Name: A Heart So Fierce and Broken
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Date published: January 2020
Genre: Fiction, young adult, fantasy, romance, retellings
Pages: 450
Rating: 4/5
This review contains vague and non-specific spoilers.
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 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.
- From Goodreads.
A Heart So Fierce and Broken was a good follow up to the first book in the Cursebreakers series, A Curse So Dark and Lonely. It expanded the world and developed the characters that did not get as much focus in the previous book.
Although I did enjoy the new perspectives, and it was interesting to read from Grey's point of view since we did not get to in the first book, I was a little sad we did not get more from Rhen and Harper. I understood why it was important to focus on Lia Mara and Grey, but it was unfortunate we did not get more of Harper and Rhen since I loved them both so much in the first book.
I did love the romance between Lia Mara and Grey. It had a nice, slow build up and it was very soft and sweet. They definitely complimented each other well and it was very compelling to read about their feelings for each other and the difficulties they faced because of those feelings.
The plot twist at the end of the novel was definitely unexpected,but I wonder if the implications of it will make the third book feel a little repetitive. It was a good twist but I wonder if it will make it feel like that characters are facing problems they should have already overcome in the first book. I think I might have preferred a happier and more wrapped up ending for this book with a new conflict then presented in the next book, but I understand that leaving this book on a cliffhanger and leaving more room for conflict will make readers look eagerly towards the next book and will make the start of the next book more exciting.
Some parts of the ending were very satisfying though. I was glad with the actions Lia Mara took as they felt like the right choice for her character growth and what she did was hinted at earlier in the book so that felt very gratifying.
Overall, while it took me a while to get through the book and I questioned some of the choices made throughout the story, I thought it was well-written and followed up well on the events of the first book. It left me excited for the third book and hopeful that things will wrap up well for the characters in that one.
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