Loved the first book but didn't remember a lot of the details so it took a little time for me to get into this one. I continued to enjoy the magic and the worldbuilding. Kochin's character development was also enjoyable to follow - I loved seeing him heal, grow, and stay true to himself.

I really enjoyed the dual POV in this one! The alternating timelines quickly resolved the last book's cliffhanger but kept the mystery going of how exactly that resolution happened. I thought the writing had improved as well and I felt more emotionally connected to Nhika and Kochin and their relationship. This definitely felt like more of Kochin's book rather than Nhika's and I liked seeing Kochin's character development in how he feels towards himself and his heartsoothing. The ending with the antagonist was a bit too clean and easy for me, but I get that it fits with the overall tone and message of the duology.

Overall it was a satisfying conclusion to the duology and I'll be looking forward to reading whatever Vanessa Le writes next.

Thank you to Fierce Reads, Macmillan, and NetGalley for the eARC!

For a book under 400 pages this took me a long time to get into. I loved The Last Bloodcarver when I read it last year and was super looking forward to the second book in this duology. This second installment picks up about 6 months after the end of The Last Bloodcarver. Kochin goes to war, to infiltrate the island of Yarong , to find a way to raise Nhika from the dead. We see early on that he was successful- but not how he managed to do the near impossible. And the world the Nhika wakes into is very different from the one she left.

The switch in the narrative style, now a dual POV with a timeline split, made it feel like it took longer to be fully invested in the story. Aside from Kochin and Nhika many of the characters that we got to know in the first book fade into the background as the mystery of how Kochin brings Nhika back from death are slowly rolled out. Though once the timelines converged, everything picked up and I was fully invested again. In fact I wish more time was spent on the morality involved with heartsoothing and war, than on Nhika’s resurrection.

I wasn’t sure how Vanessa Le was going to manage finishing this story, with the way The Last Bloodcarver ended; I wasn’t sure who would make it out alive in this book either. In the end, it was a good conclusion to the duology, just not the type of story I was anticipating.

As much as I was fascinated by the first book, apparently this sequel didn’t piqued my interest at all… this book has 2 POV, Nhika & Kochin, but their POVs started on different timelines: Nhika in the present, Kochin in the past. It’s disorienting a bit and I needed awhile to get used to it. And thankfully later in the story, their timeline aligned.

The magic system was the only thing that kept me from DNF, because it’s cool. But other than that, I didn’t really care… on the first book I felt like the romance was artificial and this book still failed to change my opinion on that. Overall it’s just okay, i felt indifference on most of it. Still worth to read tho, for the magic system.

This was such an amazing conclusion to The Last Bloodcarver Duology. Much like my last review of the first book, I am absolutely in awe of the writing style and magic system. The writing style so easy to get lost in and not hard to follow, there's a lot of descriptions to really paint the picture and let you marinate in the emotions of the characters. The magic system, while complex as it blends magic and science, isn't hard to understand. I loved the characters and reading from Kochin and Nhika's perspectives, it was so satisfying to see them come together after spending the majority of the book apart. The themes of like self and culture and survival really came through and felt all aspects to be pretty heartbreaking.

Got dinged the .5 because I felt like there were so many red herrings as to what happened to Kochin and it kind of bogged down the pacing. I was about 73% of the way through and thought, "uh-oh... we're almost to the end and we still haven't found out what's going on..." While the ending wasn't THAT rushed, it shortened the payoff for me. The payoff being finding out what happens to Kochin and the couple's reunion. But I understand it, since it's a duology, you don't have the luxury of another book to wrap up loose ends in a satisfying way, hence the half deduction instead of the full star.

Still love the book though. Think it's a good ending to a duology. Had to round rating down to a 4 due not allowing me to do half stars

It’s The Last Bloodcarver sequel time! Vanessa Le’s duology comes to a spectacular end.

Beware, as unmarked spoilers for book #1 will follow!

…

…

…

…

…

…

Okay, y’all. At the end of The Last Bloodcarver, Nhika died. Using the last of her strength, she healed Kochin and saved his life, passing along the bone ring that had belonged to her heartsooth ancestors in the process. Now, Nhika has woken up in one of the Congmi family’s other manors on the other side of the country. Kochin is nowhere to be found, and Theumas is now at war. Her entire world has turned upside down, and she’s desperate to find answers, but Mimi and Andao are hesitant to tell her the truth.

