I was torn on even wanting to start Tale of the Heart Queen. If you haven't read the previous books in the series, be warned that spoilers for the previous books will be involved in this review.

Lor and Nadir start this book separated. Lor thinks she's killed Nadir by accidentally striking him with her lightning power that she can't control while trying to strike his father instead. Nadir is kidnapped by Zerra and held for ransom to get Lor to steal some objects that Zerra needs from one of the other kingdoms. Lor has to go on a mission to find that object. At the same time, Zerra plans to marry Nadir herself as a replacement for Herric, who hurt her many years ago.

Gabriel is also a narrator. He's left in the Aphelion to pick up the pieces after exposing Atlas for stealing the crown from his brother, Tyr. Tyr isn't in a place to be the king after his ordeal. Yet, he is still the reigning king. Gabriel is needed for the support of the kingdom as well as stability for Tyr. He has a romance building with Hylene, but there isn't too much time spent on that. His story was in place mostly for resolution for the Sun Kingdom, which is where a large portion of the story takes place over the series.

I have enjoyed Nadir and Lor's story, but when things went to a higher level to include Zerra, Heric, and Lor's grandparents, I lost interest in that part of the story. I thought the series probably would have been just as enjoyable without the higher level of conflict. Had Nadir's father just been evil and attempted to steal Heart's power for himself to become a more powerful king than the others in Ouranos, I would have enjoyed that more. Zerra and Heric were particularly unnecessary in my opinion. Lor's grandparents' story could be arguably necessary because it adds to the conflict of Heart regaining its power and Lor and Nadir being Primaries over their respective territories.

Now I need to discuss Rion, Nadir's father. I don't want to spoil anything for readers who haven't read this book yet. So highlight for spoilers: I'm all for a redemption story. But this happened way too quickly. Nadir's father has been built up as the pinnacle of evil throughout this entire series. And all of a sudden, we find out that it is really because he had his heart broken. He was in love with a woman, Rachel. But he slipped up and got another woman pregnant, Nadir's mother. He ended up marrying and bonding with Nadir's mother for his crown, despite not caring for her at all. And he proceeded to hate her over time, as well as the two children she bore him. He tortured Lor for years while she was in prison. Yet we learn he's been prodded by Herric all this time. And he basically loses it in this book. He goes from the ultimate bad to a sniveling pawn. Again, I'm all for a redemption story. No one is incapable of being redeemed. Everyone is capable of change through Jesus. Yet this happening was so jarring and out of character development that I couldn't get on board with it. I can't believe the path Nisha J Tuli chose for him. It didn't feel honest. It didn't feel authentic. It felt like a convenient plot hole filler.

While I'm in spoiler mode: what about the innkeeper that Nadir and Lor stayed at. Is that not Rachel in truth? Rion believed her to be dead, but I wondered if she were really alive and if Herric was lying to him about her being in the Underworld. Nothing was said about it, so either this was left unaddressed on purpose, this was a hole, or I was reaching.

Another thing I want to address is a pet peeve of mine. I don't drink alcohol. It feels like I'm in the minority when it comes to like the entire world, although Google says only 32% of the world population drinks (how they know, I have no idea). But I get so frustrated in literature when drinking alcohol to forget or escape problems is used. I suppose there are times when we are discussing alcoholism where this would make the most sense to include, but it's mentioned so often in books in this way that I feel like the world has begun to believe that this is how one handles one's problems. Escaping through alcohol and/or drugs. It isn't healthy. And I'm kind of tired of seeing it in books. Is this a case of life imitating art or art imitating life? Do people drink to drown their problems because that's what's natural to them, and thus, people write about it? Or do people do it because they've seen it so much on TV and in literature that they just do it because that's what they're told is supposed to be done? Getting off my soapbox now.

Only to hop back on. I have always struggled with books that focus on diversity for diversity's sake. I suppose this can be done in a way that isn't as in-your-face, but this series checks nearly every diversity box available. If this is something that bugs you, I thought you might like to know. If you like this to be in your books, now you know.

Tale of the Heart Queen was okay. I am glad that I finished the series. I did prefer the first two books in the series over the last two. It wasn't without problems for me. I felt like the conflict was forced in some areas and would have been better served to have been simplified a bit. Even though I love a redemption story, Rion's character path was so jarring and felt inauthentic with his journey up until this book. I still rooted for Lor and Nadir. Overall, Tale of the Heart Queen gets 3 Stars. Have you read Tale of the Heart Queen? What did you think? Let me know!

QUOTE:
"I promised I would burn down the entire world for you, and I meant it every single time."

