DNF at 61%

I just didn't particularly care about anyone. The chapters dragged and there wasn't enough action for me. Well, there was action but I wasn't invested in anything that happened. Otherwise, it was well-written and interesting world and ideas.

Not enough to keep me reading though.

I liked the concept of the first book in this series and was delighted to be given the opportunity to read the sequel as a digital ARC.

Following their escape, we see the characters battling with the trauma of the events from the first book. The divide between Zandria and Aissa widens as their ideas of revenge diverge dramatically.

I thought this book was a good development from the first - the characters felt authentic, thought I still didn't like them as much as I wanted to, and this book had a better pace than the first, which dragged in the first half a little. I also liked that the history and wider social structure of the world were explained more in this book, though I generally don't enjoy when sequels have to continue world-building in order to make sense.

I thought this was a nice end to the duology and I'll be interested to see what MarcyKate Connolly writes next.

Aissa has rescued her sister from the Technocrat's dungeon and performed a forbidden spell with the heir to the Technocrat throne. Now she, Zandria, and Remy flee as fugitives with knowledge of Darian's betrayal. They try to convince the Magi leader of Darian's betrayal, but he won't hear it as Darian is a lifelong friend of his. It leads to his downfall as Darian uses Technocrat soldiers to attack and destroy the Magi's main stronghold. Very few survive. Aissa, Zandria, and Remy go in search of Alchemist Alliance secrets in order to bring peace to Palinor, but Zandria's time in the dungeon changed her. Will Aissa be able to reach her sister and convince her that the Technocrats are worth saving? Can the Technocrats and Magi become one people again?

This book is really great it has suspense, mystery and is incredibly intriguing. You must read the first book beforehand as it’s a direct follow on and therefore can be very confusing otherwise. Never the less the story is really great, there are the odd spots where the story seemed to drag a little but this was quickly recovered, this is true of the first book also but less so in this then the first. I was really surprised by the ending, everything seemed to be leading to cliff hanger and then everything suddenly changed and the author magically was able to clear all the loose ends which was great. Overall this is a really good book, very gripping and keeps you guessing to the very end!

I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and were not affected by the free copy.

Aissa and Zandria are back together and have escaped the Technocrats prison. The trauma that Zandria suffered in the prison has hardened her, so much that Aissa has never felt so alone, even with her twin back. Zandria wants all Technocrats dead, Aissa wants to grant mercy to the innocent. Will either get what they want?

The pacing in this book was much better than the first. Personally, I liked the first book, but it did have a tendency to drag on, with little action happening. In the sequel, there were still a few places it dragged, but that was rare. The story was pretty good, though I spent so much of the book being absolutely annoyed at how dead set the characters were with their prejudices and close-mindedness. I expected this series to end up being a trilogy-I had 7% of the book left, and so many loose ends to tie up, but somehow, the author managed to squeeze it all in.

This cover is absolutely stunning and definitely does justice to the story within. I will definitely be watching this author for any future books.

What a cool cover, it definitely grabbed my attention. If you read the first book (and you should because this is a direct sequel) you know about the mechanical hearts for the heartless. The heartless problem is a big part of this story and I love the illustration of it.

I thought the first book in this series was interesting, twin magi who were born to unite the people and stop the war with the technocrats, so I was so happy to get approved for this ARC. In this book, we learn more about the magi and technocrat's history and meet a couple new characters. Owen is a sweet magi who's been alone for a long time and becomes a friend to the twins. Catoria is a master magi that was waiting for someone to lead the revolution.

The story has a couple slower parts, but is fairly short and has some awesome magic. I also like the romances, especially seeing magi and technocrats come together. I was frustrated at times that no one seemed to listen to Aissa, even though she had good ideas. People were rooted in their prejudices and beliefs and didn't want to see the enemy as human beings. I'm glad Aissa was able to encourage her friends to come together and see their real enemy.

