War of Her Heart

by Lexi Hodges

Violet has lived her entire life in the Mountain Realm and has been in a secret relationship with Calum, the Sovereign of her realm, which is completely forbidden. The rule is Every Sovereign must marry from the royal bloodlines of the Seven Sovereigns.

When Calum is sent to the Night Realm to begin his engagement to the sister of the Night Realm’s Sovereign, he promises Violet he will find a way out of the engagement and make his way back to her. Violet holds onto that promise until she finds herself in the Night Realm where she realizes everything isn’t as true as she thought it was.

To make matters worse, the Sovereign of the Night Realm—the most evil and vicious of them all—has taken a strange liking to Violet and is quite curious about her rare heart condition which is something unheard of amongst fae.

Now Violet must navigate her way through the next several months as she fights an internal battle between her heart and her head.

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Fantasy Romance, Romance, Fae, Dark Romance, Enemies To Lovers

422 pages, Paperback

Published October 25, 2024

Reviews

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listen, is it well written? No. Is the premise good? Yes. It’s entertaining and a thoughtless read. Fun to experience if you ignore the writing style is that of a 14 year old girl. Don’t ask questions, accept whatever the author says and enjoy Bash’s touch her and die vibes.

[BookmarkedbyKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me just say I found this book from the authors TikTok video where she was trying to show her husband she’d wrote a book 😂👏🏻

Someone else left a review and said there’s a lot of “telling you” versus “showing you” and they’re not wrong, especially in the first few chapters. I did feel like it got better around chapter 9 or so and once the plot picked up, the writing did get better.

Overall I really did enjoy this book, even tho the beginning was a little slow for me to get into. Once I got past the first few chapters, I didn’t want to put it down & finished it in a day! Cannot wait for book 2!

[Sophie Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

girl i saw 2 separate tiktoks about this and was just like fuck it i’ll read it

it kinda threw me in the deep end and then started explaining things ? idk how i feel about that

this also feels a littleeeee bit like a high schoolers english story but hopefully it smooths itself out

this FMC pissing me the damn hell off

also you want me to CARE about this fmc and her fuck ass ‘bf’ CALUM when you’ve not really fleshed out their relationship at all? be serious

‘i wanted to scream and run up to him and yell at him for every promise he had broken’ see now your first mistake was trusting a man to stay loyal.

okay we have met the MMC im fine now

actually lowkey not bc why does every MMC have to be a ‘shadow daddy’ like why can’t we be original anymore

you know what i take my previous statement back. keep making shadow daddies if they keep using their shadows to do things. I DONT CARE. GIMME

can she fucking hurry up and drop this dumbass man even without her knowing she’s mated to sebastian, calum is GOD AWFUL and just plain annoying

this man just admitted that he liked when she shut down and acted like the ‘prim and proper lady’ around other people so he only saw her when she is confident is fucking insane THIS GUY STINKS

GIRL DROP HIMMMMMM IM BEGGING YOU FUCKING CHRIST

you have a man that is actively trying to have open communication with you, takes care of you, treats you with kindness and sincerity when he doesn’t do the same to others and you’re still strung up on THIS FUCKING DONKEY????! STAND UPPPPPPPP

girl this man just shielded you mentally so you didn’t have to watch the man you LOVE have sex with the woman he’s engaged to because he knew it would ruin you COME ONNNNNNNN

i’m gonna tweak the fuck out.

he just found out his mum tortured her every day for 52 days and then killed the closest thing she had to a mum and the best punishment he can come up with is sending her to her vacation home? DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE VIOLENTLY

‘are you looking to die mountain boy?’ YEAHHHHHH GET HIS ASS

well what an immensely disappointingly written smut scene wow. somethings that’s been building for the last like almost 300 pages and that’s all we get…

…. well that’s was a book!..

the writing of this was just so…… not great… im actually really disappointed

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️ and I’m being fucking generous

[Robyn Crowe 🐦‍⬛ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at page 9 😭 needs major work on the narrative and fleshing out details.

[Marisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

*Book Club Spoiler Alert*

A pale imitation of ACOTAR. No description of characters or locations or situations. Every predictable cliche possible. This was a swing and a miss. One of the worst books I’ve read.

[•°Dahlia ( hiatus )]

DNF 13%
PLEASE WHAT IS MY LUCK THIS MONTH?

---
Instagram made me read this btw

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

Definitely needed a LOT more editing before it was published. Writing was bad, plot was obvious…just lazy and everything was told to me. Author is doing a lot of marketing on TikTok for it, noticed they’re basically reacting to the same scene in their own book over and over again…half of me is like good for you, make some money etc etc the other half is frustrated cause it’s another shallow attempt at a trend and has zero originality to it. Sorry, 1 star.

[Emily Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still reading but one of the best books I have read in a while. I’ve been in a reading slump after ACOTAR and Fourth Wing and this book made me excited to read again. So excited to keep up with this author. I hope this author continues to write because she is incredible!!!

[Kara Moll · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t know how people rated this so highly. It felt very juvenile in the way it was written. The history at the beginning felt forced and underwhelming. I found the FMC frustratingly annoying and the MMC lacking. The spice was blander than boiled chicken.

[Natalie Hutchens · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book had absolutely no depth to it… there’s no plot or world building, i guessed the ending by the 5th chapter bc it was so predictable and the fact that the story itself was so unimaginative we were told things rather than experiencing them. the whole point of a book is to get immersed so deeply into another world that you feel like your a part of it and this book was just like the first draft of what could’ve been a really cool idea that they accidentally published rather than toss out.

also lowkey a knock off of acotar

[Iman’s Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this one.
On the one hand, I had a good time reading it. I’ve been in a bit of a fantasy slump and haven’t been able to pick up a fantasy book in months, but on the other hand, there were just so many issues.

The book started off a little slow, but I was able to get past that. The problem is that once it picked up, it felt so rushed and ended too quickly in a neat little bow 🎀

I feel like their story should have been done in a two book series, but instead I had to listen to her infatuation with that fugly man child who couldn’t say no to his mommy for the majority of the book 🙄 I hate momma’s boys in real life, and apparently they’re not any better in fiction. I know this was advertised as a love triangle, but it didn’t really give off that vibe because you know pretty much right away that Callum was not the one! I knew the moment she said that he finished and she didn’t.. I mean it’s one thing that some of us have to deal with that shit in real life, but a book boyfriend would never! 😂

Callum made me so angry, and she pissed me off even more for her non-stop crying over him! Like girl, when you told him that his mom tortured you for 52 days straight and killed the closest thing you had to a mother, his solution/punishment for her was to banish her to her vacation home where she would have servants at her beck and call and live her best life? What the actual fuck?!

And all the while, she has the sexy “villain” who’s treated her better in a few months than that dipshit did in 52 years of being together!

He saved her life twice, was willing to sacrifice his power to keep her safe, was kind and always respected what she wanted and opened up and showed her a side of himself that he doesn’t show others, and she still want the Wish version of Tampon?! Be so for real 😒

This man freaking shielded you from having to watch your “love” bang his fiancée to “protect you”. Seems like the only one protecting you is the villain, girly.

She was so frustrating 🙄🙄🙄

Also, there were way too many similarities to ACOTAR:

- He realizes as soon as he sees her that she’s his mate, but she doesn’t know and he doesn’t tell her.

- He’s dreamt about her for years but could never see her face in his mind.

- There’s a shitty man that she’s “in love with” that is just there to annoy us and he’s willing to let her be with him if it truly makes her happy (all while still not telling her about the bond and giving her a choice)

- The shitty man wanting her to be submissive and just do as he says because he needs to “protect her”

- He’s the leader of the Night Realm (Night Court) and it’s seen as the most evil realm by all the other realms

- Bronwen is basically Mor.

- He’s actually really good to his people but allows the rest of the world to view him as a villain.

- He’s a shadow daddy and can “transfer” (Winnowing)

- They can communicate telepathically. (I know this is not exclusive to ACOTAR, but with everything else, I feel like it should be included)

The writing was also pretty amateur & choppy, and probably needs to go through another round of editing.

