This Wicked Fate (This Poison Heart)

This Wicked Fate picks up RIGHT where This Poison Heart left off as you are immediately thrown back into Bri's world and the tragedy of where the previous installment left off. The mythology in this series is amazing. It's diverse. It's sapphic. It's amazing. If there were a series set in this world telling the tales of other characters you come across, I would EAT. IT. UP. The pace was quick and pulled you along perfectly with the story without throwing you off course. As always, with any great story, I want more.

The cliffhanger at the end of This Poison Heart absolutely gutted me, so this sequel was high on my list of anticipated books this year. And Briseis’s moms stole nearly every scene in that book, so I couldn’t wait to see what happened with them.Briseis and her friends are given one cycle of the moon – twenty-eight days – to save her mother, and the clock starts from page one. That length of time may sound like a lot, but they’re charged with finding the last piece of the Absyrtus Heart – something no one has been able to locate in centuries. Joining in the search is Briseis’s biological aunt, Circe, and seeing their relationship develop, as well as Circe’s relationship with Briseis’s adoptive moms, is one of my favorite parts of of the novel. Whether romantic, platonic, or familial, all the relationships in this duology are heartwarming and written so well. As an added challenge, adversaries are racing against Briseis and friends to locate the heart fragment.As with the first book, it’s clear the author did extensive research in botany, and she explains the benefits of plants and their medicinal uses. And also how certain types are poisonous and fatal. She incorporates vivid descriptions of them to set beautiful backgrounds for these characters. Plants are drawn to Briseis, and she still controls them, but newfound abilities also help in her quest. As a fan of Greek mythology, I’ve really enjoyed how it’s been woven into this duology. Parts of it were kind of a refresher course from middle school.I get that arrangements had to be made, but with a limited amount of time to save Briseis’s mom, I expected the pacing to be a little faster. It could just be me – patience isn’t one of my strengths. Once things started moving though, it was a brisk pace until the end.I thoroughly enjoyed this duology and highly recommend it to fans of urban fantasy blended with mythology and magic. I’ll be looking for future releases by this author.I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Trigger Warnings: Past death of a parent, grief, mention of past murder, mention of violence, threats, past deaths, illness, fighting, violence, sword/knife violence, blood, vomit, gore, kidnapping, murder, deathRepresentation: Lesbian, BlackThis Wicked Fate is the continuation of This Poison Heart. We pick up right where we had left off, Briseis is attempting to reassemble the heart in order to save her mother. While she searches for the final piece, Briseis is reunited with her blood relatives and must race against her enemies to find it first. Can she do the impossible? And how much is she willing to sacrifice to get back what she has lost?Yayyyyyy!! So excited to be back in this world and pick up where we left off last summer! I have loved learning so much about this world and Gods we all grew up learning about. The author does an amazing job creating this fantasy world that touches on well-known stories. The first book was such a fantastic read and I’m pleased to say the sequel does not disappoint! While the first was adventurous and happy, this story spotlights the pain that is living and loving. The author does an amazing job balancing these in this duology!The author also does a fantastic job creating characters that you love and hate to see suffer. Bri’s journey with grief is heart wrenching and makes the reader sympathize for the entire book. The lovable characters such as her moms and Marie continue in this story, but also experience pain and darkness. The twist of a lovable character becoming the bad guy was also written so well, it’s hard to hate them! With everyone suffering so much, it would be easy to say this story is very depressing, but this is so not true! The story is grief, it’s growth, it’s found family, it’s acceptance. It’s everything.