"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 revenge against the Royals who wronged her—and took the life of her one true love.
Kingdoms against each other and magic in between, no one safe."
In this second book, we have the opportunity to know more about Tea and her past. Though some readers think the pacing is low, I do not agree, sometimes, well most of the times I may say, fantasy is of a low pace due to the world building, characters’ interaction, and when the author knows that there will be more books for the same story, he/she takes time to expand the settings, and characters’ development.
I enjoyed the writing, the atmosphere, the author creates, and the way she shows us Tea, a witch but with human flaws, sometimes a hero, sometimes a villain.
Overall this was an awesome second book in a well-developed world. I love the characters, the magical system, and the romance in this series and am so looking forward to the next book to finally see how the two stories become one and how Tea completes her journey. As an advice, take your time reading it, do not miss any line and enjoy it.

Link will go live March 14, 2018

Due to happy scheduling chances, I was able to read "The Bone Witch" and "The Heart Forger" pretty much back to back. Not only is this always a fun way to read books and their sequels, but it's especially nice with stories that have complicated world-building and non-linear storytelling. "The Bone Witch" was a beast of a book, with tons of detailed descriptions of the world, magic system, and a past/future POV character. The "Heart Forger" pretty much picks up immediately after the events of the first book, and doesn't hesitate to expand even further on its own world, while also adding a healthy dose of increased action to the mix.

Newly-minted bone witch, Tea, has a lot on her plate at the start of this story. Her beloved mentor is still slowly perishing due to her lost heartglass, Tea's brother's love life has presented some political complications, her own crush on Prince Kance continues, there's a murderous woman in the dungeons who promises great power and to reveal secrets about the elder Asha if only Tea would listen, and now a sleeping sickness is making its way through the royal family, in a direct line towards Kance himself.

This says nothing of the future Tea's story, which has gone from zero to sixty from the last book to this. No longer is the older Tea content to live her life banished on a desolate beach, raising her daeva beasts from the dead. Her mission has started, and alongside her newly-raised beloved, Kalen, she sets out to conquer nations, all in a greater quest whose origins and purposes are still only vaguely hinted at.

Between all of this, the increased action is probably the most notable aspect of this sequel. If there was one fairly common complaint about the last book, it was that it was perhaps a bit too slow. I enjoyed it quite a bit, as I like reading books that focus on detail and slow character development. And given this one's fast-paced story line, in retrospect, the time and effort that was put into place laying the foundation for this world, this conflict, and the characters who take part in it, were well worth the effort. Our characters quickly travel from one location to another, surviving and battling against multiple city-wide sieges and more slinky, sinister hidden antagonists as well. I particularly loved the increased action for Tea's dragon-like daeva. It was all very "Dany and her dragons" esque.

The political intrigue was also ratcheted up to a new level. With the sleeping sickness spreading between the royal families, tensions are high and everyone is looking for someone to blame. And the only man who might have the answer, the titular Heart Forger, is no where to be found.

In the future, an older Tea is fully committed to her plan, whatever that is. From what we (from the bard's POV) can tell, it looks a lot like raising armies of the dead to attack entire countries. We get further insights into Tea's vengeance, something about secrets that the elder Asha have been hiding, and a larger plot by this world's ever-dangerous arch enemies, the Faceless. But for all of battles, both large and small, we still know very little about Tea's reasons as a whole. There are numerous references to her having killed some woman, but we don't know who this was or how it happened. In the end, there were almost too many question left unanswered for my taste.

One of the things I most enjoyed was the developing romance between Kalen and Tea. At the end of the first book, we saw Tea raise him from the dead and welcome him as her beloved. But at the start of this book, the younger Tea is still fully enthralled with Prince Kance. Her slow realizations about her feelings for Kalen and their relationship's progression were very enjoyable and probably best took advantage of the solid foundation that was built between these two in the first book. I really dislike insta-love romances, and this was a particularly good example of how to avoid that, and instead have a strongly built and developed romantic story line.

For all of these good things, I did struggle with this book a bit more than the first one. For one thing, the first book spent a lot of time with all of the details and rules of this world. But then, here, we see numerous exceptions and loopholes built into the world, all seemingly used to simply move the story the way the author needed it to go. At best this was distracting as I tried to work out how these exceptions made sense in the larger scheme of things, and at worst it felt like blatant deus ex machina moments where the author's hand was all too visible.

