This book was reviewed for Readers’ Favourite.

 

Visan’s Broken Hearts is the sequel to the novel Broken People. In Hearts, we follow the continuing adventures of Dale, Aurore, and the members of the Nightingale Circus. Dale has been ‘contracted’ to protect Aurore, and now travels with her on business abroad.

 

The Circus itself had parted Bratislava a week before. During their travels, Nicolas, now the manager of the Nightingale Circus, is detained and accused of being a rogue telecharger. Telechargers seem to be pretty special, with a connection to the very building blocks of the universe, having the ability to manipulate both energy and matter. A telecharger who snaps and loses control for some reason sounds like a very dangerous prospect. Nicolas’ traveling companions lay plans to free him.

 

This story is every bit as good as the previous one. While I like all of the characters, I most enjoyed Nicolas’ story. I want to learn more about the telechargers! They seem like such fascinating, and dangerous people. I also want to learn more of Spinner and Rake, the Circus’ blademasters and technicians. The author has done an excellent job of drawing the reader in, and making them care about the characters.

 

This book did have a handful of grammar/spelling errors, but these were eclipsed by the story itself. As before, the writing style was crisp and imaginative. There is very little excess writing. I did find a few places confusing, but they were few and far between.

 

Ioana Visan’s Broken Hearts is a real treat. If you enjoy sci-fi, cyberpunk, or dystopic stories, be sure to check it out. I doubt you’ll be disappointed. There is a companion novella simply titled The Nightingale Circus. I’ve snagged a copy of that book, as well as a few other of Visan’s works, to read! Looking forward to that, most certainly. I’d love to see future books set in the same world, as well.