A Heart so Fierce and Broken Review

     The curse is broken, but Rhen now faces troublesome rumors that he is not the true heir to the throne of Emberfall and that the magic supposedly expelled from the kingdom is back. Rhen and Harper are together, but his guardsman and her friend, Grey, is missing. After Grey destroyed Lilith, he fled from the rumors that he is the true heir. He doesn't want the throne, at least until Karis Luran begins her threats to invade Emberfall again. Even Lia Mara, her eldest daughter, can see the issues with her mother's violent rule. Now Lia Mara is faced with convincing Grey to make moves against Rhen. The heir must be found to get the crown and a secure rule is needed to save Emberfall, but will the people closest to each other betray one another for the good of the kingdom?

    Keep in mind that everyone has their own opinion. This review is only my opinion, and you may have your own, different one. I would take into consideration what I say, but do not make a decision about the book solely based off of this review. Let's begin:

    Like the first book, I read this book as a buddy read. I still highly recommend giving that a try if you have not because it really enhances the experience and made me think about some things that happened in a way I hadn't thought of originally. It also helped me from reading the entire book in a day, haha.

    I thought it was interesting how this book switched perspectives so that Rhen and Harper only had about one chapter each in their perspectives. This book was from Grey and Lia Mara's points of view. Considering my love for Grey from the first book, I was very excited that I got to see a lot more of him and get into his head. I also think this was a good way to introduce Lia Mara and get people to fall in love with her even though she was not an original character. I also was pleasantly surprised at how many of the side characters from the first novel, such as Jake and Noah, became a major part of this installment.

    Once again, I loved all of the characters. Grey (somehow) got even better than he was in the first battle. It was fun to see how he dealt with all of the internal conflicts he was facing. Lia Mara was a great addition. She, like I said about Harper in the first book, is a great role model and is so strong all around. I loved her personality and everything she stands for. I held on to my liking of Harper. I admire that she does what she thinks is right no matter what and I think that aspect of her played a very important role in this book even though she became more of a side character. I really liked the way she shaped the storyline. Rhen. Oh, Rhen. I loved to not really like him here. The person I did my buddy read with (the wonderful @tl.reads on Instagram) and I kept comparing Rhen to Tamlin from ACOTAR. Now, I do not hate Tamlin as much as it seems to be popular to and I hold those same feelings here with Rhen. I love his character even though I disagree with a lot of his actions in this book.

    The plot for this book was very interesting. It is definitely different from the first book, but don't let that make you nervous. This is a good different that brought all new twists and a lot of progression to the storyline. It was engaging the entire time, even those where it was a bit slower. I do have to give a warning when it comes to the plot though: it may leave you teary-eyed and/or actually crying. I thought the first book tortured me emotionally, but it has nothing on this one. I could not believe one of the things that happened (no spoilers). It left me shocked, angry, and sad somehow all at once but in a good way. So be warned and be prepared. Also, the plot twist at the end was something I didn't see coming, and I still don't see how it is possible, so I am interested to see how that will be explained. I did, however, like it.

    The worldbuilding was once again done really well. With the addition of Shyl Shallow as a major player in the story, there was a lot of new worldbuilding and description that I found really enjoyable. The book played out like a movie in my head which is helpful for me to get more invested. I had one character that I had a hard time visualizing at first, but it was resolved a bit later in the book when a proper description was given.

    The cover is absolutely gorgeous, so props to the cover designer. I bought the Barnes & Noble exclusive edition, and WOW. Even if you do not want to buy it, I would recommend going and looking at it or looking up pictures because the character art is stunning! The extra chapter was also really good and insightful into what was happening with Rhen and Harper during one of the times we did not get to see them. The design on the cover of the naked hardcover is really nice too and spruces it up on the outside.

    Overall, this book was just fabulous all around. I cannot recommend this series highly enough and I will be anxiously thinking about that plot twist until the third books is released and I can get all of the answers that I so desperately want/need. Considering Kemmerer seems to get to my emotions more and more with each book, I am slightly scared I will start bawling with the next one, but I will certainly be continuing.

Rating: 5/5 stars 

Author: Brigid Kemmerer

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA

# of Pages: 450

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance, Retelling

Series: Cursebreakers (Book 2)