Further, there were a few characters who made decisions that seemed completely nonsensical and out of character even. In particular, some of the "revelations" in the future story line really seemed at odds with the characters. People keeping secrets for no reason, and then revealing them when the story would be best served for a dramatic moment. But why then keep them in the first place? I have a hard time when suspense is built in a story at the expense of consistent and rational characters

And, while I still enjoy the juxtaposition of the future and past story lines of Tea, the devise itself is starting to feel like its hindering the story. The secrets thing that I just mentioned is largely a problem because they're needed to prop up the suspense of the future story line. And, by the end of the book, there are still too many question that were left unanswered. The older Tea has said several thing that sure, sounded cool, but don't particularly tie-in very well to the events taking place with past Tea. In my opinion, the story has out grown this structure and that trying to maintain it was starting to actively work against this book. I hope that in the next the two story lines quickly meet up and we move forward with a single plot.

All in all, however, I still very much enjoyed "The Heart Forger." The increased action made it a fun read, and now that the characters have all been established, it was a joy to follow all of their individual plot lines. Further, the romance between Tea and Kalen is one the best I've read recently. "The Bone Witch" is required reading for this book, but if you liked that one, than you're sure to enjoy this one as well!

I loved the 1st book in this series and was excited to read this one and it didn't disappoint. This dark and magical world of the Asha is an interesting take on the idea of necromancy type magic.

A bone witch like Tea can take a life and return it but they can not kill that which is already dead, and the game she is playing for revenge one whether she knows it or not, because there is always one stronger or more knowledgeable.

This is a great sequel to the first book The Bone Witch, action packed and even more twists and turns that will through you for more loops, and surprises. Each subsequent book brings us closer to the true Tea and what brought her to this point in her life, and I can't wait to be able to put all the pieces together at once.
This review will appear March 20 as that appears to be the pub date

Tea knows that as a Bone Witch, she is able to raise the dead. She can now take a life and then return life, but will she use this power for the greater good or for her own vengeance? She has the power to use the daeva for her own purposes; will she go after the royals who took away her true love? Of course, revenge is never easy and there are people who want to stop Tea and use her power for their own dark purposes. In the end, can anyone really come out on top?

The Heart Forger is the second book in The Bone Witch series. Chupeco’s story continues strong with many characters that readers will love to read about and maybe even love to hate. This is not a quick read, yet most will find themselves drawn back to this storyline over the days or weeks while they consume it. A strong second book and I will be looking forward to book three in the future.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and this one did not disappoint! I know a lot of people had issues with the slowness of the first, and the pacing was better in this one. There is still the two narratives going, Tea’s story from the past and then the Bard’s tale from the present, which in this book got a little confusing, mostly because the two stories are beginning to catch up with each other, which made it a little harder to keep separate, but I still like seeing the two parts and how they connect.

Tea is such an interesting character, and in this book we really begin to see how she becomes the bone witch in the Bard’s part of the story. There is a lot of growth in Tea this time around as she comes to realize what it means to be a bone witch and how to control, or not, her dark part of herself. It is interesting to see the two sides of her in both of the stories, the young woman struggling to do what is right and protect her friends and family and the dark asha side we see from the Bard’s point of view. Tea really comes into her own in this book, from the impulsive and bold young girl into the strong, yet still impulsive very powerful bone witch.

All of the characters we met in the first book are still around, plus some new ones. Fox, Tea’s brother is still my favorite revenant. He is the one person that always stands by Tea, and not because he has to, but because he is her brother first and her familiar second. Their bond deepens in this book and some of the conversations they have are priceless. Prince Kance is not as prominent in this story, but he is still a presence in Tea’s mind for most of it. All of her Aisha friends are still with us and it is fun to see their relationships with Tea and each other flesh out and develop. I would have liked to see a bit more of Likh, and his fight to become an asha. Perhaps next time.

We know by the end of The Bone Witch that Kalen and Tea are lovers, but this book shows the development of their love and it is very sweet and adorable. They end up being one of the best things in this dark and sad story and I loved watching them come together. I really like Kalen, and I think he is a better choice than Kance for Tea. He is stronger and understands her better than she even knows. He also helps to keep her grounded so that she does not totally loose herself to the dark and become a Faceless one.

Speaking of the Faceless, we meet another one in this book, and I must say as evil people go the Faceless are pretty merciless and ruthless in their fight to rule death and the kingdoms. Aenah, is a cold and heartless bitch that gets what is coming to her. But she does help Tea understand her darker side and in some ways helps her to become stronger and more powerful.

