Review: A Matter of Heart (#2, Fate) by Heather Lyons

My Thoughts

Honest, heart-rending and enthralling.
A well written sequel that made everything feel so completely real. The pain, the heartache, the sadness, the desperation, the love and even the elation… I felt it so completely. This has become one of my favorite series of all time!

• Related Posts: My review of A Matter of Fate (#1), My review of Beyond Fate (#1.5),  6-Star Books, Fate series reading order page

Synopsis

No longer in high school, Chloe Lilywhite is now living and working in Annar, the Magicals’ city-state plane of existence. Since moving, she’s joined the Council, gone on missions with the Guard, moved into her own apartment, and enrolled at the University of Annar. Plus, she’s happily engaged to be married to Jonah Whitecomb, the literal man from her dreams, not to mention her Connection. While she still struggles with aspects of her craft, Chloe feels like she’s finally coming into her own, especially after a difficult year that had her questioning nearly everything in her life.

After a brutal attack by the Elders, her life is turned upside down once more. Accusations fly throughout the Council and Guard, forcing Chloe to confront her worst fears about what’s she’s capable of as a Creator. And then there’s the matter of Kellan Whitecomb, Jonah’s twin brother and Chloe’s ex, who resurfaces after disappearing months before. Although Chloe chose Jonah, and despite their best efforts, the two find it hard to stay away from one another.

But no matter what Fate throws at her, Chloe is determined to take charge of her life, even as it begins to spiral out of control.

My Review

This series may actually kill me. I’m talking physical pain, catatonic and heartbroken. But YES, I love it! I’m a glutton for punishment! I don’t know what it is about these books (A Matter of Fate is book 1, see my review here)… I am so deeply invested in these characters. And as much as I have loved many of the books I’ve read in the past months, it’s been a long time since I’ve been this hooked and felt this connected to a series.

Consuming. Devouring. Debilitating. Distressing.

Those are some of the words that describe the impossible situation in which Chloe, Kellan and Jonah find themselves. The stress and pain is consuming everything… body and mind, heart and soul.

“How can anyone want a Connection? How can anyone ever want this? It’s a curse. A fucking curse. What a joke. Fate is a sick, sick bastard.”

When A Matter of Fate ended, Kellan left. He needed space to regroup and think about it all. Jonah and Chloe live in Annar now, building their life together, planning for their future. It’s been 5 months since Kellan left, and although things are peaceful between Jonah and Chloe, Kellan is constantly on her mind. She worries for him. She misses him. When Kellan comes back, things truly begin to disintegrate. Seeing Kellan again, opens the wound wider, festering every time she’s in his presence.

On top of that, another attack by the Elders is imminent and sure enough, Chloe finds herself in trouble and is put in a situation where Kellan and her spend a lot of time together. To quote, A Tale of Two Cities, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

During their time together, they talk honestly about all the feelings they have and my heart seriously hurt for Kellan. He puts Chloe first, always, and loves her with such passion and reverence that to hear him bare his soul is nothing short of excruciatingly painful.

Knife. Heart. 

As if there was ever a doubt, the moments between them solidify that this isn’t just something they can choose to move on from and get over. It’s just as real as what Chloe has with Jonah. They are connected. And just when you’re starting to pull out your TEAM KELLAN shirt, Jonah comes to the rescue and shows Chloe just how much he loves her, how he’ll take care of her and protect her from any threat.

Chloe becomes physically ill with all the stress. She hates that she’s hurting them both, on top of also suffering herself. The love she feels for Kellan is irrefutable and real despite the future she’s planning with Jonah.

“Because what I’m thinking about is how part of my heart is his and always will be, no matter what. No matter how much we pretend differently.”

As the pressure intensifies, other truths become more evident, causing a rift between Jonah and Chloe. Jonah seems to keep a lot to himself and Chloe wonders if it’s intentional… if he’s hiding something. On the other hand, Kellan is completely open and transparent with her and the juxtaposed feelings really makes Chloe think. I have to say, personally, I felt really content in the moments that Chloe and Kellan were together. Despite the painful reality, when they let go, their relationship seems effortless, happy, passionate and really satisfying to me as a reader. I truly fell more for Kellan in this book. I understood him more, I felt him more and I hurt for him more too. The things he says to Chloe… the way he expresses his love… well it totally melted me.

