I do not like the direction this story took and I will not be finishing this, which is disappointing because I loved The Midnight Lie so much.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

A worthy and interesting sequel! Magical and poetic. I enjoyed getting to follow up with the characters from the Winner's trilogy and see how time changed them. As a adult reading YA, I think the original series and this follow-up have high re-reading value. My only regret was how suddenly the end came!

Marie Rutkoski’s novels are some of the best written to grace YA shelves. Her writing is spectacular, her worldbuilding layered and intricate, and her characters well-drawn. This conclusion in her latest duology is just as romantic, enticing, and beautiful as her previous books.

I will read anything and everything that Marie Rutkoski writes. End of story. Her characters and plots are amazing and I had been dying to get my hands on this book 2 and it didn't disappoint!

I had many issues with this book, but the main one was that it didn't grip me. I really wanted to enjoy it, but I couldn't get into it from the very first moment, and so I ended up skipping a lot of parts. Unfortunately, I don't think this book was for me, and I don't think I will be giving it another chance.

great book and had me on my seat. I enjoyed the characters and all that happened in the book. I enjoyed being in this world and seeing the growth of the characters. I enjoyed the drama of the story and I can't wait to read others books by this author.

I absolutely loved this. The writing style is amazing and it picks up right up after the events of the first book

I desperately wanted to love this, and I loved parts of it, but overall this would've worked better as a Part 2 within The Midnight Lie instead of its own installment.

Let's start with the positives. I loved the ending, maybe because by then my expectations had lowered greatly and I didn't mind the abruptness and quickness of it, but I loved how it wrapped up with the gods and stories, which was the focus of the series overall. I also liked the god POV in this book too, and the story it told, though it's novelty wore off fast. Additionally, I did enjoy this outer perspective it seemed to bring throughout the entire book. I also still liked Sid and Nirrim, though I missed what I loved about them from the first book.

My biggest issue with this book is that it takes a loosely connected series set in the same world as The Winner's Curse and situates it firmly as a sequel series. I was hit over the head with how much of a sequel series this duology became solely because of this second book. I was still planning on reading the original trilogy at a later date, but I basically don't need to anymore because this book decided to describe, in detail, the entire plot of that trilogy. I still don't full understand why except to explain this side-side plot that was happening in Sid's point of view, and why we should care about it, but it was unnecessary for even that. We were motivated enough to see this murder/poison plot through simply by seeing how much Kestrel's potential death would break Sid and Arin, we didn't need an extended history lesson to see that. It was so frustrating and constant, and while this series was always going to be a spoiler for the trilogy in the sense that we know who survives the events of the trilogy, I didn't expect to be taught every little thing about Sid's parent's relationship and history? It was especially frustrating because Sid is motivated by wanting her own story/love story, yet her own series feels taken from her by her parents once again. It takes so long for it to be wrapped up and for Sid to return to the story started in The Midnight Lie.

I also just didn't enjoy this book as much because Nirrim and Sid spend almost the entire book apart. They're in their own worlds with their own problems, thinking of the other every once in a while, but they just feel so separate. It wouldn't have been the same regardless of if they were together or not, because Nirrim lost her heart, but it just felt like such a loss regardless. I missed their banter and how they grew together, and I missed having a story that felt strong on its own, and that didn't hinge entirely on some other series.

I guess, overall, my main frustrations from this book come from the sudden decision to make it much more of a sequel series than the first book was, and the choices that were made because of that. I still love The Midnight Lie, but if I reread, I might skip a large chunk of this book and just read the ending, because it felt like such a weird detour in the middle.

What a follow up. I'm glad I was able to read this immediately following the first because the wait would have been dreadful. I love the characters - that they don't fit into neat little boxes. They are so vibrant! Highly recommend.

Marie Rutkoski has been one of my favorite authors since my early blogging days. I’ve devoured every one of her books and each of them has made my favorites shelf, so I knew that The Hollow Heart would be no different! I could not wait to jump back into this world and see how Nirrim and Sid’s story ended. I have to say, the audio did not disappoint (how could it with Justine Eyre narrating?), although the story wasn’t quite what I was expecting.

The Hollow Heart picks up with Sid arriving back in Herran and Nirrim leading a revolution in her own country. It seemed to divide readers, but I am firmly on the side of loving that Kestrel and Arin are in this story! I will admit that I didn’t love Kestrel as a mother, but I am so glad I got to see more of how their story continued after The Winner’s Kiss ended. As much as I enjoyed the fan service of seeing Sid’s parents, I do wish that the two main characters of this series weren’t separated for 90% of the book.

A lot of Sid’s storyline revolved around misunderstandings and miscommunication, which I usually can’t stand, but I really related to her and didn’t mind it quite as much as I usually would. In The Midnight Lie it was obvious that Sid was very confident in herself, but I really liked seeing her more vulnerable side after her heartbreak. On the other hand, Nirrim was extremely difficult to connect to or root for. In fact, her character bordered on irredeemable for me, which really is a shame because I loved her in book one.

