Break the Chains

Written by Megan E. O'Keefe

Narrated by Jim Frangione

As the city that produces the most selium - that precious gas that elevates airships and powers strange magic - Hond Steading is a jewel worth stealing. To shore up the city's defenses, Detan promises his aunt that he'll recover Nouli, the infamous engineer who built the century gates that protect the imperial capital of Valathea. But Nouli is imprisoned on the Remnant Isles, an impervious island prison run by the empire, and it's Detan's fault. Detan doesn't dare approach Nouli himself, so his companions volunteer to get themselves locked up to make contact with Nouli and convince him to help. Now Detan has to break them all out of prison, and he's going to need the help of a half-mad doppel to do it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9781501957437

Reviews for Break the Chains

[kurt.rocourt · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really wanted to like this book but it was a chore. It started as a chore and then became a job. I read the first book and felt it had a lot of ideas but not one central idea. I hoped that this book would pick one central idea and stick with it to the end. Well it got down to three ideas but the rest of the book was difficult. It takes place one year after the first book but where everyone is going in this book is odd. One character is now gathering a rebellion. One character is now a pirate/liberator. One character went from being a stoic law enforcer to prisoner. And another character didn't change. The book doesn't figure out where it wants to go until the last few chapters. That was similar to the first book. But unlike the first book this book ends with my thinking,"why do I feel like he just just got offered heroine". The idea is that he did get offered something as addictive as heroine but hopefully in the next book it can be overcome. That is something we'll all find out in the next book. All that being said I am actually looking forward to the next book. I think this author has a lot of ideas that can work well together. Each book has had some level of improvement. My hope is that this next book brings all her skills together for the next book. This one was just too much of a chore for me. I don't want to read a book like this if it has to be a chore. I'll skip the chores and have someone else do them for me.

I read this book via NetGalley. I thank them for this book. #NetGalley

[ladycato · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received this from the publisher via NetGalley. The book will be released in October 2016.Steal the Sky was one of my favorite books last year, a steampunk mash-up of lovable rogues and magic with a Firefly-like vibe. Therefore, I was really excited to get to read the sequel early. It lived up to my expectations. One caveat: do read Steal the Sky first! O'Keefe has created an incredibly complex world, and she jumps straight into the action in Break the Chains.Detan and his posse dive into dangerous mischief. In order to protect his home, Detan needs an engineer who is locked up on an island prison. Therefore, the companions are split up: the honorable Ripka and Enard infiltrate the prison to find the engineer, while Detan seeks out the doppel Pelkaia and her stolen airship (which he stole first) to get her assistance to retrieve everyone else from jail. Of course, nothing goes according to plan. I found Ripka's plot particularly fascinating--it was a sort of steampunk Orange is the New Black, with rival prisoner factions, abundant corruption, and magic. The action is fast-paced throughout, building up to a conclusion that made me wail in despair because of a cliffhanger ending. Alas! I must now impatiently wait for the next book, but I have a hunch it will be well worth the wait.