"This Rebel Heart" by Katherine Locke offers an intriguing premise, mixing history and romance, but it ultimately missed the mark for me. The setting and characters had potential, but the pacing was uneven, and the emotional connection didn’t quite land. While the historical elements were interesting, they often felt overshadowed by forced drama. I kept hoping for a stronger narrative, but it didn't fully captivate me. If you're into historical fiction with a bit of romance, it might work for you, but it didn't hit the emotional depth I was hoping for.

I don’t think this would be a bad book for anyone who’s interested in it, I just don’t think it was a good fit for me.

About a month after starting the book, 10 pages of handwritten notes / quotes, and many tears spilled, I’ve finished This Rebel Heart, and I will never be the same.

I also interviewed the author for PEN America: https://pen.org/the-pen-ten-an-interview-with-katherine-locke/

A moving piece of historical fiction. Locke proved themself an excellent writer with their Red Balloon books, and with this new title they show they've gotten even better.

The cover is gorgeous and the first thing that attracted me to this book. This was a stunning historical fiction-fantasy narrative set in 1956 Hungary revolving around queer and Jewish characters. This story follows Csilla, a Holocaust survivor who lives with her only surviving relative.

This story is based on true historical events, but is immersed with fantasy elements. I found this book particularly interesting, because there have been many books about the aftermath of World War II, but not from the perspective of people residing in Hungary. This book planted a seed in me to learn more about the history of such an important time period.

This Rebel Heart was a beautiful, heart-breaking, emotional, and powerful slow paced read which evoked inspirational feelings of wanting to stand against injustice.

As a queer girl of Jewish faith, I am absolutely adoring this read. It's writing is beautiful and the story is heatwrenching. Highly recommended! ❤️

This powerful and moving story was a nuanced look at the aftermath of the holocaust and how the people in Budapest had to rebuild their lives, for better and for worse. This look at the student led Hungarian Revolution revealed the magic at the heart of every story. I enjoyed this novel and the way that magic was intertwined with a very real backdrop of history.

This was good, but not excellent. I liked the main character but it felt a little forced. Was a fine read, but probably wouldn't purchase it for myself!

I ended up DNFing This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke because I just couldn't get into the book and it wasn't fore me.

Such a unique read covering a highly uncovered time in history! I learned so much history concerning Hungary in the 1950s! I was just rooting for Csilla the entire time. The writing is very well done and I loved the use of magic realism to add to this retelling. Intriguing, heartbreaking, and magical are three words I would use to describe this book. Highly recommend if you love historical romance!

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

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's for sending me an early copy of this book!

This book brought me back to the days of the Book Thief, and I'll be crying for the next three years thank you.

This book was beautifully written and added in the fantastical elements so well. It meshed everything together, and made it even more hauntingly beautiful. I adored the way that Csilla was part of the fantastic and the normal, and that made her the perfect person to help bring in a new future and world.

The romance ended up really surprising me, and I loved the representation that it brought! It was beautifully written and I loved the support that Csilla got from it all. She is such a relatable character because there's nothing extra special about her, she's just a girl who wants to survive.

If you're a fan of historical fiction, you definitely need to read this book!

A stunning historical fantasy set in post-WWII communist Budapest, This Rebel Heart is beautifully written and lush in scope. Through three fascinating character point of views, Katherine Locke sheds light on the Hungarian Revolution, a time in history that many early reviews admit to knowing little about. Through these relatable characters and a thread of poetic writing and magical storytelling, readers are treated to a heartbreaking and important novel. A must read for historical fiction and fantasy readers.

Thank you Katherine Locke, Knopf Books, and Random House for the ARC that I was able to read through NetGalley.

A story set in the midst of the 1956 Hungarian revolution in post-World War II communist Budapest.

There are things I can say that I liked or didn't like about this story, but I could never say that it's wrong or that I don't like the story. Okay, yes. I don't like the story... Because it's about a war, about loss, and unfortunately it's real.

I started knowing VERY little about this story and the truth is that I expected another type of plot, but the one that came to me was a very strong and very raw one. It is based on real events, with some things changed by the author (who clarifies them at the end of the book). I didn't know anything about the Hungarian revolution and everything the author tells here together with the end where she explains other things about her life and the reason for this story was... raw.

I have Jewish relatives, and although I am not Jewish I can really feel all those years were for them, for my relatives, for my blood, and reading it here... it was hard. It was sad.

