A well-written fantasy read that is highly enjoyable! I loved everything about it and I've been recommending it to our fantasy-lover readers!

This was a very very interesting twist on a couple fairy tales. I really enjoyed the strong female lead and all the other characters as well. Everyone was so lifelike, it was hard to return to my own world.

TBH, I thought I'd DNFed this one, until I checked my Kindle app and saw that I did, in fact, reach the 100% mark. That's how much this book annoyed me.

It was just your typical YA fantasy--and tried too hard to be that, if you ask me. The heroine Zera constantly made these not-really-funny side comments and comebacks that did NOT appeal to me. And why does the voice of the "hunger" have to be WriTtEn liKE tHiS?! IS IT A MEME!? So yeah, the writing and characterization obviously didn't do anything for me.

That's not all! I also really disliked the hero and the romance. Lucien was, again, your typical YA douche, and their romance happened in a span of two weeks. Was it attraction/spark at first sight? I can't even remember. But I do remember cringing every time they interacted. Whoops.

Anyway, the concept was fine, and I did appreciate the effort. I can also see that this is a book other people seem to love--maybe the humor really just isn't my style.

HOLY HELL, THIS BOOK WAS GLORIOUS. Everything I wanted in a YA fantasy. Now I'm just depressed I have to wait for the rest of the series (I thought it was a standalone when I picked it up), but even so, the wait will totally be worth it. I DNF'd one of this author's contemporary romances and now I think I should go back and give the book another shot in case I was just in the wrong mindset to give it a fair chance, but in any case Sara is now an autobuy for me for any of her upcoming YA fantasies because this book was absolutely amazing in so many ways.

I LOVE THIS BOOK. Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf is the stunning beginning to a wonderfully dangerous YA Fantasy series that certainly came in to steal readers' hearts!

What I Loved:

One of my favorite aspects about Bring Me Their Hearts is how it doesn't take the normal route. I went in expecting to hate the witch who owns Zera's heart from the start, but Nightsinger turns out to be different. The relationship between her and Zera is complicated since the witch actually saves Zera from a terrible death by turning her into a Heartless (meaning her personal soldier), and while Zera is grateful for what she did, her refusal to return Zera's heart is still something hard to accept and puts a strain in their relationship.

Whispers of a second war between Witches and Humans is what drives Nightsinger to strike a deal with Zera. In exchange for the Crown Prince's heart, Zera can take back hers as well as the other two Heartless the Witch owns. And thus the exciting quest begins for Zera as she has to infiltrate the castle as a potential bride for the prince and get close enough to steal his heart!

This is what I loved the most. Zera's mission involves learning noble etiquette and dealing with everyone at court. Thanks to the help of Lady Y'shennria, she manages to squeeze in as much knowledge as she can in a period of 3 days before being introduced to the Prince. It's hard work and so entertaining to read about, although at times painful since Zera would constantly have to battle with the heartless monster that she doesn't want to become.

Gosh, I just feel like gushing about this book! Honestly, I fell in love with Zera who is sassy, badass, and unflinchingly honest. I fell in love with the Prince who is more than what meets the eye. I enjoyed reading about the characters, Lady Y'shennria in particular who is willing to side with those she hates the most in order to stop a war. And most of all, I loved following Zera's quest to take back her heart, even when she finds herself risking more than just her own fate.

Final Verdict:

Bring Me Their Hearts is one of the best books I've read this year so far and one that had me reading well into the night. Cannot recommend it enough because not only does it introduces us to a fantastic yet dangerous new world, but it also gives us a heroine who despite being heartless, has the biggest heart of all. ?

