choices are never easy

Hiya bibliophiles! Today we’re diving into another book review. Here be spoilers because it is the second book in a YA Fantasy trilogy. Follow along if you dare.

The book: A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

The synopsis:

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.

The Review:
This is the second installment of the Cursebreakers trilogy by Brigid Kemmerer and wowza this book suffers from second book syndrome. I was so hype for this second book but I was kinda disappointed with where Kemmerer took the series. I was glad we got Grey’s perspective, but Harper and Rhen barely get any page time. Harper literally has one single POV chapter and that’s it. She’s a main freakin’ character. This book was still readable, but it lacked the urgency that the first book had.

The characters’ motivations felt flat and one dimensional to me. It’s like she took the characterization she built up in the first book and threw it out the window and started over. This book would have been better marketed as a companion novel instead of a sequel because, well, there wasn’t a continuous story flow from one book to the next. We meet Grey months later after he’s disappeared and we just go on a merry jaunt through his life until he’s “discovered” by another guard. Don’t even get me started on the main baddie, Karis Luran. She’s just cheesy-evil. The unnecessary cruelty was so over the top that I couldn’t suspend my disbelief.

The world building in this installment was so-so. Kemmerer decided to introduce a new part of the world, but then failed to flesh it out in any meaningful way. Then leaves us on a cliff-hanger with a new character that didn’t really do much for me.

The plot really saves this book in that it kept me interested enough to keep going. I needed to know what was going to happen next, even as I was annoyed at the choices the characters were making. And I was increasingly irritated as time went on. The pacing was all over the place, which added to my irritation.

Final Thoughts:
From a distance, I am satisfied with this book. The ending of the novel was sufficiently intriguing that I will probably finish out this series. I will probably only read these books from the library, and in all honesty, I was happier when it was just a Beauty and the Beast retelling. This could’ve not been a thing. I ended up giving A Heart So Fierce and Broken 3 out of 5 Stars.

Until next time, Happy Reading!
Ashleigh