Six months ago, Ven Kochin almost died, but he was rescued by Nhika. Using technology developed by Dr. Sando during Sando’s attempt to resurrect his dead son, Kochin keeps Nhika in a comatose but stable state. With Theumas on the brink of war, he ventures home to see his estranged family and make amends before setting off on a fool’s quest to find a way to revive her. His own resources dwindling, he knows that he must make his way to the island of Yarong, from whence the heartsooths originally came. Who can he trust to keep Nhika safe while he searches for answers?

Vanessa Le’s writing is just as solid in His Mortal Demise as it was in The Last Bloodcarver. Nhika and Kochin’s split narrative is clever and well-managed, keeping the tension tight as his timeline ticks down and hers continues on into wartime. I’m thrilled to have gotten a chance to read this one. My utmost thanks as always to MacMillan and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for a fair review. His Mortal Demise dropped on Tuesday, 3/18/25. Go check it out!

This review originally appeared here: https://swordsoftheancients.com/2025/03/21/his-mortal-demise-a-review/

I loved The Last Bloodcarver and while I did enjoy this book, I was also a little disappointed.

It felt like book 1 was Nhika's book, and book 2 was Kochin's book, though obviously there were some POVs in each. I really like Kochin and I enjoyed getting to see him grow and develop into his ability and background more. However, the structure and pacing was harder to get into than for the first book. Book 1 had a central murder mystery pushing the plot along in a fairly linear way, while this book goes back and forth between present day, six months prior, present day, five months prior, etc, breaking up some of the immersion and tension. The central mystery from the last book's cliffhanger (will Nhika be brought back to life?) is solved in the first chapter, and I found a lot of the conflict in this book to be less engaging than the previous murder mystery. I also wish we had more of the Congmis in this book.

However, I did really love all of the scenes where Nhika and Kochin were together, and I think this book really built on that relationship in a way that felt true to both of the characters. I was satisfied with the ending and felt it worked well with the rest of the story, and I enjoyed getting to know Kochin's family better.

His Mortal Demise is the second book in The Last Bloodcarver duology. I loved the first book so this was a highly anticipated 2025 read for me. Unfortunately I was somewhat disappointed. Let me start with the good: the last 20% of this book - wow! It leaves you gasping for breath, it’s so epic. Scenes that feel like they’re straight out of movie, so action packed one minute and then heart wrenching the next. Extremely satisfying conclusion. But you have to get there. I very rarely DnF books and had this not been an ARC I’d have come close to it - and of course I would have missed out on the amazing last part. It’s extremely slow paced, meandering and separates our two main characters for almost the entire book. The Last Bloodcarver showed us that Kochin and Nhika scenes light up the page - making His Mortal Demise a shadow in comparison.

Thank you to Macmillan Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review .

I thought this book wrapped up the duology really well! I liked the introduction of the dual timeline/POV, I really enjoy when a book has me trying to piece together how the past led to the present.

The moral dilemmas were really increased in interesting ways, I liked how the issues weren’t black and white, meaning I couldn’t predict what characters would decide since there wasn’t really a right choice.

I liked the development of the characters and relationships, I thought they followed up on the first book well.

I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as the first book, but I think that’s just down to personal preference. I liked the murder mystery of the first one, and I’m not a fan of WWI-ish settings like was happening in a chunk of this story. Not that it didn’t fit with the story overall, just not so much what I liked reading about.

I think this is a great duology that brings a lot of unique aspects to the genre.

Thanks to the publisher for the copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Roaring Brook Press for the digital ARC of “His Mortal Demise” by Vanessa Le.

I had received “The Last Bloodcarver” in a monthly book box, and was absolutely sucked into the book. Once I saw the second half of the duology was being released I knew I had to read it - it’s already on my list of books I will be buying.
The first book left off with such a cliffhanger, and the second picks up where it left off. Nhika is alive, and the question for her is ‘where is Kochin,’ but as the reader we know exactly where Kochin is - Once again I am seeing gorgeous, and descriptive world building right from the start. Looking at Kochin’s POV in Chapter 2 felt like I was walking alongside him and experiencing his return home with him.

I can see the necessity of the story being told through Kochin in the past POV, but the timeline/order in the story did throw me off a bit, and it felt a bit disjointed - even though the more I read I realized it was filling in a lot of the gaps that Nhika would have missed. Both perspectives did help with seeing the grief process from both sides, and coming to terms with what’s happened, and seeing the conflict in their world.

