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If they cannot free themselves from the bindings of an ancient curse, then all is lost...

Lorelei has seen the best and worst of this kingdom. She has fought through armies of the dead, fallen in love with a dragon, and discovered there may be more to her origin than she originally thought. Now, free from the rebellion, she can make her choice for where her life leads. If only that decision was a little easier.

With the eggs now in hand, Abraxas has never seen his life take such a turn for the good. His mate. His family. His future. It's all within his reach and he will stop at nothing to ensure no person ruins that. Unfortunately, the only way to open the box of dragon eggs lies within the hands of a long dead warlock who started all this mess.

Unless, of course, he wasn't dead at all.

New companions follow in their footsteps while Lore and Abraxas fight to remain together. They must unveil the secrets of the past, bring about a new age of dragons, all while falling deeper and deeper in love with each other. But there is still an undead King who wants them killed, and they may find war isn't too far off on the horizon.

522 pages, Paperback

First published July 4, 2022

240 people are currently reading
1624 people want to read

About the author

Emma Hamm

73 books4,517 followers


We all know you don't really care about reading my background. Enjoy Cap instead.

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5 stars
442 (48%)
4 stars
314 (34%)
3 stars
135 (14%)
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18 (1%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
Profile Image for ~ Tara Bezeau ~.
101 reviews25 followers
October 31, 2023
Bahhh I’m a mess of emotions! You know a book is written well when it can make you cry! I am excited to open book 4 and continue this story! Very well written. Also a plus no spelling mistakes!
Profile Image for ruby.
208 reviews74 followers
February 16, 2023
I FREAKING LOVED IT !!!

I have no words to say anything else because my feelings are completely shattered in the end. Is there a way to fix it back together? Yes, there was and that's to continue to read Torn Heart.
Profile Image for DME.
46 reviews29 followers
July 12, 2022
*I was lucky enough to receive an ARC* Book will release July 18th
This book is so many things! A love story, quest/adventure, dragons and other magical creatures, battles, friendships and an amazing continuation of the story from the first two books in the series!!I don't want to give any spoilers away, so there isn't much more I can say except Lore and Abraxas were everything in this book and I will be dropping everything to read the next one the moment it's available!!
Profile Image for Caitlin.
112 reviews5 followers
July 13, 2022
ARC REVIEW

