Of Tainted Heart is the stunning conclusion to the Quatrefoil Chronicles by Olivia Wildenstein and Katie Hoyz. This duology is everything, Of Tainted Heart, was just as amazing as, Of Wicked Blood, the story is filled with magic, romance, trials, deception, curses, and a jaw-dropping mystery.
We're back in the magical village of Brume and the gang is once again facing danger when Candace slips the moonstone ring on and starts a whole new set of magical trials. Candace being the big-hearted perfectionist that she is can't let sleeping dogs lie, she failed at putting her piece of the quatrefoil into the clock so not only did all the people who died from magic didn't get to come back but her father doesn't have use of his legs again and magic is still slumbering. Candace feels like she felled everyone so she takes it upon herself to put the ring on to finish putting her piece in the clock. Little did she know that she was starting a new series of trials that will leave no one unscathed.
However, Candace doesn't have to do it alone the other dwellers (magic holders), Slate, Adrien, and Gaelle are there to help, and not only them this time Alma, Bastion, and even Adrien's father Geoffrey is there to help. The four have more difficult and dangerous puzzles to solve and it's gonna take everyone to get through it. These magical trials, the curses, are traumatic for everyone, and going through something like that, something unique, special (in its own way), and the trauma has bonded them in a way that will be difficult to break. The trials this time around are most definitely more team-centered than individual and it almost seems as if the magic is trying to tell them something, bringing up past events, making the players take a good look at the people around them it was really interesting.
The magic is changing each of the characters making them grow and new sides of the characters are shown. Candace who seems to be the type that needs proof starts to believe, also her rose-colored glasses about people seem to come off. Slate who was detached from pretty much everyone, except for Candace and Bastion, heart grows. Adrien who seems so put together so compassionate, anger is released and he's something other than the mask he wears. Then there is Gaelle, who has been through so much, two attempts at magic (not counting what's happening in this book), the loss of her husband, raising a few children on her own has been so strong, breaks down, releases the pinned-up emotions that she's been carrying. Seems like magic is really turning the players on their heads but it's Slate that really gets me. I love seeing this new side to him, seeing how much he cares about Candace, seeing the connection they have is adorable and seeing him starting to care for others is heartwarming.
I loved the setting of this little village, it provided a very creepy atmosphere that seems like magic would have been possible no matter what and the magic itself was interesting. This time it centered on pieces around Brume like a puzzle and then events occurred that gave the characters a new perspective on the life they knew and the life that could have been. The trials were exciting and the magic so unbelievable, I almost forgot that there was a bit of a mystery revealed in Of Wicked Blood, questioning if someone had been murdered or not. It comes up again in OTH and then things start to connect together, start to make a whole lot of sense until finally the truth is revealed, and what a shocking truth it was. I didn't expect the story to end the way it did for some of the characters. However, I did get my HEA for some and I am happy I did because this is Olivia we are talking about she doesn't give her characters perfect endings but I think this is close as she could have gotten and I love her for it.
I cannot express how much I loved this book. Of Tainted Heart was a wicked conclusion to an epic urban fantasy, emotions were raw, the magic was dangerous, and the bonds were real, Olivia and Katie have done a fantastic job with this duology and I will miss the characters more than I can say.