My only real complaint is that once the two timelines converged, the story was almost over, and the pacing sped up quite a bit.
Overall 4/5

3 stars

I was totally in love with the first book. So the start of this was rough for me. Our main characters aren’t together, and it flops back in forth in points of view and timelines. The prose in parts seemed more repetitive than I remembered the first being. Maybe it was the lack of mystery that let my attention waver? I think eventually it does pick up and come together. I could devour a whole book with them together and happy. It deals with themes relevant to our society in a way I think YA readers can grasp.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy to form opinions from.

"It's the gift of healing passed through my culture—our culture. My grandmother was a heartsooth. When the Daltans came, they destroyed the gift and anyone who might pass it on. They invented a new word for it, bloodcarving—that's the name Theumas uses too, isn't it? They pillaged graves because they believed our corpses might give them the same gift they despised about us. They've tainted the very memory of heartsoothing. It's your history, too. Don't you care to preserve it?"

brief spoiler right off the bat -
(the way this book opens up with Kochin LITERALLY traveling with Nhika’s DEAD BODY IN HIS BOAT????? LIKE JUST SAILING AROUND LIKE THERE’S NOTHING TO SEE HERE??? i’m weak.)
anyway... lmao.

His Mortal Demise opens up with two timelines: one that immediately follows Nhika’s passing and how Kochin decides to react afterwards, and then one that occurs six months later that follows Nhika waking up, with no idea how she got there or what happened in the time she was “dead”.

we quickly learn that shortly after Nhika died, war broke out and is still on-going in the present.

we then follow Nhika as she navigates a new war-torn world, while trying to understand what happened to Kochin, and we follow Kochin as he struggles to accept Nhika’s passing and goes on a journey to try and find a way to bring her back.

obviously by page 1 (so this isn’t a spoiler) we know he was successful in someway, but we don’t know HOW he managed to do it. I loved this aspect a lot, especially while working through the dual timelines as the book progressed. I had several theories on how Kochin did it (none of my theories were correct, which kind of made it more fun) and I think just being able to theorize and try to guess where the story is going can make it more enjoyable to read. it definitely adds an element of being immersed in the story and kind of feeling like you have a personal stake in what happens.

I thought this was a great ending to the duology, but do feel like the world building could have been more clear (I never managed to get a clear handle on what kind of time frame this world exists in, like in the sense of how much modern technology/medicine/etc do we have here). and the history of the war and the colonization of Yarong felt like it had the potential to be amazing to read about, so I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to explore that history more, or even what became of Yarong after Kochin and Nhika’s story ends. the introduction of Lanalay made this even more disappointing because she had such a STRONG connection to what happened to Yarong. that said, I think if I take a step back and just appreciate the duology for what it is, I think I can picture Lanalay as a symbol of Yarong - she fought for her family and was able to take control of their history and (hopefully) prevent people from trying to abuse them in similar ways in the future. I’d like to imagine that by Kochin taking a stand as well, Yarong will make a comeback in the future of this world.

I also liked that the villain in this book wasn’t a stereotypical black-and-white villain. there were more layers to him and Kochin saw that, even though he had every right to refuse to see it.

plot: ★★★★★
I really enjoyed the dual timeline aspect of the plot. the story opens simulaneously immediately following The Last Bloodcarver and six months after those events. I loved the mystery of trying to understand what happened alongside Nhika in the “present” time, while also getting to see how Kochin made plans to try and bring Nhika back. seeing the chapters progress in the timeline closer and closer to merging together was probably what kept me reading past my bedtime. every time I got to a new chapter and saw we were a little closer, I felt like I had to keep reading because I wanted to know what happened soooo bad.

writing: ★★★☆☆
I mentioned this in my review of The Last Bloodcarver, but I noticed it more in His Mortal Demise: WHAT kind of world are we existing in here??? the visuals and the description of SOME of the technology make me picture a much older, more rural, area. but now we have Iron Man style robots to send to war??????? what is happening lmao

don’t get me wrong, it’s cool and all, but it’s jarring to have a picture in mind, and then feel like I need to turn it on its head to try and rework it to fit the story. idk, I guess I just wish we would have gotten a few paragraphs at any point that explained what technological advances we’ve seen to paint a better picture of how advanced the world might be and/or if it’s a matter of equity/disparity like it IS super high-tech society, but those in lower classes never get to see it? kind of like a Star Wars type of universe?

but the way the author portrays war time and the more gruesome side of medicine was REALLY well done. I am not a squeamish person, but I was grimacing a couple times.

pacing: ★★★★★
the dual timelines make the story go by very quickly. the beginning is a bit quieter, but it doesn’t feel like it’s slow, because you’re dropped right in the middle of the mystery. Nhika wondering how she got here, and Kochin wondering what to do after Nhika’s death.

romance: ★★★★☆ (3.5 rounded up)
Nhika and Kochin worked out soooo much better together in this book than they did in the first one. I just think they weren’t given enough time in The Last Bloodcarver to really connect and get to know each other beyond their shared history. this did make it a little weird in His Mortal Demise because it made it seem like we shifted into “insta-love” territory, but it didn’t feel like that for very long (partially because Kochin would talk to Nhika in his head, which feels like cheating in terms of relationship building, but whatever).

