A Goodreads “YA Best Book of the Month” An Amazon “Best Book of the Month: Science Fiction & Fantasy” Zera is a Heartless–the immortal, unaging soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly. Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a prince’s heart in … Zera for a prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum: if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy Zera’s heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.
Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him–every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him–until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.
So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all.
Winner takes the loser’s heart.
Literally.
The Bring Me Their Hearts series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading Order:
Book #1 Bring Me Their Hearts
Book #2 Find Me Their Bones
Book #3 Send Me Their Souls
more
Fell in love with the cover – stayed up all night reading the story!
I honestly hope Kiera Wolf keeps making more wonderful books for the series Bring Me Their Hearts
The majority of new fantasy books lately have been boring me to tears. Too much time describing pointless things and no real characters! I was automatically drawn into the cover and blurb here, so I hoped it wouldn’t fall into that same endless loophole I’ve been stuck in! And I’ll have to say, this book was so much fun!
Finally, interesting characters! I loved Zera’s snarkiness and the constant battle she had with her inner monster. Loved Lucien! The romance is an incredible slow and beautiful burn, because Zera is on a mission to take Lucien’s heart, literally. The action was great with addicting writing! And that ending! Bring me book 2!
Bring Me Their Hearts is certainly a unique novel with a strong opening. First of all there is the tone of Zera. Zera is a fun sarcastic character with such charisma it is nearly impossible to not like her. She is an unorthodox character, and unlike other female characters out there. Wolf did an exceptional job creating this character because it is not just her external narrative that shines but also her internal narrative that makes her shine. Her attitude, it is perfect and creates this character that is so easy to love, relate to and imagine.
But there is also a complexity to her and the other characters. Zera is tasked with entering the city to steal the prince’s heart, a task that would turn him into a creature like herself, one that is immortal, feared, with no free will and a hunger that never dies. Zera is a heartless, born from a witch who took pity upon her and brought her back from death. Zera has remorse for what she is, but she wants her heart back, and that is the goal of her task. A heart for a heart, and her memories back. It creates a lot of internal struggle for Zera, especially as she blends in with the royal court. Then there are her new companions, and the prince. No one is who they appear to be on the surface, offering up multifaceted characters and tense dynamics.
The story itself is also done in an interesting way. It starts off with introducing Zera and where she is in the royal court before going backward to show who she is and how she got to the royal court. It allows the reader to see the complexities of the world Zera lives in and the complex nature of the characters, and the character development. The pacing is steady as the novel is more about political intrigue than it is about action or romance, keeping the story tense and captivating.
I loved the heck out of this book. It’s so different from what I usually read, but Sara Wolf. So I gave it a try, and I was hooked from the opening chapter. We’re thrust deep into the action before being throw back a few days to get the backstory. Zera is a heartless. All I knew about heartless was what I learned watching Once Upon a Time, so I had to toss all my preconceived notions and dive into this very different world Wolf has created. As a heartless, Zera has no life of her own; she’s consumed by a hunger that can never be satisfied and is responsible for keeping her witch, Nightsinger, safe. Nightsinger is not a typical witch though, and she seems to have real affection for Zera. Still, she controls Zera by holding her heart. She offers to return her heart and give her her life back in exchange for Zera bringing her the crown prince’s heart. Zera has no love for royalty and quickly agrees, not only securing her freedom, but two younger children who are also Nightsinger’s heartless.
What should be easy is anything but. First, the rules of witches and heartless make it very difficult for Zera to even travel far beyond her witch. She has the insatiable hunger that requires human organs, even though animals will have to do, and eating human food does really awful things to her. And that’s not even getting into all the rules required for attending Court. A noble woman, Lady Y’shennria, agrees to take Zera under her wing and groom her for Court, to woo Prince Lucien, and to ultimately get his heart, stopping an impending war. Lady Y’shennria is an unlikely ally, but she’s teamed up with the witches for her own reasons. Things only go from bad to worse when Zera falls for the prince, who is nothing like she assumed he would be and everything like she wishes she was.
