This is the first book in a series, which the others haven't been released, (Though the title has been released as "Blade Breaker") I'll talking more the other things I reference than the actual book in this section. The "Red Queen" series is the first series by Victoria Aveyard. It's set in a distant possible future North America after the rebuild after an apocalypse. It's also a romance and has some yikes metaphors for racism. The book titles are "Red Queen", "Glass Sword", "King's Cage" and "War Storm". A fourth collection of short stories and bonus material is titled "Broken Throne".  The other series I reference is called "An Ember in the Ashes". The first book title is the same as the series. The next books are as follows "A Torch Against the Night", "A Reaper at The Gates", and finally "A Sky Beyond the Storm". No spoilers for the last two, please, if you decide to read them.  I'll just quote the summary for the first book from GoodReads to see what it's like. "Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free. Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire's impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They've seen what happens to those who do. But when Laia's brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire's greatest military academy. There, Laia meets Elias, the school's finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he's being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself." Note: this review has never been published before.

Here's the actual review: 3& a half stars/ 5

This book made me think of "An Ember in the Ashes" series. Not because of the characters (though Laia and Corayne are similar) but because of the world building, and the end papers that are maps. One thing that struck me as odd is the similarity in name between Coriane and Corayne. If you don't know or remember she's Cal's mom in the "Red Queen" series. You can also tell that this is the first book in a series, it has a lot of buildup without a lot of pay off. It was still very enjoyable, though, hence the 3 & half stars.

In conclusion, this was a good series opener.