Reviews

Das Herz des Verräters by Mary E. Pearson

Only show reviews with written explanations

liliana8's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bentheoverlordsbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Mary E Pearson has done it again !! This is how you do a YA fantasy series.
The world Pearson has created is fantastic, and I love the political machinations and string pulling, and how the three kingdoms are drawn into this stalemate. I'm also really loving the magic, and the visions, and how they play a role but not in a way I was expecting.
I also love how much darker this felt. Lia being trapped, and having to quickly adapt to a totally new political system, and play a game of life and death was very interesting and fun. I also liked how nuanced our antagonist was. I was worried that since it was YA he was gonna be a little flat however I really like that although terrible, you could understand his reasoning, and in his own very warped way he was trying to save his country which has been hammered so many times to the point of breaking by the other lands. He captured this great desperate attempt at finally changing the board so to speak, and I loved that.
I also really want to take a minute to talk about the 3 leads. Lia is easily one of my fav YA characters of all time and will also be somewhere in my fav characters in general, its so great to see a protagonist be as smart as her, but still make mistakes. I like that she can be headstrong but she knows how to manipulate and twist the truth to get what she needs, yet has a caring side, and thus has stakes in the games we are playing. Rafe and Kaden are also great characters, and I love their disdain for each other while caring for Lia, and also the fact they both know how to play each other. Theres a level of begrudging respect between the two (and a little chemistry haha if this had come out now Id have loved seeing this become a throuple).
Very impressed with this, and if book 3 sticks the landing itll be a top YA series for me. Really glad I reread book 1 this month because this is a stellar sequel, and did not feel like a middle book.

enchanted_reading's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

amhall11's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Absolutely incredible just like the first book in the series. How the author weaves the story together so seamlessly and hides elements in darkness until it’s the right time to reveal it will never fails to amaze me.