Plot
The plot is riveting as it centers around Zera’s mission to get the prince’s heart. But strong subplots are woven throughout, including her feelings for Lucien, the mystery surrounding Lucien’s sister’s death, a developing closeness between Zera and her “aunt” Y’shennria, and a plot to rid the country of witches by the king’s most trusted advisor. All directly impact the main plot to perfection, resulting in a page-turning adventure with heart and soul.
Characters
Zera is fantastic as the snarky heartless who charms everyone around her with her wit and humor. Lucien is dark and brooding with a warm hidden side that only Zera seems to be able to unmask. Nightsinger and the other heartless are well-developed for minor supporting characters, though they do have a significant impact on everything Zera does. And Lady Y’shennria blossomed into one of my favorite characters.
What I Loved About BRING ME THEIR HEARTS
1. The World Building. Wolf creates a complex world, that I had difficulty following at times, but it’s so intricate and detailed, it’s almost the star of the book.
2. Lucien. Who doesn’t love a brooding bad boy with a heart of gold?
3. Zera. She takes snark to a new level, but her emotional journey was heart-wrenching.
4. Lady Y’Shennria. Her transformation is almost as dramatic as Zera’s.
5. Plot. So much goes on in this story that it never slows down.
Bottom Line
An angsty fantasy with stunning world building and emotionally deep characters.
I loved this book! Before I get started with my review, can we all just take a minute to appreciate the beauty of this book’s cover? I mean, I don’t know how you don’t want to pick up a book with a cover like that. I have had this book for about a year and a half. I received it as an unsolicited review copy that I just couldn’t get to even though I really did want to read it. I have almost started to read it several times since it showed up at my house but I always put it down (after admiring the cover). I am confident that had I ever actually read a chapter or two, this book wouldn’t have been put down until it was done. It really was that good.
Zera is Heartless which means she does not have her heart. A witch, Nightsigner, keeps her heart in a jar out of Zera’s reach and Zera is forced to stay close to live. Being Heartless does come with a few perks. Zera heals quickly and can survive almost any wound. If her heart is destroyed, she will die immediately. Zera is sent to get the Prince’s heart at the royal court with a tiny piece of her heart in a locket so she can travel further. Does she have a chance of getting close enough to complete her task in the two weeks she has been given?
I loved the characters in this book. Zera was fantastic. She is tough, smart, and cares about others. More than anything, she wants her freedom and will do what is asked to make that happen. She considers herself to be selfish but time and again, her actions prove that she cares deeply for others and will help whenever she can. I loved the way she could think quickly and take the necessary risks. Luc wasn’t at all what I thought he would be. He ended up being the perfect compliment to Zera. The entire cast of characters was very well done.
I loved the world-building. I thought that the witches and their Heartless were very imaginative. I liked the historical setting and thought that the way things were described made everything feel very real. Zera isn’t human anymore and I liked that the reader is often reminded of the monster’s voice inside of her. I thought that the author did a fantastic job of creating a world that felt authentic.
I would highly recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a very entertaining story filled with wonderful characters. I cannot wait to read more of this delightful series.
I received an advanced review copy of this book from Entangled: Teen.
Such a fantastic start to what should be a very promising series!
Wolf has never failed to deliver me some complex and interesting characters. Zera and Lucien both stole my heart, for different reasons. Zera is quite self serving to start but as you read, you understand that it’s not just her heart, her life, on the line and a very unselfish side of her appears. Lucien is nothing you’d expect a Prince to be.
Both Zera and Lucien want the world they live in to change but their paths of getting there do not coincide. The way their lives twist around each other gave me such anxiety, lol!
This story delivered adventure, turmoil, excitement, steamy forbidden attraction, intrigue, humor..I could go on and on but I’ll just say this – I’m excited for more!
Such a fantastic start to what should be a very promising series!
Wolf has never failed to deliver me some complex and interesting characters. Zera and Lucien both stole my heart, for different reasons. Zera is quite self serving to start but as you read, you understand that it’s not just her heart, her life, on the line and a very unselfish side of her appears. Lucien is nothing you’d expect a Prince to be.