Okay so I really enjoyed the first book, was super excited to read the second when I read the second my heart was disappointed due to the reservations of Lore towards Abraxas which is legit real life and I get it. Tons of adventure and action, nothing wrong with that. I just find free 3 books I wanted more romance and loving than what was given. I also just feel like I wish the series was over already. Not that it is a bad series but for me my interest has wandered to other stories. Definitely read if you love super slow burn barely any spice but a whole lot of actions, plot development, character development and of course a continual play of who is gonna really end up on top!
Profile Image for Janice Mahn.
271 reviews2 followers
April 8, 2023
Continuation of the overall plot. With a twist at the end. Dragons and elves. Prophecies, fantasy, magic love it!
Profile Image for Valerie.
519 reviews
August 6, 2025
I hate it when a book makes me want to cry with anger and devastation.
Profile Image for Marisa.
898 reviews1 follower
April 29, 2024
Ok, I’m really glad I continued reading because that whole thing with Draven in the beginning annoyed me so much I almost stoped. Anyways— I loved it. I cried a lot at the end but it was worth it.
Profile Image for Chey  .
149 reviews1 follower
September 18, 2022
The Dragon of Umbra series is unlike any fantasy series I’ve read before. After Brightheart, I knew Emma Hamm would be an instant-buy for me. In fact, I bought ALL of her other books on my kindle afterwards. Emma spins golden fantasy stories that are enchanting and not too complicated. There are always twists and turns, but you don’t have to take active notes to follow the plot. I love how memorable the characters all are. Brave heart made me scream at the end, so there’s that, too. I cannot wait to see what happens in torn heart.
Profile Image for Laura.
740 reviews3 followers
July 23, 2022
This story took me longer to read, mainly because life got in the way, but when I tell you this book was heartwarming I'm not kidding. (Minus the end, Emma Hamm really crushed me with that one).
It is a book that is very character driven, taking it's time to deal with Abraxas' dragon eggs, as well as revealing just how deep Lore's role for the rebellion would need to be.
It also showed us more of worldbuilding and the intricate details the author managed to add even if just in passage. I'm deadly curious about the witch coven, and could read a whole book about it. I also was really surprised with the turn Hamm decided to go with the warlock, it was quite refreshing not having another enemy.
With that aside, I really missed having more scenes with the side characters we grew so familiar. The story was very centered in Lore and Abraxas, which I didn't mind, I just wanted more of the others. Although I will say that I guessed that someone betrayed them (I still think it's Beauty, even if she acted less suspicious on this book. I'm forever curious to find one who it was).
This book though made me tearful plenty of times, especially with how cute those baby dragons were and their bond with Lore. But in all honest, Abraxas' bond with Lore is quite a beautiful to see, he is so romantic, I could read him talking about her and their wee dragons for ages. I have to say though: I need a scene of Abraxas just hugging and cuddling the babies. I need it!
Also, the sex scene? It wasn't so spicy, as tiktok would say, being very elegant and romantic, but I just thought it was so HOT . I'm blaming Abraxas calling Lore love, my heart can not deal with it.
As for the ending, I was not expecting Hamm actually pulling the prophecy, and I know Lore will be back, but my heart still broke with it. What I do wonder is to where the story is going to go, since we got the baby dragons, and the king was defeated... I'm forever anxious waiting for the next book!
Profile Image for Rachel.
2,352 reviews132 followers
July 18, 2022
The hunt is on in Brave Heart, the third installment in Emma Hamm's The Dragon of Umbra series. This was a fantastic read full of adventure and danger as Lore and the gang try to find a way to break the curse on the box that holds the last baby dragons. It's a dramatic love story of epic proportions.


This was my book. Things between Lore and Abraxas are great, the two are finally on the same wavelength with only minor bumps in the road. I mean Abraxas was always totally devoted to Lore but now she's right there with him. They're so good together, are more expressive with each other, and are comfortable (for the most part) in their relationship. I swooned with these two, it just took so long for them to get to this point and the tender moments between the two are sweet.


The usual ragtag gang of Beauty and Goliath are on this journey but Zephyr (the king's half-brother) has joined the group along with a certain dark elf. This group has been through a lot and goes through even more in this one. They are bonded now, like family. They argue, defend, and care about each other. Goliath is still a trip and Beauty has gotten a little bossy. Zephyr is coming out of his shell, while Draven is learning the world. Each and every single one of them is growing, Abraxas's humanity is growing and even Lore is becoming more comfortable with who she is and maybe who she was meant to be. Kinda seems like fate.


Not only did this book have amazing characters but the plot was awesome, with curses, prophecies, and dark magic abounding. There were new places, like a city filled with magic and a building keeping secrets. There were a few new supernaturals including witches who have a mythos I've never come across but seems fitting. My favorite part was meeting two new characters that absolutely warmed my heart. Zander is undead and maybe even more dangerous than before he's out there and he's plotting but so is Lore.


I loved (almost) every moment of Brave Heart, it warmed my fantasy-loving heart. With tons of magic, a few shocking surprises, and heartwarming moments. It started with an epic road trip (high fantasy style) to break a curse and ended with an unbelievable battle. WTF was that ending? It was soul-crushing. There were tears, so many tears and I don't know how any of it can be fixed. The end is near and the final book in the series is sure to be filled with magic, danger, and I just hope for an happy ending.
Profile Image for Karina.
130 reviews88 followers
October 27, 2023
“You are my heart, Lore. I have no fear of what comes after life for me, but for you? I would follow you across the stars to find an ounce of your soul.”

Probably has to be the best book thus far in the series!

Book 3 starts right after the ending of book 2 where we find out the warlock who helped the former King place the curse on the eggs is still alive and was last seen in a city called Lux Brumalis. As expected, things aren't what they seem and Lore ends up making another very idiotic decision that almost kills her and gains nothing in return.

