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strawberrycandy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Death
Minor: Homophobia and Gore
deadbookishsociety's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
2nd book to the midnight lie series and it was okay for me , comparing it to the first book where the author brilliantly merged the fantasy world with the one we live in to give a raw and gruesome view of how classism and divisions in the society have led to the exploitation of people who are considered as ' lesser ' and how no one really knows when , who and how those rules and boundaries were made , this one wasn't quite about to grab my attention the same way .
Starting of with Nirrim who I loved in the firat book watching her grown to the person she became , I really felt detached from her in this one, i know there were reasons for what she did but still her character lacked the charm she has in the midnight lie . Sid on the other hand was the only character who kept me going, her story and the way she not only dealt with whatever was going on in her life , I felt like she became the main character by the end of it all leaving behind nirrim . Her chapters and pov was all I was looking forward to .
And the end it felt incomplete in a way , it yet again the only way it could have ended but it somehow didn't feel like it , considering how both the books were 400 pages long it was too short for a fantasy duology and everything by the end felt rushed.
Anyway this book was an okay read , I'll still recommend it to people who live fast paced , easily world building and maybe corruption arcs .
Thank you netgalley and hodder & stoughton for providing me an arc for this book
Starting of with Nirrim who I loved in the firat book watching her grown to the person she became , I really felt detached from her in this one, i know there were reasons for what she did but still her character lacked the charm she has in the midnight lie . Sid on the other hand was the only character who kept me going, her story and the way she not only dealt with whatever was going on in her life , I felt like she became the main character by the end of it all leaving behind nirrim . Her chapters and pov was all I was looking forward to .
And the end it felt incomplete in a way , it yet again the only way it could have ended but it somehow didn't feel like it , considering how both the books were 400 pages long it was too short for a fantasy duology and everything by the end felt rushed.
Anyway this book was an okay read , I'll still recommend it to people who live fast paced , easily world building and maybe corruption arcs .
Thank you netgalley and hodder & stoughton for providing me an arc for this book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
tiredbookish's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.75
The Hollow Heart has been one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 and it did not disappoint.
I absolutely loved the multiple POVs and interconnected stories in this sequel. I appreciate especially being able to see inside Sid's thoughts.
Nirrim's POV was difficult to read, but in the best way. It was like she was a shadow of her former self and leaves you just begging for other characters to try to help her faster.
I read the original Winner's Trilogy after I read The Midnight Lie and fell in love with Marie Rutkoski's writing style. I appreciated Sid's POV bringing us back to characters from TWT, but still focusing on her and making sure this was her story.
Sid's descriptions of how she experiences gender also made me feel very connected to her. I thought Sid seemed like a nonbinary lesbian in the first book and this one pointed even more in that direction.
I loved the focus on familial love as well as romantic in this story as well. Love and forgiveness have been major themes in both the winner's trilogy and this duology and I think they are written and emphasized so beautifully.
My only complaint is that I wish it was longer so that I could have seen more of Sid and Nirrim being together. I don't think it was a bad thing that they were separated, it was necessary for the story, I just wish we had gotten a little bit more.
Like the first book, the writing was absolutely beautiful. The way environments and feelings are described made me put down the book several times just to think about how pretty those descriptions were.
This book, especially near the ending, read like a beautiful queer fairytale and I look forward to more of Rutkoski's writing in the future.
I absolutely loved the multiple POVs and interconnected stories in this sequel. I appreciate especially being able to see inside Sid's thoughts.
Nirrim's POV was difficult to read, but in the best way. It was like she was a shadow of her former self and leaves you just begging for other characters to try to help her faster.
I read the original Winner's Trilogy after I read The Midnight Lie and fell in love with Marie Rutkoski's writing style. I appreciated Sid's POV bringing us back to characters from TWT, but still focusing on her and making sure this was her story.
Sid's descriptions of how she experiences gender also made me feel very connected to her. I thought Sid seemed like a nonbinary lesbian in the first book and this one pointed even more in that direction.
I loved the focus on familial love as well as romantic in this story as well. Love and forgiveness have been major themes in both the winner's trilogy and this duology and I think they are written and emphasized so beautifully.
My only complaint is that I wish it was longer so that I could have seen more of Sid and Nirrim being together. I don't think it was a bad thing that they were separated, it was necessary for the story, I just wish we had gotten a little bit more.
Like the first book, the writing was absolutely beautiful. The way environments and feelings are described made me put down the book several times just to think about how pretty those descriptions were.
This book, especially near the ending, read like a beautiful queer fairytale and I look forward to more of Rutkoski's writing in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse and Physical abuse
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