read the novel with a less than critical eye, you will enjoy it. This is a re-read for me, and so I notice the plot holes and inconsistencies in the timeline and people's characters. Such is the danger of writing a series with an incredibly complex overall plot line with a huge cast of characters with various levels of skill and power.

Corinne from the R-D series reappears after being resurrected and then put in stasis in someone else's coffin and then jostled awake. She's hired as a bodyguard for Quin with an old M'Fiyah who's in a new body. Corinne has some serious issues, but she's determined to do her bit to save the universes.

Quin and Corrine's plot lines separate when Corinne is taken into the past, to the time she should have been born in had she not been given the Lyristolyi drug. They each have their own tasks, addressing the Orb problem from different ends of the timeline, and then they meet up in the present and stuff hits the fan. As this is not the end of the series, I don't feel bad about saying that it works out for them.

A couple specific issues I had with this novel - the timeline is messed up. Allegedly, prior to Rylend ascending to the Karathian throne, Wylend Arden ruled Karathia for 20,000 years. Okay, but there's a problem with that date; it doesn't fit with the R-D series and Corinne's second "life". The R-D series takes place on "Old" Earth sometime in the 21st Century, and Corinne's second incarnation is a Karathian witch. The drug kept her from being dead for real, and then after a time being reborn on Karathia. Spellbreaker takes place roughly around the 26th Century (Old Earth time). When Corinne is sent back 20,000 years to see what really happened with the coup that ultimately resulted in Wylend taking the throne, we meet the guy who was supposed to have been Corinne's Karathian father. So her second life should have begun before the coup on Karathia. In other words, her second life should have begun nearly 20,000 years BEFORE her first.

Another major issue with the novel is the romance, it's absolutely not supported by the context, even taking the R-D series into account. The shallow, multiple mate, M'Fiyah relationships bother me. At first, I thought to just overlook it, but now it seriously irks me. There's no reason for some of these relationships, no real connection on a personal level between the characters. It's like meeting a stranger for the first time, and saying "we're meant to be together forever, so let's jump in the sack together, and I'll follow you wherever you go." That's the extent of the relationship development in this novel. It makes no sense, even after taking the M'Fiyah into account.

My last issue has to do with inconsistent powers. If Quin can kill someone to put them out of their misery or to get keys to free someone, then why doesn't she kill Deris and Daris?? Problem solved. Early in the novel, she even said she'd do it. So for the entirety of the novel, she's missing the trees for the forest. She's helpless and overwhelmed by such massive universal problems that she forgets that she can easily solve them. The same thing goes for the death machines. If so many can separate atoms, then why are those machines still in existence?
Profile Image for Deb Carroll.
215 reviews45 followers
November 15, 2015
I was new to Connie when I got this book so I wanted to read these before starting this one, I am really glad I did or I would have been so lost.

I love a good sci-fi book and I really enjoyed this one. The characters make the story. The book is told from alternating characters to get the full story and at times I had to go back and re-read so I would fully understand what was happening, but I don't regret that.

This book glued together some pieces I was missing from the other books and left me hanging on some others.

If you have read the other books in this series you really need to read this one, if you haven't read those first!

Someday, I would love to meet the mind behind these stories because she truly has an amazing imagination!

**I was given an arc in exchange for an honest review**
Profile Image for Denali.
392 reviews52 followers
January 21, 2016
I found the First Ordinance series by accident and started reading it because the cover of Finder was beautiful. As I continued reading I continued to love the series, the storyline, and the characters. Unfortunately, I also realized that all of Connie Suttle's series are connected by characters such as Lissa.

Spellbreaker introduced a new main character that becomes as important as Quin. Zaria is more special and has more powers than most can even fathom. As I did more research into this character, I realized that she was actually in a different series. I wish I had read the rest of her book sbefore I started this series, but now it is too late, and it doesn't change how much I love this book.

It is a wonderful storyline that finally comes to a close
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Antoinette Lewis.
802 reviews20 followers
July 4, 2023
So many thing's happened, Zaria when back in the pass with Ilya, Bekzi and Gerrett. They were told they could not change the pass. Ilya did not pass his test so he remained in the past while Zaria and the others returned to the present to stop the war that Daris and Deris Arden would gain the throne. She revealed Wylend Arden's hand in the death of his brother to get the throne for himself.

