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thenovelmaura's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I enjoyed this one but not as much as the first! I think it was a bit too drawn out and could have been shorter. Still, I'm very curious to see how the timelines converge in the last book of the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Gore and Blood
kathrynleereads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Rin Chupeco really outdid herself with this one. The Heart Forger follows Tea across the Eight Kingdoms as she explores the extent of her powers as a Dark asha.
First of all, the pace of this book picked up so much from The Bone Witch, it was incredible. We went from nothing happening in 300 pages to so much happening that it was nearly (but not quite) hard to keep up.
While the plot of The Heart Forger was fantastic, what really took the cake in this book were the characters.
Tea continued to be her marvelous self, and it was interesting to see her slowly changing from the girl we know into the girl she is in the Bard’s chapters.
Kalen surprised me by becoming my favorite character, which I was not anticipating after despising him in the first book.
Fox continued to be his loyal, unshaken self, while also developing his own relationships.
Likh has made impressive strides when it comes not only to personal development but also to sparking conversation in (and beyond) the Willows.
We got to see a lot more of Khalad and get to know him better, and the more I learn about him, the more I love him.
Honestly, this book just grew my love and respect for all the characters. Mykaela, Polaire, Althy, Inessa, Zoya, Shadi, Empress Alyx, they all grew in the best ways.
The only character whom I lost any respect for (other than the actual villains) was
Kance.
Despite my misgivings throughout the first book, I cannot express how in love I am with this series so far.
I have high hopes that Chupeco will finish off strong in The Shadowglass.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, War, Death, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Murder and Transphobia
Minor: Classism and Medical content
pitchblackkoi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Grief, and Misogyny
Moderate: Homophobia
lakinglaze's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was absolutely wonderful! I loved it even more than the first book in the series and can’t wait for the final installment!!
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Grief, War, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
planetarycrow's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Gore, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
ofbooksandechos's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Gore, and Body horror
Minor: Homophobia
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
2/9/2022
Content Warnings: Sexism, blood/gore, murder/death, homophobia, transphobia, torture, imprisonment, death/murder of a loved one.
Although I’ve read “The Bone Witch” three times now…this is only the second time I’ve read through “The Heart Forger” and I forgot how emotional it would make me. This book picks up immediately after the first book ends as we continue to see the current time through the eyes of “the bard” and see past events through Tea’s eyes.
We were told and taught, many things in book one that book two reveal to be false. I absolutely love the back and forth between times, there are so many important things happening in both timelines and you’re left desperately wanting to know everything going on in both. The pace of book two is definitely faster than book one, as book one taught us much of the backstory to the world and people.
Without giving anything away, in case you haven’t read through “The Bone Witch” just know that “The Heart Forger” made me cry…just as much and as hard as I did when I first read it almost two years ago. The world that Rin has created for us can be so beautiful and so cruel at the same time…and I love every second I spend in it.
9/24/2020
Rin Chupeco is a master storyteller...
The Heart Forger picks up where The Bone Witch ends and leads us on more of Tea's current, and past, path. There are so many thing's that we thought to be true in "The Bone Witch" that we find aren't what they appeared to be. This book is full of more beauty and ugliness set in this masterful world Rin has created for us. These first two books have put me through so many intense emotions that I know that I'm not yet ready to face the final book.
Although this is only the 2nd book of Rin's I've ever read...I can honestly say she's one of my favorite author's and I can't wait to meet the other world's she created in her other books.
Content Warnings: Sexism, blood/gore, murder/death, homophobia, transphobia, torture, imprisonment, death/murder of a loved one.
Although I’ve read “The Bone Witch” three times now…this is only the second time I’ve read through “The Heart Forger” and I forgot how emotional it would make me. This book picks up immediately after the first book ends as we continue to see the current time through the eyes of “the bard” and see past events through Tea’s eyes.
We were told and taught, many things in book one that book two reveal to be false. I absolutely love the back and forth between times, there are so many important things happening in both timelines and you’re left desperately wanting to know everything going on in both. The pace of book two is definitely faster than book one, as book one taught us much of the backstory to the world and people.
Without giving anything away, in case you haven’t read through “The Bone Witch” just know that “The Heart Forger” made me cry…just as much and as hard as I did when I first read it almost two years ago. The world that Rin has created for us can be so beautiful and so cruel at the same time…and I love every second I spend in it.
9/24/2020
Rin Chupeco is a master storyteller...
The Heart Forger picks up where The Bone Witch ends and leads us on more of Tea's current, and past, path. There are so many thing's that we thought to be true in "The Bone Witch" that we find aren't what they appeared to be. This book is full of more beauty and ugliness set in this masterful world Rin has created for us. These first two books have put me through so many intense emotions that I know that I'm not yet ready to face the final book.
