Reviews

The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco

charlmax's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

iner_tia14's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional

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

4.25

shandyt's review against another edition

4.0

4.0 stars.

Definitely an improvement over the first instalment. The prose reads much smoother, and the plot is significantly tighter. I was worried that the romance subplot would get tiresome, but it was handled better than I'd expected.

There are many worldbuilding and logistical issues that get glossed over for the sake of moving the story along.

Spoiler

How does the Azi invariably appear 3 seconds after it's been summoned? Why do we never get to hear descriptions of what it's like to fly on a three-headed dragon? How big is the Azi? What does it look like? Does it have lizard-like scales, or bony plates? How can Inessa and Alyx just go gallivanting around, like in an anime, without a retinue/security staff losing their minds? Are we meant to take away that Alyx is a bad ruler, considering the squalor in which many of her people live?

I rarely feel cheated that I don't get any of these details while reading, but afterward it will catch up to me, and I'll think, 'Wait a second...'

Spoiler

The most dissatisfying part of the book for me was the villain reveal at the end of the Daenerys Daanoris plot. Ideally, a sharp-eyed reader should be able to, in theory, figure it out for themselves. Hardly anyone ever pays close enough attention to actually solve the mystery, but if it's played well, you should be able to go back and find all the places where the answer was foreshadowed. This reveal did not give me that facepalm-triggering feeling of, 'Oh, of course!' Instead, it was more, 'Hm, okay, if you say so.'

A nitpicky quibble: the series has an ongoing issue with misuse of the addresses Your Highness/Your Majesty. For ruling heads of state, it should be Your Majesty, or Your Imperial Majesty for the Empress Alyx or Emperor Shifang. Your Highness/Your Imperial Highness is reserved for princes and princesses like Kance and Inessa.

kellyfables's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

book_dragon_julia's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

5.0

I enjoyed this book! There was much more action than the first book and I couldn't put it down. I read it in one go and I am now looking forward to the final book

maddynell635's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

_to_liveanddream_insideabook_'s review against another edition

adventurous sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

kokechii's review against another edition

4.0

I see a trend with me and trilogies and that is that the second book is always the best one. This one I breezed through, I simply could not put it down. This one is the one that made me invested and made me care about Tea and Kalen and other asha's and Likh and Khalad and basically everyone worth caring about. This one gave us Tea that the first book promised and so many times I found myself feeling for her and still so intrigued about her as a character since we get the story little by little. The world building grow even stronger here, introduced so many new places and characters and I loved it.

kel5190's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

seashelfs's review against another edition

5.0

This is probably my favorite book of this series. There is much more action on this book as opposed to book 1 as it was just Tea learning her powers. It takes us to an entirely new kingdom and explores the relationships of the core characters more. We get some of our questions answered and progress when it comes to the plot. **Book 1 spoilers** We also got to see how Kalen’s and Tea’s relationship blossomed. It was able to answer some questions from the 1st book which just raises a few new questions for the series conclusion.