Review: A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

“choices are never easy. there are good and bad options, but the most dangerous is to not make any choice at all.”

brigid kemmerer

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Goodreads 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.

Rating:

Thoughts:

This book wasn’t what I was expecting yet I enjoyed it just the same. It is clearly a middle book in that it mostly sets up the plot for the final novel but I think it’s a testament to Kemmerer’s engaging writing style that I flew through this book almost as fast as the first one once I got into the meat of it. I do have to say I was a bit disappointed that we journeyed so far from Emberfall and some of my new favorite characters but I found similar warm fuzzies for the story by the time I finished the book.

Grey is such an intriguing character and was a favorite of mine in the first book. I loved being able to see him grow throughout these pages and see his struggle as he comes to terms with his real identity. At no point do we see Grey lose sight of his past, something I think can speak to each of us in that you can never truly walk away from your past experiences. His conflict between doing what he knows he has to do and what he actually wants to do is prevalent in the book as well, lending a melancholy feel that reminded me of ACSDAL.

I found it interesting to see Syhl Shallow, Emberfall’s greatest threat, in a different light. While in the first book, Karis Luran portrays the country to be the worst kind of people, her daughter Lia Mara revealed that they are not all as ruthless as Karis Luran pretends to be. Although my love for Harper is still greater, I enjoyed the way Lia Mara showed strength in a new way. She’s a surprising character who never quite does what you expect her to do. And I love that many of us can find a kinship in her with her love of reading. She provided an interesting dynamic as well with her struggle of not being able to live up to her mother’s expectations and how disheartening that was for her. But her strength in being determined to do what is right and choosing compassion over the way she was raised quickly made her an endearing character to me. I also loved her relationship with her sister!

Although I’m a bit disappointed by how the romance has been spun in this installment, I can understand why Kemmerer chose to write it this way. I would’ve loved to see a continuation of the dynamic that was set up in the first book, but I know it couldn’t have lasted long. I did love seeing the glimpses of Rhen’s and Harper’s relationship that we were given. The subtleties of how deep their love has grown as shown through Harper comforting Rhen really made my heart squeeze. I wish we could’ve seen more of them but I’m anticipating being granted that in the final book.

Lastly, I really enjoyed meeting the new characters in this book. Iisak, a magical creature called a scraver, is such a cool character as well as Tycho, a stable boy Grey took under his wing. They added so much color to the adventures we went on within the book. I also loved seeing the magical elements grow in this installment. And, of course, I have to talk about the ending. I was completely blinded by it and my stomach filled with dread as I pieced everything together and realized how much Rhen’s choices made sense. I’m hoping the final book will be a 5 star read for me as well.

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