Kendra Thomas

Hearted

I have to say I enjoyed the sequel more than the first book! The plot continues with Sabeara finding a new life and learning about the outside world. She meets swoony characters along the way which end up making her heart flutter. I personally am not a fan of love triangles., it has to be well driven and the author did a great job in building that relationship. 

Ahhh, I am so excited to learn more about what is going to happen! In this book we continue to see the growth Sabeara gains with all the obstacles presented. I love how independent and strong shes become throughout the series! It's a great example for young girls today. I love Dusane so much, ughhhh.. such a great dynamic with Sabeara. Must have more! Kendra did a great job in evolving her characters in this book and I am all here for it! We see many new folks introduced to the story, I was excited to see how Sabeara learns to build relationships around her. 

This is perfect for lovers of love triangles and friends to lovers. Huge thanks to the author for gifting me a copy of the book!

Shelby Goodwin

OMG THIS BOOK..GAH!! I dove in directly after finishing book 1 and literally only stopped to sleep. It was even better than book 1 somehow. I highly recommend the audiobook version in particular--very well performed and highly addictive YA fantasy!

So things went in a direction I was totally not expecting and I devoured every moment. Sabeara/Ehren is such a dynamic protagonist; I loved to watch her learn and grow into a truer version of herself in this installment. I absolute adore the interactions amongst all the Envorydians, especially Dusane, UGH. He is definitely my new favorite--Diablo is a close second!!

I was DELIGHTED to find that my guilty pleasure trope for YA fantasy (love triangles) is alive and strong in this series and it just makes me so very happy. I am most definitely #TeamDusane because I feel like he has helped Ehren discover ways to rescue herself, while Mid is insistent on being the only one who can save Sabeara. I'm super excited to find out how all of this unfolds in book 3. I've heard there's a bitch of a cliffhanger though, so I am VERY anxious!!

Tatiana Alvarez 

Another fun, actioned packed book from Kendra Thomas.

Hearted is book 2 in the Granted serious. It is a YA fantasy novel that follows princess Sabeara. Falling book one, Sabeara wakes up with a new identity and we get to see a new side of her. She isn't *just* the princess anymore, the girl put on display at events. We get to see her come into her powers and become a warrior.

Sabeara isn't waiting around for someone to come rescue her, she knows that in order to win her freedom, she is going to have to fight. We get a lot of training and character development in this book, which I tend to prefer over plot development. That being said, the plot doesn't move along fast in this book. Which is fine because you really need to see the Sabeara's growth in order to have this new found respect for her.

For those of you who love a love triangle, this book delivers on that! Many of you know that I'm not a fan of love triangles, but they are common in YA literature. Fortunately, that isn't the focal point of the story, so it really didn't take me out of it.

Overall, this was a fun and interesting read. I would definitely recommend listening to the audiobook. The reader was really good and made the story come to life.

Maria Elena Vitale Zelaia

Hearted is one of those sequels that once you’re done, you realize you may have enjoyed it more than the first book. I love how this series evolves and gets better and better as it progresses. I can’t go too far into details to avoid spoiling the first book, 
  Granted
, but the ending made it so that the second book starts off on a different foot (quite literally!) Sabeara is in a new place with a new identity, so we have the world-building expanding and her character growing even more as she decides she won’t be the princess who waits to be rescued and learns how to fight for herself.

While the plot moves a little slower in this one, it shone with the characters, a lot of which are new entries. Indeed, in this second book we meet the Evorydians, who are warriors that sort of take Bear in. Shar, who is a character we’ve already met (and loved) in the first book, is one of them. I adored them, but perhaps my favorite among them is Dusane, who becomes Sabeara’s mentor, the first to believe in her, and is her new love interest. Both on a character level and on a relationship level, Dusane stole my heart, unlike Mid in book 1. Dusane and Sabeara’s development is slower, spanning a larger period of time. They’re not rushed, their chemistry is on point, and their personalities fit together so well. All of the feels! However, there is a love triangle on the horizon, so I’m preparing my heart and my mind and holding them close before they break into a million tiny pieces.

Despite the love triangle, I have a feeling I’m going to love the third book even more if the author plays her cards right. The drama, the angst…it has the potential of being perfect! My only hope is that in the end, Bear makes the right choice or I might not recover. 