Marie Rutkoski expanded on the world and mythology in The Hollow Heart, even including one of the forgotten gods as a POV character. It was interesting to see the magic and deities that Arin believed in confirmed as reality (although I honestly can’t remember how big a part this played in the original trilogy). It makes me wish that The Winner’s Trilogy had been a bit magical too!

My main complaint is that this series should have been longer. The Hollow Heart truly felt like a second book in a series and I wish that there was going to be a book three. I know that this was always planned as a duology, but the ending is so abrupt and comes after such a brief reunion between the lead characters, that it doesn’t feel completed. I desperately wanted more time with Nirrim and Sid together and to see how they worked through all that happened while they were apart.

This book wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for, but I still enjoyed the time I spent in this world. I’m not sure if Rutkoski has plans to write more in this world, but I would definitely love to see more of these characters in the future!

I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Poor Sid. The charming rake of The Midnight Lie has been brought low by love in The Hollow Heart, at home and pining for Nirrim. Meanwhile at home, her mother lies sick and poisoned, sending Sid into a state of frantic paranoia, dedicating her days to caring for her mother and running interference.

Across the sea, Nirrim has let the god take her over, using her power to punish the High Kith and Half Kith who forced her and those like her into poverty and servitude, who used them as endless wells of blood and power. As she punishes those who hurt her, her humanity has shrunk. This was hard to read-- it's clear that Nirrim has been hurt and is hurting others, but the emotionless tyranny hurt after reading the gentle and deep love between Nirrim and Sid.

When Sid receives word of invaders from Nirrim's land conquering other islands, she has no choice but to return to the woman she loves and see if she can save her.

Rutkoski's writing is so good, but I had a harder time with this than the previous four books in this world, just because Nirrim's god-viewpoint was so pitiless.

I wish that I had enjoyed The Hollow Heart more, because Marie Rutkoski is a wonderful writer who introduced the compelling characters Nirrim and Sid in The Midnight Lie. The pacing felt off to me; I was bored in the first two-thirds, and then all of a sudden, major events occurred extremely quickly in the end. Although I thought I'd be more intrigued by Nirrim's storyline after she gives up her heart, Sid's storyline was more interesting to me. The references to the Winner's trilogy and the appearance of beloved characters was such a treat. Since Nirrim and Sid's feelings for each other was the heart of the first book, I was disappointed not to see more of them together. The God's perspective was intriguing though, and added an additional layer to the story that I wasn't expecting. Overall, still a well-written book and a duology I'd recommend!

This book was received as an ARC from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group - Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book could not have come at a better time. I could totally feel Nirrim's pain and struggle and being the rogue princess is great and all but, like all power, it comes with a price and for Nirrim it was escaping from false memories given to her by the black queen. I also loved seeing the love and passion from Sid towards Nirrim and how he stopped at nothing to save her even if at times it seemed she did not want to be. My heart was racing through and through and you could not stop reading because you wanted to see what would happen next. I also loved that it was the right amount of drama and conflict and the plot still stayed consistent from beginning to end with minimum tangents. I know our teen book club will have a blast with this book and am anticipating colorful debates and thoughts.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

This book took me on a rollercoaster and honestly dropped me in a pile of emotion that I don't even know what to do with. Fantastic writing, superb storytelling and character development, and such a memorable experience that I am honored to have had. Keep writing these gems, Marie Rutkoski!

I love that this book is capable of being a standalone story separate from the series. The characters had some wonderfully developed individual character arcs that also blended and supported each others as well. The way the development is woven into the plot progression makes this a natural and very seamless reading experience.

I wanted to like this so much more than I did. After really adoring The Midnight Lie, I thought it was a shoe-in this one would be just as good. Unfortunately, it fell short for me.

The publicist reached out to me a few months ago and I was immediately drawn to the story because of the slow reveal of the magic and the love story aspect.* And Rutkoski really delivered on that in book one, but it just fell short for me in this book. Some of it may have been the narration, but I think the ending was what really sealed it for me as being meh.

The Hollow Heart picks up immediately after The Midnight Lie and we're seeing the aftermath of Nirrim's discovery of her power and resetting of Herath (kind way of saying bloody revolution). We also spend time with Sid in her homeland. And oddly, at first at least, we have a third narrator that is just called The God who is slowly revealed to be Nirrim's parent and to have broken the pantheon's ban on interacting with mortals even if they were forced into it by another god.

The addition of The God narrator was interesting and I found their story compelling, especially after I figured out the connection, but where I really struggled was with Nirrim's narrative. So much of it was in her head this book and it was a struggle to read. Whereas in comparison you have Sid where she is interacting with her parents, god father and childhood nurse and we experience what Sid is going through. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of action with Nirrim, but it's all seen through the light of who she is and who she was and it just gets annoying and monotonous after a while.

