Review Detail

Much like its prequel, Glass Heart is far from your typical paranormal novel, and readers should adjust their expectations accordingly. The magic these characters wield is kept low-key and subtle, and Garvey treats it more like an everyday staple than a specialty item on the menu. The major themes in this novel are family dynamics and relationship struggles—magic is a secondary, but all-consuming, background player. As a reader who likes books about people as opposed to things (magical powers aren’t people), Glass Heart is a great book for me; other readers may feel differently and bemoan the lack of paranormal elements present in this book.

After the events of Cold Kiss, Wren is finally getting her life back together. She and Gabriel are officially a couple now, and she’s back on good terms with her best friends. But she’s also dealing with a hormonal pre-teen sister (I have one of those right now, and it’s seriously insanity), a mom who doesn’t always do the right thing, and a dad who wants back in Wren’s life after walking out of it years ago. And if all that isn’t enough, Wren’s also dealing with figuring out how to deal with her powers and control them. The great thing about all of this is that I never felt like there was too much going on; Amy Garvey managed to weave everything together and make it fit without making her plot clunky.

The really fantastic thing about Glass Heart is how flawed and real all the characters are. Wren and Gabriel both make mistakes, Wren’s little sister is a total mess, and her parents are trying but not quite succeeding. That presence of layered and well-rounded personalities was what really made this book for me.

All that being said, the plot of the book deals with Wren and an evil witch (or whatever terminology we’re using). Said evil witch attempts to seduce Wren for his own uses, and Wren kind of goes along with it until Gabriel gets involved. I think because of the fantastic portrayal of family relationships and romance troubles, I was expecting a plot that was a little less predictable and more in keeping with the standards Garvey had already set. Don’t get me wrong: there’s nothing at all wrong the story told in Glass Heart—I was just expecting more, perhaps.

This book is also a teensy bit cheesy, and the final sentence induced eye-rolling. However, I do think it was tasteful cheese (possibly Gouda or Havarti). In spite of the themes it deals with, readers should still be aware that Glass Heart is relatively fluffy. It’s a light-hearted and upbeat novel, and even when bad things are happening, there’s always the knowledge that a happy ending will come.

In comparison to Cold Kiss, I think I liked Glass Heart about the same. This book is unique and fun, totally outside the sphere of typical paranormal fiction, and features a cast of great characters who tackle real problems. I did see room for improvement while I read, of course, but I liked this book a lot anyways.