Reviews

Bleeding Heart by Brittany M. Willows

cloudedreads's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 After reading – and loving – “Bloody Spade” that came out in 2021, I was excited for the upcoming sequel, and was lucky enough to get to read it early. “Bleeding Heart” was just what a duology concluding book ought to be – all threads of the story coming together for a satisfying finish. 

The story picks up exactly where it left off in the last book, and we find our main characters grappling with how recent events have changed them, individually and as a collective, as well as starting to plan for the inevitable showdown that will effectively decide the fate of the world as they know it – you know, just the things one goes through in their twenties. 

Due to the things characters go through (especially Iori, Alexander, and Kyani), the book deals with difficult topics, like trauma, and in my very limited experience does so pretty well. Despite the more serious conversations and scenes, the story shines with hope and well-timed humour, making the book a balanced experience. 

The only thing that kept me from a full-fledged-5-out-of-5-star enjoyment was perhaps just a me thing that frequently happens with sequels – it felt like we were spending a lot of time on fleshing out characters that we already knew and including only glimpses of those that were new, making a large chunk of the book feel like extra content from the last book and then things quickly advanced into the final battle sequence and a wrap up of the story (which I did enjoy a lot and really appreciated certain choices of where and how the characters were left – it made for a satisfying and not too much of a fairy tale ending). I do think that at some point I’ll reread these two books back to back and then it is quite possible that I will change my mind about it. All in all, it did not take too much enjoyment from me reading this book. 

“Bleeding Heart” was a lovely conclusion to the Cardplay Duology and while I will be missing these idiots I grew to love, I will definitely be looking forward to what the author writes next! 

I received an arc of this book from the author (thank you!!), and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 

caranox's review against another edition

5.0

Even though this rating is for an earlier, pre-published version of this book, I'm so incredibly eager to get a paperback copy to complete this duology. I didn't think it was possible to fall more in love with this chaotic crew of characters (plus some others!) until I reached the end. This was such a wonderful conclusion to a series I never knew I needed, and I wish I could experience the excitement of reading my way through this world for the first time all over again.

For those who absolutely loved BLOODY SPADE, you definitely won't be disappointed with BLEEDING HEART.