Review: A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

I wasn’t planning to do two reviews back-to-back, but I have a few that I’d like to get posted, so here’s another review.

I started reading this book with high hopes and expectations. I loved A Curse So Dark and Lonely, and I was really excited to read the second one. Sadly, A Heart So Fierce and Broken didn’t quite live up to what I had expected it to.

Title: A Heart So Fierce and Broken
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Series: Cursebreakers #2
Page Count: 450

Synopsis: (spoilers for previous book!)

“Find the heir, win the crown.

The curse is finally broken, but Prince Rhen of Emberfall faces darker troubles still. Rumors circulate that he is not the true heir and that forbidden magic has been unleashed in Emberfall. Although Rhen has Harper by his side, his guardsman Grey is missing, leaving more questions than answers.

Win the crown, save the kingdom.

Rumored to be the heir, Grey has been on the run since he destroyed Lilith. He has no desire to challenge Rhen–until Karis Luran once again threatens to take Emberfall by force. Her own daughter Lia Mara sees the flaws in her mother’s violent plan, but can she convince Grey to stand against Rhen, even for the good of Emberfall?

The heart-pounding, compulsively readable saga continues as loyalties are tested and new love blooms in a kingdom on the brink of war.

In the sequel to New York Times bestselling A Curse So Dark and Lonely, Brigid Kemmerer returns to the world of Emberfall in a lush fantasy where friends become foes and love blooms in the darkest of places.”

Content Warnings:

graphic violence, torture, murder

There are no spoilers in this review for AHSFAB. However, there are spoilers for ACSDAL.

I was really hoping that this book would be as good as the first one. Unfortunately, A Heart So Fierce and Broken didn’t live up to my expectations.

Let’s start with the good things. Lia Mara and Nolla Verin had a great sister bond. I can’t say anything about it without spoiling a major part of the book, but they started out with not liking each other very much. Over the course of the book however, they came together and helped lift each other up.

The pacing was also done well. I was thoroughly engaged in the story and there weren’t any times that I felt the story was going too slowly or was being dragged out.

Okay, let’s talk about Rhen. I really did not like him in this book. In ACSDAL, he tried so hard not to be the villain. He grew and changed. And now, in AHSFAB, he was absolutely awful! I understand that he was trying to protect his throne and people, but everything he learned earlier just flew out the window. His character didn’t feel consistent.

And Harper. She barely appears in this book. She has the first chapter in her perspective, and then she makes only a few appearances afterwards. I understand that this was Grey’s book and it mostly focused on him and Lia Mara, but I kind of expected her to show up a little more. Also, where did this independent, take charge young woman go? Throughout the whole story, Harper pretty much stays by Rhen’s side the whole time. She helps Grey, Lia Mara, and some other characters, but other than that, she just decides to stay in the castle with Rhen. It’s like she’s kind of a changed person in this book.

Oh my gosh, and that ending? I don’t know what to think about it. After everything that happened in this book with Rhen, I was even more annoyed at what he did. After what he went through in book one, I didn’t think he’d ever choose to do this, but it turns out that I was wrong.

I really wanted to like this book, I really did. But I just couldn’t. It annoyed me too much. I’m honestly kind of nervous to read the third one because I feel like it’s going to annoy me as well, but I still going to. I need to find out what happens.

My Rating: 3/5 dragons