Heartache

The Twenty-Sided Sorceress #5

by Annie Bellet

Gamer and sorceress Jade Crow's psychotic ex-boyfriend shows up for a final showdown, and nothing in Wylde will ever be the same.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic, Romance, Shapeshifters, Paranormal Romance

248 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 2015

About the author

Annie Bellet is a full-time speculative fiction writer. She holds a BA in English and a BA in Medieval Studies and thus can speak a smattering of useful languages such as Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Welsh.

Her books include Avarice (Pyrrh Considerable Crimes Division: Book 1), The Gryphonpike Chronicles series, and the Twenty-Sided Sorceress series.

Her interests besides writing include rock climbing, reading, horse-back riding, video games, comic books, table-top RPGs, and many other nerdy pursuits.


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Reviews

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 5 out of 5]

🎲 A Let's Play Dice with the Slightly Awesome Crow Sorceress Buddy Read (LPDwtSACSBR™) with the MacHalos of Mischief and Mayhem (aka M³) 🎲

➽And the moralssss of this reread are:

① Bloody shrimping hell, I must be getting disgustingly emotional and pathetically sensitive in my old age, because I don’t remember my black, withered heart being so ridiculously affected by this story the first time I read it.



Ew. How revoltingly distasteful indeed.

② This book survived being reread alongside Burn for Me. AND retained its 5-star rating. This should tell you something. Yes, this definitely should.

③ “Control-Z, motherfucker.” HA! Yeah yeah yeah, I already posted this quote in my original review. And your point is?

Until next time. Return pronto with more Jade Crow scrumptiousness I shall.





[Original review: January 2016]

To the Silly People who rated this low only because of the cliffhanger ending:



Besides, if you think this is a cliffhanger from hell, wait till you read Dreamfever. You probably won't survive that one. Not that I'd want you to die or anything. Just think of it as a friendly warning. You're welcome.

Okay, I'm still in "my reviews keep getting shorter as this series keeps getting cooler" mode, so let's cut the crap, shall we? Well if you asked nicely I guess I could do an amazing recap of all the amazing instalments in this series. It wouldn't take much of your time. Only about a day or two, you know. No? Are you sure? It really would be no problem for me. At all. Still not interested? Well I guess it's back to cutting the crap then. Oh well.



This is your last chance, are you really sure about this? Like, really really REALLY sure? OH FINE. Just trying to be helpful here, no need to get so violent. Sheesh, you people are unbelievable most times sometimes.

So what you have to do now is take the combined awesomeness of Jade Crow 1-2-3-4 ♫Come on baby, say you love me♫ ← the first person who knows what this is about gets a very special prize, and add:

💥 Psycho ex-lover smackdown, part 1.
💥 Sword shoes (think shoes dropping + sword of Damocles and stuff).
💥 3-in-1 goddesses. These ancient deities here give the word multitasking a whole new meaning.
💥 Super-cool, awesomesauce fights.
💥 Trading hearts. Not in a creepy mushy/lovey-dovey way, thankfully enough. We're talking about actual, bloody hearts here. Because, yes, there is a God, and yes, He loves me.
💥 Break my heart, why don't you? So cruel, Annie Bellet. And so cool.
💥 ♫ I believe I can fly ♫
💥 Mind-Tess (I know you have no idea what this means, but you can only blame yourselves here. Is it my fault if you're so clueless you haven't read this series yet? Didn't think so. So stop complaining).
💥 Voldemort references.



And because I'm in a good mood today, I'll throw in a Awesome Jade Crow Awesome Quote (AJDAQ™), free of charge:

“Control-Z, motherfucker.”

Short and to the point. Damn, damn, damn, I love this girl SO MUCH.

And that's pretty much it. See? I told you I'd get this over with in no time.

➽ And the moral of this non-review is: addicted to this series I might be. Soldier on I shall.



• Book 1: Justice Calling ★★★★
• Book 2: Murder of Crows ★★★★
• Book 3: Pack Of Lies ★★★★
• Book 4: Hunting Season ★★★★★
• Book 6: Thicker than Blood ★★★★
• Book 7: Magic to the Bone ★★★★
• Book 7.5: Harper's Tale ★★★★
• Book 8: Dungeon Crawl ★★★
• Book 9: River of No Return ★★★★
• Book 10: Balancing the Scales ★★★★

[Kim Power · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartache and not much else

I was so looking forward to this novel as I expected it to be the climax of the series. Instead, it ends on an appalling cliff hanger in the middle of the ultimate battle with Samir. There was no character development in this novel, just murder and mayhem with no outcome. I found it extremely unsatisfying and it does smack of drawing out the series for the sake of $$$. I will buy the next one because I need to find out what happened, but if there is another cliff hanger, I won't be buying another one.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG -- the cliffhanger of all cliffhanger ending. DAmmit.