Nhika and Kochin’s romance had a major “tragic love affair” mood to it. I felt like I was constantly waiting for something to go wrong. while it makes for a bit of a tense reading experience, it also made me root for them harder than I would have if I hadn’t been scared for them.

characters: ★★★★☆
I loved Kochin’s interactions with the fake Nhika he imagined, but it made me sad that it was imaginary. it made me wish we got more banter between them during The Last Bloodcarver. I think if we had had those moments before, these reminiscing moments would feel more heartfelt/impactful.

I really liked the Congmi family’s interactions with Nhika as well. they took more of a backseat in this book, but you could still see them caring for her and wanting what’s best for her. especially Trin. I felt this way when I read the first book as well, but I desperately wished we got more time with Nhika and Trin interacting. they have such a fun brother/sister relationship. I would have loved to see more of them, especially seeing them get to lean on each other more and be more vulnerable together. even without all that, we still got some cute moments of them teasing each other and looking out for each other, so I am thankful for that at least.

and I mentioned this already, but the introduction of Lanalay felt... oddly placed. I’m choosing to see her as a metaphor for the country of Yarong as a whole. she felt almost like a ghost or a spirit rather than an actual character. like her entire purpose in the book (to put it vaguely) was to get the papers about her grandmother. when you look at it like that, she didn’t mean much directly for the plot, but if you pull back and look at the reason why she’s stealing the papers and what that means for the Yarongese and all heartsoothes, the existence of her character makes a lot more sense.

over-all: ★★★★☆
I thought this was a great ending to the duology. part of me wants to say I wish it had been a trilogy so that we could have gotten more character interactions and more of the world building/history of the world, but I worry that a trilogy would have started to feel too drawn out, so I’m happy with the two books.

I knew from the reviews that this was going to be a good read and it did not disappoint. While it started off a bit slow it pulls you in with the mystery of what exactly happened to Nokia and where is the man who saved her life. I enjoyed the dual timelines and felt it added to the tension and curiosity of the story. The ending was a bit too neat for my taste as was the way the opp was handled but all in all it was a satisfying read. I was able to read it without reading the first book but I’m sure the first will make the second an even better experience.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

I don't know how it was done, but this book was better than the first! I fell in love with The Last Bloodcarver, the rich world and the characters were so appealing to me. I didn't know how the sequel could possibly follow it. Not only did it follow, it completely exceeded all of my expectations. The dual pov and timelines were so incredibly complex in how they related back to each other, and Le did such an amazing job of revealing information at just the right time to achieve maximum emotional and psychological damage. And I loved every minute of it. Nihka and Kochin mean everything to me, I loved seeing just how far they would go for each other. I feel conflicted about the books being a duology - on one hand, I just want more of them! On the other hand, leave them alone and let them live their happy ending in peace! This book absolutely destroyed me and put me back together, I cried no less than three times and was pacing the room for hours while reading.
Truly an incredible fantasy duology that I will keep coming back to.

This was a stunning conclusion to The Last Bloodcarver duology. Kochin is determined to bring Nhika back to life by using his heartsoothing abilities. In another timeline, Nhika wakes up and is determined to find Kochin. I loved getting both Kochin and Nhika's POVs in this book, and felt like it really helped me understand Kochin's backstory a lot more. The POVs were told on different timelines which just made me root for the main characters to be back together. This book had plenty of suspense, some plot twists, and absolutely gorgeous writing. I listened to the audio while reading along and loved the duet narration. Jason Vu and VyVy Nguyen were both fantastic and brought the characters and their emotions to life in a really immersive manner.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's and Macmillan Audio for the advance copies!

📖ADVANCED READER COPY REVIEW📖

His Mortal Demise by Vanessa Le
HAPPY RELEASE DAY!

Thank you to Roaring Books Press and @lochnessly for a free advanced reader copy of this book.

💭BLURB💭

Freedom, peace, love.