This wrapped up nicely and seems to be a duology. I'll be watching for other books from the author!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to Blink for the copy.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was honestly surprised when I wanted to request this book. Mostly because I didn't like the previous one at all. Yet, somehow, I got approved to read this one. I won't lie, the cover is absolutely gorgeous and the title/synopsis was actually pretty interesting. I'm not saying that the first book didn't intrigue me, because it did, I was just bored out of my mind with what happened.

So I honestly didn't have high expectations before diving into Heartless Heirs. Other than thinking you can't go lower than a 1 star rating. I just wanted to see this sequel redeem the first one for me. Again, for me.

Thankfully, this book was pretty freaking good. It did go through some rough patches of kind of dragging me through the chapters but I wasn't completely bored with the book. I was super frustrated with the characters making horrible decisions constantly. I'll admit that I wanted to punch a bunch of them multiple times because they really needed to open their eyes.

In the end, the ending was kind of cute. I still want to punch the characters but it was cute and happy. The characters did have to go through some unhappiness before that but it was well worth it.

Heartless Heirs is the second book of the duology, Twin Daggers by MarcyKate Connolly. The adventure, and the struggle, continues for the Magi and the Technocrats in the ancient-like city of Palinor. Magi leaders have been sacrified, and a dangerous traitor has emerged. Heartless Heirs picks up an hour after Twin Daggers, with heroines Aissa and Zandria, the Magi super-twins with special powers, running away with their childhood friend and Aissa’s new love, the Technocrat prince, Aro. Ahead of them is adventure, romance...and more danger than they can possibly imagine.

Aissa narrates with suspense and intrigue, as she and Zandria escape the city with childhood friend, Remy, in search of safety and answers to lingering questions about what exactly happened hundreds of years ago that split the Magi and the Technocrats into factions in the first place. Zandria is not happy with her sister, who is now a traitor for falling in love with (and binding her heart to) Aro, the Technocrat prince. Meanwhile, the Magi are hiding, the twins must find the hidden Magi library, and the Techno soldiers are hot on their trail, ready to eliminate them once and for all. The Alchemical Alliance, a group desperately trying to find a way to bring the Magi and the Techocrats together, is also in danger of falling apart with traitor, Darian, on the loose. Even the king and queen are heartless, dealing with their run-away son and their unsuspecting citizens. Hidden secrets, spells, and spies make this tale twist and turn. This book is a spell-binding (“spell” and “binding” are key words here) adventure in 350 pages.

Heartless Heirs is a story full of compelling characters and gripping events that will keep the reader guessing until the very end - Can the Magi and Technocrats all learn to live peacefully in Palinor? (Probably not.) Will Aissa and Zandria live to save the day...again? (Readers will want to keep reading to find out.)

A grateful thank you to Blink YA Books, HarperCollins, and Net Galley for the early read. Put this one on your pre-order list. Heartless Heirs publishes August 10, 2021.

I had a hard tim connecting to the beginning. I liked zandria. I liked the descriptions.i loved the world building. I really liked the names. I liked the dialogue

Heartless Heirs was just as breathtakingly fast-paced and exciting at the first book in this duology, Twin Daggers. I will say that the romance between Aissa and Aro was definitely more prevalent in this story, and it was nice to watch their relationship strengthen and mature. We were also introduced to some new characters, and I liked the personality, determination, and tension they brought to the story.

Of course, a story wouldn’t exist if it didn’t contain some type of conflict, and the main antagonist in Heartless Heirs was nothing if not ruthless. He was an easy character to despise, and there was a clever plot twist centered around him that I didn’t see coming. Hats off to MarcyKate Connolly for pulling that off!

There was a lot that happened in this novel, and I’ll admit that it kept me reading late into the night. Heartless Heirs also had a satisfying ending, which I’m always a sucker for. I’d definitely recommend it to fantasy-adventure lovers!

I received an ARC of this book, opinions are my own.