Thank you to the author for gifting me an e-copy. Opinions are my own!

Chiara Vitale Zelaia

Sequels often have the bad reputation of not being as good as the first book, but in the case of HEARTED, I enjoyed it more than its predecessor! While I won’t get into details of the content of the book because of spoilers, I’m very happy to say that many of the things I was hoping to see in this sequel were indeed part of the book! Granted ends on a huge cliffhanger that left open lots of doors, and Kendra Thomas did a great job exploiting that potential. Not only did we get an expansion of the world, with Sabeara no longer being in her kingdom but in the Sethen Courts, we also got a lot more insight on the magic of the Stone-Hearted and the plot to defeat the curse!

My favorite development in this sequel, however, was on the characters. In the first book, we see Sabeara interacting with her family and Mid, but not as much with other characters. Now that her environment has changed and the world has expanded, we are introduced to a new set of characters, the Evorydians, and I LOVED THEM. All caps. Not only did I love them as singular characters (and I loved that Shar is one of them, and we’ve already established that my love for Shar is boundless), but I deeply appreciated how they allowed Sabeara’s personality to shine through and evolve for the better. The Envorydians are warriors, and with Sabeara’s strong personality and blatant disinterest in being shackled to a crown, this sort of twist was perfect for her. She was born to be a warrior, and I loved her journey throughout this book. 

While I did appreciate that there was such a big focus in Bear’s personal growth and on friendships, romance is still very much a component of this novel. If you’ve read my review of Granted, you’ll know I wasn’t a big fan of Mid and Bear. We don’t see much of Mid in this book (and honestly, I didn’t miss him), but instead we are introduced to a new character, Dusane, who not only is one of the Envorydians, but he’s also one of the first to believe in Bear’s potential! The author really took her time with this relationship. There are several time jumps throughout the novel, so this bond builds throughout a longer period of time. The friends-to-lovers dynamic with Dusane and Bear was absolutely beautiful to read, also because their personalities fit so well together! Dusane is intense and extremely passionate when he wants to be, but he’s very respectful of Bear’s boundaries and feelings. He just ticked all the right boxes for me, and even though this book sets up a love triangle that will unfold in the next installment, I have already chosen my side. Let’s hope Bear comes to my same conclusion.

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy! All opinions are my own.

Kendra H. Thomas

Princess Sabeara Aigoviel has been graced with a new identity. After waking up from burning down the Spirit Tree, Sabeara can no longer be Princess Sabeara, and she encounters a chilling reality. The curse has begun. Now Stone-Hearted and a captive criminal to the Sethen Courts, Sabeara faces conflict unlike ever before. After leaving the one she loves and her family behind during the Ethydon war, Sabeara learns what happened to them from an unexpected acquaintance. Sabeara now known as Ehren, enters an outcast kingdom she didn't know existed. The Sethen Courts is nothing like she imagined it would be. Sabeara is thrown into a world where an elite fighting guild, known as the Envorydians, secretly resides inside the courts. These elite fighters compete in an arena known as the Galloway. Sabeara is faced with a decision, to fight in the Galloway and win her freedom from the courts, or wait for someone to come and rescue her. Will Sabeara be able to become a warrior, and fight her way out of the Sethen Courts? Will she be able to keep searching for the tokens and defeat the curse on the Stone-Hearted race? This sequel filled with action, magic, and love, will make it impossible to stop turning the pages.

Andrea

4.5/5 ⭐️

If I loved Granted, I loved this one even more. In this book we get more into the curse and find out some things that are relevant for the next books. The first half it’s not fast paced, but this second part has a few things going on plotwise, and I really love reading how this story develops.

But I have to say that probably what I loved the most were the new characters, they made me laugh, scream and suffer. Sabarea finds herself surrounded with this new people and we get to see their friendships develop. To be honest, I liked them more than some of the characters in the first book.

And my final point to touch here, is the fact that I loved how Sabaera finds herself and her purpose in this book. Though she still has some childish treats, I think that she has matured a lot in this book. She knows who she is and what she wants and doesn’t want to do.

Of course, I love the way Kendra writes and how easy it is to follow her writing. If you haven’t read Granted, you should, because it’s amazing and this series looks very promising.

Hearted

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