Although this is only the 2nd book of Rin's I've ever read...I can honestly say she's one of my favorite author's and I can't wait to meet the other world's she created in her other books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Gore
Moderate: Torture and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexism, Homophobia, and Transphobia
cheye13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Both the frame story and the main storyline pick up speed. The politics are a little complex but the story is engaging even without taking the time to break things down. The foreshadowing is effective without ruining suspense. A great bridge for books one and three.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Gore, and Murder
Minor: Homophobia
animals in question are the fantasy-world daeva creaturestaglharp's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
UM????? !
First of all my eyes hurt from not blinking and binging this, but you can be sure to see a review later.
THE REVIEW:
Summary of things I liked:
‣ The execution of the Overall Plot (half of it, anyway) — I don't know?? I wasn't expecting some of the twists and turns in that plot, man. Even though afterward I was like wait, but that's kind of obvious- but also! It was just so freaking dramatic but in the way that I couldn't help but enjoy it.
‣ The ruthlessness — of the world, of Chupeco (this author, I swear...), of the characters' judgments of one another. There was no ✨Instant Forgiveness ✨which I usually find in a lot of YA or Overly Dramatic "GTFO"s (just understandable ones, forgiveness takes time!!). And I really liked that.
‣ Part of the romance — mostly that there was no love triangle (GOD BLESS), I also enjoyed a side pairing that was hinted towards in book 1. The main couple was alright, I guess (their situation uncomfortably reminded me of Chaol/Celaena/Dorian and I was getting high school PTSD, but other than that!). Fox's romance with Princess Inessa was a telenovela, honestly, but really suited the entire... vibe of the book if I'm honest so it was... alright...
‣ The animal companionship — sort of. I just really like dragons, okay.
Summary of things I disliked:
‣ The execution of the Overall Plot (the other half of it) — by 'the other half of it' I meant a good bulk of the twists that moved the plot along were amazingly hinted to us in conversations that had taken place before the Incident would occur and while the reader is like, "Wait what?" for some reason the protagonist always lets the key things mentioned fly over her head. So! The result is cheapened thrills and surprises (that aren't surprising because the con was so good, but because the characters were dumbed down to move the plot along). Bizarre.
‣ The worldbuildling — if you've read my review of The Bone Witch , you know I love the worldbuilding I saw of the world of the Asha there. I was so excited to see the expansion of it in this book, only to be let the hell down in the worst way possible. The main places this book focuses on is a China!Inspired country called Daanoris. There's also a bit of a spotlight on a Middle-East!Inspired country called Drycht. The representation we get of both is strictly a hodgepodge of bigotry, sexism and a backwards way of thinking. No one ever shuts up about it. And while that would've been alright - on some level - if that wasn't the only thing they talked about in reference to those two countries... But it was! And the protagonist of the novel - Tea does not fail to remind us about how hateful they are. Also the execution of worldbuilding was kind of? Bizarre?? It was almost disorienting how facts came in later than usual - of basic things you thought you should already know, almost as if to make up for how lazy the overall worldbuilding ended up becoming... I was so disappointed.
‣ Most of the characters — In my review of the first book, I said that the exploration of each character left something to be desired (or rather, further exploration of them was the thing I desired). I was so hoping that we would get more in this book, especially since its title - The Heart Forger - seemed to hint that we would get exactly that for at least one of them. Well. We did not. For example!! Though the aforementioned Heart Forger, Khalad, was very present in this book, we barely get to know him besides rather surface level things that seemed to be mentioned for the sake of driving home the book's rather 'woke' themes. The result? He felt kind of cheapened. It's almost as if the characters get no other personality than say, Being Queer. Very surface level rep, IMO. Could've done better.
‣ Most of the romance — I'm not a big fan of romance in fantasy, unless I know I'm signing up for it. I had no idea this book would turn into a dramatic shitshow. Which I admittedly did enjoy - on some level. And two scenes did make me swoon. But. The amount of romantic drama in this book was just... off the charts!! 100% Did Not See Coming. Not really my thing.
‣ Some things made no sense — besides the typos, which might just be in my copy not sure, there were a few descriptions that made no sense and were therefore disorienting. The first book had this too, but to a lesser degree IMO. I'm not sure if those were typos as well.
‣ My nemesis, the Italicized Interlude — HELLO?? HOW DID YOU GUYS GET WORSE?? I feel like these interludes hurt the pacing and overall flow of this book so bad, I started skipping them and reading them again afterward. And like I felt in the first book, I just really couldn't give a rat's ass about Future (Present Day?) Tea or what the hell was going to happen to her. And Bard. Poor Bard, tbh. But also, I don't care about Bard. I still have no idea why. (Also the main romantic pairing being so blatant in those flashbacks - or rather, perhaps just the identity of the dude - was a wasted opportunity in adding suspense and thrill to that sub-part of the narrative. Instead of just, you know. Focusing all your tricks on the Main Plot and surprise!Queer couples - which I enjoyed but that's besides the point. It could have been a story less one-dimensional.)
Summary of things that were "eh, okay, I guess":
‣ Nothing — this book was a study in extremeties.
Spicy things I have to say:
‣ Kance was Dorian but less annoying and not flirty, just the Nice Idiot. Kalen was an modified Chaol. Not so boomer, so better. But still the same amount of Bland. (I mean I liked him well enough, but damn.)