I was given this ARC by the publisher in return for an honest review.
If I had a print copy of this book, it would go on my permanent bookshelf. It was that good, nay great. A few weeks ago, I saw a Goodreads friend reviewing it, I decided to check it out and subsequently requested it on NetGalley. I was surprised when I was approved within a very short time and excited to start reading it. I’m so happy I had the chance to read it. It was such a rare and spellbinding treat for a reader.
All around the characters were very well developed and all had their perfect place within the story, with enough mystery and intrigue to keep the reader on their toes. The protagonist was the perfect character to follow throughout this story, she was spunky, sarcastic, humorous and realistic. She kept the pace of the story at a constant speed, allowed the reader to relate to her by providing insight into her emotions and psyche without getting lost or entangled in useless analyses.
The plot was straight forward with enough side story/backstory to flesh out the narration and make for a rich and satisfying reading experience.
The writing sucked me in from the very first page and I appreciated the author’s skill in maintaining the protagonist’s sarcasm at a constant and tolerable level so as not to over overwhelm or bore the reader with too many snide remarks, jokes and details that would have taken away from the beauty of this story. The world building was tasteful
Overall, I loved this story from beginning to end. It was such a pleasure reading it. A fast paced, fantasy, magic story of the YA genre I would highly recommend.

Quando li a sinopse de Bring Me Their Hearts, eu não pensei duas vezes em requisitar a ARC. Quando fui aprovada, foi só alegria. A sinopse já diz basicamente o que rola na história. Por aí já se suspeita que vai ser aquele clichê da menina se apaixonar pelo príncipe e assim vai. Bom, vai por esse caminho sim, mas Sara conseguiu fazer uma história incrível.

Logo nas primeiras páginas eu sabia que iria amar Zera. Creio que, de todas as personagens atrevidas e de língua grande que já conheci, Zera fica em primeiro lugar. Pra tudo - repito TUDO - ela tem uma resposta sarcástica ou piada pronta na ponta da língua. Claramente ela faz isso como modo de defesa por ser uma Heartless (sem coração).

"Ela é jovem. Ela está apavorada. Ela está brincando de se vestir. Ela está jogando um jogo muito perigoso.
Ela é sem coração.*"

Porém, mesmo sem esse órgão que serve para bombar o sangue no corpo, Zera consegue ser mais humana do que muitos que o possuem. Sim, no fim das contas ela vai sentenciar Lucien para o seu mesmo destino, mas ela não o faz de maneira egoísta. Além de recuperar seu próprio coração caso consiga pegar o de Lucien, ela também irá poupar vida de outras pessoas que também são importantes pra ela. Ao longo da história, vemos Zera nesse dilema de sentenciar um inocente ao seu estilo de vida e salvar as pessoas que se importa.

Gostei bastante dessa construção dos Heartless. Zera é uma pessoa praticamente normal, apesar de alguns detalhes por conta da sua falta de coração. Como, por ex, cura instantânea e chorar sangue (literalmente) ao comer comida normal. Achei interessante o motivo pela qual a bruxa tirou o coração de Zera e, assim como temos humanos bons e cruéis, as bruxas também podem ser divididas assim.

Além desse dilema de roubar o coração do príncipe, Zera luta constantemente contra a fome, consequência da sua falta de coração. Essa fome é como se fosse um lado animal maléfico de Zera, sempre tentando-a a ceder a sua natureza sanguinária. Ela carrega uma grande culpa sobre seu ato de vingança contra os bandidos que mataram seus pais. Algumas pessoas acharam esse detalhe um tanto chato, mas eu gostei da autora ter mostrado como essa vingança ainda assombra Zera. Mostra que a personagem, apesar da perda do seu órgão, não deixou que isso tirasse sua humanidade.

"Por que isso é tão repentino? Por que eu não posso ser a garota que eu costumava ser - empenhada em ganhar minha liberdade de volta, independentemente do custo?
Por que eu não posso ser o monstro?*"

Lucien é o típico mocinho que você irá se apaixonar. Ele é o herdeiro do trono visionário, já com altos planos de mudar o modo de vida de seus súditos e assim vai. Lado a lado, vem o peso de ter herdado o trono por conta da morta da sua irmã mais velha. Assim como Zera, vai ser difícil não se apaixonar por Lucien por esses e outros motivos, como sua coragem e perseverança; sua humildade e determinação. Em certos momentos, ele me lembrou bastante Dorian (Trono de Vidro). Lucien tem até seu próprio Chaol, que aqui se chama Malachite (seu guarda pessoal). O relacionamento dos dois não é somente de guarda e protegido; há uma amizade bastante sincera entre eles e Malachite é capaz de colocar sua vida em risco por Lucien, não somente por que é sua obrigação.

