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elpowell's review against another edition
5.0
STRANGERS TO LOVERS TO FACING THE GODS AND YOUR MORTALITY AND WINNING YOUR LOVES HEART BACK OOOOOOOOOH MY GOD
rentaneko's review against another edition
3.0
Tone and pacing felt off.... understand why it was written from diff povs but it made the transition from chapter to chapter v jarring. And the conclusion felt rushed
paragraphsandpages's review against another edition
3.0
I desperately wanted to love this, and I loved parts of it, but overall this would've worked better as a Part 2 within The Midnight Lie instead of its own installment.
Let's start with the positives. I loved the ending, maybe because by then my expectations had lowered greatly and I didn't mind the abruptness and quickness of it, but I loved how it wrapped up with the gods and stories, which was the focus of the series overall. I also liked the god POV in this book too, and the story it told, though it's novelty wore off fast. Additionally, I did enjoy this outer perspective it seemed to bring throughout the entire book. I also still liked Sid and Nirrim, though I missed what I loved about them from the first book.
My biggest issue with this book is that it takes a loosely connected series set in the same world as The Winner's Curse and situates it firmly as a sequel series. I was hit over the head with how much of a sequel series this duology became solely because of this second book. I was still planning on reading the original trilogy at a later date, but I basically don't need to anymore because this book decided to describe, in detail, the entire plot of that trilogy. I still don't full understand why except to explain this side-side plot that was happening in Sid's point of view, and why we should care about it, but it was unnecessary for even that. We were motivated enough to see this murder/poison plot through simply by seeing how much Kestrel's potential death would break Sid and Arin, we didn't need an extended history lesson to see that. It was so frustrating and constant, and while this series was always going to be a spoiler for the trilogy in the sense that we know who survives the events of the trilogy, I didn't expect to be taught every little thing about Sid's parent's relationship and history? It was especially frustrating because Sid is motivated by wanting her own story/love story, yet her own series feels taken from her by her parents once again. It takes so long for it to be wrapped up and for Sid to return to the story started in The Midnight Lie.
I also just didn't enjoy this book as much because Nirrim and Sid spend almost the entire book apart. They're in their own worlds with their own problems, thinking of the other every once in a while, but they just feel so separate. It wouldn't have been the same regardless of if they were together or not, because Nirrim lost her heart, but it just felt like such a loss regardless. I missed their banter and how they grew together, and I missed having a story that felt strong on its own, and that didn't hinge entirely on some other series.
I guess, overall, my main frustrations from this book come from the sudden decision to make it much more of a sequel series than the first book was, and the choices that were made because of that. I still love The Midnight Lie, but if I reread, I might skip a large chunk of this book and just read the ending, because it felt like such a weird detour in the middle.
Let's start with the positives. I loved the ending, maybe because by then my expectations had lowered greatly and I didn't mind the abruptness and quickness of it, but I loved how it wrapped up with the gods and stories, which was the focus of the series overall. I also liked the god POV in this book too, and the story it told, though it's novelty wore off fast. Additionally, I did enjoy this outer perspective it seemed to bring throughout the entire book. I also still liked Sid and Nirrim, though I missed what I loved about them from the first book.
My biggest issue with this book is that it takes a loosely connected series set in the same world as The Winner's Curse and situates it firmly as a sequel series. I was hit over the head with how much of a sequel series this duology became solely because of this second book. I was still planning on reading the original trilogy at a later date, but I basically don't need to anymore because this book decided to describe, in detail, the entire plot of that trilogy. I still don't full understand why except to explain this side-side plot that was happening in Sid's point of view, and why we should care about it, but it was unnecessary for even that. We were motivated enough to see this murder/poison plot through simply by seeing how much Kestrel's potential death would break Sid and Arin, we didn't need an extended history lesson to see that. It was so frustrating and constant, and while this series was always going to be a spoiler for the trilogy in the sense that we know who survives the events of the trilogy, I didn't expect to be taught every little thing about Sid's parent's relationship and history? It was especially frustrating because Sid is motivated by wanting her own story/love story, yet her own series feels taken from her by her parents once again. It takes so long for it to be wrapped up and for Sid to return to the story started in The Midnight Lie.
I also just didn't enjoy this book as much because Nirrim and Sid spend almost the entire book apart. They're in their own worlds with their own problems, thinking of the other every once in a while, but they just feel so separate. It wouldn't have been the same regardless of if they were together or not, because Nirrim lost her heart, but it just felt like such a loss regardless. I missed their banter and how they grew together, and I missed having a story that felt strong on its own, and that didn't hinge entirely on some other series.
I guess, overall, my main frustrations from this book come from the sudden decision to make it much more of a sequel series than the first book was, and the choices that were made because of that. I still love The Midnight Lie, but if I reread, I might skip a large chunk of this book and just read the ending, because it felt like such a weird detour in the middle.
haliwriteswords's review against another edition
5.0
MARIE RUTKOSKI YOU ARE EVIL AND I WILL BE SENDING YOU MY THERAPY BILLS
hacfhowe's review against another edition
5.0
Initially I had so many uncertain feelings about this book but as soon as I stopped comparing it to the Midnight Lie it became very clear to me how much I loved it personally.
I really wish that Sid and Nirrim had gotten a longer page time together and overall I felt that the whole story and certain plot lines could have been longer.
However, this was very gorgeously written and Sid's POV simply won me over.
Plus the yearning from both sides that was present almost on every page was almost as good as their shared scenes.
