Hunt of Hearts

by Daphne D.H.

Freedom is a lie whispered in gold.

After barely surviving the cursed kingdom of Nordwyn, Alora is dragged into the glittering prison of Solara—a kingdom of riches, masks, and ruthless power.

Stripped of her freedom and tied to the prince who torments her every thought, she’s trapped in a world where hatred is armour and trust can kill.

Tensions rise across kingdoms. Whispers of war spread through the court. And the man she can’t forgive might be the only one who understands the darkness growing inside her.

Survival is a game, and every choice could cost her everything. But the closer they get together, the blurrier the line between enemy and ally becomes.
In a world ruled by lies, caring might be the deadliest mistake of all.

Hunt of Hearts is the second book in a fantasy trilogy filled with betrayal, longing, and twisted alliances. As Alora is pulled deeper into the shadows, the real danger is no longer what’s around her—but what’s waking up inside her.

418 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 25, 2026

Reviews

[Anshika · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOH really is an apt title to this lovely book. It hunts the hearts of its readers. And I couldn't be more glad. The story is impeccable, no plot holes, no problems, no hitches, but what makes it better is the flawless writing. The author writes in such immersive simplicity that it doesn't take even a minute for the reader to be inside the world that Daphne has spun.

There is not a page where the attention of the reader slips from the book to any other thing. One might say, the author is a sorceress. I love Ryu. I just love him.

And honestly? I now Love Horns. I don't want to spoil this for anyone (yet), but I promise this will be a ride. A ride full of love, games, shadows and unexpected pleasure.

I feel any one who loves fantasy HAS to read everything written by Daphne. I for one am eagerly awaiting for the next book.


Daphne always hits the mark — and by that I mean the heart.

This is indeed Hunt of Hearts.

[Lena S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of advanced copy rec’vd from author.

Such a good read and series. Picks right up from book 1 (Shadows of Silver - a solid read as well).

Fast paced with lots of action.

Everything about this was solid - plot, story, characters, storyline..plot twists

The ending…..I really need to know what happens next!!

Thank you Daphne for letting me into your world and being part of your ARC team.

[Kaycee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must Read

I am absolutely obsessed and enjoy emotionally distraught at the same time. I absolutely cannot wait to see where the next book takes us because I need more, I have questions that need answers, and I’m hoping some things can be undone. Since magic and we can fix sad things, right?
You need to add this to your tbr.

[Faiza BEGUM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Street team member review…

Hunt Of Heart by Daphne D.H.

2nd book from The Destiny Of Darkness Trilogy series

Releases 25th May, 2026 in KU & Amazon

HOH absolutely deserver its title—and honestly, even that feels like an understatement.✨📖💫
This book didn’t just leave me wordless… it completely consumed me. I had to literally sit in silence after finishing it, just trying to process everything I had just experienced 😭🫠 It wasn’t even just a “wow” moment—it was overwhelming in the best possible way.

It took me two full days to gather my thoughts, and even now I feel like I still haven’t fully recovered. This is one of those stories that stays with you, lingers in your mind, and keeps replaying scenes over and over again 🎭💭

⚠️ Before anything—YOU HAVE TO READ Silver of Shadows FIRST.
No exceptions. The first book ends on a brutal cliffhanger 😩💔, and this one picks up immediately after—like you don’t even get a moment to breathe before you’re thrown right back into the chaos 🔥

And if you thought the first book was good…
This one is on a completely different level 🚀❤️‍🔥

If you loved book one, then I can say with full confidence:
👉 This WILL become your all-time favorite.
Because it definitely became mine. No doubt. No competition. 🏆📚

Daphne truly outdid herself here. The writing? Flawless. The pacing? Perfect. The emotional depth? Absolutely devastating in the best way.😭✨
Everything is balanced so beautifully—action, tension, mystery, emotions—it just flows effortlessly like you’re living inside the story.

Alora’s journey continues, and it gets so much deeper. You start uncovering truths, secrets, and layers that completely shift your understanding of everything 👀🧩

Every chapter ends with you needing more. You keep telling yourself “just one more chapter”… and suddenly it’s 3am and you’re still not ready to stop 🌙📖

Now let’s talk about Ryu….❤️‍🔥
Because WOW.
He has officially claimed the top spot as my favorite character of all time and I’m not accepting any arguments 😤💖 He’s just everything—the depth, the presence, the impact… unmatched.