Dos personagens secundários, destaco Lady Y’shennria e Fione. Lady Y’shennria é uma aristocrata que se passa por tia de Zera por motivos que não vou falar porque é spoiler. A mulher tem um passado conturbado com Heartlesses mas ainda assim decide abrigar uma e transformá-la numa lady para corte. Devo dizer que rolou um cadinho de trabalho já que Y’shennria e Zera têm gênios fortes. O que, de início, era somente um fardo para ambas, durante a história vemos a relação entre as duas evoluir para algo parecido como mãe e filha.

"Porque era a garota que eu conhecia, a garota que eu treinava, a garota que eu assisti florescer de uma coisa deselegante em uma bela jovem - porque era você, Zera, eu não sinto medo algum.*"

Fione também merece seu destaque por representar aquelas pessoas que sempre subestimamos somente por conta de algum defeito físico. Apesar de passar a imagem de boba e inocente para seu tio e toda a corte, Fione é bastante inteligente, calculista e um tanto manipuladora. É a partir de seus planos que alguns segredos são revelados.

"[...] nossa dor gera ódio, e nosso ódio faz com que todos façamos coisas terríveis.*"

Um ponto positivo para Sara foi a caracterização de seus personagens. Não é dito com todas as letras, mas a autora deixa a entender que Zera é uma personagem plus-size. Já a família real e Lady Y’shennria são pessoas de cor. (Não curto muito essa expressão, mas foi a única que consegui lembrar no momento da escrita dessa resenha) Fione tem uma deficiência física no pé. Então, representatividade é o que rola nessa história.

"Eu quero ser humana. Mas que tipo de humana eu seria, sem ninguém para amar? Que tipo de humana eu seria, tendo traído tantos?*"

A história é narrada em primeira pessoa por Zera. Ultimamente, ando curtindo mais fantasias que são narradas em terceira pessoa por motivos de uma maior ambientação, mas a narração de Zera não deixa a desejar. A escrita da Sara é bem rápida e envolvente. Meu único problema foram alguns capítulos um tanto longos, mas nada que atrapalhasse tanto a leitura.

Eu havia lido algumas reviews antes de começar a história e falaram que rola um plot twist muito louco na reta final. Gente, eu fiquei foi nervousa porque já estava no capítulo 16 (o livro possui 18) e o babado ainda estava encaminhando para aquilo que eu suspeitava. Então foi aí que veio o baque do plot twist e a autora sendo malvada terminando a história com aquela frase. ONDE EU VENDO MINHA ALMA PARA CONSEGUIR LOGO O SEGUNDO???????

"Se você tem medo do passado, isso se torna seu futuro.*"

Bring Me Their Hearts foi uma leitura que prometia ser mais uma fantasia para passar o tempo, mas que trouxe várias reflexões sobre o que te faz ser humano e ter coração. Não vejo a hora de ler a continuação.

"Como todos nós devemos ser, mas como todos nós não podemos ser.*"

* Traduções feitas por mim

I quite enjoyed this book, and look forward to the next in the trilogy. In a nutshell, you have Zera, a Heartless, meaning her heart is kept in a jar by a witch, who can control her- think zombie-lite. She can only eat raw flesh, but she still looks & thinks like a normal human. Zera wants nothing more than to get her heart back, but to do so, she must pretend to be a noble and take part in what is basically a "find a wife for the Crown Prince" festival. She must get close enough to the prince to cut his heart out, put it in a jar, and get it back to the witches in order to make him a Heartless, so he can be used as ransom to stop an impending war between humans and witches. That's the jist of it.

