Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight the final upcoming entry in the excellent Broken Blades fantasy trilogy with Three Shattered Souls by Mai Corland.

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Last year I had the very great pleasure of reading Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland, an outstanding fantasy debut that saw five highly damaged killers, including a thug, a spymaster, a poisoner, an outlaw prince and a thief join forces to kill an immortal king.  Featuring a great plot, some excellent protagonists and an impressive audiobook format, Five Broken Blades was a very impressive read that ended up being one of my favourite debuts of 2024.  However, this was only the start of the fun I was having with Corland’s new series.

Due to how much I enjoyed Five Broken Blades, I made sure to listen to a copy of the sequel earlier this year, Four Ruined Realms.  An excellent sequel that moved the plot of the series along in some exciting ways, including with some additional character development and a good dose of tragedy, Four Ruined Realms was an awesome novel and one of the better audiobooks I enjoyed so far this year.

After having a brilliant time reading the first two books in the Broken Blades trilogy, I was naturally very excited to find out that Corland was finishing the series off this year with the third and final book, Three Shattered Souls.  Set for release in July 2025, Three Shattered Souls will wrap up the series as the remaining protagonists will face the combined wrath of their world as they try to finish their mission and remove the tyrant king from the throne.

Plot Synopsis:

THE UNMISSABLE FINAL CONCLUSION TO THE EPIC KOREAN-INSPIRED FANTASY SENSATION, THE BROKEN BLADES TRILOGY

Some betrayals cut deeper than blades.

The Blades were never supposed to survive this long. But after the battle in Quu Harbor, escaping is no longer enough. The most dangerous liars in the four realms have one last mission – return to Yusan and finish what they started.

But now a usurper sits on the serpent throne. And he may be more dangerous than the god-king.

With three relics of the Dragon Lord in their possession, the Blades will face the might of the four realms. Enemies will become allies. Allies will become traitors. And the ones they love most? They’ll be the ones to break them.

Grief will carve the Blades into something ruthless and unrecognizable. But only by losing everything can they win this game of kings and crowns.

Three Shattered Souls looks set to continue all the best storylines from the first two books, and I am deeply excited to see where this final entry goes.  It sounds like the character’s will be involved in a three-way war against all their enemies, and I cannot wait to see what carnage comes out, especially after the chaotic conclusion of the second novel.  Corland will also have to expand and then wrap up the remaining character arcs in this final book, and I cannot wait to see how the various complex relationships, motivations and secrets finally end up, especially as there is bound to be even more treachery, mistrust and sacrifices in this final novel (based on the title, I’m worried at least one more major protagonist is dying here).  As such, Three Shattered Souls’ narrative has so much potential, and I really hope that Corland has a powerful and memorable finale in store for us.

After having an excellent time getting through the previous novels in this series, there is no way I’m stopping now, especially as Three Shattered Souls sounds so damn good.  This final Broken Blades book by Mai Corland should be something very special, and I am very excited to see how this epic trilogy comes to an end.  As such, July cannot come soon enough, and I am planning on listening to Three Shattered Souls as soon as it comes out.