This book was moderately paced for about the first 70%. The last 30% was insane. Multiple times, it felt like the story was slowing down to wrap up. Then something big and unexpected would happen. I loved how the hints and pieces throughout the book culminated in the ending. I would also like to add that the villains in this book are some of the best I have ever read. Each is flushed out very well and has realistic and believable motives behind their actions. This was a great start to my reading for the year!

Definitely gets darker than the first book, but in a way that adds to the story and characters, not just for shock. The romance was cuter and more enjoyable. Pacing was a little weird, especially with three or four POVs. It felt like long build up for a mostly off page battle. I did like actual character development, seeing Max

connect with his troops, but then struggle with what that bond means, and then at the end, choosing that bond over the idea of running

. Same with Tisaanah, who spent book 1 and a good amount of book 2 performing, putting on shows and great displays of power, but by the end

she finally goes to the people and is real and vulnerable with them

. Nura is interesting, idk if I necessarily wanted more time with her, but i wish there was more of A) an emotional impact of her discovering

fey still exist

, B) the change in her strategy to prepare for

the war she saw

, and C) the way

kidnapping and trying to extract powers from fey

impacts her mentally. 

I did really enjoy Aefe's story. It was a bit of a leap in character for her to go from trusting, loving, and compassionate to

someone who murdered Max's whole family and was then confused about why he was upset (as Reshaye)

and then another leap to

sacrifice herself for Tisaanah after one "selfless act" to protect Max, when both of them have done a good number of selfless things across the two books

. Like I know she's been through a LOT, but it did feel a little disjointed. 

In all honesty, I was a little thrown by this second instalment of the War of Lost Hearts series. I enjoyed the story and continue to fall for Maxantarius, the brooding hero who's secretly a hopeless romantic optimist with a heartbreaker's smile, but there was a lot that felt quite disjointed in terms of the writing and character development throughout. It does come across very much as the bridging book between start and end - while it absolutely moves the overall story arc forward and drops some great plot points, it doesn't really have enough going for it to stand on its own merits.

My favourite part of this book is the continuing development of Max and Tisaanah's relationship. IMO, these are the scenes which showcase the writer at her best. There is a small amount of spice, but for the most part their blossoming romance is shown through moments of touching calm amongst the chaos. To see the cranky old man lighten up, smile and surrender to his feelings is beautiful, and makes him all the more lovable. And Tisannah's growing confidence is also well conveyed, complete with setbacks and strife that really add to her complexity as a character. 

A new character POV, that of Aefe, is introduced in this book with basically no warning, which is very disconcerting. Especially when it's not immediately obvious how this is going to tie in with the main narrative. However, overall I found this element if the book more interesting, and loved how it developed. There were a couple of twists and turns I did not see coming; it's certainly something of a rollercoaster! 

Otherwise, the book's pacing seemed a bit all over the place to me. I know a lot of books build up to an epic war that seems to be all over in five minutes flat, but this war really did feel like something of a damp squib. Part of that is explained by the characters' motivations, but equally it just feels like nothing hugely significance happens and it's over before it starts. Likewise, there are a lot of events and plot points that seem to happen without sufficient explanation or backstory, or that are resolved with minimal effort or effect on the plot - I'm hoping some of the threads will be picked up in book three, but for now it just leaves me scratching my head a little. It just leaves a lit of the secondary characters feeling a bit murky in terms of motivations.

The other thing I noticed is that there are a couple of plot devices recycled from the first book. While they remain effective as it's nice to see one character turning something back on another, at the same time it feels like the author may have reached the edges of the imagination.

It does end on a very good moment though, and I am certainly invested enough in the story to want to read book three ASAP!

This series did not suffer from second book syndrome!!!!

I was enraptured the whole time! This was a great story. Definitely similar to Throne of Glass. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first book, but I had to know how the series ended. I’m glad I did, for I would’ve missed out on this one!

⭐ 5/5
🌶️ 2/5
I'm not sure how to write a review without spoilers since this is book 2 of a trilogy, but I will say that I loved book 1 and book 2 held up really well too. 

📝 As in book 1, the characters and world building in book 2 continue to be excellent, the plot is pretty action packed and goes to both expected and unexpected places. And of course, since this is book 2 of 3 in a fantasy series, we don't get a HEA, but rather conclude on a bunch of unresolved conflict.

🎧 The audiobook actors are the same as book 1 and are still very good with varying accents/voices for the different characters/regions/classes.

🌶️ Spice level is pretty low. We get a couple intimate scenes, but this is primarily a fantasy book with romantic plotlines, rather than a romantasy.

“You were the one who wanted to save the world,” he said, quietly. “I just wanted to save you.”