A Heart So Fierce and Broken: Brigid Kemmerer (The Cursebreaker Series)

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I'm not even sure what to say about Rhen. Am I truly surprised by his actions? No. That man has gone through some intense shit for literal decades, and while not an excuse, it's certainly a bit of an explanation for the way he feels and acts. No matter how I feel a character inside the book should have reacted to him in light of the aforementioned display of cruelty, I as a reader still find him compelling. Kind of like - dare I say it - Tamlin. Who, surprise, I also don't hate lol. This book was everything I hoped it would be and more! I definitely recommend it to everyone who likes Fantasy, Fairytales, Adventure and Romance. It surprised and delighted me in that it was not any sort of retelling. Though I did think A Curse so Dark and Lonely was one of the best retellings of Beauty and the Beast, even better than the Disney versions, since it dealt with a genuine beast that killed people.

A Heart So Fierce and Broken - Goodreads A Heart So Fierce and Broken - Goodreads

This causes a lot of issues for Rhen, Lia, and Grey since they are all now inevitably tied up. You’re probably thinking at this point “Well what about Harper, she was the main character of ACSDAL?” Well, she is of no use in this book. Like she was just thrown to the side so Grey and Lia Mara and Rhen could take the shine. Harper is maybe in it a couple of times and even then she only has a few speaking lines. We don’t see much of her but when we do it’s obviously important, I still just think it’s a crime that she isn’t in it very much. My throat tightens. I turn to look out over the courtyard again, hoping the breeze will drag my tears away. "He was trapped with you for ... ever," I say. "Forever, Rhen. "How could you do that to him?"

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Grey is hiding in a small city, posing as a stable hand under the name Hawk, there he attempts to lay low to avoid the Rhen's guards who are looking for him. While here Grey befriends the boy Tycho, who looks up to Grey. Grey teaches Tycho some basic swordplay, but after Tycho catches him disappearing and then suddenly reappearing, Grey reveals the truth to Tycho, and begins to teach him more advanced moves. The heart-pounding, compulsively readable saga continues as loyalties are tested and new love blooms in a kingdom on the brink of war. Choices are never easy. There are good and bad options, but the most dangerous is to not make any choice at all.” Harper and Grey didn't have a good start, after he dragged her from her world into Emberfall. Over time, they end up getting well along, trusting each other, and becoming great friends. Harper teasingly calls him Scary Grey. It is implied in A Heart So Fierce and Broken that he may have had feelings for Harper and she could possibly have had feelings for him. "but Jake's not you" in reference to when they were escaping the castle. This might have been had he not been sworn of any sort of family and Rhen had not been there. Instead they remained great friends. My main gripe with this book relates to its characters. Harper was my favorite part of A Curse So Dark and Lonely, but she is hardly featured in A Heart So Fierce and Broken, having been swept to the sidelines in favor of Grey and Lia Mara. The few times that she does appear, she is a shell of her former self. Gone is her fierceness; in its place is meekness. She stands by Rhen while he commits atrocities and makes excuses for his abhorrent behavior. While we are on the subject of Rhen, what became of him in this book? He has done a complete 180, transforming from kindhearted to despicable. All of the groundwork that was laid in the first book to show how much he cares about his people has gone out the window in this book. Further, his invention of the kingdom of Disi to protect his people from Syhl Shallow, which was touted as admirable in A Curse So Dark and Lonely, is portrayed as skeevy in this book.

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Something happens in this book that I'm sure is going to cause much uproar amongst readers. I personally thought it was brilliantly done and that the author took a huge risk. *rubs hands together* I'm really excited to see how everyone is going to react to it. I really liked Lia Mara, much more than I expected. She was so genuine and I admired her tenacity. She is badass in an unexpected way. She is filled with doubt and does not have good self-esteem, but seeing her grow throughout the book, filled me with such pride. after these unfortunate and unwanted changes, i had to read this book as if it were completely unconnected to ACSDAL and essentially a standalone. after doing that, after reading this story for what it is individually and not a follow up to another half, i started to enjoy this. like really enjoy this.Grey travels through dimensions to find girls for Rhen, so one of them might fall for him and break the curse. In A Curse so Dark and Lonely Grey was my favourite character, my love for him has just grown and grown. In Forging Silver into Stars, Tycho is in possession of rare magic rings that Grey has forged himself. This shows how much Grey values Tycho as a friend. He also appoints Tycho as the King's Courier and entrusts him with all the royal messages. I had never really paid much attention to Jacob in book one, but I loved how he and Grey become closer in this book and seeing their friendship bloom. *sniffs* It was just so damn beautiful.

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer Editions of A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

In general, AHSFAB's storyline was very predictable. I've heard this said by many people about the first book too, but didn't feel so myself. Or if I did, it was only in the sense that I saw the obvious red thread behind it all because .. well .. it is a retelling. I found that comforting if anything, but not boring. And while I was not necessarily bored reading book two (I read this very fast for my standards too. Brigid Kemmerer's writing style is very fluid and easy to read), I knew exactly what was gonna happen next, to a point where I honestly asked myself if it's worth actually reading some of the chapters or if just skimming would be enough.Rhen’s curse has finally been lifted, but he’s not out of the deep end yet. His kingdom is turning on him as rumors of a true heir to the throne arise, and Karis Luran threatens war on Emberfall. Grey has fled the castle, being the only one with knowledge of the true heir’s identity. As things threaten to come crashing down around Rhen, Grey wars with himself; the fate of two kingdoms are resting on his shoulders, after all. A Heart so Fierce and Broken has been one of my most anticipated releases for 2020 following A Curse so Dark and Lonely, which remains one of my absolute favorite reads for all of 2019. I devoured that book, laughed and cried and fell oh so hard for every single character. Most of all the wonderfully fierce Harper.