So, on to the review-y stuff. The world building was incredible. It's made clear from the beginning this isn't our world- there are three moons, and at least three non-human races (possibly a fourth, five if you count Heartless as a separate race). Once Zera gets to the royal city, the reader gets immersed in the intricacies of the society- the different classes of nobles, the citizens, the polymaths (a class of sort of inventor/scientist/wizard-without-magic types), servants, etc. There's a new religion and god that has forced the old religion and god underground, there's political intrigue, all kinds of backbiting going on amongst the nobles, a past war that still scars the present- a delicious blend of elements that make for a tasty world with some bite to it. The characters are well fleshed out, growing as the story progresses, revealing layers of complexity as the reader gets to know them. I grew to care for them in different ways, and feel anxious for the next book so I can see what happens to them! Now for the story itself: it's a good, solid story, if a bit predictable- you can see the romance coming a mile away. Did that detract from the story? I don't think so- it was still fun seeing it happen, and they are perfect for each other, if they can get past the cutting-out-his-heart business. Zera's snark is refreshing; she gets some good one-liners in, as do some of the other characters. The ending surprised me- I was expecting something a little different, but it was a satisfying cliffhanger. An obnoxious cliffhanger, in that now I have to wait, but satisfying.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

A unique spin of Snow White with a witches, adventure and just the right amount of romance that any true girly girl will love.

A refreshingly creative fantasy novel, Bring Me Their Hearts tells a dark and fascinating fairy tale that feels oddly real. Zera is a monster... and only 16 years old. Her heart was stolen from her chest by a witch 3 years ago, making Zera a Heartless; a slave to the witch Nightsinger. Along with Zera, Nightsinger has the hearts of two other children, and after years of service gives Zera an ultimatum. If she takes the heart of the prince and turns him into a Heartless slave, her and the other two get their hearts back and get set free. If not, Zera's heart gets shattered and destroyed.
Thrilling, magical and twisted; Bring Me Their Hearts has a wonderful narrative voice that weaves a fascinating world full of beauty and danger. Zera is a strong and witty heroine that has suffered greatly in her short life, and the suffering is not yet over. The other characters felt well rounded and solidified. The prince felt visceral and I could visualize him with crystal clear clarity, which I have released I can't do with most descriptions of attractive male characters, usually the description are too vague and up to interpretations. I also loved the conflict in this novel because it was both internal and external. All in all, I loved Bring Me Their Hearts and give it the happy rating of FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS!!!

I was surprised at just how good this book really was! I was intrigued by the plot when I first read it but when I first started reading it, I wondered just what I had signed up for!

The plot really fleshed out more so in the middle and I feel like the climax was at the end where we were met with a massive cliff hanger. Like please, Sara, give me more as soon as possible!!!!

I had guessed who the identity was of Whisper so I’m actually pretty thrilled about that. I did have some suspicions about a very specific character that we were constantly reminded what the fate of them was. I’m curious to see how Sara will continue the story and explain how that came into play! I also really need to know if this is going to end in a romance considering Zera’s feeling humanity without actually having her heart!

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.

4.5 Stars

'Bring Me Their Hearts' is a fantastic mix of several genres that will end up appealing to almost every kind of reader. It blends so many different things together - magic and fantasy, politics and court, wars and history, and romance (of course) - and the end result is a wonderfully unique new young adult novel that will leave you begging for more. For me personally, I loved basically every single aspect of the book. The world building was fantastic and incredibly thorough. I loved learning everything about the history of Zera's country, the wars that had been fought, about the witches and the Heartless, and then there was all of the political intrigue and issues that spanned the entire plot. I thought it was all fascinating and added lots to the story line.

The characters were all well rounded, but Zera (our main character) was obviously the most complex and developed. I loved getting to know her throughout the book. She's been through a lot in her short life - most drastically being made into a Heartless. Even though she has this "hunger" inside her because of the magic, she's still a good person and I easily identified with her right from the beginning. Writing style is one of the most important aspects of a book for me and can easily make it or break it for me. The author used the first person point of view for the story, which is by far my favorite, and I was so thankful she did. Zera is the narrator, so we learn everything from her point of view, which also allows us to get to know her on a deeply personal level (another thing I love about the first person POV). I loved watching her character grow and change throughout the course of the book, and I also liked watching her relationships with other characters change as well. All of these things added up to make a really great read for me and is one that I highly recommend to fans of all genres.