First of all my eyes hurt from not blinking and binging this, but you can be sure to see a review later.
THE REVIEW:
Summary of things I liked:
‣ The execution of the Overall Plot (half of it, anyway) — I don't know?? I wasn't expecting some of the twists and turns in that plot, man. Even though afterward I was like wait, but that's kind of obvious- but also! It was just so freaking dramatic but in the way that I couldn't help but enjoy it.
‣ The ruthlessness — of the world, of Chupeco (this author, I swear...), of the characters' judgments of one another. There was no ✨Instant Forgiveness ✨which I usually find in a lot of YA or Overly Dramatic "GTFO"s (just understandable ones, forgiveness takes time!!). And I really liked that.
‣ Part of the romance — mostly that there was no love triangle (GOD BLESS), I also enjoyed a side pairing that was hinted towards in book 1. The main couple was alright, I guess (their situation uncomfortably reminded me of Chaol/Celaena/Dorian and I was getting high school PTSD, but other than that!). Fox's romance with Princess Inessa was a telenovela, honestly, but really suited the entire... vibe of the book if I'm honest so it was... alright...
‣ The animal companionship — sort of. I just really like dragons, okay.
Summary of things I disliked:
‣ The execution of the Overall Plot (the other half of it) — by 'the other half of it' I meant a good bulk of the twists that moved the plot along were amazingly hinted to us in conversations that had taken place before the Incident would occur and while the reader is like, "Wait what?" for some reason the protagonist always lets the key things mentioned fly over her head. So! The result is cheapened thrills and surprises (that aren't surprising because the con was so good, but because the characters were dumbed down to move the plot along). Bizarre.
‣ The worldbuildling — if you've read my review of The Bone Witch , you know I love the worldbuilding I saw of the world of the Asha there. I was so excited to see the expansion of it in this book, only to be let the hell down in the worst way possible. The main places this book focuses on is a China!Inspired country called Daanoris. There's also a bit of a spotlight on a Middle-East!Inspired country called Drycht. The representation we get of both is strictly a hodgepodge of bigotry, sexism and a backwards way of thinking. No one ever shuts up about it. And while that would've been alright - on some level - if that wasn't the only thing they talked about in reference to those two countries... But it was! And the protagonist of the novel - Tea does not fail to remind us about how hateful they are. Also the execution of worldbuilding was kind of? Bizarre?? It was almost disorienting how facts came in later than usual - of basic things you thought you should already know, almost as if to make up for how lazy the overall worldbuilding ended up becoming... I was so disappointed.
‣ Most of the characters — In my review of the first book, I said that the exploration of each character left something to be desired (or rather, further exploration of them was the thing I desired). I was so hoping that we would get more in this book, especially since its title - The Heart Forger - seemed to hint that we would get exactly that for at least one of them. Well. We did not. For example!! Though the aforementioned Heart Forger, Khalad, was very present in this book, we barely get to know him besides rather surface level things that seemed to be mentioned for the sake of driving home the book's rather 'woke' themes. The result? He felt kind of cheapened. It's almost as if the characters get no other personality than say, Being Queer. Very surface level rep, IMO. Could've done better.
‣ Most of the romance — I'm not a big fan of romance in fantasy, unless I know I'm signing up for it. I had no idea this book would turn into a dramatic shitshow. Which I admittedly did enjoy - on some level. And two scenes did make me swoon. But. The amount of romantic drama in this book was just... off the charts!! 100% Did Not See Coming. Not really my thing.
‣ Some things made no sense — besides the typos, which might just be in my copy not sure, there were a few descriptions that made no sense and were therefore disorienting. The first book had this too, but to a lesser degree IMO. I'm not sure if those were typos as well.
‣ My nemesis, the Italicized Interlude — HELLO?? HOW DID YOU GUYS GET WORSE?? I feel like these interludes hurt the pacing and overall flow of this book so bad, I started skipping them and reading them again afterward. And like I felt in the first book, I just really couldn't give a rat's ass about Future (Present Day?) Tea or what the hell was going to happen to her. And Bard. Poor Bard, tbh. But also, I don't care about Bard. I still have no idea why. (Also the main romantic pairing being so blatant in those flashbacks - or rather, perhaps just the identity of the dude - was a wasted opportunity in adding suspense and thrill to that sub-part of the narrative. Instead of just, you know. Focusing all your tricks on the Main Plot and surprise!Queer couples - which I enjoyed but that's besides the point. It could have been a story less one-dimensional.)
Summary of things that were "eh, okay, I guess":
‣ Nothing — this book was a study in extremeties.
Spicy things I have to say:
‣ Kance was Dorian but less annoying and not flirty, just the Nice Idiot. Kalen was an modified Chaol. Not so boomer, so better. But still the same amount of Bland. (I mean I liked him well enough, but damn.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Confinement, and Misogyny
Moderate: Torture, Murder, Gore, and Sexual content
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