Review - Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf

Title: Bring Me Their Hearts

Author: Sara Wolf

Publication Date: June 5th, 2018

Synopsis:

Zera is a Heartless – the immortal, unageing soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, 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 exchange for her own, with one addendum; if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy her 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.

My Thoughts: 

Zera is missing her heart because it holds her humanity, at least that's what she thinks. It's not easy to walk with an empty hole in your chest in a world where a missing heart marks you as a monster. 

She cannot even walk around at her leisure to start with: she is bound to Nightsinger the witch; the very one who took her heart. She doesn't hate her, no. Nightsinger practically saved Zera's life by turning her into the creature she is today. But ohh, how much she yearns to be whole again with the organ that beats in a jar on the mantelpiece... Getting back the heart would mean freedom for her.

However, like everything, the heart has a price. The witches would like to prevent another war between them and the humans, and to do so the Prince Lucien has to become what Zera is: a heartless. No one is better fitting for the job than Zera. Take a heart to own yours again – the only thing she doesn't know is that the bloody and dangerous game will have a pitfall that she may just not be able to avoid.

This YA fantasy novel was fun. I usually enjoy stories that involve witches, that's why I requested this title in the first place (and because of the Snow White vibes of course). The witches here can turn into white ravens and those parts when they appeared in flocks on the sky or on the barks of a tree were very sinister, despite the fact that witches are not bad creatures in this novel. 

Actually there is no evil and good side in the war that is about to break out either. Humans and witches simply cannot live with each other; humans are terrified of witches because a hysteria is created by Gavik, the evil duke and witches still hold grudges against humans for the purifications they do (a consequence of the hysteria).

Even though the plot is a bit predictable the story flows well, it's easy to understand the motivations of the characters and to sympathize with them because of their hardships. Lucien is a headstrong prince, I think they are a good match with Zera, who is determined but, despite her heartlessness, suddenly gets attacked by unwanted feelings that she has yet to understand. 

The newly found family relationships and friendships warmed my heart. I especially liked two side characters: Y'shennria and Malachite, Zera's 'aunt' and the bodyguard of prince Lucien. The letter was utterly adorable and would have been a better love interest in my opinion than the prince (ooops, I'm giving away my preferences...).

Going into this book I didn't know this is only the first instalment in a series, but as it turned out, it is. If you generally like YA fantasies, give this one a try. It's a sweet classic story with a twist.

 Goodreads | Amazon

About the Author:

Sara Wolf is a twenty-something author who adores baking, screaming at her cats, and screaming at herself while she types hilarious things. When she was a kid, she was too busy eating dirt to write her first terrible book. Twenty years later, she picked up a keyboard and started mashing her fists on it and created the monster known as Lovely Vicious. She lives in San Diego with two cats, a crippling-yet-refreshing sense of self-doubt, and not enough fruit tarts ever.

Author Links: 

Website: http://sarawolfbooks.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sara_Wolf1
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/authorsaraw/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorsarawolf/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sara-Wolf-476490705731978/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6862831.Sara_Wolf
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sara-Wolf/e/B00BVOVP08/

Blog Tour Organized by:

Weekend Wrap-up #11

The Sunday post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It's a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things you have received.

I worked regular times from Monday to Friday this week. I could live with this, too bad it won't always be like this. 

On the other hand next week I have days off on Wednesday and Thursday, which means I can go to see the doctor at last and find out if I have allergies or not... 

I spent the weekend with my boyfriend in Eger. I really hope next week he'll hear back from at least one of his potential work places because that would mean we could start looking for a place to rent together.

I finished Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf this week. It didn't sweep me off my feet unfortuantely, my review is coming soon. I'm still reading Mrs Sherlock Holmes and liking it so far.

Recent posts on the blog:

Tuesday: Review - Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Thursday: Reading Habits Tag 

What happened to you this week? What are you reading right now?

Reading Habits Tag

It's been a while since I've done a tag. This one seems fun so here we go.

This tag was created by The Book Jazz on youtube, unfortunately the original video is not available anymore. I found the questions on DreamLand Book Blog.

All I have to do is answer questions. I'm good at that. Let's roll.

1. Do you have a certain place at home for reading?

I do! I've actually written a post a few months ago about my reading nooks, in which you can find pictures too. If you'd like to see where I read the most, click here.

2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?

 

Sometimes this, sometimes that. If I start a book while I'm home, it's definitely a bookmark. If not, I can end up with a piece of paper or a clean tissue as a marker.

3. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/a certain amount of pages?

I can stop anywhere anytime. I have an awfully short attention span so I very often stop reading at odd places, haha.

4. Do you eat or drink while reading?

 

I love drinking coffee while reading. Sometimes I read during breakfast too.

5. Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?

The telly is often on when I read but obviously the book is priority when it's reading time.

