The Hollow Heart by Marie Rutkoski is the final book in the Forgotten Gods duology.
We leave off with Nirrim trading her heart to the God of Thieves, in return for her people's memories. Because of this The Half Kith suddenly realize that they do not need to be slaves, that many of them are powerful and under Nirrim's emotionless rule, they will take what they are owed.
In the meantime, Nirrim's beloved, Sid, has returned to her home in Herran, where she finds her ailing mother and heartbroken father. As rumors of a new power across the sea begins to grow, Sid must uncover the mystery behind her mother's illness and give in to duty.
When the two lovers meet again, will their meeting destroy the world or save it?
Meh. I really liked Midnight Lie and I really could have put down The Hollow Heart at any time and not really cared. Which is unfortunate. The two books feel completely different to me, almost as if parting Sid and Nirrim, stole the heart from the story.
Sid's story wasn't strong enough for me. Sid makes this big deal about how her parents don't understand her and how they are forcing her to marry and be someone she isn't, when in fact, she is the one putting all that pressure on herself. She is the one who proposed the proposal and she is the one who wasn't reading her parents. Maybe this was intentional but I had a hard time seeing her parents through her eyes by how they were written.
There were parts of Nirrim's story which felt lacking as well. Though, I liked the conflict between her, Raven and Ardan, her rise to power felt way to easy.
The only saving grace for me was the Gods. I really enjoyed the politics between the gods and wished Rutkoski would have played with that a little bit more. In fact, a novella about their stories, would be nice.
I just didn't get the same vibe from the second book and so I am giving it a very mediocre three stars.
That's all for now!
-M-