This novel is definitely more mature than the first novel, but I still don't think reaches full maturity. It almost feels as if Rutkoski may have been planning a trilogy but then got scared halfway through and wrote short chapters for what could've been two books and it ultimately left me disappointed. Specifically, I'm referring to the sections after Sid and Nirrim "reconcile". So much seems to happen but it's glossed over. Why ignore the siege of Nerreth? Why not actually talk about what happens when Sid returns from the realm of the gods? There was so much that just felt glossed over in a sentence or two that it was frustrating and disappointing.

I had two favorite scenes of the novel. The first is when Sid talks to her father about marriage equality. It's definitely a little clunky, but real conversations like this are just as clunky.

'You are saying that your real problem with me is not that I want women, but that I can't stay true to one.' A slow irritation grows inside me. 'You advise me not to treat women lightly, as playthings, but rather to be faithful, to find a love blessed by the god of souls, to have what you and Amma have.' As I speak, my frustration becomes clear, and my father's face changes as he begins to understand why, even before I say it. 'But marriage is between men and women, Etta, in every known country in this world, including Herran. What you want for me is impossible. And you, a king, have helped make it impossible by your inaction.'
He looks stricken. 'Sid, I am sorry. This never occurred to me.'
'Why not, I wonder? Because you thought I would change? Grow out of it? Or because your love with Amma is so perfect you can't imagine a different way?'
'I will make such marriage into law.'
I shake my head. ' There is no woman I plan to marry. I am already engaged, and will keep that engagement.'
'I will write the law anyway. I should have done it long ago. For everyone, not just you.' ("Sid" Chapter 18?)

My second favorite scene is actually one of the more brutal scenes of the novel when Nirrim murders her former "lover", Aren(?). The scenes leading up to it were the only interesting scenes of the book because of his very obvious desire to rule the country and subjugate Nirrim to his desires. When he attempts to murder her and usurp the throne I figured out what was going to happen only a second or two before it happened and that's a well written scene.

Recommendation: If you desperately want to know if Sid and Nirrim get back together after reading The Midnight Lie, then read this one. If you're okay with the ambiguity and the cliffhanger of what happens next then I'd say skip this one. In the end I was disappointed and the further away I get the more "meh" I feel about this one. It felt rushed and not as polished as the first book in the duology.

*I received a copy of The Hollow Heart from the publisher via NetGalley in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

4.5 stars rounded up

I have been WAITING for this book!! The Hollow Heart concludes this duology and while I didn't love it quite as much as Midnight Lie, I still liked it a lot and felt this was a very satisfying conclusion. Rutkoski delivers on a twisty plot, gods interfering with human affairs, and a fraught sapphic romance.

Also, for fans of the Winners Curse trilogy, you get a lot more crossover in this book with characters from that series! I don't want to spoil things, but this duology is set in the same world, about 20+ years in the future. It was cool to see how things have shaped up for the characters in that original series.

In this book Nirrim no longer has her heart and is heading a revolution while Sid returns home to her dying mother. This is full of court intrigue, violence, and difficult choices, as well as sapphic angst.

My only issue with the book didn't end up being a big deal for me, but might really bother some readers. A LOT of the conflict occurs because Sid is horrendously bad at communication- both misunderstanding what other people are trying to say, and refusing to communicate her feelings, wants and needs because of pride and assumptions of what other people want from her. This is definitely frustrating for part of the book because Sid willfully makes things harder than they need to be. I know some readers have zero patience for that, but I loved everything else enough I wasn't too bothered by it. Plus Sid does learn and grow through the book. If that's not a deal breaker for you, I highly recommend this duology!

The audiobook was pretty good and we get appropriately different voices for the two character perspectives. I received an audio review copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

It pains me to say this, but I didn't love The Hollow Heart. I really wanted it after how I felt about The Midnight Lie, but it missed the mark for me. It was okay for the most part, but it was also very boring and dare I say it had too much Arin and Kestrel. I wanted the story of Sid and Nirrim and not more in the Winner's trilogy. I'm just so sad it didn't live up to my expectation, but it was just okay in the end. I look forward to more from Marie Rutkoski in the future.

The Hollow Heart is a story where I thought, "okay I know how I feel" only for my feelings to completely change halfway through. At the beginning, I loved how ruthless Nirrim was. To see a heroine completely give in to ambition? That's my latest obsession. But at the same time, The Hollow Heart is about what happens when we lose touch with who we are. Or when who we are changes and we aren't sure who we are anymore.

At the same Sid goes through her own character growth - constantly questioning what she thought about who she was. And this where my feelings began to change. At the beginning, I was entirely immersed in Nirrim, in watching her let loose all the thoughts we hold ourselves back, while also realizing that there's this little voice. This little intuition that whispers to us. But then Sid began to take over as my favorite POV especially with her character growth. The last 30% I was entirely smitten with Sid.