I’m not going to spoil a single thing because this is something you NEED to experience firsthand. Trust me, nothing I say will ever fully capture how incredible this book feels when you read it yourself 🙌✨

But just know this:
👉 It will hook you.
👉 It will break you.
👉 And it will leave you wanting more.

And now… here I am…
desperately waiting for book 3 😩📚💔
The wait is going to be unbearable. I already know it.

[titiboh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:
It’s the second book in the Destiny of Darkness series, a fantasy trilogy about self-discovery, betrayal, and a curse that changes everything. With dark twists, shifting alliances, and an enemies-to-lovers slow burn, we follow Alora who lives in a world with lies, while also fighting her own darkness.

Spoiler free review:
The first book was amazing, but this is a whole new level honestly! We start off right at the cliffhanger of book 1, and it takes the story places I never imagined, with twists and turns, tears and laughter at every corner, and my love for each character growing by the pages. If you want a TRUE slow burn enemies-to-allies-to-lovers, this truly delivers. It’s believable, the stakes are high, but it’s also not the sole center which I appreciate, as Daphne has truly created a vast world with history and so much more.

Plot:
We are slowly developing the already existing plot from book 1, with every new twist and reveal just adding to the plot, everything makes sense, you will slap your face because omg this makes so much sense why didn’t I see this coming?! And you really don’t most of the time. Every time a chapter ended, I needed to know more, everything was revealed in a nice tempo, slowly and not just a one-time info dump, making the story very satisfying to read.

Characters:
Ryu is still my absolute baby, he must be protected! Also love the developing relationship between him and Deya, a side story done right! Especially since their story is part of the overall plot, and I can’t wait to see them again next book!
And this time we have another POV, Sylus, who we are finally getting to know more than just his shadowy stalker persona. I LOVED him and Alora’s interactions, the banter, hatred, pity, and developing relationship was so raw and real, and honestly hilarious a lot of the time.

Spoiler review:
The reveal at the END with the curse, had me yelling OF COURSE even though I totally did not see it coming. Every puzzle piece really went into place in this book, almost at least. Alora’s parents, their killer, Sylus’ curse, Ryu’s identity, there’s just not a plothole to be found, very well told and executed. I cannot WAIT for the next book, especially with that ending like WTF girl got me crying and cursing at my screen, looking at my cat like WHAT DOES THAT MEAN (she looked at me very confused lol).

[Tracy Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast paced, actioned packed sequel.

Alora forced into extremely close quarters with her nemesis Sylus, is battling on all fronts. While they’re forced to work together to achieve somewhat of a mutually beneficial objective, Alora begins to realise that maybe not all is as it seems with Sylus.

I’m still a bit undecided about Sylus. We find out about his back story in a lot more detail throughout the chapters. What shaped him into the being Alora knows him to be. I still can’t help but feel like that there’s more to him that we are yet to see. He presented many redeeming qualities in my opinion throughout the chapters, but after that cliffhanger of an ending I’m not quite sure where that leaves him!

Alora continues to learn about her powers. Despite her best efforts to keep them restrained, she finds herself depending on them more and more.

The side characters are as equally intriguing as Alora and Sylus. I absolutely adored the plot line with Deyanira and Ryu. The multiple POVs were brilliant!

I was given an ARC of this book from the author which I really enjoyed!

[D. S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all: This is enemies to lovers done right! Alara and Sylus truly have cause to hate each other after what happened in the first book (and since). Yet the author has crafted a series of situations - forced proximity, having to work together, shared pain and even facing their fears together - that bring them closer in a believable way.

Another aspect I really enjoyed about this book is the found family tripe. While Alara is inadvertently reconnecting with people from her past, Ryu can't help put pick up more and more lost souls along the way.

There are many twists and surprises, and seeing as the last book ended on a cliffhanger, I should have expected something for the end of this one, but still ... I WAS SHOCKED!

[Danni Drummond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hunt of Hearts
The Destiny of Darkness Book 2
By Daphne D.H.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🖤 Fantasy
🪽 Betrayal
🖤 Longing
🪽 Twisted Alliances
🖤 Enemies to ?
🪽 Epic escape and bitter-sweet moments


No, because WDYM you left us with the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers?!

This second instalment of The Destiny of Darkness was a ride filled with tension, growth, unlikely alliances, and longing that burns 🔥
Following the whole group through each of their tasks and even a trial, their battles for survival and so much more!