Zaria killed Quin and her mates where ready to kill her for taking Quin's life. However, it was her Zaria and her alone that defeated Liron the rogue God that took Quin's wing and used her like she was nothing but the pawn he created.

Cayates is alive and sound of mind, an enemy still loosed, after Quin healed his mind as she thought bringing him back could have aided her in her fight against Liron.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
796 reviews4 followers
November 2, 2015
A very different type of scifi

I know I say this is different than many other scifi, but it still has similarities to many as it deals with different planets. It is the type of characters that sets it apart, they are very original. This book has several different view points and can be confusing at times, but it is required to get the full scope of what is happening, and there are many different things occurring in the book at the same time. Each action has a purpose. If you like the previous books, you will really enjoy this one, as it is better than all of the others so far.
Profile Image for Andra Abramescu.
3 reviews
October 11, 2015
Very good

The book was amazing, mostly. For some of the book, it only gave me a headache and I had a very strong urge to just put it down and forget about it. I am glad I didn't, however it could have ended better. I was hoping for all of the problems to be resolved and for all of the relationships to develop, working out in the end. They did not, which makes me wonder if there will be another book in the series. I very much hope so, I hope Connie won't leave us hanging on this. Corrine and Quinn's stories deserve to be told until the end.
9 reviews
October 15, 2015
Good but not her best

This book ties in together the First Ordinance and RD series. My biggest issue is the huge cast of characters. As each series tied into one another after so many books the cast of characters is so big I am starting to lose track. Another issue is everyone have so much unlimited powers. Seems never ending. But if you can get past both of these things. It is a good book with lots of well developed characters. Very much like the rest of your books. If you like the rest of her books. Definitely get this one.
Profile Image for Tony Hisgett.
3,050 reviews37 followers
June 11, 2017
The start of the book was OK but it’s getting harder and harder to follow this story, which is making less and less sense. It doesn’t help that there are far too many characters and the story jumps from one POV to another, almost at random, in fact the whole story was becoming fairly random until some order appeared at the end.

I also find it strange that a group of the most powerful beings in the universe were so incapable of keeping up with a couple of psychotic wizards.

I am a fan of Connie Suttle’s work but I’m afraid this one really irritated me.
Profile Image for Teresa.
199 reviews
October 11, 2017
SpellBreaker

This one broke my heart throughout the book. Zaria and Quin has so much to sort through and the twist and turns left me gripping my kindle and not wanting to put it down. This is a must read book and series. Connie Suttle is a talented author. I love everything she has written and can't wait to read more from her.
Profile Image for Gemma.
556 reviews9 followers
July 3, 2016
Connie Suttle has to be one of my favourite authors, time and time again she has created a world where you just get sucked in and can't get out. It's so amazingly details that you can picture yourself there either watching it or living it. She an amazing author and I recommend her books to everyone who wants to read a great series.
Author 11 books7 followers
November 20, 2015
This whole series is one that has expanded my sense of creativity. Action packed and full of life, the only drawback was the sheer amount of characters. Sometimes it was difficult to keep them apart.
57 reviews
January 24, 2016
Riveting sequel.

Many twists and turns in this story, with changes of identity that are sometimes hard to follow. It is good to see again characters from previous books, as justice is meted out to the evil ones.
Profile Image for Heather.
705 reviews1 follower
May 9, 2024
Oh my...Excellent story. As with all of Connie Suttle's books, there is laughter, suspense and tears. Looking forward to finding out what happens next.
Profile Image for Wanda binz.
833 reviews6 followers
October 12, 2015
Wonderful

Enthralling serial stories that keep you guessing with twist and turns the plots are fascinating. This author does not disappoint.
10 reviews
October 18, 2015
Awesome

Great job for another awesome book Connie. I love all your books and I recommend them to everyone I know that reads.
Profile Image for Kira.
217 reviews3 followers
August 3, 2018
Really enjoyed this book, I loved how some things all came together!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews