Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Heart Forger

I like the characters and I like the world building but holy moly does the narrative style not do it for me.

I’ve seen in other reviews that people love the flashback-flashforward effect but for me it was exhausting trying to keep up with what’s going on knowing that there are only a few months in between. I don’t think the “present day” story from the Bard should have come until book 3; frankly all it did was annoy me in books 1 & 2 because I had no way of knowing how the actions in the flashbacks led up to the events in the present. Something that helped me enjoy this book more was reading all the “present day” scenes then going back for all the flashback scenes; that helped me feel less thrown around by the two ends of the same story.

Overall, these books have felt like when you get a really pretty skein of yarn & go against your better judgement & try to pull from the center only for it to prolapse into a mess of tangles that you have to pick through for hours to put back in order. gorgeous material, bad execution.

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jupiterlee's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.75

I know stats wise, it looks like I took a week to read this, but in honesty I read it in two sittings.
Now, whether I put that down to the fact I was so captivated by the story it flew in, or that I made myself read it so it didn't take me a week, I am not entirely sure.

Do not get me wrong, the last 70 pages had me so focused on the story and what was coming that it went by in no time, but up until that moment I think I was pushing myself to read it as I knew that I might struggle other wise. At times I felt like I should have read 100 pages but turned out I had only read 40...

Despite there being a lot happening, I feel that it is still very slow paced.
We certain did get more of a mystery plot line this time, with minor sub plots going on throughout, but I also felt that I was constantly waiting for things that just did not happen. I might have been pushing too much for this to be more action, as when I feel that when we do get action, we do not get it in long hauls and the battles often end before you really get into it. However, the introduction to new characters and the expansion of old characters, was welcome and it was great seeing how they all worked so effortlessly together. And Rin purposefully (well I think) does not mention some characters in the present tense POV so it is keeping you guessing (and worrying) about their fate.

I am really loving the morally grey characters. As everything is unfolding you are not sure who's side you should be on as everyone has their points but Rin is giving you just enough back story for you to know something is not adding up but keeps a part of it dangling in front of you that keeps you engaged. And with secrets comes characters that have their own agenda's but again I feel that we have just seen the tip of Tea's plan and we do not have the full story (I may have missed something though).

I will admit that again the one think I am struggling with is the daeva's and the gems that come from them. I cannot remember which daeva is what, and what gem does what, and what the colours in the heartglass mean, so again a glossary would have been a very welcome and loved addition to the end of the book so I could refer to it as much as possible.
One thing that I will be intrigued to see is how the perspectives will work in the final novel as it looks that Bard and Tea are no longer going to be together, and it looks like our past tense story has mostly caught up to present tense (except one major death and plot point....).

All that being said, and it can look more negative than I intended, I am excited to read Tea's conclusion. I already know there is a death of a character I like (because it tells you at the end of the first one), but I am dreading the moment as it might break my heard, and I am not entirely sure if this is going to have a happy ending for many people, but I feel that we are going to have some good moments until the end.

The romance in the book is done well for young adults in that it is not in your face, and it doesn't completely take over the plot, and LGBTQIA+ relationships (or hints at one) are not forced in a way that feel like a tick the box exercise. They were seamlessly slotted into the story and that's the way it should be. However, if you are looking for some adult spicy romance, this is definitely not a story you'll find that in (although hot passion between some of the character is hinted at, just not written more about).

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noellelovesbooks's review against another edition

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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.

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ellekhupe's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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

4.25

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taglharp's review

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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.)

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