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 … 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.
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Book Review
The Heart Forger, Rin Chupeco
“Life isn’t fair, dear one. And sometimes, neither is death. ”
Summary
Second in The Bone Witch series, The Heart Forger begins where the previous story ended. Tea, a bone/asha/dark witch, in exile, has gathered her army of daeva to attack Daanoris. With the Bard and her lover, Kalen,they march. Tea wants revenge for all the wrongs heaped on here by Kion, Odalia, Faceless, Elders..its a long list. No spoilers here! There are battles and surprise twists in Daanoris. You see other characters: Fox, Khaled, other asha. Tea’s plan continues to unfold. You get a better understanding of what she’s doing and why. It’s a complicated plot, and I can’t explain all, but, still, many big questions remain unanswered.
My Thoughts “They made their choices,and I made mine. If I cannot sway them with kindness, then they shall die.”
I’m probably in the minority, but I love Tea at her darkest. This girl is an unstoppable force of nature. No mercy. No changing her mind. She possesses the kind of strength and will power that I want. Yet, she shows her humanity with Kalen and Khaled. She wishes things were different, but this is life. Bone Witches have never been treated fairly. In some ways, she just wants respect and acknowledgment for all Bone Witches. Tea has emotions, just smothered under her rage. I love this story. So many unexpected things keep happening.It’s told from Tea and the Bard’s perspective,but it’s not confusing. The writing is succinct and sharp. I’m not certain of her ultimate goal. How did Kalen die? Who did Tea kill? We wait for answers. I enjoy every character, even bad guys. It’s great to see more individual personalities coming into focus. They mesh so well, and the story flows beautifully. The language is lyrical and magical. In the last chapters, Tea is so vivid and powerful. Really just amazing! She leaps off the page. “You will relive this moment in your mind for the rest of your days,and it will be all that you shall remember.” Tea embraces the dark, but I always expected her to do that. I think it’s destiny. I’m a sucker for drama and girl power. The Heart Forger has both in spades. Do not miss this one!
Amazing can’t wait to read the very last book of this amazing series…. I totally don’t want it to end yet
The Heart Forger (The Bone Witch) by Rin Chupeco
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!
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!
I don’t know why I put off reading this for so long but I want to go back in time and tell my past self to pick this up immediately, too many months were wasted not having this in my life. I KNOW this is a story of SO much more but the relationship building and romance for Tea is just *chefs kiss* and now one of my favorite things. The dual timeline story telling is so much more powerful in this sequel, I’m thoroughly invested in both timelines and still need answers about some of my favorite characters who are MIA in the present.
I don’t know what was up here. The editing was sloppy enough to cause major confusion. Obviously I’m reading the third, but this was a trial to finish.
Tea’s story continues as her hold on the dark increases and she begins to unearth the rotten truths of the kingdoms. Hidden agendas and betrayal are rampant as the story continues. Feared for her power over the Ozzie, Tea will do all she can to protect those she loves, even if that means losing a part of herself. And her enemies will learn that when you cross her, Tea will do everything in her power to destroy them.
The Heart Forger is a much faster paced book, taking everything readers learned from the previous novel and racing with it. Readers will learn more about the dark asha and the rot that runs rampant in those who cannot master the power. While the first book was certainly dark, this one will take it a step farther.
I love the overall tone and feel of this world. Nothing is easy and everything comes at a price. Every relationship, every encounter is just another uphill battle and pulls the reader in. Characters have to fall down in order to fight against themselves to truly succeed. And with each book Rin Chupeco is building a world filled with dark desires and bitter politics.
True to the name, readers will learn more about the heart forgers of the world. And what you discover will make you question everything. Nothing is as it seems, and every asha holds back what they can truly accomplish. But as readers will find out, there is no more time for secrets. This is one trilogy that I cannot get enough of. I need to read the next book ASAP.
Still enjoying this series. But I still don’t know who Tea killed to put her in exile and I’m still getting confused by some of the names. Too many are alike and get me confused. I wish the names were easier to tell apart. It is making me frustrated. Im listening to the audio and they all sound the same to my ears.
