Book Review: Glass Heart by Amy Garvey

Wren can do things that other people can only dream of. Make it snow on a clear, crisp day. Fly through an abandoned tunnel. Bring a paper bird to life. 

Wren knows her abilities are tinged with danger–knows how easy it is to lose control–but she can’t resist the intoxicating rush. And now that she has Gabriel by her side, someone who knows what she can do–what she has done–she finally feels free to be herself. 

But as Wren explores the possibilities of her simmering powers, Gabriel starts pushing her away. Telling her to be careful. Telling her to stop. The more he cautions her, the more determined Wren becomes to prove that she can handle things on her own. And by the time she realizes that Gabriel may be right, it could be too late to bring him back to her side.


Glass Heart is the second book in Amy Garvey’s Cold Kiss series. (Did you miss our review of Cold Kiss?  Check it out, HERE.)   It picks up where Cold Kiss leaves off, Wren is still discovering her powers and now officially dating Gabriel. She is reconnecting with her friends and long lost family members, and basically living life normally.  You know, as if she didn’t raise her boyfriend from the dead (No Big Deal). The book was disappointing compared to the last book. It was basically is an epilogue from the first installment. 

The main problem I had was the story had nothing driving it. There was nothing to solve or a climatic event or a plot twist or even a lover’s squabble. I think Garvey recognized that about midway through the book and threaded a small murder mystery into the chapters but did not make it a priority or even a main part of the story. It was a complete after thought and that is really disappointing. While it is nice to catch up on the characters that you grow to care about, it is still a story that needs to go somewhere. Amy Garvey was saved in that she had developed the characters in the first book so at least we were still able to connect with them. Overall, this book would have been better as a short story, or as the included epilogue after Cold Kiss, and not a full-length book. 

2 Bards

This review submitted to A Midsummer Night’s Read by Missy.

Book Review: Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

It was a beautiful, warm summer day, the day Danny died. 

Suddenly Wren was alone and shattered. In a heartbroken fury, armed with dark incantations and a secret power, Wren decides that what she wants–what she “must” do–is to bring Danny back. 

But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy Wren fell in love with. His touch is icy; his skin, smooth and stiff as marble; his chest, cruelly silent when Wren rests her head against it. 

Wren must keep Danny a secret, hiding him away, visiting him at night, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school, and Wren realizes that somehow, inexplicably, he can sense the powers that lie within her–and that he knows what she has done. And now Gabriel wants to help make things right. 

But Wren alone has to undo what she has wrought–even if it means breaking her heart all over again.


ZOMBIES… My favorite supernatural creatures! I was very excited to read that this book had at least one zombie when I read the synopsis. However the zombie was just a minor part of the story. The crux of this story is the utter heartbreak of losing your first love and agony of letting go and saying goodbye. I think we all can relate to the physical and emotional pain of your first love lost.

Wren (yes, that is her name) is our main character; we meet her a few months after her boyfriend dies in a tragic car accident. We soon learn she, along with the other women in her family, have magical powers. As the story unfolds we discover that Wren has raised her boyfriend from the dead only to realize he is not the same. Then to add to her troubles a new boy, Gabriel, arrives to shake things up. He too has power and soon figures out that Wren has a big secret.

Amy Garvey does a great job of explaining all of the conflicting feelings a woman has when she starts to like someone other than their first love. She talks about the guilt and shame but also the happiness and the hope that all is not lost. This book is unique in that it can be therapeutic for young women who are going through heartbreak but is also enjoyable for those who haven’t been through that exact experience. 

For me the difference between a good book and a great book is if the author is able to make me feel what the characters are feeling. Do I cry when they cry, laugh when they laugh, hurt when they hurt? If an author can do that then in my opinion they have created a great book. This book was a great book. I am looking forward to reading more from this author! Great job, Amy Garvey. 

5 Bards.

Review by Missy