A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

e-ARC, 464 pages           
Release Date: January 7, 2020
Published by: Bloomsbury YA
Read from: January 5-12, 2020
Cursebreakers, #2
Source: Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.) 
TW: Sword fighting
For fans of: Fantasy, Magic, High Fantasy, Action, Cliff-Hanger Ending, Multiple POV, YA


     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.

*MY THOUGHTS*

     I was terrified to read this because I knew it would be a hit or miss for me. I just knew it would not be as good for me as the first one. And although I was right, this one was still good and definitely needs to be read by everyone. 
"I'm not buying my freedom with your death."
13%
     The curse on Prince Rhen and his castle is broken. Now Prince Rhen must reunite his people. But with that pesky rumor of there being another heir still floating around, this is proving to be more difficult than he thought. And with Grsy still missing, many of his other questions are still left unanswered. Just when it's thought that things can't get any worse, they a neighboring town comes and requests that they ally together, "for the good of their people." When Rhen refuses, they reveal they will take it by any means necessary. But, Lia Mara, daughter of the Queen does not see things quite the way her mother does. Can she convince them to listen to her and join together before its too late?
"Fear makes people act in ways we'd never expect."
42%
     The reason I think I liked the other more is because this one just didn't have enough going on for me. There was so much traveling in this one and that's just not my jam. To me, traveling is just a code word for filler. It seemed like this was the set up to what is going to be an epic last novel. 
"Strength and skill are not matters of luck."
53%
     Also, I went into this expecting getting some answers for book one, but I got only 2. Yes granted they were two very bih questions, but still had more. And to think that it was done when Book 2 brought up some questions of its own. There is so much going on in this series, it would have been nice to contain it some how. 
"When a man no longer deserves your loyalty, it is not a failing oof yours..."
54%
     The characters are still my favorite part of this series. I LOVED Lia Mara and I've always loved Grey. I wish things could have been different for my other favorite, the poor unfortunate soul, Rhen. Although I am Team Grey, I hope someone is in Rhen's corner. I still think Harper is bad ass, even though we don't see much of her bad assery in this one. *SPOILER* And of course, this one chick is still one of the baddest villains I've seen in a long time. I thought that was the end of her...
"A Queen needs no King to stand at her side."
65%
     As for the ending, I thought I would have gotten it by now. Wait to read this closer to either release date or release date of the next year because I know my limits. And each time the ending of this broke me lol I found myself getting so riled up on another bombshell cliff-hanger that I kept flipping through pages to find the rest of the story. There were so many pages, but still somehow not enough. 
"Ah yes, the most dangerous person at the party is always the girl sitting alone with a book."
79%
     And last but not least, I still loved the world-builing in this one. I could pictire Emberfall and Ironrose and so many more of their spaces. I was still impressed by the amount of thoought went into world building.I felt like I had visited and could see everything atound me.
     This book wasn't my favorite of the series, but I can definitely see this setting up for something completely epic. This series is quickly becoming a favorite of so many readers, including me. I can't wait to get my hands on the 3rd one!




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