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juliettewood's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Animal death
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Child death
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
amre23's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Misogyny, Torture, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Confinement, Genocide, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Sexism
Minor: Transphobia, Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Chronic illness, and Grief
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
jupiterlee's review
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).
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).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Minor: Torture, Blood, Grief, Murder, Confinement, and Death
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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