Review of ‘Bring Me Their Hearts’ (Bring Me Their Hearts, #1)
An interesting and unique novel with a fierce protagonist and complex characters all around allowing for a tension driven novel.
Synopsis
Zera is a Heartless – the immortal, unageing soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly.
Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a Prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum; if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy her heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.
Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him – every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him – until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The Prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.
So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all.
Winner takes the loser’s heart.
Review
Bring Me Their Hearts is certainly a unique novel with a strong opening. First of all there is the tone of Zera. Zera is a fun sarcastic character with such charisma it is nearly impossible to not like her. She is an unorthodox character, and unlike other female characters out there. Wolf did an exceptional job creating this character because it is not just her external narrative that shines but also her internal narrative that makes her shine. Her attitude, it is perfect and creates this character that is so easy to love, relate to and imagine.
But there is also a complexity to her and the other characters. Zera is tasked with entering the city to steal the prince’s heart, a task that would turn him into a creature like herself, one that is immortal, feared, with no free will and a hunger that never dies. Zera is a heartless, born from a witch who took pity upon her and brought her back from death. Zera has remorse for what she is, but she wants her heart back, and that is the goal of her task. A heart for a heart, and her memories back. It creates a lot of internal struggle for Zera, especially as she blends in with the royal court. Then there are her new companions, and the prince. No one is who they appear to be on the surface, offering up multifaceted characters and tense dynamics.
The story itself is also done in an interesting way. It starts off with introducing Zera and where she is in the royal court before going backward to show who she is and how she got to the royal court. It allows the reader to see the complexities of the world Zera lives in and the complex nature of the characters, and the character development. The pacing is steady as the novel is more about political intrigue than it is about action or romance, keeping the story tense and captivating. (★★★★☆)
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Cynthia Bujnicki graduated from Emerson College with a BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing. She has always loved to read since she was a child. A contributing writer for YA Fantasy Addicts, she is also the Editor-in-Chief for Cyn's Workshop. She lives in sunny South Florida with her husband and son and their two cats, Mr. J the Kitten and Nyx.
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