A Heart So Fierce and Broken Review

This story is the sequel to ACSDAL, and follows Grey and Lia Mara. Grey was a return character from the first but is told from his POV, instead of Harper's or Rhen’s, and Lia Mara is the first daughter of Karis Luran, the queen of Syhl Shallow, a country that has been ravaging Emberfall for a considerable time. After having Rhen and Harper as the main voices, it was nice to have the other characters. The story follows this continuation of an adventure for one, and the beginning of another, and was excellently done from start to finish. I will not give too many details of the full story, no spoilers! But the characters were interesting. Things kind of get crazy at the beginning for our characters, and it is interesting seeing the story unfold. I’m still mad at one for something they did. But after it, a new group was formed.

I loved the dynamic of the group they have. Lia Mara is not what any of them were expecting, she is smarter and more caring, but still brave, she believes in peace, and all she wants is to achieve it. Grey has no idea what he is really doing, he has all this information, now that they all know, and he has this power he has no idea how to work. Tycho is amazed by all he knows and is loyal to Grey but slowly comes out of his quiet shell, growing closer to the people around him. A new character, Iisak, who was very interesting to read and learn about, shows a new type of creature that lives in this world, one I was surprised to see and was not expecting to like as well. And we had the return of Noah and Jake, who were in the first. Jake being Harper’s brother, is worried about his sister who stays with Rhen, thinking she can help. But he protects Grey when he can, hoping for a way home. But as the story progresses, these characters grow. I love Jake and Noah so much, and Jake’s character has grown over the course of this book, and who he is now is an amazing character who cares deeply about his friends and family. Noah is still disturbed by the goings of this world, but he sticks with Jake, and he never let’s go of his hope to help people. He is a doctor after all.

I will not go into details about the ending; however, it has apparently created a bit of controversy. Some people are not happy with the ending, feelings like it was too sudden and rushed. I understand their reasoning behind this and do see that it was a little rushed in a way, but it was done brilliantly in my opinion. Yes, a lot of what had happened before this had been building up to a different outcome, but I feel like the choices made by the characters reflect them in a way. Suddenly things change and are completely different then they were. But it sets up the characters nicely for the final book, as I believe it will only be a trilogy. I am curious about how this ending will affect certain characters, especially Lia Mara, but also the final talk between Grey and Rhen. And that last chapter, throwing a new spin on the story. Kemmerer has built up a finale that I cannot wait to read! So much is going to happen, and I am curious about how certain characters will react, and what will happen to them. Now begins the long wait until the third, but I am most excited about what the final book will be called, and what it will look like. I’m hoping for red!