This definitely deserves a 2⭐️, but I’m being generous because I did enjoy myself with some things and I liked the MMC 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Anna ₊˚⊹♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

No plot whatsoever. I couldn’t tell you what the goal was of this book if you hit me in the face. There’s like 5 separate goals but she’s too caught up in being a mistress?

Not to mention of course she’s mated to the “night realm king” and says I love you to him without knowing him and pushing him away the entire book. Gag me with a spoon.

[Kaila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good. Need the second book now!!!!

[darbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
literally walmart version of acotar 😚

[Mary Ramos · Rating 1 out of 5]

i fear this is one of those “writing has turn into fast fashion” type of book.

[Nicolette K · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this book in one sitting, it was the perfect romantasy formula: a servant-like woman, a morally gray shadow daddy, enemies to lovers / strangers to friends, fated mates, discovering truth, the whole damn lot.

really enjoyed this read and I found myself immediately immersed. it was a really easy read, not a very complicated magic system. kind of reminded me of ACOTAR, like had similar themes / ideas. was not mad at it!

🌶️ spice rating: 2/5
wish there was a bit more! I even felt like Bash could’ve been flirtier or pushed the boundary a bit more but that’s okay.

Interested to see how the second book will be.

[Ash✮⋆˙]

....no comments.

[CursedWitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was good but needed some better editing done to it. spaces & page breakers are in dire need in order to follow the story better

[Ella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Saw this on tiktok and a specific scene enticed me, so I downloaded it. What a mistake. This feels like I'm reading a temu version of A Court of a Thorns and Roses. The main love interest is literally Rhysand, except his name is Sebastian. The writing also feels like it's being written by a 16 year old. There's no flow - the scene will jump randomly from the present time and into a long-winded retelling of the past. Like someone else said, the author "tells" but doesn't "show." There's no visual reading. The characters are bland and have no particular traits that stand out. This book literally has a quote of "tied my dirty blonde hair back... My hair was long with the slightest wave to it, but I hated it. It had always felt so dead to me." What are we saying bro, fucking woe is me. The description of things and characters is so amateur. I genuinely can't read any more. DNF

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t Put It Down—Read It All in One Day!

I first saw this book when the author shared it in a TikTok video, subtly hinting to her husband that she’d written a book.
I was immediately intrigued and downloaded it on Kindle the day it was released. I couldn’t put it down and ended up reading the entire thing in one day—something I don’t think I’ve ever done before!
The story is captivating, the characters are relatable, and the writing is refreshingly engaging. I can’t wait to see what the author writes next. Highly recommend!

[Alyssa (bookish_and_baking) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technically 4.5/5 stars but we can’t do that here.
I devoured this book! As soon as I saw the author opened with a Klaus Mikaelson quote, I was HYPE! And the book matched the quote perfectly! My only gripe was some areas the transition from one scene to another was very jarring and I had to reread an area to see how we ended up at a different location. Sebastian though….. yes… all DAY! Violet was fierce and I loved her!

[Katrina williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book after I watched Lexi’s tiktok I am so glad I did I finished this book in one sitting! I could not put this down

[Natalie Dribusch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did I see the plot twist coming a mile away, yes I did. Was I still smiling and giggling through out the entire book, yes I was!

[mey · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Raisa Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretenido pero esperaba mucho más. Posiblemente continúe para ver si mejora pero tengo la sensación de que las cosas ocurrían demasiado rápido.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Get it here:
Amazon US * Amazon UK

[Luise · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is officially the worst book I read 2025.
I wish I could give 0 stars.

[Ashlyn Althouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75

I see the vision for this book but it didn’t hit the way I was expecting 😓

[Alicja Mis · Rating 3 out of 5]

So imagine, you are at a pub (wetherspoons most likely) and these two drunk lads: Sebastian and Calum are trying to tell you the plot of ACOTAR.
PS. there is a major plot hole left regarding two main characters, not cool