“Here’s the truth–you are my everything, Chloe… There’s only you. You’re the only one I’ll ever see. The only one I’ll ever want.”

The steaminess factor also intensifies in AMOH. And those intimate moments are brimming with desire and passion and want and I absolutely loved it!

“I like it when you’re like this,” he murmurs against my ear, breath hotter than the sun bearing down on it.
“When you sound like this.”

It’s getting hard to focus. My hands grip his hips, my fingers skim the skin right under the waistband of his low riding trunks. “Sound like what?”

He’s quiet. “Like you’re mine. Only mine.”

Kellan is not backing down this time. He’s in it to win it (and I kind of liked that… a lot).

But sigh… when things are good with Jonah. They’re really good. Jonah is home. Jonah is history. Jonah is her primary Connection. That’s Fate telling her what she has with Jonah is right. And give the boy a prize, because Jonah tries so very hard to make this impossible situation bearable.  So as loving and passionate as Kellan is in this book, Jonah is right there with him.

“What I feel for you goes beyond love… You’re my best friend. My favorite person.  Someone I know I can go to when I’m happy or sad or anything in between. The only person who makes me lose control, who makes me so hot and fills me with so much want and need I can’t even think straight. The person whose lips are addictive… whose mind is more beautiful than anything else I’ve ever seen. You’re more than my Connection.”

On top of it all, the danger with the Elders doesn’t get better and there are problems that arise with the Council. Chloe continues to worsen physically and it’s becoming entirely too much to bear. I really felt her too.

“How many times can my heart break before the pieces no longer fit together?”

I thought that A Matter of Heart was a really heavy book… not in a bad way at all… in fact… in the most necessary way. I don’t know what’s planned for book 3, but this feels a lot like rock bottom to me. The character development that happens is significant… we learn so much more about Kellan, and we also learn more about Jonah and how he handles situations. I feel that Chloe is on a precipice… on the brink of taking matters into her own hands and writing her own destiny. This book also features a lot of action and a lot happens that I’m not even touching as I don’t want your reading experience to be diminished in any way.

When I think of the next book, there are a few things on my wish list:

• I’d like to see a little bit more lifting of the “fog” – with this being such a heavy book, I hope we see some relief for some of the characters…some well-earned happiness (not that I expect hearts, rainbows and ponies just yet!)
• A little more hanky panky… I loved that as they characters got older, the intimacy is escalating. It’s felt natural and has been perfect pacing for me, to be honest. So I like where it’s going!
• I really like the path that Chloe is on. I’d like to see her continue to become stronger, more confident in herself, in her role as badass Creator… continuing to take charge of her life. I really liked seeing that in AMOH.

In the end, I’m still undecided on whom I’d like Chloe to end up with. I am feeling closer to Kellan, but even as I type these words, it seems completely wrong to form an opinion. So much is yet to happen… there are mysteries that need to be solved. Like what’s up with her deadbeat parents?! I feel like there has to be a reason they are the way they are. What will happen with the Elders? How will Chloe alter Fate? As with AMOF, the book doesn’t really end in a cliffhanger, it ends, I think, with a possible new phase… a new approach that is kind of exciting to me.

“Screw Fate. I’m no longer going to let some intangible entity dictate whether or not I keep hurting the people I love and myself in the process. I am in control of my destiny. Me. No one, nothing else.”

I can’t wait to see what the brilliant Heather Lyons has in store for us!

About Heather Lyons

Heather Lyons has always had a thing for words—She’s been writing stories since she was a kid. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. Heather is a rabid music fan, as evidenced by her (mostly) music-centric blog, and she’s married to an even larger music snob. They’re happily raising three kids who are mini music fiends who love to read and be read to.

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