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.
Review
I recieved a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of this book was awesome, it took a really interesting premise popular in fairytale retellings, although this is not a retelling. It take the idea of someone losing their heart and it being put in a jar and still being alive. It was very cleverly done and it kept unfolding mysteries and facts that kept me interested the whole way through.
Zera was a great main character. She was fun, sassy, and loyal, yet staying true to herself. The Prince was fun, I liked discovering the many sides of him, I loved his interactions with Zera, how he said one thing but obviously means another. The bodyguard was probably my favourite character, he is so funny and clearly very loyal to the Prince.
The setting was really clever and the history mentioned throughout was really interesting. All the characters were great although sometimes it was hard to work out their motivations.
The ending felt a little rushed, this was only an issue because the rest of the book was perfectly paced. Also the end, wow, I did not see that coming at all. I cannot wait for the next book.
4 out of 5 stars
