Review: Heart of The Fae by Emma Hamm

Title: Heart Of The Fae

Author: Emma Hamm

Genre: Fantasy/YA

Series: The Otherworld #1

Synopsis: Once upon a time… 

A plague sweeps across the emerald hills of Uí Néill, leaving a young midwife’s father with months to live. To save her people, Sorcha makes a deal with a dangerous Fae. She must travel across the sea, through merrow and kelpie lands, to find a forgotten king on a crumbling throne. 

Born king of the Seelie Fae, Eamonn fought battles unnumbered to uphold honor, duty, and freedom… until his twin brother sank a blade between his shoulders. Crystals grew from the wound, splitting open skin and bone. His people banished him to a cursed isle for his disfigurement, now king of criminals and fools. 

With the help of brownies, pixies, and will-o’-the-wisps, Sorcha battles to break through his crystalline shell and persuade him to take back his stolen throne.

This determined beauty could come dangerously close to stealing his beastly heart.

“The first-born son of the Seelie King faded into myth, then legend. Then nothing at all”

When a deadly plague has infected her beloved, Sorcha will do whatever it takes to save them. Making a deal with a dangerous Fae, Sorcha sets out on a journey to the mythical island Hy-Brasil in hope of accomplishing a most impossible task: return with the banished prince. Determined to finish what she set out for, Sorcha soon realizes this task is nearly impossible but will not return home without the exiled prince.

“I am not a woman, but sword and shield. I will carve my own path, or I will force others to create it for me.”

This was an incredible retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I absolutely adored this story and Sorcha. She is fierce, brave, and imperfect. And a force to be reckoned with. 

“In that moment, she gutted him. No one had looked at him like a person in such a long time, without pity or fear. She just opened her eyes and smiled at him. As if he was finally where he belonged.”

Eamonn( the “beast”) has such a tragic backstory. Betrayed by the ones closest to him he is exiled to an island for the rest of his life. With a hard exterior(ha) we get to see all his layers, from angry to sweet. Eamonn and Sorcha had sizzling chemistry and although it was a bit cheesy here and there, I still absolutely loved it and couldn’t get enough. 

This was a Beauty and the Beast retelling in a way I’ve never read before! It was full of Irish mythology, characters you root for, and beautiful lands and so unique. I’m a sucker for a good retelling. I can’t wait to read book 2! Emma Hamm is an incredible author and I’m so glad to have discovered her. What are you waiting for?! Go read this beautiful tale now!