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶

My thoughts:
I really enjoyed this! There was a point towards the middle where I got a little bored, but when it picked up, it really picked up. Lor is such a strong FMC that doesn't take stuff from anyone! This book was well written, and it wrapped up so nicely!

I will be recommending this series as one of my go to “romantasy starters”. I really enjoyed Lor’s story, the world, the magic, the politics, Nadir (all of the above with him) and the side characters. Nisha’s writing is so wonderfully digestible to me. Also the way she contains and curates story content into short chapters is *chefs kiss*. I enjoyed this book specifically but not as much as the other three. Lor and Nadir’s love story arc completed well, and same with Lor’s character arc through out the series. I felt like the plots with Tyr, Gabriel, Herric, the Arcs, Rion were added too late in the series - they were either not flushed out or mentioned in other books at all- this detracted from the story for me. It was distracting and just felt underbaked. I didn’t like the final boss trial because I didn’t care at all about the final boss. He just appeared. I also wanted more retribution for Atlas. Regardless Nisha will remain an autobuy author for me. I love reading her stories. AND read this on audio! It is a must. Soneela is a star in her craft and one of my favorite feme narrators. And is absolutely amazing. Corvin and Shane also smashed it in this performance.

Title: Tale of the Heart Queen (The Artefacts of Ouranos, Book 4) by Nisha J Tuli
Genre: Fantasy
Pub Date: November 26, 2024

Dual Timelines
Multiple POV
Enchanted Objects
Who Hurt You?
Found Family
She'll Burn the World for Him

My Review:
This one was such a letdown. There was basically no story, only "she's worried about him" and "he's basically in a coma" then "ahh yay, he's out, let's have sex every couple chapters." I loved the first books of the series but Tale of the Heart Queen was a train wreck.

Thank you to the publisher for the digital review copy!

Review: Tale of the Heart Queen by Nisha J. Tuli

As the final installment in this fantasy series, Tale of the Heart Queen delivers a conclusion that is, in many ways, exactly what one would expect—justice is served, lingering questions are answered, and the story reaches its destined resolution. However, the path to that ending feels somewhat underwhelming, lacking the emotional intensity and narrative depth that defined earlier books.

✧ "He was never my ruin. He was always my salvation." ✧

Having followed Lor, Nadir, and the people of Ouranos through their trials, I’ve experienced the full spectrum of emotions—joy, heartbreak, and fierce investment in their fates. While the series has had its breathtaking highs, this final chapter falls short in execution. Certain choices and resolutions felt rushed, as though the focus shifted toward tying up loose ends rather than honoring the characters’ individual arcs. The dialogue occasionally became repetitive, key relationships lacked further development, and the absence of high-stakes tension made the climax feel predictable.

✧ "She makes me want to be the best version of myself. She's like the sun, and everything else is just the stars lucky to be moving around her." ✧

Despite these flaws, Lor remains a standout protagonist—strong, compelling, and utterly deserving of her crown. Nisha J. Tuli’s talent for crafting nuanced characters shines, particularly in the parallels between past and present storylines. Ultimately, while the conclusion is satisfying on a structural level, it leaves one wishing for a more emotionally resonant and dynamic finale.

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐ – A fitting end, but not the unforgettable crescendo it could have been.

I really enjoyed this 4th installment to this series by Nisha J. Tuli. I felt that the story was wrapped up well and was intriguing from beginning to end. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

Rich and complex fantasy, you can almost feel,it, smell the air. Finally the fourth book, you just have to read it, there is no choice!

Omg I finally finished..it took 6 months but I finished! I’m glad that this was the last book in this series. And the ending was so great but this book was way too long. The reason why I loved trial of the sun queen was because it was exciting and not too long but the past two books were so information heavy that it just felt like the fun was pushed to the back and that more things were thrown in that weren’t super important to moving the story forward.

Thank you NetGalley!

I binged the heck out of this series last year and found it to be fantastic and pretty unique but this final book just didn’t feel the same to me? I don’t know if it was the time in between reading the first three and starting this last one or it just became very redundant/repetitive to me. I felt mostly lost during this book even though the same fact kept getting repeated, the Rion and Gabriel (who was a fav character of mine) POV’s also just wasn’t it for me. I fear this might have just been too much time passed for me and I was confused but I didn’t love this book as much as I did the first three 🥲.

Nisha J Tuli has become an auto-buy author for me! The details, the slow burn. I am completely drawn in and utterly obsessed. She has a unique way of writing characters that makes you want to jump onto the page and be near them.

