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A review by areaderamongthestars
The Hollow Heart by Marie Rutkoski
4.0
The Hollow Heart is the conclusion to Marie Rutkoski’s brilliant Forgotten Gods duology, a book about what one could do for revenge… and for love.
While The Midnight Lie is more focused on setting the story and exploring the growing feelings between Nirrim and Sid, this second installment follows the aftermath of the revelations about Ethin’s history and the individual evolution of both main characters.
If Sid’s journey of self-discovery and acceptance brought real tears to my eyes (that are also partially to blame on seeing again Arin and Kestrel- if you have loved them in The Winner’s Curse trilogy, be ready for a strong wave of emotions), Nirrim’s descent into villainy was ravishing and fascinating, like a cruel spectacle you can’t stop watching. Both subplots were balanced extremely well, connected by a fine underlying thread.
As usual, Marie Rutkoski’s prose never fails to amaze, with such an atmospheric and lyrical writing that lets the reader fully immerse inside the book. It was truly interesting how the storyline of The Midnight Lie was developed, with clever narrative choices (especially a certain plot twist related to Nirrim) and a deeper insight into the god’s words.
In fact, the only thing The Hollow Heart lacked is the romance. While it was totally necessary that both Sid and Nirrim solved their own issues by themselves and their last scene together was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read, they really *needed* to have more on-page space together- even just a longer and more detailed ending and an epilogue settled in the future would have solved the issue, but I still enjoyed the book as a whole.
The Midnight Lie and The Hollow Heart are two incredible novels that I will definitely never get tired of recommending, perfect for anyone looking for an amazing sapphic relationship and well-crafted stories that will leave you yearning for more.
[ an ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review ]
While The Midnight Lie is more focused on setting the story and exploring the growing feelings between Nirrim and Sid, this second installment follows the aftermath of the revelations about Ethin’s history and the individual evolution of both main characters.
If Sid’s journey of self-discovery and acceptance brought real tears to my eyes (that are also partially to blame on seeing again Arin and Kestrel- if you have loved them in The Winner’s Curse trilogy, be ready for a strong wave of emotions), Nirrim’s descent into villainy was ravishing and fascinating, like a cruel spectacle you can’t stop watching. Both subplots were balanced extremely well, connected by a fine underlying thread.
As usual, Marie Rutkoski’s prose never fails to amaze, with such an atmospheric and lyrical writing that lets the reader fully immerse inside the book. It was truly interesting how the storyline of The Midnight Lie was developed, with clever narrative choices (especially a certain plot twist related to Nirrim) and a deeper insight into the god’s words.
In fact, the only thing The Hollow Heart lacked is the romance. While it was totally necessary that both Sid and Nirrim solved their own issues by themselves and their last scene together was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read, they really *needed* to have more on-page space together- even just a longer and more detailed ending and an epilogue settled in the future would have solved the issue, but I still enjoyed the book as a whole.
The Midnight Lie and The Hollow Heart are two incredible novels that I will definitely never get tired of recommending, perfect for anyone looking for an amazing sapphic relationship and well-crafted stories that will leave you yearning for more.
[ an ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review ]