Bring Me Their Hearts
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 Review
I've had this book on my to-read shelf for a very long time, and I only just recently decided to pick it up. And overall, I'm very glad I did. This is a fun, quirky YA fantasy story with a cute romance following a character who reminds me a lot of other spunky female characters like Buffy and the '90s Sabrina.
Zera, the protagonist, has a very sarcastic voice, which sometimes was super refreshing, but at other times could get slightly annoying. With that in mind, the narration style could sometimes be a bit much, though once you get used to it, you barely notice the strange phrasings and sentence structures. Zera herself is a Heartless, which is essentially a witch's undead slave. The other central character in the story is Lucien, the crown prince. He's almost the typical brooding hero type, but I feel like there's more to him than meets the eye. Plus, he's very charmed by Zera's quirks, and seems to fall pretty hard for her throughout the book. Also, Lucien's family history is fascinating, and I like how protective he is of his people.
The typical fantasy YA romance trope is kind of flipped on its head in this debut. Instead of the boy being the dangerous person/creature, the girl is the monster. It's unique and creative. A girl monster enslaved to witches sent to enslave a prince to those same witches? I like it. And the other creatures throughout the story are also quite unique. Kudes to the author for not just adding the same werewolves, fairies, or elves to build onto her world.
As for the plot, it was mostly just about Zera capturing the attention of Lucien. His
and Zera's relationship wasn't forced, but I think more time between
the two of them before the end of this first installment would have made
me as a reader feel more connected to their plights. However, I did enjoy what was happening enough to want to pick up the sequel, which I'm currently reading. Oh, and while there is a bad guy in this book, he's rather stereotypical so far, unfortunately.
All in all, Bring Me Their Hearts is a nice addition to the growing list of YA fantasy books out there. I think readers of Sarah J. Maas and Kerri Maniscalco will find this series fun, but not as complex or life-consuming. It's simply a good time.
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