A Heart So Fierce and Broken

Another 5-star rating for this amazing series. I love a well done re-telling. And Beauty & the Beast is one of my all-time favorite stories.Sequel to A Curse So Dark and Lonely, A Heart so Fierce and Broken follows the journey of Grey and Lia Mara.This second installment of the Cursebreakers series was unexpectedly amazing. I'm so glad this book did not, in my opinion, suffer from the dreaded middle-book trap.Knowing that we would no longer have Rhen and Harper's POV (except the prologue and epilogue), I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this book. I loved Rhen so much, and respected him for the hard choices he made during his curse. He may not have always made what we, as the outside reader, would have deemed as the best choice, but he has always done what he thought was right to protect his country and Harper. Losing his POV, and later seeing the choices he made against the missing heir/Grey as an outside POV, really hurt. I wish we could have known the turmoil he was struggling with internally and what was going on at Ironrose while Grey was regrouping in Syhl Shallow.But it all came together in the end. I love Lia Mara as much as I love Harper. And the epilogue from Rhen answered so many questions while also making me cry and scream for the final installment to be released ASAP!The following is a summary and review which will contain spoilers. Continue reading at your own risk.We learned at the end of ACSDAL that Grey is the lost heir to Emberfall and a half-blood magesmith. AHSFAB follows Grey as he goes from being in hiding from Rhen's guards looking for the lost heir and magesmith, to a reluctant Prince seeking an alliance and ending a war with Syhl Shallow while just trying to reunite his country.Tycho is a young man (about 15 years old) who starts out indebted to the same person that Grey works for. Grey trains Tycho to fight while he's in hiding, and eventually shares his secret about being the missing heir to Emberfall. Tycho follows Grey to Ironrose Castle, and is later used by Rhen as a pawn to try to force Grey to tell him what he knows about the heir. Although Tycho is young, and has no blood ties to Grey, he becomes fiercely loyal and the first person to swear fealty to Grey as the true ruler of Emberfall.We also meet Princess Lia Mara of Syhl Shallow. She had become a political hostage by Rhen, but met a captured Grey during an escape attempt. Together, they escape Emberfall and retreat to Syhl Shallow to find sanctuary and an alliance for Emberfall. Lia Mara is the eldest daughter of Queen Karis Luran, however she is not the named heir of her mother's crown. Lia Mara is brave, fierce and believes in peace over violence. Over the course of their travels together, Lia Mara and Grey begin to fall in love. She helps him believe in himself, his magic, and his right to the crown of Emberfall.Another hidden gem of a character we meet is Iisak, a fierce magical creature called a Scraver. Iisak follows Grey as the last Magesmith, to help him get back to his own lands and find "something of great importance" to him that forced him to leave his ice forests and break a treaty with Syhl Shallow. While Iisak could rip out the throats of any opponent, the group of travelers become fiercely loyal to him.Jake and Noah of course follow Grey on the journey, in hope that eventually he will be able to return them to their own world in D.C. Jake's development arch is absolutely everything I hoped it would be. After finishing ACSDAL my biggest question was what was going to happen with Jake and Noah. They didn't want to be trapped, they had nothing to tie them to Emberfall. What would they do? This second book answers all of those questions, and really gives so much depth to Jake. I know that Harper doesn't wish any ill will toward Grey, even with the way he comes back to Ironrose at the end. However I'm still concerned about what the loyalty between Jake and Grey will mean for Harper and Rhen. (We know Rhen and Jake never really got along anyway, but they do both love Harper, so that will be interesting)All in all, I'm so glad this book didn't suffer from middle-book-itis. It wasn't just a means to get from the beginning to the end. It was well developed, carried its own weight in relation to propelling the overall story toward the conclusion. I can't wait to see what happens next, how all of our characters come together to battle the real villain. I am living for the moment when Harper and Lia Mara become BFF's.Can Rhen and Grey work together to reunite Emberfall? How will they defeat Lilith once and for all? Will either Rhen or Grey be killed in the end as a means to resolve the conflict between the line of succession and/or to defeat the enchantress? I just... I need the next book right now and I know we have at least a year before it'll be released! But on the plus side, it means I have a year to forget all of the finer points so I can re-read the whole series again next year when the final book is released!

While the first novel is told from the perspective of Rhen and Harper, this story is told from Grey and Lia Mara’s points-of-view.Lia Mara, the daughter of Karis Luran and heir to the Syhl Shallow throne, is a new addition to the series. She is soft hearted, yet fiercely protective of her kingdom. I enjoyed reading her chapters for several reasons, the first being that her character offers the viewpoint of a rival kingdom. Before “A Heart So Fierce and Broken,” the reader was only exposed to life in Emberfall. Lia Mara allows the reader to fully explore Syhl Shallow, a kingdom that is unique in that the heir to the throne is not selected based upon birth order.Another reason I appreciate Lia Mara’s chapters is because they highlight the strong bond that she has with her sister, Nolla Verin. Though both sisters are very different in nature, their love for each other is unbreakable.“A Heart So Fierce and Broken” also has much to offer in the way of romance. Kemmerer creates great chemistry between Lia Mara and Grey. The two begin as enemies from rival kingdoms, but fate allows them to turn into something more. It was touching to watch Grey, who once forswore relationships as a soldier, slowly fall in love and give someone his heart.My only gripe with this novel is the portrayal of Rhen and Harper’s characters. Rhen is unnecessarily awful and cruel in “A Heart So Fierce and Broken.” His actions left me disgusted by the end and I was even more taken aback by Harper’s passivity. It is clear that she knows that Rhen is in the wrong, but does not challenge his decisions. They just were not the same characters from book 1, which was disappointing.Regardless, I look forward to reading the epic conclusion to the Cursebreakers trilogy and catching up with Tycho in “Forging Silver into Stars.” He is a precious little bean!