Bring Me Their Hearts has plenty of sass, snark and humor laced throughout, which is no surprise considering one of the biggest reasons why I loved Sara Wolf’s debut novel is the sass and humor (I can now officially count on Wolf to make me laugh). This book literally starts with Zera comparing the king’s worth to a potato.

Potatoes aside, let’s talk about Sara Wolf’s dive from contemporary into fantasy, aka how did Bring Me Their Hearts do???

Because that is the most important question: is the book good? Is it as bloodeh as the title? Let me give you the 411.

If you’re looking for a good dose of sass, snark and humor, count on it.
Zera has a comeback for everything. Of course, she says she can’t help herself because it’s how she deals with it since she became Heartless, which is essentially a witch’s pet monster. If you can’t deal with her comebacks, then suck it up an drop off a cliff is what she’ll likely tell you. But the amount of sass is 👌👌👌 and #100percentapproved.

But let’s be a little honest here: sometimes Isis Blake appears too much in Zera.
Isis Blake is the main character of Wolf’s Lovely Vicious series and sometimes she appears way too much in Zera. Think two people stuck in one body = identity crisis much?

Maybe I am complaining too much here because regardless of how Isis seems to appear occasionally in Zera, I still enjoyed Zera’s voice. And I still approve of snarkcisms used. So I’ll just sit in a corner and hush up.

Let’s take a moment to appreciate a side character (really, we should appreciate most side characters).
Meet Malachite, who is officially one of my favorite characters of Bring Me Their Hearts simply because he was wonderful and had no filter for being a royal bodyguard. 11/10 would adopt.

But we all know, Ms. Wolf, that you’re going to kill Malachite later on, right? And kill my feels along with it?

There is this weird issue of the beginning being kind of out of place but used as a lovely hook.
Bring Me Their Hearts starts us in a court before backtracking a few weeks and then continuing. Please note I am a very forgetful person but we’re in Zera’s world of Heartless and witches and then Training101 for 30% of the book. I completely forgot everything by that point aside from a potato being involved.

But it’s used as a lovely hook, so I’m not exactly complaining too much (someone fix my memory please and thank you).

Common Fantasy Plot #2927: Got ’em!
Eventually, you get to the point where you see the most common plotlines aka royalty is secretly venturing out in the world of plebians to be a badass and accidentally meets potential love interest aka the main character.

I was expecting this to be more bloody? I did not get more bloody.
I got a lot of court intrigue, sass, humor, but I was expecting more blood for some reason. I got more near the end though, because Heartless are monsters after all.

Hold up, this is the first novel?
I was expecting this to be a standalone but hahaha no nice try, Sophia. Come back in the future to satiate your curiosities in book two.

Bring Me Their Hearts wasn’t horrible if you enjoy a snarky little monster who really just wants everything to be all good and dandy (but hahaha, life isn’t going to be that nice) and a nice little note tacked on the end that says, “come back soon for more!”

While I wanted a little more blood because I’m smol and evil thoughts run through my brain sometimes, this was fun to read, and I have hopes for the second novel.

I really wanted to like this. But that didn’t happen. I was just bored all the time. I tried hard to connect with the characters and the world. I tried to feel something for this book, but I got a whole lot of nothing.

I liked the idea of the Heartless and how they were controlled by the witch. That was cool. I wish that we could have spent a little more time with the witches, understanding their past and the magic they have. The few witches that were mentioned were very elusive and only present at the very beginning of the novel.

The sassy plays. The snarkiness. The wit! I was having a glorious time with the dialogue if anything. The comebacks were coming left, right, front and center. Wolf did an excellent job of bestowing that personality into her characters. Frankly everyone in her world had the wits and the smarts to make a good comeback, I don’t think I would fit in quit well

I was just not feeling the connections to the characters. I totally felt for Zera and her turmoil about choosing between what was right and what was wrong was very twisted. There was so much she was risking and there were too many things that could go wrong. But did I feel connected to her? No. I liked her sassiness, but sometimes I was just annoyed. Her speech was often repetitive and it was always about falling for princey vs killing princey. Her actions were predictable and while I never disliked her, I was missing the attraction.
Lucien. I was just not feeling you. I like the broody. I like the dark pasts. I like the rebel-against-the-world attitude. But I did not like him. I found him irritable, spoiled, annoying and well…too tropey. There was just nothing terribly unique about him.
And the romance….nothing. Like I get why they would be attracted to each other but…nope. Nothing. And trust me there was tension, banter, angst. But I did not feel this ship. Too rushed. Too…forced.