Reading about rebellions and wars is not my favorite subject, and yet one of my favorite books in life is about it: The Hunger Games

Some points that did not finish convincing me were the whole theme of fantasy mixed with reality, a certain character that we can see and all that aura of fantasy did not finish closing me off. And there was a certain metaphor with the river that I clearly don't quite understand.

This Rebel Heart takes place in a few days and yet a lot happens. And not knowing what happened in real life, I didn't expect a lot of the things that happened, and it hit me hard.

I close the book and turn on the tv, where the war could be just around the corner.

I wanted to like this book...I've enjoyed other books by this author, but I could not get into this one. I'll avoid reviewing it publicly, as I did not finish and could not give the part I did read a positive review.

This book! It lives on in my heart. I wish there were so much more of it. I loved the way Locke wove magic into the real, absolutely devastating world of Hungary in the 1950s. I loved the characters - especially Azriel - and I just. Really loved this book.

I was provided with a complementary copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! It centered a moment in history that I knew nothing about which was somehow plucked from the bare end of a war I thought I was sick of hearing about. I loved the Jewish voice, I loved the queer content, I loved the complexity and nuance of loving someone that cannot be forgiven. I was only briefly thrown by the fantastical elements, but as soon as I understood that those would be present, I was quickly able to adjust and enjoy the gorgeous writing. I had never heard a Jewish prayer as a battle cry before and I had no idea I needed that.

I may not have been into every component of this book, but overall I liked what it did. If you have read Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi this one has a very similar feel. A lot of internal thoughts and the action doesn't pick up until closer to the end. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating: 4/5 stars

My Review:

I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and place on this blog tour — thanks, Penguin Teen Canada and TBR and Beyond Tours!

This was my first Katherine Locke book, but it will not be my last. I loved their writing style so much. I found it very easy to follow and immediately got drawn into it. Csilla was such a fantastic main character; I enjoyed her development the most of the characters, seeing her grow and embrace all of the pieces of herself. I couldn’t put it down, and I feel that others will feel the same way.

However, as one can likely tell before going in, this is a story that is hard to read. There is so much history and trauma in the background of this story, and though I cannot speak to the Jewish representation, from a historical perspective I thought that they did a really good job handling these topics throughout the book. There wasn’t any sugarcoating, and the sentiment rang true amongst all the awful things happening in the world right now. It’s a history that I, and I am sure many others, are not very familiar with and I think it did a good job balancing the history and the narrative. I will say, I always enjoy history/context blurbs at the end of my histfics (the historian in me always wants more knowledge) and the ARC did not have one, so that part was missed.

I was pleasantly surprised by the queer and polyamorous rep, which I had not expected from the blurb. I don’t wish to spoil anything, but I will say that it wasn’t underdeveloped though the relationship felt a little rushed / instalovey at times. Their interactions were the softest and I want to give them all the biggest hugs.

This Rebel Heart certainly has its own unique fabulist storytelling, though my one complaint will be that it was not clear at times what was magic and what was a metaphor. I spent most of the book believing that Budapest being grey/colourless was a metaphor when it, in fact, was not but a part of the magical element of the story. It was confusing in that way, as my mind immediately jumped to the conclusion of a metaphor not a literal greyness. But that would be my only complaint with the narrative style.

All in all, this was a really excellent book that I am sure those who read it will enjoy immensely. However unsatisfying, the ending is representative of the unsureness that Csilla and the others face throughout the events of the book. They face a lot of unknowns, and though, as a reader, we may want answers, we may wish to more and the choice to end it the way Locke did makes it as satisfying as it is unsatisfying.

This Rebel Heart releases April 5th, 2022

THIS REBEL HEART was a book that took me by surprise. It entertained me, taught me and challenged me to think about history and memory.. I can't say I know a lot about Hungarian history in general, and I hadn't heard about the 1956 student led revolution this book is based on. I loved how Locke centered Jewish survivors of the Holocaust living in Soviet-controlled areas. The messaging of this book is arguably the strongest aspect to the story about antisemitism, how history is written and how it is remembered. I found Csilla's story to be compelling in such a beautiful way. This story is one where the hopes of revolution, the pain of genocide and the power of youth all flow together just like the Danube River. Locke's world-building was just impeccable, capturing such important history and the complexities of Europe in that moment. For some reason, I missed that this book had a fantasy element to it, and while I did come to enjoy it, it confused me and I had trouble following along with that plot thread earlier in the novel. That seems to be a me issue, but it impacted my experience. THIS REBEL HEART is one of those books whose importance I cannot stress enough, and I think if I had actually caught on to the fantasy/magical elements in this story, I would have given this 5 stars.