Both Zera and Lucien want the world they live in to change but their paths of getting there do not coincide. The way their lives twist around each other gave me such anxiety, lol!
This story delivered adventure, turmoil, excitement, steamy forbidden attraction, intrigue, humor..I could go on and on but I’ll just say this – I’m excited for more!
Bring Me Their Hearts is a perfect YA fantasy read. It has masterful worldbuilding, fascinating and complex characters, plenty of action and a swoon-worthy romance. This book is so good, I was engrossed in the story from the first chapter and couldn’t tear myself away till I got to the last (shocking) page. I need the second book right now. After the mind blowing last chapter, I need to know what’s in store for Zera, Lucien, Fione, and Malachite.
This book was like… boom!!! Just look at that cover, that face, from that alone you know this was going to be something special. And I was not disappointed.
Fast pace, high stakes and overall a super fun read I was hooked from the first page until the last. I’m going to keep this super short because I don’t wan to spoil any part of this one of a kind read. Just know that this isn’t like anything you have ever read. This is more then a game of cat and mouse, it’s a cat vs cat, and all bets are off.
Take my super high recommendation that you will be consumed by the wick epic tale of eye for an eye.
Happy Reading
-E.A. Walsh
I loved this so much and can’t put into words how amazing it was. There’s Courts, adventure, secrecy, romance, and sass. The story is engaging and kept me hungrily turning the pages to see what came next. The characters were very complex and multi-dimensional, but I loved the author’s extra attention to creating strong, intelligent and diligent female characters who were forces to be reckoned with. The dynamics between Zera and Luc left me both snickering and swooning. The world building and storyline were extensive and it felt as though I found new layers to explore as the story progressed. I both loved the ending and am dying to read more of Zera’s story.
Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf is fantasy novel with a romantic twist. Zera is an immortal soldier who is bound in service to a witch, her heart stored in a jar. When the witch tasks her to get the heart of the crown prince in return for her own, it’s all or nothing. Prince Lucien has everything and hates it. People either tiptoe around him or are out to claim him. Then Zera comes along and she’s not like anyone else.
The battle of wits between these two makes for a fun and intense read. The fact that so much is on the line makes it even more complicated. Hate and love are closer than people think, but only one of them can survive and it’s hard to see a way out.
Overall I enjoyed Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf. This was an intriguing and suspenseful book with a complex and interesting world.
(I voluntarily reviewed an advance review copy of this book I received for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.)
*I was graciously given a copy of this in exchange for an honest review*
When I saw this pretty cover with the awesome-looking Zera brandishing a giant sword and read the title, I was pretty much sold on this. Then I realized that she was actually, LITERALLY trying to take the prince’s heart and I was gone. I needed to get my hands on this thing and I’m so glad I was given the opportunity to read it! IT WAS SO GOOD.
Okay, first of all, the sassy wonder Zera was my favorite. Wearing fancy dresses and kicking butt, all while dishing out the snappy one-liners! I loved watching her grow over the course of the book and make new friends after being alone for so long. Despite having a hard outer shell, she had a great sense of loyalty and love that I really admired.
And of course, I OBVIOUSLY loved Lucien the dark haired prince with a heart of gold. The banter between him and Zera was great fun to watch and their romance was adorable. But the real relationship that I enjoyed watching was the one between Zera and Y’shennria. Good parents and/or guardians are always lacking in these young-adult books and it was so refreshing to see maternal relationship take center stage for once. By the end of the book, watching Zera and Y’shennria together gave my heart all the warm fuzzies!
Lastly, I thought the world building was awesome! I was really fascinated by this little universe Wolf created and it was fun learning all the rules.
Oh, and by the way. MALACHITE IS THE BEST AND I LOVE HIM. Just saying.
I wouldn’t change a thing about this book, it’s perfect the way it is. There’s only one thing I need to say and get out of my system… THAT ENDING WAS THE SO DIABOLICALLY EVIL!!!! ARGGGG I NEED THE NEXT ONE NOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!
FINAL WORD
Perfect. Wonderful. Excellent. A medieval, stabby, sassy delight! I need the next one. Tomorrow. Now. Yesterday. GIVE ME MORE!!!