The world was confusing for me. There was a lot of history between different races of creatures that were barely brushed upon. I think I needed a lot more information on how this world functioned. The whole Spring Bride thing didn’t turn out to be that important either. It was just tossed over the shoulder.

And this book could have used a lot more magic, just saying.

Overall, I feel like this book just wasn’t for me, someone who reads fantasy all the time and basically studies the genre. Where I expect rich, complex plots with twists here, there and everywhere, this book was really mellow. It was simple, and while it was entertaining, I’m finding it hard to remember.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

So this book didn't really work for me but I think it was more of a personality clash. The writing was good and the characters were interesting enough but Zera's smart ass attitude got pretty old after a while. She just kinda made funny jokes and whined a lot about being a heartless. The plot was really predictable and the whole Gavik plot was just annoying.

Don’t y’all just love it when an anticipating release blows you away?? I don’t even know what kind of expectations I had but this story skyrocketed past all of them!! It even gave me a new favourite MC you guys I LOVE HER. This chick has such a unique personality, it was such a nice change from the classic YA damsel in distress heroine - Zera is sarcastic af and I love her ability to make light of such dark situations lmao can she teach me her witty ways please?? AND she’s badass from the start which is always a bonus.

I also loved that fact that there was no insta love!! It’s a hate to love relationship but rather than being insta-lust so “I hate you but I also want to kiss you” it’s more like “I have never met anyone like you and you annoy me but I also think I might be falling for you” kind of relationship. These two are literally going at each other’s throats and its so entertaining and combined with a slow burn it left me super satisfied! But obviously authors don’t like to keep readers satisfied for too long so our hearts have to get crushed and tortured eventually *sigh*

I would say the story was a biiiit dragged in the second half with some repetition but regardless I wasn’t bored in the least. I love the relationships in this story and the side characters were so well developed as well!! Honestly this book just shook me-not even took lmao- by surprise and I’m definitely adding it to my favourites list!

Special thanks to the publishers for providing me an ARC via netgalley.

Boy, I wish I knew this was gonna be a trilogy before I started. Towards the end I was getting nervous and then BAM. So now I sit here waiting……

I went in blind so I really didn’t have any idea what it was about. To be honest, in the beginning I wasn’t sure if I was going to finish. Her inner voice kept reminding us about the same thing over and over and over again. It was getting rather annoying. But I stuck with it and ended up hooked.

Zera was torn between doing what she needed to do and what she wanted to do. She’s on a mission that, if it was just about her, her decisions would’ve been easier to make. But since it’s not only about her, she has to come to terms with what she really is and why she’s really here.

Personally I liked the prince’s bodyguard more than anyone. He was quick witted and duty bound to the prince. He was always there to say what others were thinking, even if he should keep it to himself. Without him, I probably would’ve quit the book early on.

I liked the premise of the story. I really did, even though I pretty much knew what was going to happen. The ending, while exciting, wasn’t a surprise to me. I knew it. I know this all sounds negative, but I think teens will like it. It was a sweet romance with very exciting undertones. I look forward the next one.

