This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I loved this book! Before I get started with my review, can we all just take a minute to appreciate the beauty of this book's cover? I mean, I don't know how you don't want to pick up a book with a cover like that. I have had this book for about a year and a half. I received it as an unsolicited review copy that I just couldn't get to even though I really did want to read it. I have almost started to read it several times since it showed up at my house but I always put it down (after admiring the cover). I am confident that had I ever actually read a chapter or two, this book wouldn't have been put down until it was done. It really was that good.

Zera is Heartless which means she does not have her heart. A witch, Nightsigner, keeps her heart in a jar out of Zera's reach and Zera is forced to stay close to live. Being Heartless does come with a few perks. Zera heals quickly and can survive almost any wound. If her heart is destroyed, she will die immediately. Zera is sent to get the Prince's heart at the royal court with a tiny piece of her heart in a locket so she can travel further. Does she have a chance of getting close enough to complete her task in the two weeks she has been given?

I loved the characters in this book. Zera was fantastic. She is tough, smart, and cares about others. More than anything, she wants her freedom and will do what is asked to make that happen. She considers herself to be selfish but time and again, her actions prove that she cares deeply for others and will help whenever she can. I loved the way she could think quickly and take the necessary risks. Luc wasn't at all what I thought he would be. He ended up being the perfect compliment to Zera. The entire cast of characters was very well done.

I loved the world-building. I thought that the witches and their Heartless were very imaginative. I liked the historical setting and thought that the way things were described made everything feel very real. Zera isn't human anymore and I liked that the reader is often reminded of the monster's voice inside of her. I thought that the author did a fantastic job of creating a world that felt authentic.

I would highly recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a very entertaining story filled with wonderful characters. I cannot wait to read more of this delightful series.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from Entangled: Teen.

Initial Thoughts
Well, I loved this. The book grabbed me from the very start and it was hard to put down. Zera was a wonderful character and I loved the growth we saw in her and the supporting characters over the course of the story. I thought that the world was very well done. All I can say is that I am sorry I didn't pick this one up sooner.

 

WHAT I LIKED:

Zera was full of sass and really mouthy, but also funny and strangely charming.

 

Zera is plus-sized, though it didn’t make as much of an impact as I would have liked.

 

While Zera was thoughtless and reckless, she wasn’t actually stupid. She took action without thinking about the consequences, but her choices weren’t actually all that dumb. Or maybe it’s that the consequences never really arose?

 

Zera has a really cool relationship with Malachite, a complicated relationship with Fione and Y’Shennria, and her relationship with Prince Lucien grew organically.

 

Prince Lucien, again. Zera has to get close to him to take his heart, but the more time they spent together, the more they discovered how prejudiced against each other they had been, and uncovered the layers of each other’s personalities until they actually started to care for each other. It wasn’t fair on Lucien: he had to pick a girl to marry and Zera was the best of the bunch, also she was trying to make him fall in love.

 

Nightsinger, the witch Zera is bound to as a Heartless, is really kind and not at all mean.

 

Possible lesbians?

WHAT I DISLIKED:

Zera focused more on the fact that she murdered five men, largely ignoring the fact that it was an act of revenge against the bandits that murdered her parents and herself. She was consumed with guilt that I didn’t quite understand. She used it to confirm her monster status, instead of other things that might have been more relevant to her other-ness. So, she’s a murderer… but she also vomits when someone else is stabbed.

 

Zera didn’t seem to care that the stakes were really high: Zera had to seduce Prince Lucien and get his heart to stop a war that would kill her for real, and if anyone found out about her mission she would be killed for real, but she didn’t seem very focused on the consequences of not succeeding. She made a lot of rash decisions that could have exposed her but miraculously didn’t.

 

Despite liking it, I actually found it really unengaging, and I think it was because although the stakes were really high, Zera really flip-flopped between taking this mission seriously and doing really stupid things that should have exposed her, like offering to help servants or chasing after a thief. Every time I read this on my phone I found myself clicking off to do something else. And it’s not like the writing was poor, or that I didn’t like Zera and the supporting characters… nor is it that Zera didn’t get how important this was, because she did… it was just… unengaging. And I don’t really understand why.

 

I mean… OF COURSE it ended the way it ended. I was hoping for something just a little bit different and right near the end I thought I was going to get it, but no, this is the first of a trilogy so of course it ended the way it did. Bah.

 

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

So unfortunately I dnf the book. I just found myself not invested enough to read the book. The only character I really liked was the prince Lucien. But unfortunately the Prince wasn't enough to keep me going. I have so many more books to get to. 

Its not an awful book but I just wasn't feeling it. Maybe I will go back and try to read it later down the road. But it won't be for awhile. 

When asked to not only do a cover reveal but a read and review, I had to jump at the chance!

One night, a group of bandits killed Zera’s parents and almost killed her until a witch, Nightsinger, saved her life by making her heartless… literally. Being a “heartless” isn’t too much different from being a zombie, except you still look human. Now she is under the control of Nightsinger. Zera was made an offer she couldn’t refuse, bring me the heart of Crown Prince Lucien and I’ll give you your freedom… but fail, and your heart shall be crushed. Decisions, decisions!

I knew immediately I would love Zera! Who doesn’t love a sassy, smart-mouthed, strong young lady?! I appreciated her internal battle for her humanity. The relationship between Zera and Prince Lucien really worked for me. It felt like time was taken for them to get to know each other. The only issue I had with the book was the pacing… it was a bit slow for my liking, but still an enjoyable story. The cover is stunning, great storytelling, and I’m already excited for the next installment. I can’t wait!

Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility - 5 stars

Nur drei Worte - 5 stars

Manga Classics: Great Expectations - 3 stars

Quidditch im Wandel der Zeiten - 4 stars

Forget Me Always - 2.5 stars

 

Favorite book(s) of the month: Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility, Nur drei Worte

 

Books started this month but haven't finished yet: Thief of Lies, Manga Classics: Pride and Prejudice

 

5 books. Not that bad. I was hoping for more but you can't always get what you want. I'm still very proud. Also 4 of these books were ARC's I got through NetGalley, since I wanna catch up on my books there, I'm happy that I got quite a few off the list.