Review: The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco

Hey all, Dani here.

It feels like it has been a little while since I last wrote up a review, but I am so darn excited to present my review for this lovely ARC I was sent by the publisher.

Last year I read The Bone Witch and I adored it. You can find my review here if you missed it. I was pleased by the book and thankfully it landed on my favorite reads list. But that also meant that I needed to wait for an eternity for this sequel.

And it definitely delivered. Let’s jump into the review.

Summary

In The Bone Witch, Tea mastered resurrection―now she’s after revenge…

No one knows death like Tea. A bone witch who can resurrect the dead, she has the power to take life…and return it. And she is done with her self-imposed exile. Her heart is set on vengeance, and she now possesses all she needs to command the mighty daeva. With the help of these terrifying beasts, she can finally enact revenge against the royals who wronged her―and took the life of her one true love.

But there are those who plot against her, those who would use Tea’s dark power for their own nefarious ends. Because you can’t kill someone who can never die…

War is brewing among the kingdoms, and when dark magic is at play, no one is safe. 

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

It took a little longer for me to read this one, but that doesn’t mean that it is not as good. I think I was just trying to take my time and enjoy the reading experience.

What I really enjoy about this series is the dual story/time line. We get to experience the story with Tea as a younger girl, and a couple years later as she tells her story to a Bard. The way the plots develop and twist about each other. Some of the events that Tea hints at when she is telling the Bard about her story don’t get fully explained or revealed until later, and the anticipation of the reveal is so exciting.

The character interactions and the relationships that form or break are just so fascinating to me. All of the characters are so rich and I love how we get to learn about them through this story and the events that happen throughout it all.

I also really enjoy the world-building and the culture. We get to see more of the other countries in this one, and there is more revealed with the asha and their magic. I don’t want to get into more details with it because this is the second book in a series, and I’d like to try and avoid spoilers, but I enjoy learning about the different hua designs and the different zivars, and how the different asha wield their magic. It’s just so interesting to me.

And I say all this with the knowledge that I’ve never really been a fan of zombies or necromancy or that sort of story. But there is just something about Tea and her story that draws me in. I love the story, the characters, the descriptions, and everything.

Now I just have the long wait until book 3, The Shadowglass, which is expected sometime in 2019.

Where to Buy

You can pre-order The Heart Forger from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore. It will be out in the world on March 6th, 2018.