The Heart Forger

The Heart Forger talks about the Tea's journey as she uses the teachings as a bone witch/Asha of the House of Valerian - the good, the bad, and the scary while trying to find out what happened to The Heart Forger and the importance of this particular character. Storytelling:- Book 2 continues from Tea's POV with the addition of the scribe's (bard). It also adds more scenes with the Heart Forger. With threats all over the Eight Kingdoms, it was time for Tea to fight for the ones who lost and stop sulking of their loss. Book 2 focuses on the present versus the past, comparing to its predecessor. The retelling of Tea's past supports the current plot development. Its difference is slight but a nice shift change as The story moves more to the present and why the Bone Witch, from isolation, decides it was time to come back from exile and resurrect a few help from some friends. Each event discussed answers the "why" of the present, making readers empathize with Tea and clears up any questions. Book 2's Tea is more mature and well-developed. Gone are the days of Tea's naivety. She knows her purpose and is more determined to save everyone. Characters' Development:- In the past, Tea faces dangers of the unknown as she learns what it means to be a full-time Asha but learns from them as Tea faces the danger head-on with more experience and expertise. There were many deja vous moments, past recollections, and self internalization, as Tea will mention. Book 1 has readers discover the Bone Witch's world - full of magic, intrigue, and purpose, while Book 2 is more about critical players who will be helping Tea's mission. The Heart Forger will be a critical player in shaping the story with an indelible impact in the end. He will be instrumental in helping Tea seek the justice that plagues the Eight Kingdoms, which ironically aren't the beasts/monsters terrorizing its people. Dramatic and Startling Scenes:- There are a lot of exciting fight scenes, dramatic confessions, and jaw-dropping revelations at the end. Some of the monsters Tea had to face are nothing compared to realizing who was "really in control" at the end. All I can say...H-O-L-Y! (I'm still speechless with the reality that fell into Tea when everything unfolded in the last few chapters. It was one secret uncovered over another with complex connections that I would never in a million years realize possible! There as just so M-A-N-Y secrets - dangerous, out-of-the-box, incredible, dark, foreboding, etc. I was a wreck when everything came crashing down! PS: I'm still palpitating from the action and still wrapping my head around the secrets revealed. Book 2 shattered my presumption that sophomore books cannot beat the debut, wherein I say that this book disproves that theory so WRONG!

While the first book had set up the world and the characters in the past, and with a little narration going on in the present as Tea is preparing to take on the world, The Heart Forger shifts the focus so as to simultaneously focus on the past as well as the present. In the past, Tea, after having bonded wit the azi, is hiding the fact of her having a daeva familiar. Meanwhile, some nobles across the land have been suffering from a sleeping sickness that even affects Kance. Coupled with the fact that the Faceless Aenah has been whispering secrets in her ear, Tea is starting to doubt the motives of the elders when it comes to Dark asha's well-being. In the present, Tea is waging war against the very elders who had exiled her, masterfully taking on the might of the kingdoms and the people who she called friends. An interesting effect that Chupeco wound into the tale was that the events in the past, as Tea is narrating to the the bard, sort of mirror the events in the present - so you get these parallels between the relationships that existed then and how they are now. Speaking of relationships, Tea and Fox both get romantic developments in this book. As for Tea, we already know it was Kalen who she fell in love with, and this book nicely slow burns that hate-to-love development into a amazing couple. As for Fox's love, Princess Inessa becomes a wonderful addition to the group as an ally and as a character who is pretty formidable. Speaking of additions, Likh features more prominently after being reluctantly inducted as an asha by the elders and demonstrating some pretty awesome magic skills, and is also being hinted as a love interest for Khalad. Khalad, the heart forger, is developed further as a character, because of his relationship to Tea in the present, as well as his work in the past to cure the sleeping sickness. Tea, meanwhile, gets the best turn in her character arc, as she goes from a celebrated asha in one time to a feared one in the other. The awe associated to her slowly becomes realized as she grows into her own power, and also realizes she was capable of much more than she was told. Narratively speaking, this was a strong sequel which felt perfect in nearly all aspects - pacing, plot, characters, world-building!

Second installment in The Bone Witch series. I am surprised this book doesnt have a huge fan base. Love the books. Usually books take a chapter or two to pick up, not this one. you are hooked from the first page. The world building is captivating, characters are well written. Such a fresh and addictive read . With plenty of pages to carry it through. A tragedy wrapped up in mystery. I wish i I could give this serise a 10 star rating. Thank you Rin for this . Fans of the grisha verse, laini taylor will love this.