We see more of the world that the author has created in this story. Tea and her companions travel to other kingdoms we haven’t seen in the first book. But there is a lack of world building in this one. Granted there was a lot of world building in the first book, so perhaps there was nothing left to say, but more descriptions of the new places and how these kingdoms worked would have been appreciated. I still really like the magic system that is in this world and we do learn more about it, especially Khalad’s part in it as a heart forger. The purpose and necessity of the heartsglass is also developed and made a bit clearer. There is way more politics in this book as well which helped to keep the plot interesting.

Overall this was a stunning second book in a well developed world that is unlike any other fantasy I have read recently. I love the characters, the magical system and the romance in this series and am so looking forward to the next book to finally see how the two stories become one and how Tea completes her journey.

"The Heart Forger" continues Tea's story right where we left off in the first book. In this continuation, we still see the same double style with the present/future in italics told by a bard with the 'bone witch' and the brunt of the book in normal font of Tea's past, which leads up to the italicized present/future. It had been a while since I read the first book, and I quickly learned that I needed to remember more of the first book than I did, so I went back and reread it. These books definitely need to be read in sequence. We don't get any recaps of the last book for context of this one. That being said, it does leap right back into the plot, and it is extremely plot driven.

For a little bit of background, the book primarily follows Tea, a 'bone witch' or dark asha. Asha are like witches with some powers, but most of their lives are more like geisha, where they entertain and the like. Dark asha have power over death and can bring back some of the dead (if they are willing). Tea is accompanied by her brother Fox, who is a familiar that she has brought back. The primary job of a dark asha is to raise and put down daeva, magical creatures who can wreak havoc when controlled by a evil master.

"Bravery and courage are not passed down through blood."

The heart forger in the book is Khalad, Prince Kance's brother, who was designated as a heartsglass forger by his ability. Heartsglass is an extension of a person, almost like a soul, that is a stone worn by everyone, not just asha. Heartsglass can be exchanged as marriage and must be maintained or it will whither. It is complicated to create, so this rare gift is treasured over Khalad's ascension to the throne. We learn more about Khalad and his process in this book.

"Patience is the long pause between an action and its consequences."

The language is again very flowing and poetic, and while it seems like the overall plot moves slowly, it progresses in a lovely way that gives you plenty of time to think about each action. With the back and forth (past and present), there are a lot of questions raised that slowly reveal themselves throughout the book. We are also introduced to the other kingdoms, which fleshes out this unique alternate world. I found myself enthralled in the descriptive journey Tea and friends make throughout the book.

I think this will be a hit with fans of "The Bone Witch" and I look forward to reading the third book when it is released! Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Rin Chupeco has done it again. As we reenter the world of the Asha, we again are able to experience the beautiful scenery and culture Rin Chupeco has created. The mystery of Tea's predicament is revealed in this novel, but a new problem awaits her. If there is no one able to save the world, who will do so? Thus, Tea is left to determining her role in a world that despises and fears Dark Asha.

A solid second book in this series, but not better than the original. This self-comparison is always the struggle when looking at fantasy series. Chupeco built her world even more clealry here, defining many important relationships and deepening the examination of political intrigue. The "past perspective" of this book kept me intrigued and reading, but the "current storyline", told from the Bard's point of view, often lost my attention. Unlike the first book, where the Bard's portions were brief and mainly used to preview/gain attention for the past narrative, the balance of the Bard narrative action and the past action felt uneven, and often confusing.

Still, most of the book is still following Tea's perspective directly in the first person, where we track her transformation into a stronger witch and from girl to woman. Tea's questioning of what magic is and how to use it previews an exciting next book in the series, which I will still be sure to check out. While at points the thread of the narrative lost me a bit, I'm hooked on Tea's world and rooting for her.

This was even better than the first book. I love this story, and the only thing I hated was the cliffhanger ending!

Unfortunately for me, this didn't live up to the exciting ride the first book was. It was definitely still a great book. Just kind of a letdown after the ending of book 1.

Well, much like THE BONE WITCH, it was still a little too high sword and sorcery for me in a lot of ways. I was having a hard time following some of the political intrigue, and unfortunately with the ebook style it wasn't easy to flip to the glossary of places and terms from the world that Chupeco has built. But all that said, I am greatly enjoying Tea's character arc and her moral progression. It's said that dark ashas, or bone witches, are destined to be corrupted by the darkness inside of them, and the question of this series is whether or not that's ultimately going to happen for her. She has become more grey as the story goes on, but she has deep love and loyalty for those around her, especially her brother Fox, her love interest Kalen, and her mentor Mykkie. In the past points in the story we are still lacking answers in how the events played out to get to the present. We don't know what happened to Kalen, we don't know what happened to cause a schism between Tea and the kingdom she still loves. But we're slowly seeing the pieces being set to bring forth answers. I also really liked the introduction of Khalad, the Heart Forger (or someone who works with heart stones and creates magic through them), who is the song of the king who has been stripped of power because of his role as a Heart Forger. Among other things. The characters are what make these books for me.

