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A review by b_tellefsen_rescuesandreads
A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer
4.0
Y'all......my thoughts for this book are so damn conflicted. Please proceed to read my rambling and mildly coherent review. Maybe you can tell me how I feel.
After finishing A Curse So Dark and Lonely, I immediately picked up A Heart so Fierce and Broken. Both books were on my Januar TBR and I was just so enamored with the world and story that I was not yet ready to leave.
I was easily able to slip right back into the world and was instantly charmed, even more so because AHSOFAB was about Grey, and he was my favorite character from the first book. But my love of him was built within the context of book one, so the direction AHSFAB took, has altered the way I view book one now that I know where the storyline is headed.
Because of this, I must echo the same sentiments of my fellow reviewer when I say that I would have much preferred a love triangle between Rhen, Grey, and Harper, then what we actually were given in this second installment.
Hear me out.
When the first book ended, Harper and Rhen's relationship is nowhere near solidified. In fact, I was almost positive a relationship between Harper and Grey was going to be explored more deeply in this book, especially since the two had obvious chemistry. In fact, even though I truly did like Rhen, I always felt a deeper connection between Harper and Grey. So at the ending of book one, Harper and Rhen were not "in love," and were still very much testing the waters, I felt like there would be something to test that relationship.
So when book two opens and BAM! Harper and Rhen are apparently in love, I was shooketh. Even still, I held out hope for my baby Grey. I was expecting a full-on Rhysand switch-up with book two, especially after we witness a bit more of the cruel side of Rhen. Rhen is in no way a Tamlin, but as Book 2 is almost told entirely from perspectives outside of Rhen and Harper, and you are getting to see how others view Rhen, you understand where the problems lie. And because of this, I fully expect Harper to object and be Grey's champion. But did that happen?! NAH!!!
Then...enter Lia. She is the daughter of the Queen of the neighboring country that caused Rhen and Emberfall so much grief in book one. But Lia is not like her mother. She genuinely wants peace and this story begins with her trying to make that happen and things go from there.
There is nothing inherently wrong with Lia. I don't know if I didn't love her character because I am so devoted to Harper and the idea of Harper with Grey, but all I can say, is that even though Grey and Harper share very little page time within this book, you can still feel the chemistry between them more then you ever did between Grey and Lia throughout the entirety of the book! The moments between them did not feel genuine, as though Brigid Kemmerer knew she had to make up for the lack of Harper/Grey content by including an additional love interest.
Lia just felt..less to me. Even though she had a lot of really positive attributes, attributes that really do mesh well with Grey, she seemed very emotional and cried quite often. And where in the first book, you get this gradual development of feelings between Harper and Rhen, and in some ways, between Harper and Grey, Lia's feelings for Grey become apparent very quickly which seemed so forced and predictable.
And even though Harper is noticeably objecting to some of Wren's actions, she defends him and stays by his side. That feels like a markedly different shift from book one, where she questioned him at every turn and defied him often. It seems to me that she should be the voice of reason in their relationship, and I would have liked to see her be more of a mediator in this book as well, rather than having Grey spend almost the entirety of this book away from them both.
So this book did take a huge shift in plot, not unlike ACOMAF vs. ACOTAR, but it didn't quite go in the direction I was hoping. And it set up for a huge conflict between the two sides in book three, which is NOT what I want to see. I do not want my babies fighting each other.
So, I obviously have a lot of disappointment regarding the way this plot when, but I still felt it was a very solid story. And again, I loved following Grey. But my desire to follow his plot is now lessened that he is away from Harper, actively going after Rhen, and with a new love interest, which breaks my heart a bit.
Even so, I still love the world. I enjoy the vibe. I love the dynamics between many of the characters and I flew through this book. I had to know what happened.
So does my lack of enthusiasm over the new love interest dampen that? Or can I accept it and move on?
Right now, I am sitting this at a 4 stars. That may change after a time separated from it.
After finishing A Curse So Dark and Lonely, I immediately picked up A Heart so Fierce and Broken. Both books were on my Januar TBR and I was just so enamored with the world and story that I was not yet ready to leave.
I was easily able to slip right back into the world and was instantly charmed, even more so because AHSOFAB was about Grey, and he was my favorite character from the first book. But my love of him was built within the context of book one, so the direction AHSFAB took, has altered the way I view book one now that I know where the storyline is headed.
Because of this, I must echo the same sentiments of my fellow reviewer when I say that I would have much preferred a love triangle between Rhen, Grey, and Harper, then what we actually were given in this second installment.
Hear me out.
When the first book ended, Harper and Rhen's relationship is nowhere near solidified. In fact, I was almost positive a relationship between Harper and Grey was going to be explored more deeply in this book, especially since the two had obvious chemistry. In fact, even though I truly did like Rhen, I always felt a deeper connection between Harper and Grey. So at the ending of book one, Harper and Rhen were not "in love," and were still very much testing the waters, I felt like there would be something to test that relationship.
So when book two opens and BAM! Harper and Rhen are apparently in love, I was shooketh. Even still, I held out hope for my baby Grey. I was expecting a full-on Rhysand switch-up with book two, especially after we witness a bit more of the cruel side of Rhen. Rhen is in no way a Tamlin, but as Book 2 is almost told entirely from perspectives outside of Rhen and Harper, and you are getting to see how others view Rhen, you understand where the problems lie. And because of this, I fully expect Harper to object and be Grey's champion. But did that happen?! NAH!!!
Then...enter Lia. She is the daughter of the Queen of the neighboring country that caused Rhen and Emberfall so much grief in book one. But Lia is not like her mother. She genuinely wants peace and this story begins with her trying to make that happen and things go from there.
There is nothing inherently wrong with Lia. I don't know if I didn't love her character because I am so devoted to Harper and the idea of Harper with Grey, but all I can say, is that even though Grey and Harper share very little page time within this book, you can still feel the chemistry between them more then you ever did between Grey and Lia throughout the entirety of the book! The moments between them did not feel genuine, as though Brigid Kemmerer knew she had to make up for the lack of Harper/Grey content by including an additional love interest.
Lia just felt..less to me. Even though she had a lot of really positive attributes, attributes that really do mesh well with Grey, she seemed very emotional and cried quite often. And where in the first book, you get this gradual development of feelings between Harper and Rhen, and in some ways, between Harper and Grey, Lia's feelings for Grey become apparent very quickly which seemed so forced and predictable.
And even though Harper is noticeably objecting to some of Wren's actions, she defends him and stays by his side. That feels like a markedly different shift from book one, where she questioned him at every turn and defied him often. It seems to me that she should be the voice of reason in their relationship, and I would have liked to see her be more of a mediator in this book as well, rather than having Grey spend almost the entirety of this book away from them both.
So this book did take a huge shift in plot, not unlike ACOMAF vs. ACOTAR, but it didn't quite go in the direction I was hoping. And it set up for a huge conflict between the two sides in book three, which is NOT what I want to see. I do not want my babies fighting each other.
So, I obviously have a lot of disappointment regarding the way this plot when, but I still felt it was a very solid story. And again, I loved following Grey. But my desire to follow his plot is now lessened that he is away from Harper, actively going after Rhen, and with a new love interest, which breaks my heart a bit.
Even so, I still love the world. I enjoy the vibe. I love the dynamics between many of the characters and I flew through this book. I had to know what happened.
So does my lack of enthusiasm over the new love interest dampen that? Or can I accept it and move on?
Right now, I am sitting this at a 4 stars. That may change after a time separated from it.