A review by plumpaperbacks
The Hollow Heart by Marie Rutkoski

dark emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

After thoroughly enjoying The Midnight Lie, I was so excited to dive into The Hollow Heart. Unfortunately, I found it incredibly underwhelming, and even considering DNFing more than once. I pushed through because of how much I liked the first book, thinking it had to get better. And while it did, marginally, it never managed to achieve the same levels of intrigue, emotion and romance as its predecessor.

The slow pacing and long chapters made reading this feel like an uphill battle. At risk of sounding dramatic, it was sort of a Sisyphus situation—every time I would start to get invested, an especially long, boring chapter would ruin that for me. I shudder to think of what this book would’ve been without Sid’s chapters; I love her to pieces, 10/10, my favorite character, book girlfriend material. In all seriousness, her narration was what saved the story for me.

The girls were reunited in the final third, making it somewhat but not entirely better than the first two thirds. What really could’ve upped my opinion is a more detailed ending, because I feel like I was cheated. Not nearly enough sapphic content or story resolution, in my opinion.

Honestly, this might be one of my most disappointing reads of the year, alongside Kingdom of the Wicked. Whereas KOTW was a case of a book not living up to internet hype, The Hollow Heart was a sequel that I don’t think lived up to the first book, and that, I think, is so very sad. :((

Representation
  • sapphic protagonist of color
  • biracial lesbian love interest
  • sapphic romance
  • queer side character
  • side characters of color

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