Unfortunately this second instalment in The Bone Witch series was such a disappointment for me when compared with the first book.

Which is such a shame as I absolutely LOVED the first one with a passion, wrote it a glowing review, have been recommending it to everyone, and have been eagerly waiting to see what would happen next for about year and a half.

Now I wouldn’t say this was a BAD book.
It’s perfectly fine.
It’s alright.
It just didn’t at all match up to my fierce love of the first book.

I’ve seen in a few other reviews that people much preferred this book over the first in the series due to it having more action.
I know a lot of people didn’t seem to like The Bone Witch and struggled to get through it saying it was “dull” and contained far too much world building and descriptions.
But I think that was what I loved most about it.
The world was so fleshed out and real.
I loved getting to experience all the locations and events in a way that made me feel as though I could actually have been there.
And The Heart Forger just seemed very rushed and superficial in comparison.

It felt much more like every other generic YA fantasy novel out there.

The Bone Witch felt different, new, fascinating, and exciting.
The Heart Forger feels much more stale and familiar.

The sections of the book with Bard (the present day parts of the story) were definitely the highlight for me.
These parts remained true to the first book, were more interesting to me, and kept you guessing as to what was going to happen next with sneaky little cliffhangers at the end of each section.
I still love that the whole story is told with a mixture of past and present day. I think it works really well for this story and looked forward to these chapters the most.
Especially when we got to meet certain characters again!

I will definitely carry on with this series to see what else is in store for Tea, I just hope that the next book feels more like the first one again and manages to rekindle my love.

I feel quite deflated after finishing this one unfortunately.

Author Rin Chupeco is back with the second book in The Bone Witch series. Lady Tea is now bound mentally to a dragon-like creature called an azi. Afraid to tell anyone, she continues life at the palace with the hope of finding a cure for her teacher Mykaela. She is also still in love with the crown prince, though she knows that hope of him loving her back is pretty slim. After the King surprises the kingdom by announcing his son's betrothal to a neighboring princess, Tea is heartbroken but more angered that no one warned her of the impending engagement. She and the kingdom are surprised when the prince falls into a "sleeping sickness" and all eyes are turned to Tea and her entourage.  The group must find the Master Heart Forger to see if he can cure the prince, all while trying to clear their names.

The Heart Forger is a complicated book, but entirely worth the ride. If you haven't read The Bone Witch, start there first. Otherwise, Tea's capabilities and her relationships with other major characters are going to make little to no sense. In fact, if you've read The Bone Witch, but it's been a while, I'd suggest rereading it so you have a great place to start. Coming into The Heart Forger is a bit like coming back into Game of Thrones after a few seasons when you're not caught up. The subtleties of Tea's culture and the surrounding kingdoms are more than enough to give HBO a run for it's money, and with the flair of multiple Asian cultures, it's a nice change from fantasy rooted in medieval European cultures.  The book is told by both a Bard and Tea herself, so if you are a reader who likes to read four or five books at a time, The Heart Forger is going to be a book you'll want to direct your attention to alone. I tend to read multiple books at a time, reaching for what I feel like at the moment. The Heart Forger made that a bit difficult for me.

The Heart Forger thrives as a second book and promises more to come. While the first book was Tea learning her skills and finding out who she is, the second book is her breaking the boundaries around her and finding out why so many people fear Bone Witches and their skills.

The Heart Forger is available March 20th from Sourcebooks Fire

This was a sequel I've been waiting for ever since I finished The Bone Witch. I was worried I would have trouble remembering what had happened previously, but I found it very easy to fall back into the world. The book was a roller coaster of emotions, following Tea's story, and the alternating chapters between the past and current times made me that much more anxious to keep reading to see what happened to cause the current events. I've gotten very attached to the characters, so I can't wait for the next (final?) book to see how things end up for them.