There's a lot more traveling in this book similar to book 2 but SPOILER ALERT:

Romance was heavy in this book and we also finally got some smut. From what I remember there was only one scene but multiple suggestions. AND probably the biggest thing is this ends in a cliffhanger so you'll probably want to have the next book loaded up.

Abraxas is still the best character in the series. He's just a dragon, with a lotta love to give and I absolutely love him. The way he loves Lore?? Wish that was me

“You will live for me, Lady of Starlight. Brave Heart. You are the source of my madness, my torment. May all the gods have mercy on your enemies because I will unleash a fire upon them that will burn their souls for daring to touch you.”
Profile Image for Kelsey Monteath.
100 reviews
July 5, 2023
Easiest five stars I have ever given in my life. I have read three of this series so far and this is the only five stars that I have given so far. I was annotating this one on my kindle as well, which I will be getting the physical versions of them. I have already requested them as presents for my birthday / christmas. This is soon becoming one of my favourite series!

I will give no spoilers, but the last couple chapters in this book broke my heart. It left me shattered and mortified and picking up the pieces and let me tell you, if I wasn't in the middle of a readathon right now I would be straight onto the next book.

If you have read the first two books you know that this book is the queen of slow burns. I mean in the second book I got giddy because the characters sat next to each other, but I think this is what makes this book five stars. You have gone through so much with these characters and shared their trauma and experiences, that when you reach this point you are kept on the edge of your seat hoping for only good things the whole time.

The last 1/4 of this book I annotated the shit out of. I didn't think it was something I would be interested in until I experienced it. I can't really say much else without going into spoilers, but omg I am so excited for the next book!
Profile Image for Jennys_library.
420 reviews19 followers
August 10, 2022
Brave Heart by Emma Hamm is book 3 of the Dragon of Umbra series and by far the best one! It picks up right after book 2. Lore and her group continue on their quest for the freedom of magical creatures. While doing this Lore must decide if prophecies are set in stone or are they just a single path in the many that she could choose.

Without giving too much away, this book introduces you to new characters some of which you'll love and some you'll hate or are unsure of! The imagery that I get from the witches' wardrobes...love!!!

There is more spice in this one than the first 2 (none..major slow burn), there's plot expansion, more magical creatures, character development and moments that will tear your heart apart. The chosen family aspect of this book is incredible. Their bond is so touching and there is humor in their relationship. Lastly it's an epic adventure with lots of action! Book 4 can't come fast enough!

Quote:
"I am ruination and the end of the world as you know it"

Go check out my IG @jennys_library
Profile Image for Jennifer.
81 reviews1 follower
October 19, 2022
I can sum up my love for this series in one short passage (no spoilers):

-------------

"If you’re interested in meeting me at midnight.” His jaw might have unhinged, but he stammered, “That’ll do.” “Then I’ll see you later tonight.” He swore she flashed a small smile in his direction before disappearing behind the door painted with rays of silver moonlight. Abraxas controlled his reaction as he walked into his room with the painting of a dragon, and then carefully closed himself inside. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

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Abraxas, Emma Hamm has a life long fan in me just because of him. He is the perfect mix of sweet cinnamon roll and "touch her and I WILL kill you...slowly" when the situation calls for it and I absolutely love it. Although the ending to this book HURT and I need December to get here faster for book 4.

There is spice finally, but not much. Unlike the other books I enjoyed Lore a lot more, she has some great character growth.
Profile Image for Emily G.
524 reviews25 followers
September 14, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The way I thought this book was going to drag but it actually ended up destroying me 🫠🫠

“I would follow you across the stars to find an ounce of your soul.”

The only reason I am not giving this 5 stars is because for the first half of this book I felt as though I had been waiting for something to happen for 2 books and it still had not. I felt it was dragging and I would indefinitely be disappointed.
Boy was I wrong.

This book destroyed me and I felt such a strong connection to Abraxas and Lore also. I was internally screaming and I actually find myself more excited for the next book than I have for any of the others.