This was my first Tuli series and I adored this journey! I was hooked by the plot and stayed for the characters, and not just the main characters, but the side characters! They all became deeply integral to the overall story line, and that followed through to the very end in Tale of the Heart. I do feel this series would have wrapped up better as a trilogy, some aspects in book 4 felt unnecessary, making the story feel a bit dragged out. But overall, I'm so glad I found this series and will continue to read Tuli's new works as they release.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this one—But that was most definitely a me problem and says nothing against the book itself. Nisha J. Tuli is one of my favorite authors (I’m 100% keeping this on my TBR) but I just haven’t been able to get into any romantasy lately.

I have such a love for this series, but I do feel like there was a lot going on this ending.

I love seeing all the characters and get to see everything finally pan out, but it was a lot of different storylines and felt like the book was stretched out a little bit more than it should have been.

Slower paced, when I think it should've been kicking up a little bit more.

A beautiful end to the series and I'm so sad to say goodbye to the characters.

This book starts off crazy .....and stays crazy . We got to meet the evil bitch god and Nadir is dead for awhile. Crazy stuff. I enjoyed their reunion though. I laughed, I cried and i threw my book. All the loose ends were tied up perfectly and it of course had a HEA. I enjoyed this book and would recommend this series for anyone into romantasy with BA FMC and hot mmc .

The 4th book picks up right where the 3rd left off.
Lor has definitely grown up more from book 1 to now. Even from book 3, she is acting so much less selfish and bratty, and I love it! Nadir’s experience in the Evanescence is interesting, as he gets to have discussions with many figures of the past from the history of Ouranos.

This book felt more plot heavy and I loved the multiple timelines and perspectives. Nisha really understood the assignment with bringing us more Gabriel and various shocks and plot twists throughout, especially in Rion’s POV. Lor and Nadir’s relationship has evolved so much and it was beautiful to see. I was pleasantly surprised by this masterful end to the quartet.

This finale delivered—an absolutely fabulous conclusion that gave me everything I was hoping for and more. The pacing? Seamless. The emotional depth? Gut-punching in the best way. The action? Pure cinematic gold.

Lor fully stepping into her role as the Heart Queen was a moment. She’s fierce, raw, vulnerable, and utterly magnetic—and watching her transformation unfold was chef’s kiss satisfying.

The entire cast came through in this one. Gabriel, who started off all tension and side-eyes in book one? Total glow-up. His arc ends in this loyal, heartwarming friendship with Lor that I wasn’t expecting but totally adored. And her siblings? They finally stepped into their own power and I was living for it.

Also, can we talk about the subtle, beautiful romance between Lor’s sister and Nadir’s sister? It added such a soft, healing counterpoint to all the intensity. Honestly, this book had it all—heart, heat, and one hell of a send-off.

A great series that I really enjoyed. I could've used a little name refresher as the only thing I remembered from the series before picking this up is, "That bitch took my soap."

“He was never my ruin… He was always my salvation”

Tale of the Heart Queen was a great conclusion to the Artefacts of Ouranos series. I personally felt slightly underwhelmed and a tiny bit bored with it.. It just didn’t give me the same feelings the first three books did. But overall, it wasn’t bad. I enjoyed much of it.

After the hell they've been through (literally), I’m grateful Nadir and Lor finally have their HEA. However, I think Atlas’s downfall was my favorite part lol. I really loved that we got Rion's POV during his moment of remorse. I'm always a sucker for a good villain so really enjoyed seeing his side of things.

The ending felt bittersweet and I loved that Nisha added in the tidbit about the soap after the iconic opening line of the first book! I enjoyed going down memory lane with Nadir and Lor as they discussed the beginnings of their relationship.

I think it wrapped up the series very nicely and I was happy with the ending overall!

This book and entire series was beautifully written. I loved every intense moment, plot twist and had an attachment to almost all of the characters. I will say books 1-3 were something I couldn't compare to other books/stories... where as book 4 I could find several comparisons between this story and The Princess Bride (which kind of broke my heart as I grew up with that story and wasn't sure how I felt about another author using some of the storyline).

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Nisha J. Tuli for this ARC!

This was a great end to a series. My review is so late because I am a mood reader at my core and I was not in the mood for fantasy for a while. Also, idk what is wrong with me but I put off the last book in a series sometimes. I don’t want it to end! I ended up buying the audio book for this one and listened to parts of it. The audiobook is so well done! I think the narrators were very talented, especially the narrator for Nadir.

This series is such a great slow burn romantasy. It’s so funny at parts but will make you cry in others. This particular book was jam packed with action. I truly feel like it was a journey to get to the happy ending. The characters found themselves in a lot of situations that I was not expecting at all! I think that the author is so creative, honestly. I never felt like I knew what was coming. This is a unpredictable series which is just a breath of fresh air.

This book along with the series is a solid romantasy read and I would definitely recommend it!