Release Date: January 28, 2015
War. Prophecy. Freedom.
She fought for herself. She fought for friendship and love.
Now, Kendra Irisavie fights for the survival of her world.
War rages on, leaving no one untouched. Destruction rips through elemental communities and terror flourishes in its wake. Suspicion soars, order fractures, and loyalties crumble despite Kendra’s desperate attempts to protect everyone she holds dear.
When an organized Aquidae army launches a series of merciless assaults, Kendra and her friends set out to end the bloodshed once and for all. With the fate of elementals hanging in balance, the Shadow and sondaleur hunt each other down in a brutal match of cunning and will.
Kendra has trained for this her entire life. But in a ravaged world where trust is scarce and no life is sacred, she soon realizes her battle may be against an invincible enemy and that her darkest days lie ahead.
Twists and turns shape her harrowing odyssey, leading to a stunning climax that challenges everything she believes in.
Torn between destiny and autonomy, Kendra must finally decide whether the cost of freedom is too high.
Heartbreaking decisions, turbulent alliances, and shattering revelations collide in Breaker, the explosive conclusion to the Ondine Quartet.
There are no words, really, to describe how this book made me feel but I'll do my best to articulate them. Let's see how coherent I can be, shall we?
You all know that I love Emma's characters. Kendra, our protagonist, is headstrong, stubborn, compassionate, and loyal to a fault. She is being pulled in many directions at the moment, torn between being a warrior and being the leader to her people. With her are her friends, Chloe, Aubrey, Cam, Ian, Helene, and more, who are all developed and unique and wonderful in their own right. And then there's Tristan (UGH) who is far from perfect and yet very close to perfection at the same time. Calculating and deadly with a heart of gold, he supports Kendra with all the hard choices she must make while allowing her to make her own mistakes (what. a. man.). I my love has only grown for all of these wonderfully deep and flawed characters in the Ondine Quartet.
Likewise, the world that Emma has created is imaginative and deep. I've heard many compare this series to Vampire Academy (an old favorite of mine from back in the day) series by Richelle Mead and I agree that the outlines of the academy and setting are similar. However, for me, the lore that Emma has created and the tensions between the many facets of the supernatural world are even more interesting. Her world is less predictable, darker, and I love that I have to think, and think a lot, while reading this series to connect the dots with stories from the past with the events happening in the present.
The thing that struck me the most about Breaker (and the thing that makes me so extremely proud of this author that I have never even met) is that Emma did not hold back. Like, at all. Breaker is the story of a world at war and a young woman who has the fate of her people on her shoulders and Emma does not gloss over the sacrifices and losses that come from an all out, no holds barred battle between two powerful forces. Many characters - big characters, small characters, meaningful characters - die or get hurt in this finale. I may or may not have cried quite a few times while reading but in the end, I loved how Emma depicted the sacrifice and the heartbreak that comes with the kind of conflict she created. There is pain and love and despair and hope and I ended the novel by just being grateful that I got to read something that the author so obviously labored over and loved.
I'm sad that this is the end of the series but I don't think that I could ever really get enough of Kendra and Tristan *swoon* and the rest of the gang, and I'm sure Emma would like to work on her other project so I'll just have to live *ugly cries*
Don't let the tears deter you! I absolutely love these books and highly recommend you check it out!
Whirl (Book 1): Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
Billow (Book 2): Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
Crest (Book 3): Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
Thank you, Emma, for writing such a spectacular series!
Emma Raveling writes a wide variety of fiction for teens and adults. She is the author of the young adult urban / contemporary fantasy series, the Ondine Quartet, and Lost Blood, the first installment of the forthcoming young adult urban fantasy series, Chancer. She’s also working on the first book in her new Steel Magic series for adults.
An avid traveler hopelessly addicted to diet coke and coffee, she currently resides in Honolulu, Hawaii with her husband and German shepherd.
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Happy Reading!
Jasmine