I really wish that Sid and Nirrim had gotten a longer page time together and overall I felt that the whole story and certain plot lines could have been longer.
However, this was very gorgeously written and Sid's POV simply won me over.
Plus the yearning from both sides that was present almost on every page was almost as good as their shared scenes.
tiredbookish's review against another edition
5.0
The Hollow Heart has been one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 and it did not disappoint.
I absolutely loved the multiple POVs and interconnected stories in this sequel. I appreciate especially being able to see inside Sid's thoughts.
Nirrim's POV was difficult to read, but in the best way. It was like she was a shadow of her former self and leaves you just begging for other characters to try to help her faster.
I read the original Winner's Trilogy after I read The Midnight Lie and fell in love with Marie Rutkoski's writing style. I appreciated Sid's POV bringing us back to characters from TWT, but still focusing on her and making sure this was her story.
Sid's descriptions of how she experiences gender also made me feel very connected to her. I thought Sid seemed like a nonbinary lesbian in the first book and this one pointed even more in that direction.
I loved the focus on familial love as well as romantic in this story as well. Love and forgiveness have been major themes in both the winner's trilogy and this duology and I think they are written and emphasized so beautifully.
My only complaint is that I wish it was longer so that I could have seen more of Sid and Nirrim being together. I don't think it was a bad thing that they were separated, it was necessary for the story, I just wish we had gotten a little bit more.
Like the first book, the writing was absolutely beautiful. The way environments and feelings are described made me put down the book several times just to think about how pretty those descriptions were.
This book, especially near the ending, read like a beautiful queer fairytale and I look forward to more of Rutkoski's writing in the future.
I absolutely loved the multiple POVs and interconnected stories in this sequel. I appreciate especially being able to see inside Sid's thoughts.
Nirrim's POV was difficult to read, but in the best way. It was like she was a shadow of her former self and leaves you just begging for other characters to try to help her faster.
I read the original Winner's Trilogy after I read The Midnight Lie and fell in love with Marie Rutkoski's writing style. I appreciated Sid's POV bringing us back to characters from TWT, but still focusing on her and making sure this was her story.
Sid's descriptions of how she experiences gender also made me feel very connected to her. I thought Sid seemed like a nonbinary lesbian in the first book and this one pointed even more in that direction.
I loved the focus on familial love as well as romantic in this story as well. Love and forgiveness have been major themes in both the winner's trilogy and this duology and I think they are written and emphasized so beautifully.
My only complaint is that I wish it was longer so that I could have seen more of Sid and Nirrim being together. I don't think it was a bad thing that they were separated, it was necessary for the story, I just wish we had gotten a little bit more.
Like the first book, the writing was absolutely beautiful. The way environments and feelings are described made me put down the book several times just to think about how pretty those descriptions were.
This book, especially near the ending, read like a beautiful queer fairytale and I look forward to more of Rutkoski's writing in the future.
greymouse's review against another edition
5.0
After long awaiting the release of this book, while still good, it did fall flat compared to the first one. I wish the lore of the world was expanded upon and the character development wasn’t so jaded. The complete story of origin was a nice way to wrap up the duology, however the shifting of perspectives and flashbacks could have been more cohesive.
singsthewren's review against another edition
3.0
This follow-up book to the midnight lie found us is unfamiliar territory. Sid went home - and somehow I missed that she was the child of the main characters from the other trilogy! It was a little hard to see my beloved characters as such godawful parents, and see how miserable their child was. Made it a little disappointing to read, I would have preferred if it was a new series, to be honest. I don't think it gained anything from its association with the other series.
I really liked Sid's storyline, though, and her scenes with her parents were interesting and great. Unfortunately, the other half of the narrative was less compelling. Every scene felt very perfunctory. It skimmed through huge important scenes without even showing them to you.
The final act was similarly rushed. I felt like this could and should have been a trilogy. There was just no time to go into any of the emotional arcs of the characters. I wanted to see Sid and yes-I've-forgotten-her-name-sorry together, see Sid's slow growing realization that something was missing, see the push and pull between them. But we got a handful of pages and that was it.
It was a good book, but I felt like it could have been a great book and just didn't quite get there.
I really liked Sid's storyline, though, and her scenes with her parents were interesting and great. Unfortunately, the other half of the narrative was less compelling. Every scene felt very perfunctory. It skimmed through huge important scenes without even showing them to you.
The final act was similarly rushed. I felt like this could and should have been a trilogy. There was just no time to go into any of the emotional arcs of the characters. I wanted to see Sid and yes-I've-forgotten-her-name-sorry together, see Sid's slow growing realization that something was missing, see the push and pull between them. But we got a handful of pages and that was it.
It was a good book, but I felt like it could have been a great book and just didn't quite get there.
postitsandpens's review against another edition
3.0
I think it's probably not a great sign that my favorite parts of this book were the scenes we got with Kestrel and Arin. While I liked Sid and Nirrim's romance in The Midnight Lie, I found myself a lot less interested in the outcome of their relationship in this book. This is probably because they spend much of the book apart, but I also just found the family dynamic/relationship between Kestrel, Arin, and Sid a lot more interesting and emotional. I also found the way this book was told a bit confusing, and never truly felt engaged in the story, even with the mystery behind Kestrel's illness becoming a large plot point for most the book. All in all, this one just kind of fell flat for me, lacking any kind of emotional impact. Definitely a bummer, considering just how much I loved the original series.