I love time travel and so you know I had to read Heart’s Gambit. While I loved the premise of this, I needed a bit more but the plot pacing threw me off. Keep reading this book review of Heart’s Gambit for my full thoughts.
Summary
The Baldwins and the Davenports have been sworn enemies for centuries. Ever since Venus Davenport and Titus Baldwin, two enslaved kids, fell in love, tried to run away, and got caught by their mistress, Sabine, a powerful witch. Desperate for freedom, they struck a bargain, and she gifted their families the ability to exist outside of time, along with magic to survive and thrive.
Those gifts came at a price.
Once a generation, their families must put forth a competitor for a magical duel to the death to feed Sabine’s immortality. This time, Emma Baldwin – a wish spinner – and Malcolm Davenport – a maker of illusions – are chosen.
But when they meet to check out the competition, sparks fly. Soon, the two are exchanging letters, having secret meetings, and fighting off their cursed urges to hurt one another, all while trying not to fall in love. And if they are ever going to have a chance to be together, they only have one choice: to put an end to Sabine’s curse, once and for all.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Time traveling, rivalries, and a magical competition? Yes please. The premise of Heart’s Gambit is fascinating. I love this mashup of time traveling, generational trauma, and a magical rivalry competition. This idea of being gifted, but also cursed. Heart’s Gambit is about breaking the cycle. About seeing who our true enemy is. It’s heartbreaking in many ways, in the way that training requires breaking us down to be put back together. This cycle of loss and grief which is passed down in our bones. But the pacing really threw me for a loop.
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Heart’s Gambit is incredibly detailed. And, at some points, we got lost in it. The pacing felt slow even though we are supposed to feel this pressure of the impending competition and their fates. I just didn’t feel that. I also wished we had spent more time in the past to really solidify the beginnings even if the characters themselves didn’t know this. It would have made the magic feel grounded. I know there’s the whole starcrossed element, but I did not buy this incredibly quick romance. I wanted to adore Heart’s Gambit. I enjoyed the ways in which Myall examines family, sacrifice, and rivalry. What if our rivals were never the enemy? How do we make sense of the past while moving forwards? But the pacing ultimately lost me.
Find Heart’s Gambit on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.