The Heart Forger (The Bone Witch #2)

The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco
Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller
Published by Sourcebooks Fire
Published on 20 March 2018
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 528
Format: Audiobook
Source: my local library
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RRP: $17.99

In The Bone Witch, Tea mastered resurrection―now she's after revenge...

No one knows death like Tea. A bone witch who can resurrect the dead, she has the power to take life...and return it. And she is done with her self-imposed exile. Her heart is set on vengeance, and she now possesses all she needs to command the mighty daeva. With the help of these terrifying beasts, she can finally enact revenge against the royals who wronged her―and took the life of her one true love.

But there are those who plot against her, those who would use Tea's dark power for their own nefarious ends. Because you can't kill someone who can never die...

War is brewing among the kingdoms, and when dark magic is at play, no one is safe.

I’m finding it really hard to write this review, because although I really enjoyed The Heart Forger, I can’t tell you specifically why.

I liked that there was heaps of action on the present tense this time around, as opposed to just dropping titbits about the past tense story to keep our interest.

I liked that the gang, expanding wonderfully to now include LGBTI rep and a former nemesis turned snarky ally, travelled to other kingdoms so we could see more of the world.

I really liked the romance. I thought it was a lovely slow burn and the tension was nicely written. I really liked how Tea had such an intense crush in the first book and ended up falling in love with someone else, because it’s such a representation of what naturally happens, not only when you are a teenager but all through life as well. None of this ‘the first person I am ever attracted to/have feelings for is my forever soulmate.’ I think it helped that we saw who her love interest was in the present, and so I was eagerly listening for any hint of their developing romance in the past. It was cute, but also meaningful, because Tea and her love interest have a whole lot of respect and admiration for each other.

As for the plot, I did enjoy it, but it wasn’t completely thrilling. I liked the antagonists and the twists, and the pacing was fine. I mean, if you asked me what it was about, I’d have to say something like, ‘the gang investigate why their friend has been attacked with a sleeping spell’ which doesn’t sound all that interesting, but for some reason I really did enjoy the book.

I know a large part of my enjoyment stems from the magnificent narration provided by Emily Woo Zeller. She’s just so immensely talented that I can’t even put into words how much I enjoy it. I could ask for – and probably receive – an ARC of the third book in this series, but honestly I just want her to read it to me. She gets at the heart of every emotion, and she has a different and distinct voice for every single character, including very impressive male voices. Her delivery gives you a sense of the characters even without the text necessarily providing that.

I’m pretty keen on The Shadow Forger and I have been well and truly sucked into this world and Tea’s adventures.

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