Book Review
Title: Bring me their Hearts
Author: Sara Wolf
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Fairy Tale
Rating: *****
Review: The opening to Bring me their Hearts was, we are introduced to Zera as she infiltrates the court of Crown Prince Lucien d'Malvane with a mission to kill him. As Zera is a heartless she is considered a monster and therefore hides this fact, but immediately she sparks the interest of the Prince. From this opening chapter I can tell this is going to be a very intriguing novel. We learn in a time skip that Nightsinger is a witch and has three heartless under her control. Being a heartless means that they are magically bound to Nightsinger until she returns their hearts or destroys them. Nightsinger has three heartless Crav, Zera and Peligli who was the only one changed of her own choice which is interesting. Another interesting point is that none of Nightsinger’s heartless seems to outright hate her although Zera does have some issues with Nightsinger.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, we learn how Zera became a heartless and her life as one. She was sent into the King’s court to steal the Prince heart in order to prevent another war that wiped out most of the witches before and if she succeeds she will get her heart back as will the other heart but if she fails Nightsinger will destroy her heart, so only one chapter in and I am completely hooked on this story. I really liked Zera’s relationships with the other heartless and her relationship with Nightsinger and how she is different from other witches. We follow Zera as she learns the way of the city and the court she is going to be entering into and she finds that evil lies everywhere not just inside her, but for the start she is planning, finding people she can rely on in the court when no one will be able to help her if she fails. This is a monstrous challenge as she only has two weeks to win and steal the Prince’s heart.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Zera begins her training to become a lady and while she finds it hard finding her hunger and dealing with the consequences of eating human food, she does find a friend of sorts in Reginall, a former heartless who had his heart returned after the first war. He is also the only one beside the lady of the house that knows she is a heartless and sympathizes for her. Zera soon learns that the thief called Whisper she meets in the city is actually the Prince and begins to blackmail him for his time and “affections” as she should but she is taking a huge risk by doing this. However, Lucien is willing to play her game in order to keep his secrets secret, but I am curious to see how Zera’s secrets will play into this situation given the fact her hunger chooses the worst times to appear and risk giving her away.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Zera is getting closer to the Prince but it seems the very court they are living in, is plotting to start another war against the witches, sparking panic and fear wherever they can. However, Zera opens Lucien’s eyes to it and he soon learns that doubting Zera can have horrible consequences and I can honestly see a romance blossoming between the pair despite the task that Zera has been given. The question is if a romance does bloom between Zera and Lucien will she be strong enough to take his heart in return for her own or will she find another way. As she delves deeper and deeper into life at court and Lucien’s affections, Zera learns that this place might be more lethal than the witch’s forest, especially since she learns that Lucien may want to take her on a hunt for witches. I really enjoyed how human the characters are, how Lucien and his father have given up on finding the heartless that killed his sister, even going as far as letting the kingdom suffer in order to achieve it.
As we cross the halfway mark in the novel, Zera’s time is slowly running out but as she gets closer to Lucien she begins questioning what she is, what she is doing and her own morality. The biggest question she has is one life worth another or in this case is one life worth three and while she tries to convince herself it is I don’t believe her heart is in it (cheesy pun intended!) However, Zera’s feelings for Lucien is growing and when she enters a friendly duel where she is cut by his blade, it seems like her secret is about to be revealed. Despite her mission and everything surrounding it, Zera has found some real friend within the court and maybe even love.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Zera is really struggling as she weighs her opinions, in her own words “what is worse, to be a monster or to create monsters” but this is all overshadowed by the sliver of hope that Lucien’s heart represents for her. With days left to complete her task Zera finds herself being blindsided by helping Fione and Lucien bring down the corrupt parts of the court and get justice for his sister who he believes was murdered by a man in the court rather than by a heartless.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, everything comes together in a wild and explosive set of scenes that I just wasn’t expecting. I really liked how a lot of the key plot points were kept open for the sequel, but the author manages to balance the right amount of closure with a huge amount of suspense and intrigue for the next instalment. Highly recommended and will be reading more.

Wow! This book was an amazing read. Thank you net galley for the advance read copy of this novel. I loved Zera as a character-- her internal and external struggles that we see and feel played out in the novel. This story is a fantasy where magic comes into play and Zera is charged by the witch who holds her heart to bring back the prince, Luc's, heart to earn her freedom.
Enter a star crossed romance filled with action, tender romance moments and snarky conversations. The world building was phenomenal in this. I definitely have book 2 in my list to read as the ending while foreshadowed, left me wanting book 2 right away. Again, phenomenal read