What a beautiful second book in the duology. I still didn’t love the multiple points of view, five this time. And I still stuggled with Jude’s overall purpose until the very end. That payoff was worth it. Every thing came together in a way I wasn’t expecting. I think Amie Kaufman is a talented writer with some crazy great ideas. I loved Leander and Selly and Keegan. I despised Laskia but at the same time felt so deeply for her. And the introduction of Kiki was the best. I would love to read books from her perspective, not just a single epilogue chapter. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This sequel was fast paced, suspenseful, and ultimately had a great conclusion. I will say, the ending felt rushed and the epilogue seemed sugar coated, but then again, I probably would have been upset if it didn't have a super happy ending.

I'm extremely fond of this duology. I think the character work was superb. I read a lot of books, so I'm confident when I say that the level of emotional intelligence in Amie Kaufman's writing is miles above most others. This story just has so much heart.

I think the first book is stronger as far as story structure goes, but I enjoyed The Heart of the World too. The ending was done very well.

I recommend this duology for anyone who likes to read character driven adventure stories with elements of magic, found family, multi pov, and non-spicy wholesome romance.

This book was such an exciting read! I absolutely loved it and I can't wait to read more from this author. The plot was fast paced and was never boring. The characters were interesting and unique which made the story really enjoyable for me. Great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I just love this duology and these characters so much! I was so excited for this sequel, and I enjoyed it a lot. I like the first book better, but this one was still so good! The story could be a little slow moving at times compared to the first book, but I love the characters so much that I didn’t mind it. I just wanted to be along on the journey with them.

I said it for the first book and I’ll say it again, Selly is just such a good character. I love her so much, she is one of my favorites. Not only does it help that she loves the sea and sailing, but she also is cute, funny, determined, and loving. She has so many redeeming qualities like not taking crap from anyone but also being caring at the same time. I could gush about her for a while. She was my absolute favorite throughout the book.

I love Leander, he is so charming and funny and has a heart of gold. He annoyed me a little bit in this book, but I understood why he was being the way he was, so I could get passed it. I still love him and Selly together. They are the perfect couple. I loved how touchy they were with each other. They were always holding hands or had their arms around each other, and it was so lovely! They are one of my favorite book couples. I could have used even more scenes of them being together, but I loved what we got considering it was way more than we did in the first book. Though the tension in the first book was amazing.

I love a good non-toxic codependency and that is what they had, even though they couldn’t control it with her being his anchor. That they could feel what each other was feeling and could tell where they were at all times, I was eating it up! They didn’t need that strong connection to be in love, but I loved it all the same.

Jude and Keegan’s POVs were better in this book than the other book, but I’d still rather just have Selly and Leander. It was helpful to get all the different perspectives to see what was going on, but I still got bored at some points. I did like Jude’s journey and wanted him to find peace, and I really enjoy Keegan as a character, but I didn’t super love their sections.

Laskia still annoyed me to no end, I hated every time her chapter came up. I understand why we needed it, I do, but I still have no sympathy for her. I was unsatisfied with her ending, but I enjoyed the rest of the book too much to care.

KIKI!! I love Kiki. Where has she been all my life? I wish she was in the first book too. I could not get enough of her! She was such a girls girl, so funny and sweet. I loved her and Selly’s friendship. Her and Keegan’s banter throughout the book was so funny too.

That is one thing I will say about these books, I loved the found family in them. Their bonds with each other were so strong, you could tell how all of them cared for each other, there was no jealousy or bitter feelings. I really enjoyed that aspect.

I didn’t get a lot from Barrica as a character. As a goddess she was kind of bland. Maybe because I knew what I was going to get from her, but I thought she was pretty insignificant. Macean on the other hand, he I enjoyed. He was awful and you didn’t want to root for him, but there was something about him that was very charming and more enjoyable as a villain. He’s one you love to hate and I thought he was cool.

I thought this was a very solid conclusion. It wrapped everything up so nicely, while also leaving some things open that you can put your own spin on what happens in the future. I would love little novella’s or something to see everyone again, but I am satisfied with what we got! Highly recommend, especially if you liked the first book. If you haven’t read the first book, you have to!! Go get to know and enjoy these characters as much as I did.

This was my most anticipated book of 2024, and it really delivered...in the form of my tears.

The Heart of the World is the stunning conclusion to the Isles of the Gods series, and it's filled with angst and banter, and also what is quite possibly one of my favorite found families of all time. My e-book is filled with so many highlights and annotations (most of which are me screaming), but I enjoyed this so much.
Picking up right where the previous book left off, Leander, Selly, and Keegan have just arrived home after Leander became the Messenger (aka vessel) for his goddess of war, Barrica. Meanwhile, Laskia is the Messenger for Macean, the god of risk. War is brewing as the rivalry between the gods is reborn once more, and it's up to the main cast of characters to put a stop to it before the whole world is destroyed. The first half of the story was extremely angsty (which I loved), and I also enjoyed the contrast with Selly now being the one out of place in palace life. I thought the ending was satisfying (if a little cliche, which is one of my only complaints) and I cried...a lot. My only other issue was that pacing really slowed down in the middle for character development, but I still enjoyed it.
My favorite part of this duology, though, is probably the characters and their dynamics. I loved seeing Selly's character growth as she adjusted to a new world and how her stubbornness kept her sane. Leander, of course, was amazing as well. He was especially angsty (which I loved), and I enjoyed seeing his character arc. Keegan is literally me, and I love how he fits into Selly and Leander's dynamic. I surprisingly also liked Kiki, especially because she complements Keegan so well. I also liked Jude a lot more in this one because he's Extra Sad Boy now, and Laskia grew on me too.
The Heart of the World is the long-awaited sequel to The Isles of the Gods, and it's filled with angst, love, banter, and libraries.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC! (No, really, I almost cried when I got the email that my request was accepted.)

4.75/5