“You have me,” Lore whispered, curling her fingers around the edge of the shell. “You will never have to be afraid of the world again because I will tear the stars down from the sky if you need me to.”

We love a strong female lead on this account. And we love a morally grey love interest just as much
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Katt Faëhart.
294 reviews1 follower
January 11, 2023
WHAT is that cliffhanger!?

Anyhooo

I love Lore and Albraxas...

Idk how to explain it but them suddenly being parents was kinda...no. I guess since they've barely had time for themselves and i really would've wanted more time with them being together.
It kinda felt like the sudden pregnancy trope even tho i knew the eggs were going to hatch sometime. It just felt sudden. Maybe i just wasn't ready. I mean i did knoooww they we're going to hatch the eggs together but i was like "oh shit it's happening?!"
So this is probably just me not wanting it to happen yet.


That cliffhanger tho....

Just WHY Emma... WHYYY? My poor heart. I was crying. But everything will be oky.. it has to be. There's one more book and Lore and Abraxas better have a happy ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for °˖✧˚lindsay˚✧˖°.
567 reviews21 followers
February 6, 2024
First of all, this is the best one yet. Second of all, how dare you.

Also, strange bits:
“Let the sun rise” rebel cry turns into “Until the dawn comes” out of nowhere.
It’s an improvement, yes, but not a discussed change at all. As if we’re meant to forget 2 1/2 books of let the sun freaking rise. Which never made any sense in the first place. It rises everyday to illuminate their oppression.

She casually states that all her power has been unlocked. When? How? What does that imply is possible now? What does your power do besides provide a sudden knowledge of shielding? Throw the character in the library for a paragraph or something instead of inferring she’s learned something new out of nowhere.
Profile Image for Andra.
1,046 reviews16 followers
July 12, 2022
Book 3 in The Dragon of Umbra series

Dragons...Dragon Eggs...Elves...Prophecy...
Love...Sacrifice...Loss...

This book is slower-paced than the previous, but oh my gosh! So many emotions; my feelings took a roller coaster ride with me loving every minute of it! Even though the pacing was slower, it was filled with important detailed adventures. Once again strong character development/growth and detailed world building.

Fighting for the dream of hope. Battle looming. Together.

"You know a dragon's fire burns hotter for those he loves."
"We all walk in the footsteps of heroes."
"Until the dawn comes."

Can hardly wait for book 4
2 reviews1 follower
July 16, 2022
If you haven’t already read Fire Heart, you need to start there. If you’ve already read the other books then you know: Emma’s stories just keep getting better!!
Lore & Abraxas’ tale continues as they pursue saving the dragon eggs and confronting the king.
Each conflict encountered along this page-turning journey left me feeling quite strongly in some kind of way (I hate those witches), and even caused me to reflect upon my own knee-jerk responses to the situations and re-evaluate my thought process. Nyx & Hyperion stole my heart, then the tale finishes with a gut-wrenching ugly cry and the candle of hope for the next book.
I’m super excited and already counting down the days until Torn Heart comes out!
Profile Image for Lucy.
40 reviews9 followers
Read
October 13, 2023
I think I loved it? I like the fact that Lore finds it difficult to accept her fate up until the end, that it doesn't come naturally to her. There's something missing with her though that I can't put my finger on, but it prevents me from loving her character 100%. I did wonder at one point if the plot could've been smaller; it's taken some time to get to this point. The absence of the King for the majority of this book made him less scary. I also find the absence of dragon babes near the end seemed unconnected to the earlier plot. All in all a good read, thank you Emma.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kate.
217 reviews5 followers
July 17, 2022
Brave Heart picks up where Bright Heart ended. This was such a great follow up book! The pace flowed really well and there wasn’t a lot of unnecessary parts. I loved that we got a better look into some of the witches. There of course was more adventures with this group and action as well!! The ending had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what was going to happen. And the epilogue had me dying! How could you do this Emma?!?! I’m so excited for the next book!!! I cannot wait!!!
Profile Image for Kali Dempsey.
2,222 reviews60 followers
July 23, 2022
4/5 ⭐️
2/5 🌶️

