Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Heart Forger

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.

The last scene of the book made me irate. He defended his father to Tea, Kalen, and Khalad, who all had experienced Telemaine’s wrath.

Casting Tea out of Odalia for driving Telemaine mad was too much. I understand the grief that comes with losing a parent, but defending him after all the things he did seemed wholly unnecessary.

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.

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pitchblackkoi's review

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I am thoroughly enjoying this series and will be reading the next book in it.
Love seeing the azi being described like a cat (makes a 3 headed dragon beast super adorable. Love when dragons are described like big scaley cats tbh). All the mystery/secrets are keeping me going because I need to know why we got here and what Tea's end goal will be/look like.
Def wasn't expecting the little twist in there involving the Odalian royal family.

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amre23's review against another edition

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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

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lakinglaze's review against another edition

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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!!

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thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition

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5.0

I loved this so much more than book 1!! Going to start book 3 almost immediately lol. Here are my live reactions:

oh snap the revenge is starting!!
who is the hanjian?
oh look, Aenah can be useful
Kance is engaged?? this won't end well
poor Fox too, is he pining for Inessa
oooh forbidden knowledge
Khalad is still on her side *cries*
okay so Tea knows the Daanorian princess
oh Tea and Kalen almost had a moment XD
Tea's family came to see her?? *cries*
OMG FAKE DATING
WHAT HAPPENED TO KANCE
I need to know how Tea and Fox ended up on opposite sides!!
yay jailbreak!
Polaire knows one of the forbidden runes??
oh no oh no why did you compel Kalen
wait Inessa and Fox were serious-serious?
why did Inessa pale at the mention of Fox's heartglass??
did they give each other heartglasses?? but still wear their own, for secrecy??
who did Tea kill?? Inessa? Polaire? Althy??
Empress to the rescue XD
okay so I need to know when Kalen fell for her
also, idk if it's just my edition, but some of the dialogue is not attributed correctly?
yay I love healing❤️
the dead are EATING THEM?? wtf is this
Omg poor Inessa, she has more suitors than she needs
I am here for Khalad/Likh, so sweet!
OMG THEY KISSED
yay Zoya and Shadi confirmation!
LOVE CONFESSION
okay this coup is wild, the Heartforger was in the dungeons all along??
WTF just happened to Hestia
OH SNAP THE KING
Damn this fight is satisfying though, get Aenah!
Mykaelaaaaa

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jupiterlee's review against another edition

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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).

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sankta_aleena's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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