[Maraya21 (The Reading Dragon) · Rating 5 out of 5]

🎲 My Magic 8Ball Says: BR This Now with the MacHalo Asylum loonies 🎲







Original start date: November 6, 2017
Put On Hold: June 28, 2018
Restarted on: March 13, 2019

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars... This one certainly lived up to it's name... My heart was definitely broken by the end... Samir finally comes to challenge Jade to the ultimate showdown and leaves a wake of devastation in his path... So many poignant losses and an ending that is truly heartbreaking... Annie Bellett takes her characters on an emotional journey that leaves every opportunity for them to become empowered moving forward... I, for one, am looking forward to their redemption and Samir's downfall:)

[Elena Linville-Abdo · Rating 4 out of 5]

 Stars: 5 out of 5.

Oof, this was an emotional punch of a book. After four books of dreading the appearance of Samir and training for that eventuality, Jade's homicidal ex is finally  here and now we understand just why Jade fears him so much. To say that he wipes the floor with our protagonist is an understatement. All that training, all those hours Jade spent working on a strategy to defeat him... and he just crushes her. And it seems so effortless, like there was never even a doubt in the outcome of this particular fight.

This is definitely a low point for Jade and her found family, so it was a hard book to read. We got to watch Jade try again and again to face off against an opponent that was out of her league... and fail miserably, losing more and more people she cared along the way. The final battle was heartbreaking to read. 

I honestly don't now where this series will be headed after this, but I am hoping that this is the low point in Jade's story, because honestly, how much lower can you get? So she will pull herself together, do some hard introspection, and start climbing back out of that hole. Oh, and finally kill Samir. Yes, that. Pretty please.

Well, I'm off to read the next book in the series!

[Angie ~aka Reading Machine~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jade Crow is waiting for the other shoe to drop on her. Jade is sick of waiting for Samir to strike. But when an unexpected snow storm starts calling people Jade feels needs protecting. Jade starts to worry something bad is going to happen very soon. Jade wasn't prepared for Samir to nonchalantly walk into her store like he owned the place. Samir has known where Jade been for the last five years. Samir is interested in Jade since her power appears to have gained in the last few months. Jade is unsure what to make of the revelations Samir puts before her. Will Jade the final showdown with Samir? Will those that Jade cares about be harmed? Your answers await you in Heartache.

This series keeps getting better with each book. The characters and story are really growing and changing through out the whole book. I'm enjoying this series very much. Looking forward to my next adventure in this series.

[Rakki · Rating 2 out of 5]

As depressing as Game of Thrones

My problem with this book is the lack of an ending. There is no resolution of any kind. The story just stops. This book is so very dark. It feels like each page is more depressing than the last. There is no hope, no victory thats hidden and hinted at. The most likely outcome is worse than if the bad guy wins outright. This is supposed to be book 5. Feels like book 1. Jade is pretty much useless in this story which just makes it all worse. This is one of the rare times I feel like my $ was stolen. Maybe book 6 gives some form of closure but its not here. Normal cliffhanger endings arent as bogus as this one.

[Charlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loss....

This is the 5th book for Jade Crow.She has lost people in the past that were never really mentioned in books.This time there are 2 characters that have been with her since the 1st book.And in this loss I felt for Jade,even though she is a fictionalized character(sorcerer).

She starts out being blamed for murder,then an acquaintance gets murdered,her store burns down.Not counting the loss of her 2 close friends.

It's just a bad time all the way around for her.

I'm looking forward to the next book.

[Elinor · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Leather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This fifth episode disappointed me: the heroine is only subjected to events, the storyline is sorely lacking in inventiveness, the author kills a secondary character only for drama, and the book ends on a caricature cliffhanger.

[Karsyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARGH that ending!!

This series is so enjoyable and really gaining speed. Gotta dive into the next one now!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are clever and geeky. <3

[Anthea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dang epic cliffhanger...

I am enjoying this series, although the books are very short with one heck of a cliffhanger at the end of this one which hasn't happened with the previous books, grrr.
The spelling mistakes and grammar errors in the ebooks also irked me somewhat, double grrr.

