Reviews

The Crystal Heart by Sophie Masson

raven_morgan's review

Review to be added after the Aurealis Awards judging period.

sarahe21's review

5.0

I loved it! It did take a while for me to really get into, but it was amazing! I really liked the. twist, I actually did not see that one coming, which I love. I would recommend this to anyone!

missusb21's review

3.0

An epic fairy-tale of grand proportions. Izolda and Kasper have much to suffer and sacrifice before they can claim their destiny.

Lots of secrets, travelling through different lands, and separation. SO lots of actions and revelations and romance.

treereader's review

3.0

Retelling of: Rapunzel

amrap's review

4.0

In the Crystal Heart Sophie Masson re imagines Rapunzel's fairy tale in a fantasy setting where feys and humans share a world.

Kasper is the guard protecting his realm from what he has been told is a powerful witch. When he finds out that the girl in the tower is actually Izolda, the daughter of the country's enemy, and that her life is in danger he puts everything on the line to save her. Now he has to find out who is truly telling the truth and where his loyalties lie.


This is a story of adventure, romance and magic. It was a great read and I adore the cover.

divo's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Very surprising and enjoyable read. I initially thought this would be a re-telling of Rapunzel and The Princess and the Goblin, but it's not - there are elements from and allusions to those fairytales so you see the inspiration, but since it's not a re-telling the plot was unpredictable and I did not see some of the twists and turns. I also liked the alt-historical fantasy setting - the mix of early 1900s technology (like early motor vehicles, typewriters and trains) with magic was a nice touch. The relationship between Izolda and Kasper was really well developed; it was fantastic to really see their feelings grow over a significant period of time rather than just relying on insta-love. The characters do have an instant connection, but we also see that there is a firm foundation to their romantic relationship that develops over time. There was a surprising amount of angst, but I didn't think that it was over the top or melodramatic, it struck the right balance between sweet, wholesome romance with angst. The story also had a really compelling villain. There were a few plot points that happen in the 2nd half of the novel that prevented me from giving it a higher rating and the way that certain plot lines resolved also felt a little too neat and rushed. Still, I did enjoy the book overall.

morganthebookishbeagle's review

DNF. I loved the cover and premise so much but this is not very good at all. The writing and dialogue is amateurish. The characters are boring and wooden, and it's hard to tell the two viewpoints apart. They also trust each other WAY too easily; I can smell the instalove coming from a mile away. I'm a little curious how the plot will unfold but I can't deal with the characters and I have no desire to pick up my book. Can't recommend this sadly.