6. One book at a time or several at once?

One or two at a time, rarely more. I like to focus on one or two stories, I don't like hopping much.

7. Reading at home or everywhere?

At home. I don't like reading around people because they often break my concentration; they ask questions either about the book I'm tying to get lost in or totally unrelated ones. I rather enjoy a book when there's peace and quiet around me.

8. Reading out loud or silently in your head?

I do read out loud when I'm completely alone. It feels good to give a voice to the story. However, if anyone is around I read silently, obviously (except when we read together with my lil' brother).

9. Do you read ahead or even skip pages?

 

I never skip pages. If I feel a terrible need to do so, I simply don't read on, I abandon the book. If there are whole pages/parts that are not worth my time, most likely the whole book is not worth it.

10. Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?

If you really love a book, there is no way you can keep it in a 'like new' condition. Books that show signs of love like broken spine, dog-eared pages etc. are the best because you know they are/were valued. Books exist to be read over and over again, a physical book's destiny is to look worn out eventually.

11. Do you write in your books?

I don't like writing in my own books but I like reading annotations that are written by others.

Please consider yourself tagged if you're reading this and write a similar post if you feel like to. Don't forget to leave me a link if you do!

Review - Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Title: Norse Mythology

Author: Neil Gaiman

Synopsis:

The great Norse myths, which have inspired so much of modern fiction, are dazzlingly retold by Neil Gaiman. Tales of dwarfs and frost giants, of treasure and magic, and of Asgard, home to the gods: Odin the all-father, highest and oldest of the Aesir; his mighty son Thor, whose hammer Mjollnir makes the mountain giants tremble; Loki, wily and handsome, reliably unreliable in his lusts; and Freya, more beautiful than the sun or the moon, who spurns those who seek to control her.

From the dawn of the world to the twilight of the gods, this is a thrilling, vivid retelling of the Norse myths from the award-winning, bestselling Neil Gaiman.

My Thoughts:

Yes, I've read another Gaiman, because the man is a master storyteller. That's a fact. If you haven't read any work of Gaiman yet, do yourself a favour and dive into one of his books. They are magic.

Norse Mythology is not an exception. The book contains 15 short stories about the Norse gods, each usually featuring one god as the 'hero' of the story. Odin, Thor, Loki, Heimdall, Frey, Freya and lots of lesser known gods are spotlighted in these tales.

Giants and dwarves appear too and it actually occured to me while reading this collection that Mr. J.R.R. Tolkien must have taken inspiration for his novels from the mythology of the north. The atmosphere of these stories and the creatures present in them show similarities with what we find in the world of The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. (it's possible that everyone knows about this connection and I was a bit slow to realize it... If it is so, please forgive my ignorance.)

Mr. Gaiman clearly has a soft spot for Loki (I don't blame him), so be prepared for a lot of Loki if you pick up Norse Mythology.

My favourite story was Freya's Unusual Wedding simply because it was hilarious! So funny, there are no words. But then there are quite dark ones as well, that include murders, mutilation and torture. I guess every mythology has some nasty bits here and there but I think Norse mythology outdoes most. 

It was great to discover all aspects that northern mythology has in common with other countries' mythologies or folk tales. The tree that grows between worlds for example is present in the old Hungarian beliefs as well, only our ancestors called it 'life tree' or 'world tree'.

I recommend this book to all those who'd like to learn more about Norse mythology, Marvel/Thor fans and anyone who feels they need to take a break from novels.

 Goodreads | Amazon

Weekend Wrap-up #10

The Sunday post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. It's a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things you have received.

This was my last week of training at the workplace, so from Monday I'm on my own. Hopefully everything will go well.

Yesterday we went to the bath with my best friend. We swam so much, I was extremely tired by the end of the day, but it was so good to take advantage of the summer at last. We didn't expect we'd have nice weather but in the end I looked like a tomato because of the sunburn. I still do, I have to apply a thick layer of creme on my face, shoulders and chest to reduce the pain a bit.

Yesterday I finished reading Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf, my review is coming on June 27th.

I'm currently reading Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca for the Timeless book club, The Lucy Preston Literary Society.

I'm planning to start Edward Albee's play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf next week.

I'd really like to put my review of Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman up on the blog next week too.

Recent posts on the blog:

Sunday: Review – Clowders by Vanessa Morgan

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday #16

Friday: Book Beginning and the Friday 56 #18 – featuring Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that makes it possible to share with other bookworms what books you added to your shelves – physical or virtual – during the week. 

Physical books:

Title: Ready Player One

Author: Ernest Cline

Goodreads

I know, I'm a little bit late to the game but I'm curious what the hype was about. I'll watch the movie after reading the book and will decide if I want to do a comparison post or will stick with a review. I'm glad I've got to own this book at last and that I have a chance to pick it up soon. 

