Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie R. Wheadon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Intriguing end to LGBTQ+ fantasy romance duology.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In THE HOLLOW HEART, when the God of Thieves took Queen Nirrim's heart, something went wrong. Nirrim wants to focus on avenging her oppressed class in the most brutal way possible, but while she's ordering beheadings in the town square and looking for her magical people's lost history in the palace library, she can't stop thinking about Sid and the way she left her. When Sid took off suddenly on her ship to care for her mother, a queen from another land, it must have been an excuse to abandon her, she decides, even though Sid professed her love before she left. But Sid wasn't lying. Queen Kestrel is wasting away after being slowly poisoned and her mother asks Sid to figure out who is behind it. She's happy to play spy and quite skilled at it, but she's having a hard time being so close to her parents. Sid is supposed to marry a prince and still thinks she should do her duty, but she also needs them to understand who she really is.
Is It Any Good?
This LGBTQ+ fantasy romance sequel could have fallen flat when one of the main characters turns villain, but a clever use of narrators and tender subplots uplifts this intriguing tale. Readers will miss the sweet and compassionate Nirrim from The Midnight Lie and have to get used to vengeful Queen Nirrim. It's jarring at first, especially as she bloodies a town square and manipulates those who used to be close to her. As we learn what's been stolen from her by the God of Thieves and some family history from another god narrator, it all makes sense and you hope she can be saved.
Enter Sid and her storyline in her homeland. Here's where compassion lost by Nirrim is found by Sid as she helps her mother, Queen Kestrel, find out who poisoned her and comes to terms with all the hurt she feels as someone who doesn't feel accepted or valued. As Sid shows more of her true self and mends the relationship with her parents, suddenly she's brave enough to do something truly heroic for the one she loves. Of course, she doesn't know what Queen Nirrim has become in her absence, which really complicates things -- and so do the gods, as they always do. The final twists to this finale are truly intriguing and bring this duology to an exciting end.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about LGBTQ+ romance in The Hollow Heart and The Midnight Lie and the straight romance in the original series, Winner's Trilogy. Can the same readers be just as engaged in both series? Were you? How many series do you read that have both straight and gay romantic storylines equally represented?
How does Sid and her parents' relationship transform over the course of the book? How important was honest communication in this transformation? How often do you find good relationship advice in fantasy books?
What do you think is next for this author? Would you like to return to this world? Which characters do you want to follow there?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Publication date : September 14, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 18
- Number of pages : 304
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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