Heart of the Fae by
Emma Hamm
(I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.)
Once upon a time…
A plague sweeps across the emerald hills of Uí Néill, leaving a young midwife’s father with months to live. To save her people, Sorcha makes a deal with a dangerous Fae. She must travel across the sea, through merrow and kelpie lands, to find a forgotten king on a crumbling throne.
Born king of the Seelie Fae, Eamonn fought battles unnumbered to uphold honor, duty, and freedom… until his twin brother sank a blade between his shoulders. Crystals grew from the wound, splitting open skin and bone. His people banished him to a cursed isle for his disfigurement, now king of criminals and fools.
With the help of brownies, pixies, and will-o’-the-wisps, Sorcha battles to break through his crystalline shell and persuade him to take back his stolen throne.
This determined beauty could come dangerously close to stealing his beastly heart.
(I buddy read this book with my amazing #squad Amy and Di. You can find their reviews here and here. )
I extremely enjoyed reading about the feisty and driven
Sorcha who is the main character in the book. She’s a midwife but wants to be a proper healer. Living in a man’s world, her opinions on the plague ravaging their world is ignored and her ideas fall on deaf ears. It was wonderful to see our driven heroine constantly challenging this although her feminism came off as a little forced at times. I would have liked to feel the feminism more as a part of her than as a trait that stands out slightly awkwardly
Eamonn, our beast is quite the intriguing character with a temper to match his gigantic form. While I found him an intriguing character and wanted to know more, I wasn’t the biggest fan of him. He’s been through a lot but how he keeps clinging to the sadness and his mistreatment of Sorcha was something I couldn’t quite get past. I would like to see more development of him in the sequels! I know there’s more to his character than the angry and wistful beast, and I want to see it.
I loved LOVED all the different types of fae in the book. It made the world so rich. I’m in love with the blend of Irish mythology into the book which results in so many wonderful kinds of fae all over the human world and the Otherworld.
The story loosely follows the Beauty and the Beast story. Sorcha is a midwife looking to cure the plague that is killing people in hordes including her father. When she’s given a mission in exchange for a cure, she jumps at the chance. This part of the story felt a little rushed to be but her travel to Hy-Brasil is nevertheless eventful and one of my favorite parts of the book.
It is at Hy-Brasil, the isle on the edge of the Otherworld that she meets the beast, a brooding man, disfigured and angry at the world at large. The rest of the story follows Sorcha convincing the beast to come back from his exile, which was the mission bestowed upon her.
I needed a little more plot. Towards the end especially. Certain events happened that felt slightly random and I’d have loved to see them more detailed. Although I believe we will see more reasons for why things happened the way they did in the sequel.
Holy mother the writing was glorious. I’ve read Emma’s previous books and her writing has always been gorgeous. In Heart of Fae it reaches a whole new level. I loved the descriptions of the Ireland inspired world of the book and wanted more. There is so much diversity among the fae and this is described beautifully by the author. I also enjoyed the dialogue a lot and the wonderful lines that Sorcha delivers. The writing made sure I couldn’t put down the book at all.
- The writing
- The Irish connect
- The different kinds of fae
- The overall outline of the plot
- The slightly forced feminism at certain points
- The romance
- The certain abrupt happenings in the plot
If you love Beauty and the Beast and would like to read a more diverse, complex and darker retelling with fae, Heart of the Fae is for you. I absolutely can't wait to know what happens next because cliffhanger!
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