Reality Breaker

by Daniella A. Gnollwood

For years, the forces of earth have been tampering with genetics, constantly refining and exploiting their Breakers--humans with varying measures of alien DNA . During a routine mission, Breaker Sierra is attacked by a Xoa construct horde and is nearly overwhelmed. She's saved at the last minute by handsome Desmond Carro, a radio operator who's had his eye on her for some time.

Neither Sierra nor Desmond know about the terrible secret nestled deep within the Breaker ranks, but when a superior officer orders Desmond to assassinate Sierra, they both know something is deeply wrong. As they traverse the labyrinthine interior of an occupied Xoa moon, they unravel the mystery piece by piece, while falling for each other in the process.

Their investigation turns into a race against time when they discover the horrible truth about Sierra's creation. Without assistance, nothing less than humanity's very existence is at stake. With seemingly no one to turn to for help, their problems are compounded by the appearance of a being called the Reality Breaker, who only wishes to see a grim prophesy fulfilled.

Thankfully, they aren't alone.

Genres: Adult

205 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2022

Reviews

[Reads With Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I discuss this book here: https://youtu.be/GUVIbm9yGZ0

This book has one of my favorite tropes in it and actually well written sex scenes. Also, do you like that tv show version of Halo? You’ll probably like this.

(Transparency: This review was commissioned by the author, however this does not at all affect my rating)

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER - I received a free copy of this book to review for the 2023 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC).

This is a very interesting book. It is primarily science fiction but the science leans a little too much toward fantasy for my taste. There is a major love/sex component, aliens, interspecies warfare, and a typical military and violent approach to first contact.

As a fan of hard science, science fiction, I need to point out at the beginning that there is very little believable science in this book. There are lots of pieces that sound like science but, unfortunately, they are more fluff than fact.

That said, I did enjoy the adventure Christie, AKA Gnollwood, takes you on in Reality Breaker. We have two main protagonists, Sierra; a genetically modified killing machine, and Desmond; her human Guardian. They are battling an horde of violent and unintelligent aliens called Xoa on a world earth wants to mine for its energy resources.

If you like action packed stories with good guys, bad guys, misunderstandings, and romance then Reality Breaker should be on your reading list. It is first contact gone totally awry. The humans are fighting aliens but have no idea why the aliens hate them and there is no attempt to communicate or mediate. Meanwhile, the aliens have a blood feud with earth that demands total annihilation of humans. I need to point out that reading this book during the current mideast conflict in 2023 made it seem a bit surreal.

I believe this is the author’s first published book and she has definitely shown her potential. I was a bit turned off by the imaginary science and the romance was just too much of the plot line for my tastes. Of course, if you are less scientifically oriented and like a good yarn with a lot of action and romance, you will definitely enjoy Reality Breaker

[Mark Engels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart-pounding action leads this book off, after which this reader enjoyed the combination of spacefaring adventure, villainous conspiracy, and slow-burn romance. Some the story's pivotal events would have benefited from a bit more setup, however. The dynamic between the flawed and sympathetic main characters was a delight, nonetheless. There is a lot to like besides their romance, as our author affords colorful, consuming glimpses of an ancient alien civilization, rife with conflict and grotesque experimentation. Readers ought to find themselves vested in Sierra and Desmond by the end, eager to read more of their stories. This one certainly shall.

[R.A. Howes · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Stars:
1 - DNF or regret the time it took to read.
2 - I would have preferred cleaning the house.
3 - Good. Nothing really spoke to me, but I enjoyed my time.
4 - Great. This book is staying on my shelves. I'm continuing the series or will get other books the author has.
5 - New favourite. Will be re-read and if you engage me in conversation, I will not shut up about it.

My detailed reviews are on my YouTube channel, however:

This was a good short read.

[Lorrie Dewar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book was fantastic. A first for this author, she created new worlds and a new species with details and descriptions so vivid you feel as if you were there. Though not normally a huge fan of science fiction, this book held my interest from the first word. Very hard to put down. I hope the author continues the story, and/or writes another story soon!

[Dr susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, but dark, sci fi adventure with romance

I don't normally say anything about covers in my reviews, but this cover is too gorgeous to ignore. The worldbuilding is great, the body count is higher than I like, but the story is intense, unique, and a page-turner.

[Becky]

Not usually a sci-fi girly myself, but this was a very intriguing read! I'd be interested in a future book with regards to the time manipulation abilities of the Xoa.

[Paulo Halliwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que leitura divertida! É um romance scifi muito bem construído que não deixa nenhuma das vertentes a desejar.

Sierra entregou seu corpo para se tornar uma máquina de luta e, no processo, apagou de suas memórias sua vida anterior. Durante uma missão de rotina que dá errado, é salva dos ataques dos inimigos Xoa pelo piloto Desmond Carro que, além de gato, recebeu uma ordem de seus superiores: assassinar Sierra. O que levou a missão ao fracasso e essa decisão extrema dos superiores? Sierra e Desmond desbravam os labirintos subterrâneos de uma lua Xoa em busca da verdade e, talvez, deles mesmos.

O que mais gostei é que, diferente de livros mais famosos, não foca apenas no romance e deixa o scifi de lado, muito pelo contrário. O universo é muito bem construído e o mistério é interessante e divertido de desvendar. Apesar disso, quando o hot começa, é BEM HOT! Nada de eufemismos infantis e vergonhosos aqui! Como é bom ler um livro escrito para o público adulto!

Eu acho que é exatamente pelo scifi ser tão presente, que torna o início do livro meio maçante. Imagino que leitores acostumados com scifi não terão essa mesma dificuldade, mas é um início mais lento para que possamos entender as regras desse universo e, por isso, indispensável. Sugiro força para chegar aos 30%, que é quando a história começa a deslanchar.

O final é bem fechado, pois é um standalone, mas adoraria saber o que acontece após o epílogo.
Como disse, a leitura é um pouco pesada no início, recomendada para leitores com nível de Inglês avançado ou com experiência em SciFi. Está disponível pelo Kindle Unlimited.

[Helena Handbasket · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so close to being a five star book for me. So close. My only problem with it is that it is way too short, it feels far too rushed. I wanted to live in this world a little longer. I wanted more of the main characters' stories before they met. I wanted more time with everything and everyone. It's such a quick read at 192 pages and I feel like so much more could have been fleshed out. Not to make it overly so but just to add to it. I left with more questions, wanting to know so much more. But the way it ended, maybe there is hope for a prequel? Please just give us more!!

Also I found this book because of Reads with Rachel on YouTube. Really glad I did! Again, excellent book, the only fault was there was not enough to make me feel satisfied.