Rating: 4 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
A Heart to Revitalize Me is a companion novel to Michelle Notaro’s Magi Accounts series, but needs to be read in order after A Ruse to Unchain Us. As such, there are spoilers for the main series in this review.
With the attack at the wall, Logan and Haiden, along with Cos and Ash, are forced into The Great Divide and have no choice but to make their way to the People’s Liberation Union. Knowing that some of the pride is there, they find their way, reconnect with their pride mates, and start about finding a way back to the U.S. in order to continue the fight to free the magi and shifters. But Logan can’t help but notice how attentive and weird Haiden is being. They’ve been best friends and pride mates for years. And Logan has always wanted his straight best friend, but he doesn’t want to risk their connection, so he’s kept his feelings to himself. Haiden, for his part, is confused by his feelings for Logan, particularly why all of a sudden he wants much more than friendship with him. After they make it back home and Haiden breaks up with is girlfriend, he knows he it’s time to make his move.
Haiden asks Logan out, which Logan happily accepts. Haiden is thrilled that Logan wants to date him too. But because the two men don’t communicate clearly, Haiden has no idea that Logan just thinks it’s them hanging out, like they’ve always done. Sure, their activities are more date-like than they used to be, but Logan thinks he’s projecting his feelings onto his friend. After a few weeks, they finally have the conversation they need to have and begin to date for real.
It’s not long before they decide they want to tie together, but they keep it a secret from the pride. They know their pride mates, especially Mads, will try to talk them out of it, since they are both young and haven’t been truly dating for long. When Logan is injured during a Taragorian attack, their secret comes out. Logan’s recovery is not the only thing they have to contend with, but despite everything, the love they have for each other, and the pride, will see them through.
This story starts back in time a bit from the end of the previous novel, showing things from Logan and Haiden’s viewpoints. It is lacking in some detail here, which isn’t a problem for readers of the series, but is one of the reasons the books need to be read in order. We fast forward through some of the bigger points in the previous novel, and this story focuses mainly on Logan and Haiden’s relationship, with some small advancements in the metaplot as a background.
I have to say, I finished this story with mixed feelings. The author has been threading tiny clues as to Logan and Haiden’s affection for each other through the last few books. So I was glad to see them finally get their heads out of their asses and do something about their feelings. But at the same time, much of the story is predicated on the lack of communication between them. And while the miscommunication made sense in the beginning, it dragged on for far too long for my preference. It also heavily mirrored a previous book, An Embrace to Hearten Me, where Jude, River, and Kulani’s story had the same sort of premise. If any of these people actually just talked to each other, the story would have moved forward more quickly. Because of that, I found myself waiting for the plot to advance in certain parts, and all but screaming at the characters to talk to each other. Parts of it felt repetitive because of that.
But despite that quibble with the story, I enjoyed seeing how much these characters have grown. Logan has been there from the start, saved by Mads and Jude, and really grown into a strong and wonderful character. Haiden was also saved by the pride, and he had a lot to overcome. I loved seeing how these guys have matured and worked through a lot of their trauma, and that they were finally in a place where they could not only admit their love for each other, but to act on it. For that reason alone, I enjoyed this book.
Notaro has created a complex dystopian world where most of the characters have suffered from abuse and mistreatment. There are, as always, some heavy themes touched on in the book, including sexual assault and physical violence. But it is handled with care and balanced with a lot of love of the pride and found family that they’ve become a part of. I was glad to get this story and see these two MCs find a happily ever after. But it does set up the final book, where the larger storyline will finally be concluded. If you’ve been reading along, you won’t want to miss this one.
