No one can save her. In order to protect Prince Lucien d’Malvane’s heart, Zera had to betray him. Now, he hates the sight of her. Trapped in Cavanos as a prisoner of the king, she awaits the inevitable moment her witch severs their magical connection and finally ends her life. But fate isn’t ready to give her up just yet. With freedom coming from the most unlikely of sources, Zera is given a … sources, Zera is given a second chance at life as a Heartless. But it comes with a terrible price. As the king mobilizes his army to march against the witches, Zera must tame an elusive and deadly valkerax trapped in the tunnels underneath the city if she wants to regain her humanity.
Winning over a bloodthirsty valkerax? Hard. Winning back her friends before war breaks out? A little harder.
But a Heartless winning back Prince Lucien’s heart?
The hardest thing she’s ever done.
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
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Find their Bones is the YA fantasy sequel to Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf.
Zera is now known by the people closest to her to be a Heartless and the witch that holds her heart has new demands that could be her undoing.
Find Their Bones is about the power that corrupts and how the monsters can be the real heroes in fairy tales. As Zera tries to work her way back to her heart she has to keep pushing Prince Lucien and Fione away. Of course, I lived for all the scenes between Luc and Zera and their affection for each other and chemistry is undeniable.
The magic and world building in this series is quite good and Sara Wolf does an excellent job making Zera funny, relatable and tough despite the tragedy her last three years have been as a Heartless.
I look forward to book number three and recommend this series to YA fantasy lovers of all ages.
A riveting sequel. Zera continues to be a fantastic protagonist and to follow her as she struggles with being a Heartless makes for a thoughtful read. There is much tension in the story as the previous novel revealed Zera’s truth. Not only that but the long thought dead princess has returned as a witch. Zera is a ploy, trapped as a prisoner to the princess, who forces her and punishes her at her will. Between the pair of them, there is incredible tension as they have one thing in common: their love of Prince Lucien. So, the tension is unbreakable in the novel, and it keeps the pace moving steadily, and adds to the intrigue of the story.
Lucien’s sister is keeping her plans with Zera secret, but the reader, the reader knows the little details that work in favor of the plot. By exploring the history of the creatures, and the witch’s and human, the story develops its mythology, its own type of magic to keep the reader engaged.
However, Zera’s personality is, once again, the best part of the novel. The way her narrative, her thoughts, attitude, and personality bounce off the pages makes for such an incredible read. She is snarky, but the reader knows that her nonchalant attitude is only a mask, a façade to hide away the pains she feels at being a Heartless. Zera hates what she is, but she makes the best of it, and this has taught her compassion, it has taught her strength of character, and made her even better than she was in the previous novel. There is more emotion behind her character, more heart (ironically) that lends itself to making her an incredible character.
Find Me Their Bones is an intensely driven, emotional, fun, action-packed read.
WARNING: Spoilers for book 1! I enjoyed this book more than the first one. The angsty romance tugged at my heart, but what really grabbed me was Zera’s growth. Sure, she continued to struggle with trust, and there were times I was frustrated with her backsliding, but she was still in a two steps forward one step back mode, making steady, albeit slow progress. Having accidentally said the name of her witch at the end of the first book, Princess Varia has become Zera’s new witch and has a new goal for her if Zera wants her heart back. A task that seems nearly impossible — she must teach the valkerax below the city to weep, the way she did. A beast so huge, dangerous, and angrily delusional, she can barely understand it, much less teach it anything. But she will do anything to get her heart back, even die over and over again.
Lucien hates her, Fione is terrified of her, and the only people she considers family are in the wind. Zera has no choice but to do Varia’s bidding. She’s singly-focused on her task, but as she so often laments, her unheart betrays her with feelings for Lucien. The thing is, as much as he wants her to believe otherwise, it’s so clear he still has feelings for her, too. There doesn’t seem to be any happy endings for this pair, but finding out what happens to them kept me turning the pages.
Plot
Similar to book one, the plot revolves around Zera completing the necessary task to get her heart back. What’s different this time is who has her heart, the task she’s been ordered to complete, and the reasons behind it. Varia believes if she gets what she wants, she’ll be able to stop the impending war. While similar to her original goals, this one comes with a lot of caveats and new dangers. Numerous subplots are expertly woven throughout, and we learn more about the world that the characters inhabit. Just as vivid as the first book, FIND ME THEIR BONES builds upon what we already know, bringing new scenes to life and divulging new secrets that underpin the world Sara Wolf has crafted.