Ah! It's so nice watching everything fall into place. In my review of "The Bone Witch", I plainly stated that my problem with it was that the book was slow and held little action. Problem solved in "The Heart Forger"! YAY! As predicted, Rin and Sourcebooks pulled the story together in spectacular fashion. There are a few elements I'm still not "sold" on, but I tend to think that will be answered in the third book.
The storytelling format is very similar (past and present chapters from different points of view) and well done, but my favorite thing about this book is the growth of Tea's character. She's been through quite a bit since we first met her. This book gets to really showcase the struggle of knowing what is right and what feels right but isn't. Tea feels like she is constantly at the brink of choosing whether to be good or evil. While the real world isn't that black and white, she does a good deal of exploration in the grays. This is one of the things I really enjoy in a book, but Rin does it particularly well.
So, I hope she goes full on villain and doesn't turn from her ways. I love that. However, we shall see what happens to Tea in book 3 - next year!

After the slow start to The Bone Witch, I was a little leery about the second novel in the series, The Heart Forger. Once I plowed through the rough start, I really loved the first novel. It was imaginative, original, and enthralling. The Heart Forger picked up where The Bone Witch left off.

The story is told again in the two timeline formats which worked really well with this novel. We see Tea’s journey and how she fell in love with Kalen. I was drawn into her story, and I really enjoyed Chupeco’s writing this time around. Now I am just sad I will have to wait for the third installment in the series.

I would recommend this series to my students.

Thank you so much for the advanced copy!

I think this is one of those times the sequel outdoes the original. The use of a narrator who is listening and watching Tea but barely a part of the action himself creates this very interesting reading perspective. The imagery is fantastic and the characterization is layered and impressive. The representation of lgbtq characters feels natural to the story (unlike some contemporary fantasy) and the diverse cultural influences gives this novel another layer of...awesome. I’ll be pushing students to read Bone Witch so I can put this in their hands right after!

The Bone Witch blew my mind and when The Heart Forger came up for request I was beyond ecstatic. Even now I am already impatiently waiting for Shadowglass. Where sequels and second books can sometimes fall short, this novel takes an already strong work and makes it greater. It is just as captivating as its predecessor as we follow Tea and her cohorts on a journey to uncover secrets long since buried.

Rin Chupeco has created a magical world that is at once both historic and modern, realistic and mystical. Her descriptions bring colour, and sensation not just a static understanding. You see the spires of Daanoris, gleaming pearly white, the dirt floor and ramshackle lodgings of the Heart Forger, and hear the cries of the daeva as they take to the skies.

I've fallen in love with her characters, the good, the wicked, and those in between. I have felt their happiness and their sorrow, empathized with their desperation as they unraveled the schemes of those around them.

Chupeco handles two time lines brilliantly, and I cannot wait to see how Tea's story ends.

I was so excited to be given the opportunity to read Rin Chupekos next book in The Bone Witch series. This story goes back and forth between past and present showing Tea growing stronger as an asha in the past and the present where she and an army of daeva are on a path of destruction in order to get revenge on those who have wronged her. This book seemed much more intense as Tea struggles against the dark power growing within her. We also see her relationship with Kalen developing into something more than asha and protector. Overall the book was beautifully written and lushly descriptive. I felt that the story might be ending at the end of this book but at the very end there's a hint that Tea and Kalen's story is not over with yet!

This is an exciting second installment! I believe The Heart Forger is better than the first book. It has more action, character development, romance, and magic!! It has left me anxiously waiting for third book!!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC for an honest review.

I skimmed this one. I really enjoyed the first book, and was looking forward to this one but it missed the mark for me.

I wasn't so sure about The Bone Witch, I really did try to like it and I thought with the second one I would be able to like it more. But I just can't seem to find my footing with this series. I know some people love it and others don't, but I gave it a shot and to me it's just meh. Tea is a likeable enough main character, but this plot for me is too slow. Sure there are some action sequences, but it's still not enough to really catch my attention. I think maybe later closer to the release of The Heart Forger, I'll give the whole series another chance. As for right now. I'd give The Heart Forger 2.5/5 leaning closer to a 3/5