This was an action packed addition to the Dragon of Umbra series. There were a ton of surprising and exciting moments and the slow burn finally caught fire and it was amazing (although I do wish we got more). It was a little slower paced between the action and a chunk of a book, but I loved it from beginning to end, even with that massive cliffhanger. It was such a roller coaster and I can't wait for more.
Profile Image for Adélie.
339 reviews
August 18, 2022
I loved this book. Such a great story.
I was however really disappointed by Zeph basically fading into the background. It felt like his character development was put on the back burner.
But it is still such a great story and I’m not gonna spoil it all I will say is I haven’t cried this hard reading the final chapters of a book in a long time.
Omg I just found out there is going to be another book after that! Phew! I don’t think I could have lived a normal life after an ending like that lol
Profile Image for Adrienne.
300 reviews5 followers
October 28, 2022
I Cried So Hard! I really, really tried my best to prolong ending this book until my preorder for Torn Heart arrives in December but.. I just had to finish it! This was probably a better installment than the first two in the series. It had a lot more magic, love, adventure, and that battle scene in the end was amazingly done. I felt courageous along with Lore. It was done really well. Now, I need the next book to cope with all this crying because that ending really broke my heart. 😭
Profile Image for Esther.
678 reviews2 followers
January 2, 2023
So good

I did not see that ending coming and I loved it so much. I hated it and loved it. This was a great series, great storyline. My only issue was after the magic city. Really, you're going to disappear for 3 days and just leave your friends hanging? That felt like it didn't fit in the story and went against the characters personalities.
*spice scenes, sweet but still descriptive.
Profile Image for Bethany.
1,339 reviews
April 6, 2023
I enjoyed the book and I'm actually really appreciative of the fact the plot that started in book 1 actually didn't go on for 5 books. I am laughing at myself, though, as I was saying in book 2 I felt like the side characters were a little shallow. In this book there's some foreshadowing and I was UPSET by the end of the book! How dare Emma Hamm do that to me! Not a unique situation, but definitely made me realize I'm more attached to these characters than I thought at first. The end of the book is a cliffhanger, but a cliffhanger in a way you know the next book will be okay. I thought what happened was interesting and not what I expected.
Profile Image for Ruth Hinojos.
374 reviews4 followers
July 7, 2022
Uff este libro estuvo desgarrador, me hizo sentir tantas cosas, realmente un gran libro de esta gran serie.

Gracias Emma por darme la oportunidad de leer esta copia avanzada.

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Uff this book was gut wrenching, it made me feel so many things, really a great book in this great series.

Thank you Emma for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.
Profile Image for Lora - My_last_writes .
160 reviews1 follower
July 22, 2022
What a come back!!!

I loved the expansion of Umbra, to Lux Brumalis, to the Hall, the Gloaming! I loved all of it!

It's rare to find a book that takes you through all the emotions but Brave Heart had it all, such a roller-coaster.

I do wish we could have stayed and explored a little longer in Lux, the hall and on the beach.

Thankyou Emma for an arc, I can't wait to read Torn heart
Profile Image for Emma Reece.
165 reviews12 followers
January 18, 2023
Okay but the last line??? HELP.

Sometimes long series like this one get tiresome or repetitive after a while but these books seem to just continue to suck you right back into the world like you never left. So excited to keep reading!!!

SPOILER BELOW….
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Guys baby dragons oh my god 😭😭😭😭😍😍😍😍
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Antoinette Lewis.
802 reviews20 followers
October 20, 2023
What would you donif there was a prophecy that foretold your destiny that included your death and destruction of many.

I enjoyed the striggle of Lore. I didn't like that she didn't go down in the dungeons to see if Margaret had freed the prisoners.

I didn't liked that this book ended with Goliaths death and no one rescuing the dwarves below or to see if any lived or survived the dark spirits the king sent.

Now that the king is death who is the enemy. Where did he learn those evil spells or got thise powers from.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews

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