While The Bone Witch suffered greatly from having no overarching or cohesive plot, The Heart Forger leaps into action. Now that everything has been set up in the last book, a brilliant world, a colorful cast of characters, the seeds of a plot, things can truly bloom in this sequel that definitely surpasses the original. The Heart Forger is far more action-packed, filled with romance, political machinations, magic, and the necromantic battles I was hoping for. We left Tea in the last novel having forged a connection with a daeva, a three-headed dragon called an azi, the first step towards her practicing her Dark magic in forbidden ways. She’s captured one of the Faceless leaders who had been posing as a maid, made her debut as an asha, one of the Geisha-like warrior entertainers, and gotten closer to both Prince Kance and his cousin Kalen. There was a lot of setup in the original novel, which didn’t make for a very interesting book but made for a great sequel.
We continue in our dual timelines: the future Tea continues to wreak her havoc across the land with her army of daeva with an unknown goal, telling the story of her past to the bard she has kind of kidnapped, and this past story is our main timeline. Tea’s life as an asha hasn’t gotten any easier; she spends her days either entertaining others or putting down daeva, all the while trying to find her mentor Mykaela’s missing heartsglass, which the last king had hidden before he died. She hopes she can save Mykaela’s rapidly diminishing life with this find, while also trying to uncover a way for the bone witches to live full lives that do not wilt while putting down daeva to protect others. Already in the first few pages this book is far more interesting than its predecessor, with Tea having established herself as a strong protagonist and a powerful asha. We turn our attentions to the Heartforger and Khalad, two magic users who can craft new heartsglass with the memories and feelings of others. When a mysterious sickness begins to affect certain members of the royal classes across the land, turning their heartsglasses gray and sending them into a deathlike slumber, Tea and her ragtag group of magicians, corpses, and monsters are on the case. This book handles its structure far better: along with the overarching plots with Tea’s descent into the Dark and the Faceless war in the background, we now have individual plots in the book, the sickness, the health of her mentor, and the romance finally kicks itself into gear. Overall this book was a vast improvement, utilizing the best of the world and magic system I loved so much about The Bone Witch while finally crafting a strong skeleton to tether our plot to.
Guys, I really like Tea. She’s definitely the highlight of the novel. I normally don’t have passionate feelings about protagonists, especially ones in first-person because they often blend together, but Tea works for me in so many ways. She reminds me a lot of real teenagers and the way I felt growing up; she’s confident in her own knowledge and emotions, comfortable showing sass to people she doesn’t think deserve her respect, and yet she doesn’t come across as arrogant or a know-it-all. She cares deeply for her family and mentor figures and is capable of showing that respect to them. She admits when she’s wrong and knows when she’s making bad decisions, but none of the decisions are ever bad enough that I’m questioning her motives or actions. I read a lot of books where the protagonist inserts themselves into the plot when they really aren’t needed, or when they make such drastic decisions that defy the belief of common sense, but Tea isn’t like that. It’s been obvious from the dual timelines that most of the events of the book are about Tea’s eventual backslide into practical villainy, and the best part about this character arc is that it makes sense. All of Tea’s decisions throughout the novel are completely rational, if not perfect, and it’s easy for the reader to see how the world and the novels’ actions are forcing her slowly down a path she doesn’t want to be on. This is a wonderful character arc that I never get to read, and Chupeco is doing it so brilliantly and with all the sympathy and concern it needs.
The series still doesn’t have an incredibly firm grasp on its plot; this one is much better off in terms of things happening, but the motives of the various factions of this world remain in mystery. I mentioned in my review of the last book that I wasn’t sure why this war with the Faceless was happening at all, and I’m still not. I’m just supposing at this point it’s because they’re bad guys who practice bad magic. Which is not a bad argument, but it seems a bit absurd to start a war, especially considering all the varying kingdoms are united against this faction like they are a massive threat who regularly commit atrocities. Novels are made richer with better villains, and the Faceless still fall a little short.
Overall, The Heart Forger is a much better novel than its predecessor. The Bone Witch did an excellent job of setting up a bigger narrative. The Heart Forger brings together all the characters were were briefly introduced to last book and gives them all definitive personalities, relationships, and abilities that stand out. My personal quibbles with the villains may stem from my desire to have a strong antagonistic force in narratives, but even that doesn’t detract from the way this novel has vastly improved upon its predecessor. I wasn’t sure if this would be a series I would end up liking with such a weak start, but now I’m hoping Chupeco’s writing will continue to improve with the finale of the series.
review blog
LOVE IT!!! I spook very much love this story and the way it unfolds! Very original!!!
“The Heart Forger” is excellently writen and had me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it! I absolutely loved “The Heart Forger” and can not wait to be able to read “The Shadow Glass”!
This is my favorite one so far! I feel this one is easier to read and follow. Action packed and exciting! I can’t wait for the third book!