The Dragon Heirs #1

Runebreaker

Specs:

What The Vibes Are

What It’s About

Aelie can break runes with her bare hands—magic the fae built their entire world on.

They hate her for it. Fear her for it. And when she’s caught, they sentence her to die.

Desperate to survive, she shatters the rune enslaving Kairos, a devastatingly handsome fae executioner with a blood-soaked past.

Big mistake.

Kairos slaughters the court and drags Aelie to his breathtaking realm—a kingdom of towering forests and shimmering mists.

Bound to the ruthless king she freed, Aelie must navigate deadly fae politics, master her forbidden power, and resist the fae who sees her as his greatest weapon… and darkest obsession.

Runebreaker is a steamy, fast-paced romantasy with forced proximity, he-falls-first tension, and captive/captor dynamics perfect for adult fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout and Sarah J. Maas. It features a feral, morally gray hero, a twenty-five-year-old heroine with a dangerous gift, mating bond tension, and immersive world building. This is book #1 of a trilogy.

What I thought about it

***Possible Spoilers below

In a realm where fae rule over humans using rune magic, twenty-five year old, Aelie, and her younger sister, Rheya, lived on the streets of X after the loss of their mother. The story opened up just as the sisters were breaking into a rich estate and looting the place. The catch? They broke through the runes warding off the property. Which was not something humans were supposed to be able to do. A power that could get them killed.

As they ran with their loot, Aelie fell behind and ran into The Executioner — the fae king’s merciless weapon. She thought she was fucked, cause I mean he slaughters people daily.

Only, he just stared at her and told her to run. She caught up with her sister and instead of fleeing that night, they returned to their employers estate where they were maids.

Inevitably, their discovered, Rheya got away, and Aelie was sentenced to death.

Amongst all this, we learned that Aelie had a prior romantic relationship with Prince Vaeris, the hated prince who was disrespected among the nobles because his mother was a human. He was also an unlikable ass so. Anyway, Vaeris had ended the affair a year prior and turned cold. When she was captured, Aelie entered into a fae bargain with Vaeris so she could ensure her sister’s safety. In return, she must come to him and break a rune of his choosing. Fae Bargains were life binding, if you didn’t uphold your end of the deal, the rune magic will spread into your veins like black sludge and kill you.

A condition that Vaeris failed to mention to her. What a dick.

When she took her place on the chopping block, the Executioner kept indicating a rune on his gauntlet, so… she broke it.

And then she watched the Executioner shake off the rune magic’s control, turn toward the royal daise, and utter the word “finally” before slaughtering the entire. fucking. court.

Aelie be like:

Executioner like:

After she unfroze from fear, Aelie tried to run but he grabbed her and took her to home where he aided her back to health, revealed his own royal status, and dealt with the outfall of him slaughtering a rival family and nobles. The rest of the book was filled with Aelie learning everything she can about runes, fae, and any hint of where her power comes from; King Kairos & Aelie getting closer; Vaeris attempting to get Aelie back just to use her as a pawn; Poltical intrigue and conflict; and so much yearning.

I ate this book up. The magic system was so much fun to read about, I haven’t read too many novels with rune based magic and I think I need to change that. The love story in this book was everything. Aelie was such a raw female character and the representation of the Eldest Sister. When she finally got the confirmation that her relationship with Vaeris was all a ploy, my heart broke for her. It was one of the revelational moments where the truth coinsides with the nagging voice in the back of your head. She deserved better, and in that moment, she knew it. Cause… she thanked Vaeris for pushing her into Kairos’s arms — a man who cherished her and was never embarassed by her status in society.

That cliffhanger though? Criminal. That whole scene had me crying into my microwaved noodles. I hope she breaks Vaeris in the next book.

Conclusion

Runebreaker was a read that got me out of my reading slump just to dump me back in after it was done with me. Mila Finch provided a world I did not want to leave, and a book, I now fear, shall fall into the category of me buying every available special edition like feral version of Ariel… if she were a raccoon.

Have you read Runebreaker? If so, what did you think of Kairos revenge? Did you think he was justified or should he have just focused on the royal family? How about Aelie? Do you think she was too naive and soft, or do you think she was able to balance both her harder side as well as her soft side? Do you think Vareis cares for Aelie at all? If so, do you think his care for her will outweigh his need for power and status?

♡ G&P