A Heart so Fierce and Broken – Book review

Hello lovelies!

I hope you are all safe and well.

I am loving this time, because I get to read a lot of books that were sitting on my TBR. This book was also part of my OWLs for the class: Transfiguration: a book/series that features shapeshifting!

Here the review for this wonderful book!

Author: Brigid Kemmerer

Title: A Heart so Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers #2)

Synopsis: 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. 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? (Goodreads)

Rating:

This book had the rush and excitement I wanted to feel in the first book. From the very beginning, I was invested into Grey’s journey and I really enjoyed the first part where he is in hiding, because it was a different aspect of Emberfall, outside of the palace walls. It felt more authentic than the first book. There are more things that I was satisfied with, than I hated (which is an excellent thing) and it was definitely an upgrade from the first book.

Things I liked:

• Lia Mara was a great female character. She was both fierce, merciful and trusting. I liked how she favored diplomatic approaches over strength, but also how she knew when to use violence. She had the best character development: she discovered that her weaknesses were actually her strengths. She thought that she had less value than her sister but she was just as important. I loved her relationship with her sister; it could have been so easy to write a story of jealousy and competition but Kemmerer brought us a beautiful story of sisterhood.
• Grey and Lia Mara’s blossoming relationship was wonderful, that night when they are together around the fire and that she says Fell siralla to him, I think I died a little. I was squealing every time they were together. I really enjoyed the way it turned out for the both of them. I’m glad they found each other. It was very nice to see Grey as a gentle and loving character. I loved his letters and his devotion to her. They have entered my list of favourite all-time book couples.
• The supporting characters were great in the first books (Zo and Freya), but here it really felt like a true and honest fellowship based on trust, loyalty and love. I loved Jake and Grey’s friendship; I loved how they had each other’s backs and how they relied on each other. I loved Tycho’s kindness, loyalty and love, Noah’s care was very pleasant and useful, Lisak was a great addition for his advice (and help) and of course I loved Lia Mara’s personality.
• I loved how we got to see Syhl Shallow and that is wasn’t as terrible as it seemed to be in the first book. Sure, Karis Luran was as ruthless as ever, and we could see the destruction she caused, but I truly liked to see a glimpse of what we thought was a “big, scary” country and how it also had its flaws.

Things I didn’t like:

• I really missed Harper. I liked Grey and Lia Mara’s points of views, and it made the story go forward, but I still missed Harper. I think she was an excellent book character and it’s a shame that we saw so little of her in this book. I would have really appreciated her insights on certain events, such as the lashings and how she dealt with it with Rhen…
• How the author changed our perspective on Rhen. I hate the character he has become. He did things that were very uncharacteristic of him. It’s as though he were a different person than the first book. The first shocking thing was holding Lia Mara hostage and not even giving her a chance, then it was using Tycho against Grey. Where is the caring and compassionate man Harper fell in love with? I don’t like the way it was passed as “fear”. He really seemed like the “villain” and an enemy and I really hated that. I also disliked how everything he did for his country was turned against him and even mocked, like his falls alliance with “Disi”.

Are you taking your OWLs, How is it going? Have you read this series and what did you think?

Let me know in the comments!

Karla xx