Characters
I love everyone’s growth in this installment. Zera’s feels the most drastic, but Lucien, Malachite, and even Fione have significant growth as the come to terms with Zera’s heartlessness. Varia on the other hand seems to devolve through the book, becoming less stable and more maniacal as things come to a head at the end. But with all of Sara Wolf’s books, the characters are just as fascinating, developed, and enduring as ever.
What I Loved About FIND ME THEIR BONES
1. Zera. She really grew on me more throughout this book. I liked her in the first book, but by the middle of this one, I LOVED her. She’s determined, loyal, and strong, without ever losing her snarky streak.
2. Valkerax. The giant, white, feathery, scaly wyrm with six eyes won my heart with its overwhelming pain and longing to be free.
3. Lucien. The prince with a heart of gold is just as swoony as ever, but he’s a little extra so this time around.
4.Princess Varia. She’s both an antagonist and a protagonist, in a sense. While it’s Zera’s story, Varia has her own arc and the book wouldn’t be as amazing without her. But her wounds and desires and driving need to prevent war makes her someone to root for.
5. World Building. The author continues to unveil a fantastic fantasy world with rich details and stunning cinematography in written form.
Bottom Line
Teenage angst, a gripping adventure, and phenomenal world building collide with epic results.
I had such a good time with this book! I absolutely adored the first book in this series, which ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I was really eager to get started with this book. Before I even got started with this book, I was impressed by the cover art. These covers are just gorgeous and I am a sucker for a good cover. Of course, the most important part is the actual story and I thought that was very well done as well. This was such an entertaining read from beginning to end.
This is the second book in the Bring Me Their Hearts series, which is a series that needs to be read in order. It is going to be almost impossible to talk about this book without some spoilers for the first book so there may be some spoilers within this review. Zera is a Heartless, which means that a witch has her heart and can control her. There are some perks with her condition. She is immortal. She dies but always comes back to life. She heals fast and doesn’t age. Of course, the fact that she is under someone else’s control negates any benefit.
Zera is given a new task in this book. She must train a valkerax to control its hunger. This isn’t going to be an easy task and she is also having to deal with a very changed situation at court. I loved the way that I wasn’t quite sure of the motivation of some of the characters. Was anyone really on Zera’s side or was she completely on her own? I loved watching Zera navigate each difficult situation thrown at her. She is such a wonderful character with a really big heart even though a witch holds hers.
This book did throw some surprises at me which is never a bad thing. I thought that the feel of this book was a bit different. The first book had quite a bit of romance and while I wouldn’t say there is no romance in this book, I did feel that things were much more uncertain. This book does end with a bit of a cliffhanger but it is one that I feel that I can live with, though I am really eager to get my hands on the next installment.
I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a wonderful installment in the series that was able to keep me guessing until the very end. I cannot wait to read more of this entertaining series.
I received a digital review copy of this book from Entangled: Teen via NetGalley.
Zera’s personality really shines in this one. When things are looking even lower than before she still keeps a sense of humor. Her relationships with the valkerax and Yorl are my favorites. Her relationships with Lucien, Fione, and Malachite are damaged. I am up in the air on Varia, go back and forth hating and liking her. Story is well paced. Ending is a huge cliffhanger. Can’t wait to get next book!
Definitely not a Heartless, I’ve got ALL the feels!! The first chapers were sweet anguish on this romantic heart followed by distrust and suspicion of everyone. Zera’s charming sass and clever wit lit the pages with humor and reminded me why I fell so much in love with her character in the first place. Each chapter had me writhing with anticipation and flooded with emotions. It was an all-consuming, edge-of-your-seat, can I have my heart back now ride. I’m dying for more and don’t think I’ll survive the tortuous wait for the next book! If you love fantasy, strong unapologetic female characters, and an emotional ringer, grab this for sure!
It is kind of romantic and funny
I love this book! The first book in the series was exceptional and this book was just as amazing!! So full of action and excitement! I loved this world that the author created!! One of the best fantasy series out there!!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own
4.5 Stars
After I finished the cliffhanger of book one (Bring Me Their Hearts, which must be read first) I couldn’t wait to see what happened next for Zera. Book two picks up immediately where Hearts left off and dives into non-stop adventure from there. I really love the colorful world the author created for this series – I feel like I could read about its people and customs forever! I also really feel for Zera’s struggle with being Heartless and the guilt she carries for what she has done. Even when I understood why she was making certain decisions my heart was screaming for her to make different ones – this book had more angst for me because of that. We were also introduced to a couple of new characters and saw original ones go in directions I wasn’t expecting. The ending once again had me so very eager to see what happens next – I need more ASAP.
I voluntarily requested, read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
#FindMeTheirBones #NetGalley