"Zera is an exemplar of confident, capable, relentlessly witty young womanhood. She is assertive, proactive, and, above all, a fun character to follow, yet she's sufficiently well-rounded. ... A zesty treat for YA and new-adult fantasists." –Kirkus Reviews
"Captivating and unique! Sara Wolf has created a world quite unlike one I've ever read in Bring Me Their Hearts. Readers will fall in love with Zera, the girl with no heart who somehow has the biggest heart of all." —Pintip Dunn, New York Times bestselling author of the Forget Tomorrow series
"Thrilling, hilarious, addictive, and awesome! I absolutely loved it!" —Sarah Beth Durst, award-winning author of The Queens of Renthia series
"Everything I need from a story. A standout among fantasies!" —Wendy Higgins, New York Times bestselling author of Sweet Evil
"Sara Wolf is a fresh voice in YA, and her characters never fail to make me laugh and think." —Rachel Harris, New York Times bestselling author of My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century
"From the start, this book completely stole my heart! Sara Wolf has woven a mesmerizing tale in Bring Me Their Hearts that had me glued to each page, unable to put it down until the end." —Brenda Drake, New York Times bestselling author of the Library Jumpers series
"The battle between good and evil bleeds over the pages of this exquisite fantasy." —Olivia Wildenstein, USA TODAY bestselling author of The Lost Clan series
"Original, authentic, and enchanting! Sara Wolf creates a vivid fantasy world like no other. Bring Me Their Hearts is a breath of fresh air in YA fantasy!" —D.D. Miers, USA TODAY bestselling author of the Relic Keeper series
"Absolutely blown away by this world, with its harsh realities and amazing characters." —Pop Reads Box
"The world Sara Wolf created was full of magic, witches, villains, love, and struggle." —As Told By Michelle blog
"Sara Wolf is a national treasure…Bring Me Their Hearts is everything." —Jennifer H., Goodreads reviewer
"Bring Me Their Hearts weaves a tale of fighting for your freedom and deciding what your freedom is actually worth." —FaeCrate
"This book was everything I hoped it would be and more." —Rebekah, Goodreads Reviewer
"...damned if I didn't just eat this up." —The Book Rat
"...this one was a lot of fun with a unique female lead." —Jackie at YA Book Junkies
"This author's worldbuilding is simply magical and you quickly find yourself becoming attached to the very witty Zera..." —YA/NA Book Divas
"This book was amazing. I have never read a book by this author and she moved straight up there to the top 5." - Rustic Book Reviews by Tonya
"Filled with unique magic, action and a generous sprinkling of romance..." - Of Stacks and Cups
"Bring Me Their Hearts is a luscious tale of court intrigue, magic and bloodshed, with a dash of sass and a sprinkle of darkness." - Booknest.eu
"Bring Me Their Hearts is filled with killer, heart stealing witches, mischievous royalty, magic and swords... and so much witty and sarcastic humor. I am so excited to see how the series progresses!" - MyBookAcademy
"This blew my mind. I can't, it was so amazing. " -FoxReadx
"I am completely blown away by this books epicness. It has won the whole of my heart, and I wouldn't wish it back for the world." -KestrelofHerran
"This was such a ride... brilliant, bloody and funny all at once." - Kristin's Books
"Zera's journey is intense and wonderful with moments of love and humor..." - Goodreads Reviewer
06/01/2018
Gr 9 Up—Zera has no heart…because it's being kept in a jar by the witch Nightsinger. The witch makes a deal with her: if Zera will bring her the heart of the crown prince, Nightsinger will give Zera back her own, ending her servitude. Zera must infiltrate the court as a "Spring Bride," one of the young women vying for the prince's hand in marriage in an outdated custom. Under the tutelage of a fascinating older woman named Y'Shennria, Zera must learn how to be a proper noble while also tamping down the raging hunger that consumes her as a Heartless. Prince Lucien holds some secrets of his own and most of the supporting characters are equally winsome. Zera possesses a biting wit and her internal battle between her Heartless nature and her desire to remember her former human life is intriguing, even if she does spend a lot of time dwelling on the terrible event that took away her parents. Wolf's world-building is solid and the political conflicts track easily. Some of the dialogue has a modern parlance to it, but nothing that shatters the illusion of the setting. Fans of Victoria Aveyard's "Red Queen" series and Cora Carmack's Roar will find this to be very appealing. It is a worthy YA fantasy that will leave readers hungry for the sequel. VERDICT Recommended for most teen collections.—Gretchen Hardin, Sterling Municipal Library, Baytown, TX
2018-04-09
A young medieval woman embarks on a grim mission in this first installment of a fantasy romance series.Nineteen-year-old Zera Y'shennria is a Heartless. Quite literally: A witch named Nightsinger has taken her heart and keeps it in a jar, making Zera her soldier. This was a kindness at first. (Bandits butchered Zera's parents and left her to die; she's only "alive" now thanks to witch magic.) But Zera has killed as a Heartless and suffers from the memories of those deaths and from an insistent hunger for raw flesh. Zera might hide behind sassy humor, yet she feels the emptiness in her chest. Even if her heart was returned to her, could she ever be truly human again? This question resounds when Zera is sent to take the heart of Prince Lucien d'Malvane, heir to the same kingdom that fought the Sunless War against the witches. If she succeeds—if she survives the courtly intrigue and turns Lucien into a Heartless—Zera will be restored. But Lucien is not like the other nobles. He does not crave death or power, and his imperious disdain cloaks a good man—someone for whom, despite herself, Zera finds she has feelings. Wolf (Burn Before Reading, 2017, etc.) depicts Heartlessness not merely as a sliver of dark fantasy, but also as a metaphor for love and life, thus encouraging the sort of late teen romance reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Zera is an exemplar of confident, capable, relentlessly witty young womanhood. She is assertive, proactive, and, above all, a fun character to follow, yet she's sufficiently well-rounded that, if anything, her inner Heartless voice becomes too intrusive a reminder of the struggle she faces. The author brings this conflict out in any case through spirited use of the first-person, present tense and by way of a plot that flirts playfully with expectations. Having pulled readers in and enamored both them and Zera with its secondary characters, the droll story simmers, then bubbles toward a denouement—or as close as can be expected from the first book of a trilogy.A zesty treat for YA and new-adult fantasists.