Title: East of Eden

Author: John Steinbeck

Goodreads

I've been planning to read East of Eden for so long now. It's one of my mother's favourite books. I've read Of Mice and Men from Steinbeck, I know he was an incredibly talented writer and so I can't wait to start this epic family story of his.

Title: Hold Your Own

Author: Kate Tempest 

Goodreads

A poetry collection at last. A sequence of poems about the prophet Teiresias to be exact. The gender change that happens in this work interests me a lot, not to mention I've wanted to familiarize myself with Kate Tempest's poetry for some time know. It will be a wonderful ride I'm sure.

ARC:

Title: The Oddling Prince

Author: Nancy Springer

Source: NetGalley

Goodreads

I saw this book on many other blogs and the reviews usually say good things about it. My request on NetGalley got approved in 10 minutes which is a new record, haha. 

Please leave  link to your weekend post below so I can go and visit your blog. Enjoy the weekend!

Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 #18

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

 

 

The book in the spotlight today is:

 

Mrs Sherlock Holmes

by Brad Ricca 

Synopsis:

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes tells the incredible true life story of Mrs. Grace Humiston, the New York lawyer and detective who solved the famous cold case of Ruth Cruger, an 18-year-old girl who disappeared in 1917. Grace was an amazing lawyer and traveling detective during a time when no women were practicing these professions. She focused on solving cases no one else wanted and advocating for innocents. Grace became the first female U.S. District Attorney and made ground-breaking investigations into modern slavery.

One of Grace's greatest accomplishments was solving the Cruger case after following a trail of corruption that lead from New York to Italy. Her work changed how the country viewed the problem of missing girls. But the victory came with a price when she learned all too well what happens when one woman upstages the entire NYPD.

In the literary tradition of In Cold Blood and The Devil in the White City, Brad Ricca's Mrs. Sherlock Holmes is a true crime tale told in spine-tingling fashion. This story is about a woman whose work was so impressive that the papers gave her the nickname of fiction’s greatest sleuth. With important repercussions in the present about kidnapping, the role of the media, and the truth of crime stories, the great mystery of the book – and its haunting twist ending – is how one woman can become so famous only to disappear completely.

 

 

Book Beginning:

 

Prologue:

 

Pushing through the water, the massive steamship Olympic, sister of the lost Titanic, docked at New York City carrying passengers, thousands of sacks of mail, and the mind of the world's greatest detective.

 

A little game for you: can you guess who arrived to NY or this particular steamship?

 

The Friday 56:

"It doesn't matter so much when a man dies as how he dies." Bell said. "When he dies as a craven spirit he dies forever, but when he dies like a hero he lives forever." 

 

Bell then invited all those in the audience who had sons or relatives in the service to meet him up on the stage. As people filed up on the wooden riser and crowded forward, he shook their hands, sometimes two at a time.

 

"The world was on fire," these fighting men were told.

I don't think these worlds could actually comfort those who lost relatives to the war. The sentiment is very noble but those who were gone were still gone...

How's your reading week going? What are you reading at the moment? 

Please leave your Friday link for me below.

WWW Wednesday #16

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words. 

WWW stands for three questions:

What are you currently reading?

I'm still reading Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf. My review of this novel is coming a bit later than I planned, expect it on June 27th.

Mrs Sherlock Holmes

by Brad Ricca

Synopsis:

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes tells the incredible true life story of Mrs. Grace Humiston, the New York lawyer and detective who solved the famous cold case of Ruth Cruger, an 18-year-old girl who disappeared in 1917. Grace was an amazing lawyer and traveling detective during a time when no women were practicing these professions. She focused on solving cases no one else wanted and advocating for innocents. Grace became the first female U.S. District Attorney and made ground-breaking investigations into modern slavery.

One of Grace's greatest accomplishments was solving the Cruger case after following a trail of corruption that lead from New York to Italy. Her work changed how the country viewed the problem of missing girls. But the victory came with a price when she learned all too well what happens when one woman upstages the entire NYPD.

In the literary tradition of In Cold Blood and The Devil in the White City, Brad Ricca's Mrs. Sherlock Holmes is a true crime tale told in spine-tingling fashion. This story is about a woman whose work was so impressive that the papers gave her the nickname of fiction’s greatest sleuth. With important repercussions in the present about kidnapping, the role of the media, and the truth of crime stories, the great mystery of the book – and its haunting twist ending – is how one woman can become so famous only to disappear completely.

I'm reading this book for the Timeless Book Club on Goodreads, The Lucy Preston Literary Society.

What did you recently finish reading? 

Norse Mythology

by Neil Gaiman 

My review is coming soon!

What do you think you'll read next?

Winter Eternal by E. Thomas Joseph is still the next one on my list.

Please don't forget to leave your WWW links below! Happy reading!