House of Pounding Hearts: The Kingdom of Crows, Book 2

SHUSHurSHUSHER

It picks right up from book 1 and just keeps going!

"My review below may have some of my review from book 1 but I only kept a lot of the other review info, because it says how the author writes and how good it really is. Other than that, don't let the double review info fool you into thinking there isn't any differences in the stories themselves, you'd be quite wrong to think so. In this book there is much more build up going on and you really would enjoy jumping right back in to the storyline. I'm not going to rewrite the synopsis, that's easy to get from her books webpage. With that said, here is what I am going to say about this book/series .. I love the way this story gets you from the beginning and just keeps building. Like book 1, there isn't a place in book 2 where I thought something didn't fit together or was cringe worthy. It also was put together well. You still have intrigue, a lot of action, a lot of guessing, spots that will get you angry for the characters, some surprises and so much more. I will say, I'm really not a huge fan of cliffhangers. However, as luck would have it, the 3rd book was already out by the time I was ready to read it. So, BONUS. There are also books 4 & 5 out as well. Once again, her descriptions of the characters gave me the ability to not only picture them clearly in my mind, but also her descriptions on the actions/journey they take throughout the story, pulled me back in from the ending of book 1. And like book 1, this is so good that it gave me the opportunity to escape into another world and away from my life of hardships for a nice little while, again. The cliffhanger from the 1st book was killer if you had to wait for book 2. However, if you read this book, you'll know it was SO worth the wait! This 2nd book also ends in a cliffhanger, but again, book 3 is already out, and it too is fantastic! This author has blown me away with her story telling. I highly recommend you getting this series. I also bought and read her book called "The Dark Beauty", which I also highly recommend reading. Now onto another one of her books. ["

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July 29, 2025 Verified Purchase

Sarah

This series just keeps getting better!

"Wow. House of Pounding Hearts made the slow pace of House of Beating Wings, book 1, worth it! We get to dive more into this Fae/Shifter world that Olivia has created, we learn more about Lore and his mysterious crows, Fallon becomes a more confident FMC, and the romance is filled with tension and slow burn which is worth the wait payoff. In House of Pounding Hearts, we learn more about the war between Fairies and Crows, and who the main players were/are. I'm really enjoying this world and the characters who fill it up. Besides Fallon and Lore, each character has a back story that Olivia is able to twin into the oveall plot. There is also a found family aspect in this group of characters that I adore. Lore and Fallon were tension and slow burn that I LOVED. The pay off was so worth it and Lore is definitely up there on my book boyfriend list. Their relationship was sweet and spicy, but also was balanced well between the overall plot for me. The ending though...that was just rude! There were some things I did not see coming but it will make the next and final book that much more interesting. ["

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February 1, 2023 Verified Purchase

Stacie Maynard

Even better than book 1!

"It’s not often I am more impressed with a second installment of a series than i am the first. Leave it to Olivia Wildenstein to knock it out of the park! The sloooow burn is everything here. And I adore that the MMC gives the FMC the space she needs to accept him. Once she does, there is no hesitation and she is all in. I could have accepted that dragging out a hair longer, but it worked. The betrayal here is unexpected. I had an inkling something would happen, but not the way it did. And I know we don’t even know the half of it yet. The good: The slow burn romance - they are my fav! The FMC getting to know her father The unexpected plot twists - not often a book surprises me The MMC falls first. Always a win. And he will burn the world for her. The not so good (and I’m being super picky here): The FMC and the on again off again naivety. So smart at times and others you want to smack her for not seeing what is in front of her. The FMC’s dad and MMC being long time besties. On one hand, it offers some good comedy, but there is just a hair if ick there too. The cliffhanger. I don’t really feel like the book resolved anything of substance and dropped a major cliffhanger. Good thing I can start book 3 😆 Through book 2, this is one of the better romantasy books I’ve read in a while. Kept me up into the wee hours reading! Spice 2/5🌶️ Overall 4.75/5⭐️ ["

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June 24, 2025 Verified Purchase

Ceacea29

That ending!

"⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️SPOILERS AHEAD⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Excellent cliffy! I love a good betrayal, but the ones where the co-protagonist is fooled into thinking their significant other did the betraying, just brutal. For the book itself, it would have been better titled 'Secrets and Lies' because there were plenty to go around from every single character. It was a bit like reading an action filled fantasy soap opera. Don't get me wrong, it's a great time and more of what you'd expect coming out of book 1 plus some extra heat 😉. The miscommunication got tedious and drug out a bit too long and should have been talked about (groveled about) a bit more. Lore was purposeful in letting Fallon insinuate things to coax her jealously. The fact that it went on for so long and had only a couple of paragraphs of resolution, making it seem like it was all Fallon's fault for assuming did not sit well with me. It made their get together feel a little rushed, which feels odd to say since it took so long. Again, the writing was great, and the story still has plenty of meat on the bone. Read this series, people! You will not regret it! ["

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March 27, 2025 Verified Purchase

Kindle Customer

Fmc awful

"I will update when I finish. But it's incredibly hard when you find the fmc so ridiculous. Her character is terribly written at this point. Nothing is cohesive other than she acts like a petulant child. The constant harping on everything that's been done to her. No thought about how to better her situation, educate herself, grow...Nothing. The story isn't better for it. It doesn't move the plot. It doesn't bring tension. It also makes falons adoration unbelievable. Because no one would want to be stuck with her. Which means beauty is the only value women bring? I really hope this gets better because I'm close to throwing in the towel. THATS HOW POORLY SHE'S WRITTEN. ["

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August 9, 2025 Verified Purchase