Blog Tour — Review: Heart of the Impaler by Alexander Delacroix

Posted December 9, 2021 by Stephanie in 4 Stars, Historical Fiction, Review / 10 Comments

Welcome to the blog tour of Heart of the Impamer by Alexander Delacroix.
Below you can find my review and there’s also a giveaway below to win a copy of Heart of the Impaler (open internationally!)

 

Title: Heart of the Impaler
Author: Alexander Delacroix
Publication: December 7th 2021 by Swoon Reads
Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Find it on:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Play | iBooks | Kobo
Rating: 4/5★  

In this dark, historical YA debut, two young men—one scarred and dutiful, the other wickedly magnetic—fall for the same young woman. But is it safe for her to love either of them back?

Ilona Csáki has no desire to marry the voivode’s eldest son, but love and marriage are the least of her worries.

The royal family’s enemies have already tried to put an arrow through her back—and if anyone discovers her blossoming feelings for her betrothed’s cousin Andrei, and younger brother, Vlad, she may just wish they’d succeeded.

Beneath the shadow of impending war, the only battle that will be deadlier than the one for Ilona’s life will be the one for her heart.

Alexander Delacroix’s darkly romantic debut is perfect for fans of Kiersten White’s And I Darken and Emily A. Duncan’s Wicked Saints.

It took me a few chapters to warm up to Heart of the Impaler by Alexander Delacroix but once I did I had a hard time to put the book down. It had a great blend of historical fiction, romance and intrigue. I really enjoyed it!

The story is about Ilona Csáki who has become the betrothed of Mircea, the eldest son of the Voivode (ruler) of Wallachia. But in reality it’s Mircea’s younger brother Vlad and their cousin Andrei she likes more and developes feelings for. Which makes court life even more dangerous than it already was.

I will read literally any book that features the historical Vlad III Dracula who’s better known as Vlad the Impaler and I’ve read my fair share of books that have him as a character. I’m glad to say that this one, though, is one of those I will remember the most. Unlike Vlad, Ilona and Andrei are fictional characters created for this story but they had my heart anyways. Ilona was courageous, kind, artistic and the kinda main character that you just want the best for. She was really likable but also not a pushover, which I really appreciated.

I do feel like I have to say although it seems like a love triangle from the description of the book, it didn’t really feel like one because it gets clear who Ilona really loves. I’m not gonna reveal whether it’s Vlad or Andrei but I can say that I approved of her choice. In that way the romance was slightly predictable but I can’t say that I really minded that in the end.

I hope there will be a sequel to Heart of the Impaler because the story doesn’t seem to be quite done. Nonetheless this was a really well-written debut by Alexander Delacroix and I’ll be looking forward to his work in the future too.

About the author:

Alexander Delacroix earned Masters degrees from Brigham Young University and Western Governors University. As an undergraduate he majored in French, Russian, and German but ultimately became a Language Arts teacher. In his spare time, he enjoys reading and writing. Heart of the Impaler is his debut novel.

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Giveaway

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10 responses to “Blog Tour — Review: Heart of the Impaler by Alexander Delacroix

  1. Honestly, I didn’t used to be interested in stories of Vlad the Impaler, but then came Jeaniene Frost and well…. the rest is history 😀 This sounds like a great story and a fun new take on the story of Vlad, I’m definitely intrigued!

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