[Bookmom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jade knew this day was coming and she’s been practicing magic like crazy. The sorcerer she’d escaped from so long ago has found her and is having fun tormenting and killing the people around her. Jade wants nothing more than for the people she cares for to leave town and let her fight Samir by herself, but hey, her friends have other ideas.

I’m really torn on this 5th book. The writing is good as are the situations, tension and actions. Samir makes an even scarier threat than I imagined he would. Jade pulls some new interesting tricks out of a hat, but the way she does it doesn’t come across so much like a Mary Sue. And all of the characters we’ve come to care about are on hand and affected by the happenings. So I’d give this 4 stars for that aspect of the book.

But this appears to be a 2-book story and we’re left in a place guaranteed to make you want to get the next book to see just how she’s going to defeat this guy; which I would imagine would have to be wrapped up in the next book coming out in June. It’s rather frustrating since the prior books each carried the back story along while wrapping up the immediate threat being faced.

I’m wondering if a reader of this series waited, if these apparently last 2 books in the series wouldn’t be released as 1 book in the future.

[Leah Speller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this one was the hardest to read of all. Not because of the writing but because of the story itself. Facing one's nemesis is never easy and I don't think you really are never truly prepared for it. This is probably why it was so difficult. I believe I hit my pillow a lot during this book. Since I could not throw my kindle across the room like I would a book when I get angry at the villan...well...there you have it.

Now, this is where I want to be angry with publishers. Why do they put out these books that are so damn short in a series when...wait I know the answer. I guess a 500 page or more book would be daunting to some. I am just devouring these books and I am already starting to read the next one. I cannot imagine having to wait for each of these to come out. Well, happy reading!!!

[Jim Stojkov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another nice novella

I really love Annie's writing, her style and her humor. I'm hooked on the series. But, I gave this story 3 stars because almost all of the books in this series are novellas. They are not full books, but they are charging full book price. Great for the author but really screwing the readers. Each of these books are about 1/3 of normal novel length. Good short stories, but could either be fleshed out more or combined.

This novella in particular doesn't even leave on a cliffhanger so much as completely ending the story right at the climax. I have a couple of other complaints but i'll keep them to myself.

[Ezri K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I really do like the story this particular book/novella left off with as if it was in the middle of the book. There wasn't even a full story arch to it like there had been with the others. As much as I had looked forward to the installment it left me wishing I had just waited to read it when the next one came out. There was also a lack of proofreading that needed done but got neglected.
Overall it is a good story. For those who are looking to read it, my recommendation is to wait for the next one to come out first. That way it would be less of a drop off and wait with it.

[Αταλάντη Ευριπίδου · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting this to be the big throw down, but it mostly felt like a filler. Samir as a character makes absolutely no sense to me. He is evil with evil plans and full of evil evilness but there was no purpose behind what he did, his actions were almost random. Overall, not a bad novella, but a somewhat lazy one, in my opinion. I trully hope the next book in the series will be better.

[Mark Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow just wow

Man that was good, why did it have to end, and now I have to wait for the next one.

If you'd already read the other 4, just skip the reviews and read the book. Go, and read now.

Go on.

[Debbie Gascoyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gah. You begin to feel exploited when it seems this novella is short for the sake of having a wolloping cliffhanger and making us wait for the next one. Of course I'll read the next one, but am beginning to feel cynical about any expectations of a conclusion.

[Kaj Samuelsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, couldn't put it down. I read it in one go.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Yup cliff-hanger...

[Katie K · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!!

Everything has been leading up until this moment! ...and that ending O.O

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartache, Desperation, Frustration, oh my!

I'm already a fan of Annie's writing style and this urban fantasy series. Heartache is the 5th book and aptly titled. I should stress that the books in this series need to be read in order to understand the plotline.

I downloaded the narration by Folly Blaine for my Kindle. However, I ended up listening to most of the story through Audible rather than reading it. I like the way Folly reads the narrative, it's good. The story is told from Jade Crow's perspective and Folly's performance mirrors our protagonist's personality. However, Folly has a very limited number of accents or voices. Many of the characters sounded the same, making scenes with more dialogue than narrative harder to follow.