Daphne you outdid yourself with this one! I absolutely will not rest until the last book is handed over 🖤

Hunt of Hearts releases May 25th 😘🖤

#fantasyreads #huntofhearts #thedestinyofdarkness #bookreview #booktok

[siyaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hunt of Hearts was SO GOOD! It was literally out to hunt MY heart because THE ENDING...I have no words for it. Daphne decided to shatter my heart completely😭😭 PREPARE YOURSELF accordingly. I was hooked from page one. Daphne always has the BEST world-building; it's so immersive! I had such an amazing time reading about Alora again; she's one of my favourite FMCs ever! Her enemies-to-lovers arc with Sylus was SO fun to read; I loved it. Every situation that had them working together, albeit reluctantly, had me giggling and kicking my feet. I also loved reading about Ryu and Deyanira. Their relationship is so pure; I adore it! 😚😚 Thank you so much, Daphne D.H., for providing me with an ARC to review. I cannot WAIT for book three.

[Raeleane · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!! Incredibly impeccable writing!! The second book in The Destiny of Darkness series by Daphne D. H. grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go til the very last word. The characters are all written amazingly well with a lot of depth. They are engaging and easy to become emotionally attached to them. There is plenty adventure, twists and turns and surprises you don't see coming. You find yourself on an emotional rollercoaster throughout the story. Daphne's world building and storyline is fantastical, brilliant, beautiful and magical. The end is a "wait....what?!" moment. I absolutely love this book and absolutely highly recommend reading this book and series.

[Alice Granger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has ripped my heart and soul from my body. It has made me doubt if I'm sane.
I loved it, five stars.
For the fans of dark fantasy and enemies to lovers with a LOT of 'almosts' this book is for you.
I am gonna be crying through the rest of the day, but rest assured I am very happy with my reading decisions.
I am refraining from being more specific because everything that happens in this book is perfect and I don't want to spoil it. This book is even better than the first one and I gave five stars to that one. The bar is high and this book delivers on its promises. Trust me on this one.

[Miryam Drakon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read book one a month or two ago, so I was a little worried going into this because I’d forgotten most of what happened. The beginning felt a bit confusing because of that, but as I kept reading, things started to come back to me and my interest was piqued again.

Overall, it was a solid story, though the ending gave me a bit of whiplash. While this is an amazing series overall, I’m not sure if I’m particularly looking forward to the next installment. At this point, it feels like I might just be continuing it for the sake of finishing the series.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can honestly say I am ready for the next adventure. This book was so good I didn't want it to end. You really get emotionally attached to these characters. There are a lot of twists and turns throughout the story where you think you have everything figured out and then boom you're wrong. The story will make you laugh with there little banter and then feel the hard times that they went through and shed tears for these characters. You really do go through a emotional roller coaster with the story. definitely recommend this book it was so good I cannot wait for the next.

[Angelique Reading Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an emotional roller coaster, I really loved this second book and honestly I had to use tissues while reading it.
Starting it crying, laughing during the reading and again crying while finishing it.
I need to know the end of the story now, I need book 3 to continue this series.
I loved the characters, the story and the writing style of the author, she write so well that we think that we see a film in our head.
Honestly, it was one my favourite books of this year.

[Raven Crow · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me about around three days to finish this book
(If I can count)
And let me tell you all, it is an emotional roller-coaster, FOR SURE!!

Personally, it had everything.
It moved SOS (Shadows Of Silver) down to second place and HOH (Hunt Of Hearts) up to the first place💙
But SOS is very close to first place and still has a special place in my heart💙

What it had:
Romance
Action
Funny moment’s
(Very) Sad Moments too
Angry moments
Shocked moments
And moments where you just want to question everything you learned about a character so far😅

There are moments where I just wanted to throw away the whole thing and cry out in tears, even on the buss, and other times I wanted to jump around and scream out of happiness
(I did it twice☺️)

There were also moments when I wanted to give a character a big hug after everything.
(You’ll know who I mean when you read the book👍🏻)

Yes, it is on a cliffhanger, but hey! It is worth it all💙

I am SOOOO Excited!! For book three to come out💙

I recommend to read Hunt Of Hearts and Shadow Of silver with my whole heart💙
Just a heads up, you need to read Shadows Of Silver before you start on Hunt Of Hearts, if not, I don’t think you gonna understand much who and what all the characters are and dose😁