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I thoroughly enjoyed Den of Liars and was so disappointed the moment I finished it to have to wait for a second book. I got that from NetGalley and read it early on, so that meant even longer waiting for the second… there are a lot of cool things about getting to read ARCs, but a downside is definitely waiting the longest possible time for sequels. But at least I got this second in the duology as soon as I could from NetGalley, so that sure helped.
At the end of Den of Liars, Lola has won the game at the Liar’s Dice Tournament but lost love. Now she’s officially working with the Thief, her longtime captor and friend, as one of his “Tentacles.” But she has to hide a lot from him. Luckily, the Unbreakable Lie she won is helping. As she works with Enzo, though, she finds herself twisted in a web of deceit: the lies she’s telling and the lies being told to her are making her life pretty complicated. But Lola is determined to find out more about her past and her powers. Everything she does will somehow lead her where she needs to go.
She’d like her life to include Nic, but he has made himself scarce. And when she does see him, he acts aloof, strange, even hurtful. She was sure they had something real. He’s just not acting like it.
When she sees a possible way to end the pain of deceit and curses, Lola uses a magical alter ego she’s created, Nocturne, and sets up her own tournament to bring all the main players together. It’s also complicated and there are too many ways it could go wrong — but it’s her only hope.
So… as much as I’d been eagerly anticipating Heart of Thieves, it just wasn’t as great as the first. It worked, and I appreciated it and was happy to conclude the story arc, but it didn’t give me all the thrills of the first. I think in part a lot of the peril and angst seemed too contrived; like, yes, we know there has to be conflict and complexity, but it didn’t feel completely organic somehow. It all felt like a bit of a tug-of-war, back-and-forth.
Heart of Thieves is a solid conclusion but not an excellent one.
Rated: Mild. Profanity includes about 25 instances of moderate profanity and about 25 uses of mild language. Sexual content includes a few instances of kissing, some fairly intense but not anything past kissing. Violence includes deaths and injuries by various methods but nothing gory or very graphic.
The author includes this content warning at the beginning of the book: “This book contains mind control, loss of bodily autonomy, torture, depictions of child abuse, trauma, kidnapping, violence, loss of caretakers, and mild language.”
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*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