The plot in this book felt less full of hope and lighter moments. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the tension of waiting for Samir to strike or the feeling of "out of the frying pan and into the fire." Plus of course Annie is really good at writing dynamic fight scenes, especially those with magic. I was definitely holding my breath a lot. However, I missed being uplifted. Plus it ends on a rather depressing cliffhanger which is why I've sulkily rated Heartache 4-stars not 5. However, there are still geeky references and nerdish quotes sprinkled throughout this book that warmed my heart and put a smile on my face.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Heartache,” the fifth book in the bestselling Twenty-Sided Sorceress urban fantasy series, opens in the small town of Wylde, Idaho. The protagonist is Jade Crow who lives a quiet life running her comic book and game store in Wylde. After twenty-five years fleeing from a powerful sorcerer who wants to eat her heart and take her powers, she has comfortably settled in a small quiet town with other non-humans. The story opens with many of Jade’s friends being called out of town for one reason or another. Eventually, our protagonist gamer and sorceress Jade Crow's psychotic ex-boyfriend Samir shows up for an epic showdown, and nothing in Wylde will ever be the same.

This Urban fantasy series was better than I expected, and it had good character development. I was especially drawn to Jade, a Sorceress who is learning her powers, as well as some of her geeky friends. The characters are growing and evolving as the series continues. The pacing from the last few of books continues escalate in “Heartache.” The plot was good, and it continues to improve with each story as the characters develop. The action leads to a somewhat unsatisfying climax; actually “Heartache” ends on what seems to be a cliffhanger. So on to the next in the series: “Thicker Than Blood.”

[matthew beers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly of all the books up to this point, this one was the hardest to read and I found myself forcing it just to get to the end of it which, to say the least, for me was quite disappointing and lacked much of a resolution or end. Seemed more like a serial show that ends a season on a cliff hanger which, to be honest, I don't like in a book. I don't want to feel forced or "enticed" to read the next one because the author could not come up with a better ending that at least ends on a closed ending, regardless if it means a positive or negative note. It seems like it was leading into something else and for that reason I honestly lost interest in reading more. Almost as though it should be an end to a chapter of a longer book. If I had not bought the first books in omnibus form, I probably wouldn't have the books that follow.

I'll probably give a chance to the rest of the series because for the most part Annie Bellet has done well to keep me reading. of course you probably cant' really skip this volume to read the whole series but I think it's best to be honest about how I feel about this one.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another reviewer said it better than I could, and while I can't find the review again to give them credit I can paraphrase. These books are like TV episodes where you get a little bit of the bigger picture in each book in addition to a new mystery to solve.
I really wanted to like this series, but I have no desire to read any more of them, which is a shame because this one ends on one heck of a cliffhanger.
My biggest issues are Jade and the way the plot is unf0lding. Jade's character keeps seesawing back and forth. One moment, she makes progress in her personal growth, the next minute she is once again lying about what the actual plan is and then scrambling to pick up the pieces of the mess it makes. It's frustrating to see a strong character make flaky choices.
I'm also over the whole Samir plot...I have a feeling there are big twists in the future books, but I'm annoyed that it has taken this long to make progress on that arc. Maybe I'll feel differently after I let it set for a while, but while I enjoyed the short, quick books before, now I want more substance.

[Heather Rainwater-Alvarado · Rating 2 out of 5]

Humor and Sarcasm are the concrete that hold this story together. I still enjoy these aspects; however I was left extremely disappointed with this book. Regrettably, this is the most predictable story in the series this far. "Heartache" suffers the most from the lack of extended explanations. Even the action scenes are short and lacking. The title of the story is very appropriate and beautifully summarizes the story in one word. It adequately portrays to the reader what they can expect when reaching the non-existant conclusion to this book - heartache. There really is no ending, and as I said in my subject for this review, this is more of a bridge between books than what I would actually classify as a book in this (or any) series. I will keep reading the series because of how far I've gotten because at this point my interest is more stubbornness and faint hope the series will come to a solid conclusion and my time spent will not have been in vain.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gamer and sorceress Jade Crow's psychotic ex-boyfriend shows up for a final showdown, and nothing in Wylde will ever be the same.

Heather's Notes
Given the dedication at the beginning of this book, the author should not be the least surprised if this book is not well liked. First she kills off several people (Steve, Max, Harper??). I think Harper may be back, she just implied she was dead. Also, the book ends with a major cliffhanger - Harper - she she dead or not? There is also no showdown, there is just Jade running around, trying to save people and failing. I looked at the series and it looks like the next few book are her and Samir's showdown. I am not really sure I want to read more books about it. I would like to read one book and be done. I don't know if I will go further in this series or not.