House of Pounding Hearts by Olivia Wildenstein
Series: The Kingdom of Crows #2
Published by Indie on 29 January 2023
Genres: Fantasy Romance
Pages: 519
Format: eBook
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Also in this series: House of Beating Wings
I MEANT TO CAPTURE THE PRINCE’S HEART . . . AND ENDED UP WITH A KING’S.
My desire to sit upon the Lucin throne led me to revive an ancient, winged monarch; one I deemed a friend until that friend duped and imprisoned me.
Lorcan claims he’s holding me captive for my own safety, but then he also claims I belong to him. Slumbering for five centuries has evidently given the Crow King severe delusions.
We may share an unfortunate mind-link, but we are still masters of our own destiny, and I intend to steer mine away from the Sky Kingdom and its prophecies . . . away from him.
I quickly find out there is no escaping the possessive male. In all honesty, I’m no longer certain I want to.
POV: Dual – Lore & Fallon, 1st Person
Ending: Cliffhanger
Triggers: Violence, Sexual Content
TL;DR Review Summary
- Fated Mates
- Slow burn with spicy spice
- Political machinations and deception
- Magic and Curses
- Mystery
Pace
House of Pounding Hearts is a dense story so, for me, this wasn’t a light, breezy read. It required a bit more brainpower than I had actually had to give so I wasn’t able to devote my attention to the story as much as I would have liked to or what I could have done if in the right head space. Regardless, it wasn’t so dense that I didn’t enjoy it or couldn’t get through it so that is actually an impressive feat in its own right. This isn’t a book (or series) that I would classify as a casual or light read, there are a lot of moving, interrelated parts that requires your attention.
Characters
Well, Lore is just as yummy as ever (we do love a broody, possessive, dark king). I have nothing else to say other than he is a a perfect example of what a book boyfriend should be. I physically can’t say anything bad about Lore.
I felt like Fallon could have been a smidge less stubborn and that particular side of her personality was, perhaps, a touch over played. It seemed to be that some of her internal dialogue went in circles a little bit and I just wanted to give her a good shake and tell her to get over it. Nevertheless, Fallon’s character held her own opposite perfect Lore and the pairing really made House of Pounding Hearts.
Is House of Pounding Hearts spicy?
And speaking of pairings…I told you book two would deliver the goods! The romance is a bit of slow burn until, maybe, the 70% mark but, the tension between Fallon and Lore is written beautifully into the story and the spicy scenes are also very done. Despite the intricate and complex plot, the romance aspect is so well intertwined with the story. It doesn’t read like a sub-plot at all but, rather, an important theme in its own right that the rest of the story is dependant upon.
Tropes
- Enemies to Lovers
- Fated Mates
- Royalty/Political Intrigue
- Curse
- He Falls First
- Mystery
My Thoughts
If I had to pick between the two published books of The Kingdom of Crows series, I prefer House of Beating Wings. It was a bit more carefree, no one really knew what was going on but there was a strong sense that something brewing in the background. House of Pounding Hearts is like that stage were you connect all the edge pieces of a puzzle and begin to see how the whole picture could fit together but there’s still a lot of work to do and you kind of regret starting a 2000 piece puzzle at 8pm on a weeknight because you know you will obsess over it until its finished.
I’m not sure it’s entirely fair to compare the two books as they serve very different purposes but, I still enjoyed House of Pounding Hearts. For a dense, intricate fantasy romance, it had a decent balance of world-building, action, and romance that held my attention, even when my concentration power was running low. I enjoyed seeing Fallon finally come to her senses and kicking some butt. Her relationship with Sydney and Phoebe is still as heartwarming as ever and I love the way Olivia has maintained their connection under intense pressure. I’m a sucker for puzzles and mysteries and all the little missiles Olivia dropped throughout the book had me turning the page to find out how everything pieced together.
I adore the world Olivia has created. It’s refreshing to see a fantasy realm not modelled off medieval Britain or Europe. Yes, I know Italy is in Europe but Venice has a unique topography that isn’t the usual dirt roads, woods, and rolling hills with castles, etc.
I can’t wait for the next book, House of Striking Oaths, that might come out later this year (fingers crossed). Olivia has teased that this might be the final instalment unless she decides to kill a bunch of people.
Also, Lore is perfect.
Similars
– A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet
– The High Mountain Court by A.K. Mulford
– A Ruin of Roses by K.F. Breene
