Heavenbreaker

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Heavenbreaker by Sara Wolf
Narrator: Ashley Bryce
Series: Heavenbreaker #1
Published by Tantor Audio, Red Tower Books on May 21, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Science Fiction / Space Opera
Length: 15 hours 9 minutes
Pages: 448
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Library, Publisher
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"Brilliantly done... Synali could be the next Katniss Everdeen.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

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.

This was entertaining! I rarely read book blurbs, so I went into this book not realizing that it is set in space and was more science-fiction than fantasy. It took a bit before I really understood what was going on in the story but there was enough action to keep me engaged until I had a feel for things. I liked Synali and wanted to see her get the revenge she so desperately wanted.

Synali is not one of the upper class. She is the bastard daughter of a high-ranking duke, who she kills at the start of the story. She wants to make sure that everyone else involved in the murder of her mother meets the same fate so she teams up with a noble and agrees to ride Heavenbreaker, a mechanical steed in a competition that could cost her everything. Most of the nobles competing have trained for years to ride their steed so Synali has a lot to learn very quickly. Nobles have been the only ones who participate in this competition, and they are not happy to have Synali in the mix. Rax, another rider, is drawn to Synali. The romance portion of the story was minor and not the novel’s main focus, but I hope these two figure things out in future books.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Ashley Bryce did a great job with the story. She brought this cast of characters to life through her reading. I liked the way that she was able to add just enough emotion to her voice to make the story feel authentic. I thought that she did a great job of differentiating the character voices as well. I thought she had a very pleasant voice that was easy to listen to for hours at a time and I am certain that her narration added to my enjoyment of this story.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought this was a great start to a series that has a lot of promise. All of the characters in this book have secrets and I couldn’t wait to learn them all. I look forward to reading more of this exciting series.

I received a review copy of this book from Red Tower Books.

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