A Heart so Fierce and Broken | Review

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Summary

Find the heir, win the crown.

The curse is finally broken, but Prince Rhen of Emberfall faces darker troubles still. Rumors circulate that he is not the true heir and that forbidden magic has been unleashed in Emberfall. Although Rhen has Harper by his side, his guardsman Grey is missing, leaving more questions than answers.

Win the crown, save the kingdom.

Rumored to be the heir, Grey has been on the run since he destroyed Lilith. He has no desire to challenge Rhen–until Karis Luran once again threatens to take Emberfall by force. Her own daughter Lia Mara sees the flaws in her mother’s violent plan, but can she convince Grey to stand against Rhen, even for the good of Emberfall?

The heart-pounding, compulsively readable saga continues as loyalties are tested and new love blooms in a kingdom on the brink of war.

Review

The sequel did not disappoint! The relationships soared, the action was heart-pounding, and the cliff-hanger made me tear up a little bit. Or a lot.

This book ranks on about the same level as the first in my eyes even though they were different stories with mostly different people. The pace of the story felt slower, but I think the romance was a little bit better. As well, this book has great character and relationship development.

I loved getting to know Grey, Noah, and Jake a little better. I knew I loved Grey from the first book, but this one really solidified that love. He was just so strong, physically and emotionally, and encouraged others to realize their own strength. We are also able to see progress in Noah and Jake’s relationships with Grey and the other characters. They no longer feel like outsiders infringing in this little group.

I also really like the new characters that were introduced; Lia Mara, Tycho, and lisak. We see so much development in each of them that I just want to smile when I think about where they started. Kemmerer just knows how to write strong and vulnerable characters.

One thing I didn’t like about this book was that Rhen turned into the bad guy. Everyone was faced with tough choices and while that didn’t condone all of Rhen’s actions, I don’t like that everyone turned on him. I feel in love with his character in the first book and then I was hit with all this negativity about him in this book.

That’s one thing, though, that Kemmerer does so well. There are hardly any characters between these two books that are solidly good or solidly bad. They each have choices and decisions to make and they have to live with those consequences. It’s not always a happily ever after. This aspect of realism is much appreciated and a little despised on my end.

Overall, this was another incredibly written book by Kemmerer. I am at the edge of my seat waiting for the third book to come out!

Rating

To check out my other reviews, click here. Or to check out more books by Brigid Kemmerer, go to her Goodreads profile or her website.