“Fear makes people act in ways we'd never expect.”I wasn’t sure what direction this book was going to go in, I certainly didn’t think I was going to love it as much as A Curse so Dark and Lonely but I ended up loving it even more…This book follows my all time favourite literary characters – Grey. That man has been through so much, and he tries to keep it all hidden. I honestly don’t know how he remained so strong throughout the curse, and then with everything that followed. My heart goes out to him. I love him so much.Lia Mara was a pleasant surprise. I was charmed almost immediately. She doesn’t see herself the way others do, and I love that she has people around her trying to make her see her strengths.Iisak and Tycho became instant favourites for me. I swore when reading it if anything happened to Tycho leading up to Grey's questioning I would never forgive Rhen.. And I won’t. I don’t care what is being done to him in secret. I will never get past what happened.This story was emotional and intense. I didn’t know who to trust. I wasn’t expecting everything to unfold the way it did. I suspected the ending but everything else was a rollercoaster. I want to reread it right now."The most dangerous person at the party is always the girl sitting alone with a book.”

3.5 starsThis book rating is exactly where I thought I'd be at the beginning of the book and a match for my feelings on book one. I liked it but I didn't love it.I was pleased to be existing mainly in Grey's world rather than Rhen. Rhen who I couldn't stand at the end of Curse and now I realise I can dislike a whole lot more. Even with that said, I look forward to some real nasty fireworks in the final installment.Lia Mara was a growth project in terms of my feelings for her. I didn't like her placement as an interest for one of the characters but I had to begrudgingly accept it. By the end of the book, I did like her. There wasn't a lot of chemistry going on though.I missed Harper in book two. She was the character that kept me going in Curse but Grey had to be enough, add to that Iisak who was a great addition to the crew.Rumblings are afoot for Vow to be a clash of characters and I'm ready to finish this trilogy. If I can feel the same rating for book 3, I'll be okay with that, if it's a better rating, I'll be chuffed!I did an audio/physical combo read for this and enjoyed both formats.

This exceptional follow-up novel is every bit as good as the original, maybe even better. The characters we learned to love in the first novel must continue their challenges - because Kemmerer's books might have a fairytale setting but there's no such thing here as happy ever after. It is narrated in alternating chapters by a returning favourite character, Grey, and a new character (who'll quickly become a favourite), Lia Mara. The curse has been lifted on prince Rhen and his kingdom, but his hold on power is tenuous, his subjects rebellious, and his neighbours eager to invade. Grey, once loyal commander of the palace guard, is living in exile and hiding a dangerous secret. Meanwhile Lia Mara, princess of the hostile queen of Syhl Shallow, is travelling with her mother to deliver an ultimatum to the beleaguered prince. Before long, these two plotlines collide.Everything about these novels just works so well. The characters are loveable - the main characters, and also the secondary ones. Each is an individual and believable, and you root for every one of them, even when they are on different sides. Kemmerer doesn't pull punches - there are some shocking and brutal moments in these stories. The emotional angst is high as the characters we love end up enemies, which is a painful contrast from the friendship and camaraderie between them that got them through the trials of book one. It makes for a highly compelling read.If you enjoy 'sword and sorcery' type fantasy novels you simply can't go wrong. The plot is strong, the characters great, the writing good quality and flows well. Kemmerer is a fabulous writer and after the cliffhanger ending I really hope she's got her head down working on the next!

I'd heard mixed reviews about this book - I'm not sure if I just lowered my expectations, but I loved this continuation of the story. We do move on to newer characters, and at first, I was a bit upset about this. But you know what - I fell in love with these new ones, perhaps more than Harper and Rhen. One of my sticking points with the first was that I wanted a bit more from the characters - I think A Heart So Fierce and Broken did deliver this for me.I wasn't sure I was going to feel that strongly toward Lia Mara - she is one of the new viewpoints we follow from in this part of the story. But I love her so much! She loves books, she's caring, unflinching, and level headed. I thought I'd miss Harper's view, but I think I liked Lia a bit more.And that end! By heck do I need to know what is going to happen next!!!

I loved the first book so much but this book somehow let me down. After being so attached to the characters in the first book, it was hard to completely turn that off and concentrate on the new POVs while they depict Rhen as a tyrant. I do think it all started with Grey making such a bad decision by running away and not telling Rhen.I think it’s understandable why Rhen behaved the way he did and it shows what trauma can truly do to a person (and he was terribly wrong for harming Grey). He was physically and mentally damaged by magic and gave all he had to protect his people. Then this unknown heir threatens to take everything away from him and worse, this heir has magic. It’s like one nightmare after another and his best “friend” ran away from him. He’s not even sure if Grey was working for Lilith or not.I don’t mind my perspectives about Rhen and Harper is being challenged in this book (when did Harper become so passive?) but it’s tiring seeing the repeated messages that Lia Mara is a very nice and naive person and Grey had suffered Rhen so much during those days. Only having the 2 POVs and seeing the incoherence in characters’s behaviours made me feel a bit disconnected with this series.It’s just my opinions and feelings reading this book. Of course I know everyone is different and many people love this second book. Maybe I expected to see more of Rhen and Harper and learning more about Grey and Lia at the same time. Not completely separated and while Rhen is done dirty this way. Hopefully the last book will be better tho.