Breakfire's Glass

The Zhakieve Chronicles #2

by A.M. Valenza

Finally back in Zhakieva with her demon-siblings in tow, Darkrow Katerini wants only to spend the rest of Lonely Winter resting in the capital. Instead, however, the Blue Emperor sends her on an insane mission: climb the formidable Svarinard mountain range in the height of Lonely Winter and bring back the missing Darkrow of Zhakieva. As if circumstances weren't bad enough, Katerini is partnered with the Blue Emperor's heir, the strange and infuriating Darkrow Nikolai, who seems more interested in spinning away his magic recklessly than in the actual mission.

Genres: Fantasy, Asexual, Science Fiction Fantasy, LGBT, Fantasy Romance

154 pages, Paperback

Published March 16, 2016

About the author

Former author of fantasy.

Reviews

[aspeccharactersoftheday]

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[C.E. Case · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katerini’s not looking for love when she and Nikolai go on a quest. She is used to the remote wanderings of a Darkrow, and is more-suited to that than romance. Asexual, she is bewildered by what Nikolai wants from her, if he can’t have “that.”

This splendid fantasy adventure novel is layered with emotion, strangeness, struggle, and delight. Katerini’s demon brothers are fascinating. The Blue Emperor is gentle. Katerini’s quest, as the greatest hero of Zhakieva, is both epic and deeply personal.

I loved the magic wrought in this world. I loved the culture. I loved also the writing. Hard to believe it’s only Valenza’s second novel. I have not read the first—Breakfire’s Glass is a sequel—and the first is not necessary to compel the story here.

But I recommend it. It’ll probably be just as good.

Five Stars

~ C. E. Case

I was provided this book by Inked Rainbow Reads in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated, coerced, or flattered into an opinion.

[Cinnia Literary Raccoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I'm back again to review the second installment of The Zhakieve Chronicles! This time we get to know a bit more about a character that wasn't talked about much in the first book, so I was excited to see how this one would also turn out.

Again, more notes within the spoilers tag.

Things I liked:
- We start out with a pretty good idea of where the plot is going and what all the characters will be doing over the course of the story. No amnesia muddling things up as much, which is good.
- Katerini is fleshed out magnificently, which is exactly what I wanted. We find out more about her motivations, how she "ticks" as a person, about her fascinating glass magic, etc. etc. Also, she develops more as the story goes on, which is nice. I thought she was pretty spiteful and overly-entitled in the last book, but now I see her as a girl who is still hurting and full of anger and determination and oh-so-misunderstood by others. She is like a flinty knife blade, a stark contrast to sweet Alexey's POV.
- I didn't really understand Nikolai that well, but I thought he and his magic were interesting. I most appreciated his relationship with Ilya, because the sense of family and love and trust between them was very apparent. (That being said, I really liked Ilya and also wished he would be a little more selfish. He's so self-sacrificing.)
- I liked that loose threads from the first novel were addressed in this book. The question of the Palace Dyed in Red, Alexey's Darkrow training, thread magic, the risks to the kingdom, etc. were all brought up again and resolved at least partially by the end. I did wish that the hunters from Alexey's book had been addressed again because they presented such a concerning security risk with their breach.
- I also liked that the rash decision-making on the part of the demons as well as the main characters of this book were called out by Ilya and the other characters, because they really deserved it.
- I liked the latter part of the book a lot, especially where the reader is basically left alone with Katerini's thinking (no interrupting buffer from other characters) and gets to see for themselves what kind of a person she will choose to be in the end.
- An open relationship where everyone is consenting and discusses it as well as some of the ground rules before moving much further? How refreshing!

Things I was iffy about:
- I think this might have been a stylistic change for Katerini's POV, but there were noticeably so many short sentences in this book relative to the first. I get using them for her interjections ("Bah!" etc.), but there were so many partial sentences that just cut off thoughts and things. I guess sentence fragments are something I notice more than some readers do, so they stood out to me while I was reading.
- Similar to the last book, there was a frustrating amount of "important info withheld from the main character for Reasons", especially on the part of Nikolai. I'm not sure if I'd like him that much if he had done the same to me as he did to Katerini and even Gavrila as well as Ilya. I was glad to see him at least partially called out for it. (Also, what's with the demon glass/etc. in Nikolai's eyes? I didn't really understand it and may need to reread this book before the third installment just so I can see if I missed something explaining how it works.)
- Also, as much as I love diversity and the descriptions, there were again many instances where a character's looks were info-dumped in a full paragraph, rather than spread out or limited. As a reader, I really don't need to know so much detail all at once because it overwhelms me and I just end up skimming over it with my eyes, which is unfortunate because usually I love descriptive writing.

Overall, I think I like this one much better than the first in many ways.

[El · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars


I loved this story.

I mean, I could  not put it down. It was riveting, a stunning fantasy world that felt rooted in Russian culture and mythology, with a sharp, raw main character that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

This is the second in a series, and while I suspected that while reading it, I never actually felt lost or confused, just curious about things that were referenced to.

Katerini is amazing. She's fierce and brave, but also stoic and uncaring... or, rather, that's how she likes to come off. Beneath the surface lurks so many emotions that she keeps tightly reigned in, preferring cold indifference. But once she starts to warm up to Nikolai (who is her opposite in so many ways), her character really starts to unfold.

The plot was  excellent. Tightly woven, intriguing, and just awesome.

Read the full review on Just Love Romance!