After losing the one he loves, Kochin will do anything to bring her back.

After awakening, Nhika is trying to piece together exactly what he did, and where he is.

📖REVIEW📖

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm pretty emotional writing this review. The Last Bloodcarver was my very first ARC review that I did and I loved it. Now to be reading the conclusion of this story is an incredible opportunity. I feel so lucky to have it. It's coming full circle.

This book was the perfect conclusion. The dual timeline filling to gaps for the povs was such an amazing way to tell the story and everything these characters went through to find each other.

Vanessa Le writes beautifully, almost lyrically. The ache you feel for these characters, the joy they feel is your's because the writing is just that good. Just the right amount of dark and hopefully, this will keep you hooked from beginning to end.

First of all, the narrators did a great job bringing the two main characters to life. After the events that took place in the first book, we now find Kochin alone, completely devastated. He is willing to do anything to bring Nhika back, even if it means losing parts of himself. I liked that they were given dual POVs and were able to tell their memories of past events and what they were feeling at the time. We were able to follow Kochin on this journey and experience his state of mind as he fought to bring back Nhika. We also got to see Nhika's journey and how, after being disregarded for so long by others, she finally found a group of people who cared for her.

Thank you to Fierce Reads for the e-arc and Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

Immediately following the events of "The Last Bloodcarver", the second installment in the duology has our main heroine, Nhika, awakening after the catastrophic events that left just one of her kind alive, but it wasn't meant to her still breathing. Choosing to make a selfless sacrifice she had given her gift to the boy she loved and now he's nowhere to be found and the country is at war under a new commissioner who will go to tremendous lengths to win a victoryless war. Nhika must follow the clues left behind, searching for where Kochin may be, praying he's still alive and well against all odds.

I cannot express enough how much I loved this follow up. This duology itself is utterly breathtaking with its imagery and homage to Vietnam and with giving remnants of war and the message I took home from it I couldn't help but tear up with the heavier topics including displacement, the after effects of a taxing and violent war, and the mistreatment of a population and their land. Le writes with such grace and as a Vietnamese descendant myself, I am so happy to have this literature to be able to share with my future children to show just how resiliency is steadfast.

This duology deserves way more hype! It doesn’t rely on the recycled tropes that are currently saturating the genre - it’s fresh, engaging, and impossible to put down.

The romance? Amazing. The dual POVs between Kochin and Nhika add so much suspense, and I completely get the Divine Rivals comparison in this book (though I’d argue it’s more similar to Ruthless Vows!)

Kochin’s profound grief was the focus of this book, and it was so well-written. His longing, his guilt, his loneliness. He would do anything for Nhika, and you feel it on every page. Their banter is top-tier, and I adored how fiercely protective he is of her.

Beyond the romance, the found family and platonic relationships were arguably one of the best parts of this book. I especially loved Trin and Nhika’s friendship. Their dynamic was hilarious, and I loved seeing their slow shift from distrust to grudging respect to family. 🥹 Her sass and their banter was hilarious.

The magic system is also insanely cool and unique. Bloodcarvers (or heartsooths) can alter bodies with just a touch - mostly to heal, but also to harm. It’s biology-centric yet magical, which I think you’ll enjoy if you’re also a biology nerd!

Plot-wise, we hit the ground running after that book 1 cliffhanger. I won’t spoil, but it’s pretty fast-paced! I can totally see this being adapted into a TV series.

What also made this book shine was the moral complexity. There are no clear heroes or villains, just flawed people making choices. The author doesn’t spoon-feed you a stance, just lays out the questions and lets you wrestle with them yourself.

If you’re looking for a new duology to binge read, I highly recommend this!

This was so incredibly satisfying of an ending.

After the whirlwind of an ending from The Last Bloodcarver, this book picked up with some serious gaps, which were interesting and all filled in along the way.

Nhika gave her life for Kochin. Now she’s back, and we get to follow both her story of realizing what happened while she was dead (a little Avatar-esque) while also following Kochin’s story of what he had to sacrifice to bring her back. As the timelines jump around, we eventually see them converge into a single story.

I can already tell there will be criticism about how conveniently some of the conflict resolved, but that for me was exactly what I needed.

Both Nhika and Kochin grew so much! As did Mimi and Andao and Trin. Their growth was realistic and in some ways harsh as they faced the changing realities of their world.

Overall, this book exceeded my expectations and built on the wonder and magic of heartsoothing that made the first book so unique and intriguing.

Definitely refresh yourself on book 1 (at least the end) before diving into this one! It’ll help.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.